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Rs 15.00 | Vol XIII No 187 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
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PM Positive for suPPort froM friendly countries at Geneva Moot g
says has been in touch with leadershiP of friendly countries to invite them to conference
SoHBAtpUr
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stAff report
rime minister shehbaz sharif on wednesday said the government and people would have to put in their effort the make the rehabilitation of the flood-hit country possible, alongside the help of friendly countries. speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the government boys secondary school of kili jia khan that was rebuilt, the Pm expressed hope that the “civilised” world would come to Pakistan’s aid to support the reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-affected areas at the international conference on climate resilient Pakistan scheduled to be held in geneva on january 9. Pm shehbaz said he would co-chair the moot with the united nations secretary-general antonio guterres. he also shared that he was “constantly
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Pakistan had identified a funding gaP of $8.2b against $16.3b total flood rehab requirements
contacting” the leadership of friendly countries to invite them to the conference. “yesterday, i talked to malaysian Prime minister anwar ibrahim…he assured of sending a delegation to the conference. he will also join through Zoom,” he said and mentioned his telephonic interactions with the leaders of turkey, qatar and the uae for the purpose. the Pm said the government had already distributed rs100 billion among the affected people through the benazir income support Programme (bisP) but a lot more funds were still needed to pay compensation for one million houses destroyed by the flood and many people were yet awaiting assistance for their rehabilitation. in december, Pakistan had identified a funding gap of $8.2 billion against the $16.3 billion total flood rehabilitation and reconstruction requirements — setting the
goal for the international donors’ conference next month. the $8.2 billion gap appeared too large to be filled in the geneva conference amid a low response to the un’s $816 million emergency appeal, high risks of Pakistan’s sovereign default, and possible derailment of the international monetary fund (imf) programme because of imprudent economic policies. earlier, Pm shehbaz unveiled the plaque of a newly built smart school building, while vowing to develop the facility at par with the danish schools of Punjab. he committed to inaugurate the upgraded school on march 23, to be equipped with it facilities like an e-library, hostel, solar energy and playgrounds. he also announced the construction of 12 danish schools across balochistan to provide equal educational facilities to the poor children of the province. the prime minister sat with the students in their classroom, mingled and also played with them on the ground. he told the students that education and skill training could only enable the country to cope with poverty and illiteracy. he said education was the only tool to put Pakistan on the course to progress and prosperity as well as bringing about a revolution. the Pm, who was given a briefing on the status of reconstruction and rehabilitation works, also interacted with the flood-affected families. shehbaz applauded the performance of the government officers and provincial leadership for completing the school building within two months and also announced tamgha-e-khidmat award for three officers, including the chief secretary and the secretary of education.
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Ishaq Dar hints at introduction of mini-budget iSLAMABAD stAff report
federal finance minister ishaq dar on wednesday hinted at bringing a mini budget in the foreseeable future, confirming that the government will impose a flood levy to increase it’s revenue. responding to other questions during the Press conference, the finance minister said that the government is looking to impose tax on the income generated through foreign exchange, by the banks. the flood levy was a major demand of the imf to reinstate the program. he said that there is no issue in the 9th review and the present government is committed to complete the international monetary fund (imf) programme. the imf has not only sought details of the current quarter but they also wanted to know how the funding of $16 billion, for the rehabilitation of flood affected areas, would be met? and in how much time? ishaq dar said that the country would not default as saudi arabia and china would provide deposits in a few days. he also said that the country’s foreign exchange reserves are pro-
jected to be in a much better position by june 2023. he said that tax numbers for the first half of the fiscal year are also almost final and had the sindh high court not issued a stay order on the collection of super tax, the government could have met the december target as well. on the topic of the Pti white paper, the finance minister ishaq dar termed it as selective, misrepresented and misleading. he said the economic situation since april 2022 was strongly influenced by the legacy that the new government got from the previous regime. however, that context was missed in the Pti presentation, while also ignoring the international economic situation, the commodities supercycle, russia-ukraine war impacts and catastrophic floods in the country. these realities should have been kept in mind for making fair analysis, according to the finance minister. he said the international monetary fund (imf) had predicted that one-third of the globe would be in serious recession in 2023 and Pakistan was no exception. the fund had already projected the growth at 2.7 percent of gdP.
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Would shutting down lights early really help save Rs62 billion? g
small businesses, restaurant, wedding hall owners already rejected Plan to curtail energy use profit report AsAd UllAh KAmrAn
to help stabilise the economy, the federal cabinet resolved on tuesday to take drastic steps, such as closing markets at 8:30 p.m. and wedding halls at 10.00 p.m. this is part of the government’s greater plan to cut back on energy consumption in order to save precious foreign exchange reserves. according to defence minister khawaja asif, “with this initiative, which has been taken in consultation with trade bodies, there will be a saving of around rs 62 billion (annually).” during a press conference, asif also stated that, “the approval to the conservation plan has been accorded in line with the advice of the power division. it will come into force at once across the country.” Previously, on may 10, 2022, the
cabinet conducted a comprehensive assessment of the situation and directed the cabinet division to organise a ministerial committee on energy, water, and food conservation. according to the cabinet’s decision, the ministerial committee was established on june 14, 2022, under the chairmanship of the federal minister of defence, with the objective of evaluating and recommending energy, water, and food conservation measures. finally, in october last year, the power division provided the cabinet with the “efficiency and conservation measures implementation roadmap,” at a meeting convened by Prime minister shehbaz sharif. the cabinet was informed on major worldwide developments that have interrupted the global energy supply chain. as a result, the price of crude oil and imported coal has grown considerably in the last nine months.
Will shutting down markets really save Rs 62 billion? the concept is based primarily on saving electricity and, as a result, foreign exchange currency. Pakistan’s energy generation is mainly reliant on fossil fuels such as oil and gas. the strategy focuses on lowering electricity demand, which reduces the need to import these expensive fossil fuels. although the plan is a step in the right direction, the practicality of the policy needs to be assessed more
deeply. consider the fact that during winter months the demand for energy naturally dips since fewer fans and air conditioners are being used. the data published by the national electricity Power regulatory authority (nepra), shows that traditionally demand for electricity dips by up to 30% on average during the winter months as compared to the summer months. and consequently, the reliance on imported fuels for energy also dips. the latest data published by nepra
shows that in november last year, nearly 60% of the electricity demand was met through hydel and nuclear energy. this means that the need to import fossil fuels for energy is lower in winter months; this can be particularly attributed to the higher contribution of nuclear energy. while talking to Profit on the condition of anonymity, a senior analyst said the plan to close markets and wedding halls early is wholly “counterproductive”. this is due to the fact that a majority of the electricity tariff is made up of capacity payments. Capacity payments? capacity charges comprise bank loan repayments and other financial costs, fixed operational costs, and independent Power Producer profits or the internal rate of return as specified in nepra’s power policy tariff. a senior government official, on the condition of anonymity while talking to Profit explained that the decision about power purchase is made considering the peak demand during summer. naturally, it isn’t the same in winter and therefore, capacity charges have to be paid independent from the demand factor.
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