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‘Fearful’ govt looking for excuses to postpone vote, says Imran
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StAff-lEvEl AgREEmENt with imf tO bE SigNEd iN fEw dAyS: iShAq dAR g
SAyS ‘All REqUIREMENTS’ OF IMF AlREADy FUlFIllED
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ClAIMS PAKISTAN NOW IN POSITION TO MOvE FORWARD WITH ‘FUll CONFIDENCE’
iSLAMABAD
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Staff report
INISTER for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be signed in the next few days as all of the requirements had already been fulfilled. “We are very close to signing the agreement with the IMF and it would be done in the next few days,” said the minister while addressing a seminar titled ‘Reviving economic stability through strengthening of public financial management’, organised by the ministry of finance here. The minister said that the Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PMl-N) government had also completed the full programme with the Fund earlier in 2013-16 and was committed to completing it now as well despite agreeing to tough conditions by the previous government. He said a shattered economy was handed over to the coalition government, however, it showed commitment and sincerity to the state by acting upon all the tough conditions made by the previous government with the IMF. Ishaq Dar regretted that petty politics was still being played over Pakistan’s economy by spreading rumours about falling into default
which he said was totally a nonsense attitude. He said the bad economic crisis which the coalition government inherited was even more deeper and complex than that in 2013 and 1990s but with utmost sincerity and
prudent policies of the government, the country had come out of the quagmire. “We are now in a position to move forward with full confidence,” he said, adding that Pakistan had the resilience to meet the chal-
lenges as it had huge resources to cope with the problems, but the only thing that had been lacking was lack of consistency in policies and mismanagement in the fiscal sector. The minister informed that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio improved from 73% to 69% in a few years which meant that there was no need to worry about the debts of the country. He said even the developed countries such as USA and UK had high debt-to-GDP ratios of over 100%, therefore “we need not to worry about”. He said the country’s foreign exchange reserves got down due to the fact that the government had been only paying back the debts and not getting new debts for the last few months. Ishaq Dar also invited all political parties to sit together for resolving the country’s long-standing economic issues by setting apart their differences.
SbP’s forex reserves rise above $4b mark The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in a statement issued here on Thursday, stated that reserves held by the central bank increased by $487 million to $4,301.0 million while net foreign reserves held by commercial banks were at $5,453 million. Following the receipt of $500 million as GoP commercial loan from China, the total liquid foreign re-
Rupee further down by 1.13pc against US dollar profit report karachi
On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee experienced a depreciation of 1.13% against the US dollar, settling at 282.3 as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). This decline of Rs3.18 in the inter-bank market followed a decrease of Rs1.25 or 0.45% on Wednesday, when the rupee settled at 279.12 against the US dollar after three successive gains. SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed shared that measures have been taken to control imports, and the current account deficit is expected to be $7 billion for the current fiscal year, which is lower than the budgetary target of $10 billion. In the international market, the US dollar was near a three-month high on Thursday due to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks that interest rates may need to rise faster to curb inflation. Although Powell remained cautious about the scale and path of future rate hikes being dependent on data, the US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six peers, remained close to a three-month peak, having increased by 1.3% on Tuesday. Additionally, oil prices fell for a third day due to concerns over rising interest rates’ potential economic impact, despite a surprise drop in US crude inventories and optimism about Chinese demand.
serves held by the country reached $9,754.0 million as of March 3, it added. In the previous week ended on February 24, total liquid foreign reserves hold by the country was $9,267.9 million. Among these, the foreign reserves held by the SBP were $3,814.1 million while net foreign reserves held by commercial banks were $5,453.8 million. Monitoring DeSk
Federal Cabinet approves Hajj 2023, Clean air policies iSLAMABAD Staff report
The Federal Cabinet on Thursday approved the Hajj Policy 2023 and the National Clean Air Policy. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, chairing the cabinet meeting, said the authorities should prepare a comprehensive and effective strategy as soon as possible in cooperation with the officials of Saudi Arabia to provide the best possible travel and lodging facilities to pilgrims during the Hajj. He appreciated the Ministry of Climate Change for formulating the Clean Air Policy, and directed that necessary steps should be taken for its effective implementation. The Ministry of Climate Change presented the new policy before the cabinet for approval. The cabinet was told that in the previous years air pollution had risen to dangerous levels in many big cities. According to the Air quality Index Report 2022-23, Karachi and lahore were the cities most affected by air pollution. It mentioned that due to air pollution the average life of people was reduced by 2.7 years. As per the 2016 report of
the World Bank, Pakistan’s economy was suffering huge losses because of the air pollution problem. In recent years, the number of accidents caused by smog in cities and different diseases spiraled. The Ministry of Climate Change prepared an extensive policy covering a number of subjects, including protection of health of citizens, steps to reduce per year deaths, promotion of agriculture, reduction in air pollution and for improvement in quality of air in urban and rural areas. The policy recommended to encourage and promote upgradation of fuel from Euro 5 standard to Euro 6, introduce strict laws to control industrial emissions, modernize
agriculture, effectively stop burning of crop waste, adopt international standards for waste management and use low emission gases in cooking. The adoption of policy would decrease emission of poisonous gases by 40 percent in the next 10 years. The effective enactment of policy would be ensured by a National Action Committee, which would provide long term guidance for its implementation and also bring changes in it after every five years keeping in view the ground realities. A technical committee would also be constituted to come up with a strategy to ensure execution of the policy and send periodical reports to the National Action Committee.
