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rs 15.00 | Vol Xiii No 246 i 8 Pages i islamabad edition

CHINA COMES TO RESCUE AGAIN

State Bank receiveS $500m loan from chineSe Bank g

Beijing ends its wait for IMF nod, comes for ward to save Pakistan from likely default KARACHI

Mian abRaR

HINA, the second largest global economy, has released a loan tranche of $500 million to help Pakistan stabilise its foreign exchange reserves and avert an imminent default on foreign debt. The friendly country has extended the tranche after Islamabad fulfilled almost all the tough conditions pre-requisite for revival of the IMF loan programme and the country is expected to achieve a stafflevel agreement with the global lending institution next week. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said on his Twitter handle that the Chinese Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) has completed all formalities and approved rollover of $1.3 billion facility that Pakistan repaid in recent months. “[The] facility will be disbursed in three installments. First one of $500 million has been received by the SBP. It will increase forex reserves,” he said. To recall, almost all the multi-

Tranche to help stabilise forex reser ves, avert imminent default on external debt

Former federal minister Miftah Ismail on Saturday said that the restoration of Pakistan’s economy was a “difficult” task and hoped for God to have mercy on the country. Addressing an event, Miftah during an said the economic recovery was a daunting and “very difficult task” and that “sacrifices” would have to be made to navigate the country out of the ongoing economic crisis. The former finance minister said despite the fact that powers were devolved to provinces under the 18th Amendment, funds still do not reach the lower levels. He said that the federal government must reduce its expenses and lamented that the provincial government does not collect taxes, adding that the current state of the economy is not due to mistakes made in one year, but the collective result of 75 years.Miftah said that 87% of Pakistanis do not get as much food as they should, and in districts where water is dirty, children are physically weak. “Children living in the villages of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab have been in crisis for 70 years,” he said. He compared the country’s progress to that of its neighbour. “India will have IT exports worth 150 billion dollars this year,” he said, elaborating that there are 23 IT campuses in India today. He said things must change for Pakistan to prosper. After COVID-19, Pakistan got a lot of concessions, but not enough to solve its problems. “By giving money to the provinces, the federation is already in a loss,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD MonitoRing RepoRt

The State Department announced that Pakistan and the United States will hold a comprehensive dialogue on counter-terrorism, amid a resurgence in Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacks after the Afghan Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021. In a statement released on Friday, the two countries will work together to develop policy-oriented strategies to enhance cooperation in critical areas such as border security and countering the financing of terrorism. Leading the US inter-agency delegation is Christopher Landberg, Acting Coordinator for Counter-terrorism. The delegation is set to visit Pakistan on March 6-7 to participate in the Pakistan-US counter-terrorism dialogue. The State Department emphasized that the dialogue will focus on the shared terrorist threats facing the two countries. It is a crucial step towards developing effective strategies to address the worsening law and order situation in Pakistan, which has witnessed a surge in terror incidents in recent times. The United States has assured Pakistan of its support in dealing with the challenges posed by terrorism. The forthcoming dialogue is expected to provide a platform for both countries to reaffirm their commitment to combat terrorism and enhance cooperation in the fight against this common threat.

The quality of our coverage, however, will remain what it always has been.

Miftah still skeptical of restoration of Pakistan’s economy

lateral and bilateral creditors, including friendly countries, were still waiting for revival of the IMF loan programme to implement their financial commitments amounting to over $9 billion to help the floodhit devastated nation. However, Beijing ended its wait for the IMF nod and came forward to save Islamabad from a likely default. Dar reiterated at a news conference on Friday that Pakistan would not default and continue to make foreign debt repayments on time. Earlier this week, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Pakistan’s credit rating to Caa3 from Caa1 on anticipation that the country would fail to acquire the required foreign funding on time and it might not avert the looming default. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves continued to improve for the third consecutive week on Thursday. They enhanced to almost sixweek high at $3.8 billion after hitting a nine-year low at $2.9 billion threeweeks ago.

State Department announces Pakistan-US counter-terrorism dialogue

Dear Readers, owing to the current import curbs, and the subsequent shortage of newsprint, specially our Berliner format, Pakistan Today has been temporarily shifted to an eight-page broadsheet format.

