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IMF SAYS LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH PAKISTAN’S NEW GOVT
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Saturday, 24 February, 2024 I 13 Shaban, 1445
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Rs 20.00 | Vol XIV No 237 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
TOP OFFICIAL DECLINES TO COMMENT ON IMRAN KHAN'S REQUEST FOR ELECTION AUDIT
Pakistan to seek $6b lifeline from IMF for debt repayment: report
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PROFIT NEWS DESK
top official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that they are looking forward to working with Pakistan’s new government on policies to ensure macroeconomic stability. During a press briefing on Friday, Julie Kozack, Director of the Communications Department at the IMF, was asked whether Pakistan was on track to secure the third tranche of the standby agreement.
She said that the IMF’s Executive Board approved the first review of the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with Pakistan on January 11, 2024, which brought the total disbursements under the StandBy Arrangement to $1.9 billion. The SBA is supporting Pakistan’s efforts to stabilise its economy and, with a strong focus on protecting the most vulnerable.” “During the period of the caretaker government, Pakistan has maintained economic stability. This has been achieved by maintaining a tight monetary policy stance to control inflation and continue building up foreign exchange
PROFIT: Pakistan intends to request a new loan of at least $6 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assist the incoming government in repaying billions in debt due this year, as reported by Bloomberg News on Thursday, citing a Pakistani official. The country aims to negotiate an Extended Fund Facility with the IMF, with talks expected to commence in March or April, the report added. Although a default was avoided last summer with a short-term IMF bailout, the program is set to expire in March, requiring a new government to negotiate a long-term arrangement to maintain economic stability. To comply with IMF demands, Pakistan implemented various measures, including budget revisions, a
reserves,” the IMF official added. “We look forward to working with the new government on policies to ensure macroeconomic stability and prosperity for all of Pakistan’s citizens.” However, Ms. Kozack avoids commenting on whether the IMF would entertain any letter by Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan calling for an audit of the election irregularities.
benchmark interest rate hike, and increases in electricity and natural gas prices. Neither the IMF nor the caretaker finance minister responded immediately to Reuters’ request for comment on the Bloomberg report. Fitch, a ratings agency, emphasized that Pakistan’s vulnerable external position makes securing financing from multilateral and bilateral partners a top priority for the incoming government. Fitch stated on Monday, “A new deal is key to the country’s credit profile, and we assume one will be achieved within a few months, but an extended negotiation or failure to secure it would increase external liquidity stress and raise the probability of default.” MONITORING DESK
“I’m not going to comment on ongoing political developments,” she said. These remarks come after a day when Imran Khan, the jailed former prime minister, directed his legal team to pen a letter to the IMF, urging the global financial institution to demand an independent audit of the February 8 elections.
Unlawful Israeli occupation of Palestine must have consequences, Pakistan tells ICJ ISLAMABAD AGENCIES
Pakistan on Friday said that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is unlawful and that it must stop. Addressing the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam said that Pakistan has been led to “the conclusion that Israel’s occupation is unlawful and unlawfulness must have consequences.” For the first time since its establishment in 1948, Israel is currently being tried before the International Court of Justice, the highest judicial body in the UN, on charges of committing the crime of “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza. Criticising the Israeli settler policy, Aslam said that through this policy Tel Aviv creates irreversible facts
on the ground which make it difficult to bring an end to its prolonged occupation. “Its policies and practices of occupation deny the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and amount to systematic racial discrimination and serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights,” he said, urging the UN top court to take this seriously. He said that Israel’s ongoing actions are against international law and seek to acquire Palestinian territory while killing and displacing its people. The top UN court is currently hearing oral statements by states on South Africa’s case against Israel over its war on Palestine, where the death toll since Oct. 7 is rapidly approaching 30,000 since Tel Aviv launched attacks on the besieged enclave of Gaza. Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7
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cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed some 1,200 Israelis. Besides injuring some 60,000 people, the Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.