Next elections to be held in October: Kh Asif iSLAMABAD Staff report
Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Thursday said that next elections should be held in October this year. We are calling a meeting and inviting applications for conducting elections this year, he said while talking to a private television channel. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), would make arrangements for free and fair elections, he added. Commenting on the politics of Imran’s party, he said the country could not make progress due to the weak policies of Imran’s last regime. To another question about the installation of Imran’s party, in 2018 elections, he said an official had made efforts to introduce PTI leader in Pakistan. He further said that Imran Khan could do anything for personal gain. He said that PTI leader Imran Khan is playing politics to regain power in this country.
ECP seeks Rs15b to make preparations for elections in Punjab, KP iSLAMABAD Staff report
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday sought Rs15 billion from the federal government for gearing up preparations for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), in the light of a Supreme Court verdict. According to details, demand for the funds was made during a meeting held between officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan and the Finance Ministry. Media reports said that officials from finance ministry tabled an overview of the country’s economic situation. “The ministry was facing severe difficulties for day-to-day expenses”, reports said while quoting officials. During the meeting, the ECP sought Rs15 billion from the government for conducting elections in Punjab, KP. Sources added that the finance ministry has already provided Rs5 billion to commission in this regard. The electoral watchdog has tabled its demand to immediate release of Rs10 billion. Meanwhile, sources claimed, the ministry has assured ECP that its demand will be tabled before the government. Officials noted that the withdrawal of resignations from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNAs saved cost of the by-election. A day earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had summoned a meeting with the officials of the Interior and Finance ministries to seek funds and security for the upcoming elections. Earlier on Monday, the ECP refuted media reports claiming that it had asked for funds from the prime minister’s office for upcoming elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In a statement issued, an ECP spokesman brushed aside the allegations and stated that the commission had not sent any such letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. PUnjab PollS: The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced the election schedule for the general election in Punjab. “Polling for the election of Punjab provincial assembly will be held on April 30,” the election commission announced. According to the election schedule, candidates could submit their nomination papers from March 12 to 14, while scrutiny of the papers will be held on March 22. The candidates could withdraw their nomination papers up to April 05 and election symbols to candidates will be allotted on April 06, the ECP announced.
FbR imposes 25pc sales tax on a wide range of luxury items profit report iSlaMabaD
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recently announced a new sales tax on luxury goods in Pakistan, aimed at boosting the country’s revenue and reducing its fiscal deficit. The tax applies to a range of luxury items, including aircraft, ships, jewelry, cosmetics, cigarettes, and vehicles in Completely Built Up (CBU) condition, as well as locally manufactured/assembled vehicles with an engine capacity of 1400cc and above. According to an SRO 297(I)/2023 issued by the government on Wednesday, March 8, the sales tax shall be
charged, levied and paid at the rate of 25% of the value of the goods imported and their subsequent supply or the retail price, as the case may be. The tax will be applicable to both imported and locally supplied goods. The FBR has further clarified that the provisions of this notification shall not be applicable in respect of goods specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Sales Tax Act, 1990. The goods included in this schedule include computers, laptops, locally manufactured electric vehicles, road tractors for semi-trailers (Electric Prime Movers), electric buses, threewheeler electric rickshaws, secondhand and worn clothing or footwear,
cinematographic equipment, and other items specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Sales Tax Act, 1990. In addition to the above, the FBR has imposed a 25% sales tax on a range of other goods. These goods include aerated water and juices, confectionery, vehicles in CBU condition, sanitary and bathroom wares, carpets (excluding those from Afghanistan), chandeliers and lighting devices or equipment, chocolates, cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes, corn flakes and other ready-to-use cereals, cosmetics and shaving items, tissue papers, crockery, kitchenware, and tableware, household articles, decorations or or-
namental articles, dog and cat food only, doors and window frames, fish, footwear, fruits and dry fruits (excluding those imported through land route or barter mechanism), furniture, home appliances CBU, ice cream, jams, jellies, preserved fruits and fruit and vegetable juices, leather jackets and apparels, mattress and sleeping bags, fresh, chilled, frozen, preserved or processed meat, musical instruments, pasta, arms and ammunition (excluding defence stores), shampoos, sunglasses, tomato ketchup and sauces, a ship designed or adapted for use for recreation or pleasure or private use, an aircraft designed or adapted for
use for recreation or pleasure or private use, articles of jewelry (both precious metals and imitation), wristwatches, locally manufactured or assembled SUvs and CUvs, locally manufactured or assembled vehicles having an engine capacity of 1400cc and above, and locally manufactured or assembled double cabin (4×4) pick-up vehicles. This new tax regime is expected to generate significant revenue for the government, which has been grappling with a widening fiscal deficit and the economic fallout of the COvID-19 pandemic. The FBR has urged all relevant parties to comply with the new regulations and pay the required sales tax in a timely and accurate manner.