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

Pakistan determined to further multi-dimensional ties with US: PM Shehbaz LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that Pakistan valued its mutually beneficial ties with the United States and was determined to further enhance its trade and investment in multi-dimensional fields of IT, agriculture and industry. The prime minister was talking to Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Sardar Masood Khan who called on him, PM Office Press Wing said in a press release. The prime minister directed the envoy to identify further avenues of collaboration to promote Pak-US trade and investment. He further directed Pakistan’s Mission in Washington and the authorities in Pakistan to extend full cooperation to the American investors. The prime minister underscored that the government was working on priority basis to further ease trade and investment-related rules and regulations. The ambassador briefed the prime minister about the performance of Pakistan’s mission in the US. A day earlier, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States (US), Masood Khan discussed bilateral economic and commercial relations between Pakistan and US. The Ambassador apprised the Finance Minister that the friendly relations between the two countries are deepening and mutual cooperation is enhancing between the two countries with the passage of time. Highlighting the long historical relations be-

tween the two countries, the minister stressed making efforts to further enhance the business collaboration between the two countries which has a great potential of growth given the opportunities for business and investment available in Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that a fourmember delegation of the California State Assembly of the United States (US) called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Thursday. He said the signing of the ‘Sister-State Resolution’ between California and Punjab in the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the United States last year, is a welcome development. NA OPPOSitiON LeAder cALLS ON PM: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz, here on Saturday, and discussed the prevailing political situation. During the meeting, they exchanged views on matters of mutual interest. They also held consultations on important constitutional and legal issues.

Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmed Butt appointed new NAB chief ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Former Pakistan Army corps commander Lt Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmed Butt has been appointed new chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The notification of his appointment was issued by the PM Office after PM Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition leader in the National Assembly Raja Riaz held consultation and agreed on the name of the former general on Saturday. The development came days after the sudden resignation of Aftab Sultan as the NAB chairman only after seven months at the anti-graft watchdog’s helm. Sultan cited “interference” and “pressure” as the reasons for his departure, but did not elaborate on who was pressuring him. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) took the opportunity to say that the remarks were evidence that he was being coerced into filing corruption references against party chief Imran Khan. Fawad Chaudhry said that Sultan’s resignation was a big step towards the collapse of a ‘fascist system’, saying he resigned over the ‘interference’ in his work. He also asked the recently-appointed 22 officers in Punjab to follow Sultan’s footsteps and step aside, saying “it is in the interest of both the country and the bureaucracy.” Surprising as it may seem, political commentators have said that despite the existence of the graft-buster – created in 1999 – corruption has only increased in the country in the past two decades. The lack of accountability and absence of meaningful accountability is a reason why democracy is still weak in Pakistan, they pointed out and added it was time to go for an across-the-board accountability process.

ready to talk, forgive all for ‘country’s sake’: imran LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday said that he was willing to “talk and forgive” anyone for Pakistan’s sake. “For the sake of the country, I am willing to forgive the assassination attempt on my life… where Pakistan stands today, everyone has to come together,” he said while addressing his supporters via video link from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore. In his address, the former premier once again alleged that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa had asked him to give NRO

(amnesty) to Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders. “I could not give NRO to those who stole public money,” he added. Imran Khan called for reforms in the judiciary to bring investment into the country. “We have to go through humiliation only for a few dollars.” The ex-premier said that he came to know that the party tickets were sold last time but this time he himself will hand over tickets to candidates. “I am starting the election campaign from next week… I will give election tickets myself for eight to 10 days,” he added. Imran said that only a government with a public mandate would get the country out of its prevailing crises. “Political stability will come after elections

and economic stability will also follow.” He said that the next government should complete its tenure of five years,

adding that it should instill confidence among masses. “I was hoping that they would an-

nounce general elections after the Supreme Court’s [polls delay case] verdict,” he said. He said rupee depreciation needed to be stopped for economic revival. “People and institutions must all unite to tackle challenges… everyone needed to make sacrifices to clear the debt and get the country out of its problems,” he added. Imran said that Pakistan needed to increase its revenue, reduce the expenditure and fix loss-making institutions which are a burden on the government. “Shortcuts will not work. Historic measures will have to be taken… the country’s problems are like cancer which cannot be cured by aspirin,” he further said.