New Punjab MPAs sworn in at maiden session amid protest, delay LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
Outgoing speaker Sibtain Khan on Friday administered oath to 313 newlyelected MPAs of the Punjab Assembly in the inaugural session. Yesterday, Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman had summoned inaugural session of the Punjab Assembly for oath-taking of the newlyelected members to set the path for new government to take over the powers. Speaker of Punjab Assembly Sibatin Khan administered the oath to the elected representatives, marking their official induction into the legislative body. PML-N’s nominee for Punjab chief minister Maryam Nawaz, former federal minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and PTI leader Aamir Dogar were among those
in attendance. It should be mentioned that this is the first time Maryam has been elected as a lawmaker. Meanwhile, the schedule for the election of a new speaker and the deputy speaker of the house was also released. According to the schedule, the election for the speaker and the deputy speaker will be held on Saturday (tomorrow) through a secret balloting. Strict security measures were put in place to avoid any untoward incident. More than 500 policemen have been deployed around the Punjab Assembly building. Furthermore, APCs, water canon vehicles, and Anti-Riots Dolphin Force are also deployed. Speaking outside the Punjab Assembly building, PML-N’s Ata Tarar said the people of Punjab gave a mandate to
PML-N in the general elections held on February 8. He said after the allocation of reserve seats, the number of PML-N MPAs has reached 210. Tarar said a new era of good governance is about to begin under the leadership of Maryam Nawaz. The PML-N has nominated Maryam for chief minister, while the rival PTI has
fielded Mian Aslam Iqbal for the slot. However, Iqbal is unavailable as he was said to be in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after getting bail from the Peshawar High Court. According to the Feb 8 election results, the PML-N secured 138 general seats in the Punjab Assembly, while PTIbacked independents claimed 114.
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Barrister Zafar insists party backs engagement with fund as Imran pens letter to IMF ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
Before PTI founder Imran Khan revealed having penned a letter to the IMF on Friday, asking it to make its next loan program conditional to Pakistan conducting an audit of the February 8 general elections, party leader Senator Barrister Ali Zafar clarified that the country should continue to engage with the IMF. Senator Zafar said that the engagement with IMF should continue to “ensure financial discipline, good governance, and economic stability which is critical for the prosperity of the people of Pakistan”. However, shortly after Senator Zafar’s statement, Imran told the media that he had written a letter to the IMF addressing allegations of election rigging. In an unofficial conversation with media representatives at Adiala jail, following the hearing of the £190 million case, the PTI supremo stated that the letter raises concerns about obtaining loans in such circumstances, questioning who would be responsible for repaying the international monetary body in the current circumstances. Expressing apprehension that this loan would exacerbate poverty, the PTI founder maintained that investment needs to be attracted otherwise the loans will keep piling up. “Political stability needs to come to the country before anything else.” Imran alleged that institutions were compromised to ensure PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s ‘selection’, causing harm to courts and organisations, including the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the process. Imran contended that “rigging occurred in favour of Nawaz” during the elections after unfairly subjecting him to allegations. Referring to the Rawalpindi commissioner backtracking from his earlier ‘poll rigging revelations’, the ex-premier claimed that the former official was “picked up and tortured”. “A Vigo came and picked him up. Now his software has been updated,” he added. ‘Pakistan PTI’s top priority’ In today’s statement, PTI leader Barrister Zafar said that Pakistan will always remain a top priority for the party. Zafar’s statement came a day after Imran Khan announced from jail that he would write a letter to the IMF, demanding it to halt the next loan to Pakistan unless there was a thorough probe into the alleged election rigging. The party faced backlash over the statement’s timing as the country is embroiled in a severe economic crisis, and the upcoming government is already eying a new IMF programme. Experts believed that writing such a letter was a terrible idea as it would not have any value but would lead to burning political capital and creating more rifts between the PTI and powerful stakeholders.
PPP nominates Murad Ali Shah for Sindh CM’s slot LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has nominated Murad Ali Shah for the Sindh chief minister slot as the party was set to form the next government in the province. While addressing a press conference in Lahore on Friday following the meeting of the parliamentary committee of the PPP, Chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari announced that Murad Ali Shah would be the party’s candidate for Sindh chief minister. The former foreign minister said, “We will request Murad to take the responsibility of this post again. But this time round we have to beat our own record.” It should be mentioned here that Murad Ali Shah was first elected Sindh chief minister in 2016. After the 2018 general elections, he was nominated for the coveted office by his party. Bilawal Bhutto also announced that Naveed Anthony would be the candidate for Sindh Assembly deputy speaker. He further said that Awais Shah would be the candidate for Sindh Assembly speaker. In the Feb 8 general elections held on 130 general seats of the Sindh Assembly, the PPP had secured 87 seats, followed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan that bagged 28 seats, Grand Democratic Alliance and Jamaat-i-Islami two each and 11 independents backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.
CCoE approves work on 80km segment of IP Gas Pipeline inside Pakistan
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IRAN HAD PREVIOUSLY GIVEN PAKISTAN A 180-DAY DEADLINE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2024 TO START COMPLETION OF PIPE-LAYING PROFIT
AHMAD AHMADANI
The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) on Friday granted its approval to start construction on an 80-kilometer (KM) pipeline from the Pak-Iran border to Gwadar as part of the IP Gas Pipeline Project. As per details, a summary of the Petroleum Division regarding IP Gas Pipeline was taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) in its session of February 23, 2024. The CCoE approved the recommendations of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) for the IP Project constituted by the Prime Minister in September 2023 whereby the Committee recommended to start work on the 80 km segment of the pipeline inside Pakistan i.e. from Pakistan border up till Gwadar in the first phase. The Project will be executed by Inter State Gas Systems (Pvt) Ltd. and will be funded through Gas Infrastructure Development Cess. All the concerned divisions gave a positive nod to move ahead with the project to ensure gas supplies to the people of Pak-
istan, thereby addressing the increasing energy needs of the country. According to petroleum division, this will not only boost energy security of Pakistan but would enhance confidence of the local industry who would be ensured with the enhanced gas supplies. This will also catalyze the economic activity in the province of Baluchistan and will contribute to the economic progress of Pakistan, said petroleum division. The Iran-Pakistan pipeline, also known as Peace Pipeline, emerged from a plan dating as far back as 1994 and had originally included India. The $7.5 billion, 1,700-mile project would bring gas from the South Pars Gas Fields through Baluchistan (in western Pakistan) into India. Over the decades, however, the pipeline has faced multiple delays including India stepping back from the original plan in 2008. One of the reasons for the delay have been consistent worries surrounding international sanctions on Iran. The problem is that hat if Pakistan does not start construction of the IP Gas Pipeline Project within the next three months it will have to face $ 18
billion worth penalty. Back in August 2023, Iran refused to accept Pakistan’s force majeure notice to halt construction of the multibillion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project and has instead granted two five-year extensions to meet the responsibilities of the IP Project. Iran had previously given Pakistan a 180day deadline until September 2024 to start completion of the pipe-laying work. Tehran warned Islamabad if its authorities do not accept the suggestion, Iran will move to the Parisbased International Arbitration for non-execution of the project and the Islamic Republic will seek an $18 billion penalty by lodging a complaint at the Paris-based institute. Over the years Pakistan has postponed a decision to seek exemption from US sanctions while keeping in view the geopolitical situation in the region. Foreign legal firms have opined that Pakistan will face US sanctions if it starts construction of Iran-Pakistan (IP) Gas Pipeline Project. the Inter-Governmental Framework Declaration of the Iran Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project was signed by the President
of Pakistan and Iran on 24th May 2009 for supply of gas of 750 Million Cubic Feet per Day (MMCFD) for 25 years from South Pars gas field of Iran and delivery at PakIran border, near Gwadar. The project having a length of 1,150km within Iran and 781km within Pakistan was to be implemented by each country in their respective territories. The first gas flow was to start from 1st January 2015. Iran has completed construction of over 900km within Iran, while the remaining segment of 250 is yet to be constructed by Iran. Considering the challenges faced by Pakistan, the Government of Iran has proposed to provide financing for the project as well as EPC contractor under the Government to Government Cooperation Agreement dated 1st December 2012. The cabinet approved the cooperation agreement on 30th January 2013. Subsequently, the Iranian government unilaterally withdrew from the Government Cooperation Agreement on 17th March 2014. Pakistan, therefore, served the Force Majeure and/or Excusing Event Notice under the IPGSPA to National Iranian Oil Company
(NIOC) on 29th March 2014 after seeking Prime Minister’s approval. Accordingly, the project activities have been on hold since then. The GoP has maintained engagement with Iran at two levels; Technical Committee level and Ministerial level. So far, two meetings each at the Technical Committee level and Ministerial level have been held with Iran. During these meetings, Iran was informed about the steps being taken by Pakistan regarding the project implementation including its intent to file the Waiver Application and the prospective implications on the future course of action of the project if the Waiver Application is rejected. While emphasising the urgent action by Pakistan, Iran stated that further extension of time under the French Civil Code would be subject to substantial progress by Pakistan on the project within next three months else Iran would be constrained to refer the matter to international arbitration under the GSPA. Both sides agreed to form a high-level committee to discuss all matters related to the project. Secretary Petroleum has been nominated from the Pakistan side for the High-Level Committee.