All posts tagged: Pakistans

Wife of Pakistan’s Imran Khan Moved to Jail on Her Request, Lawyer Says

Wife of Pakistan’s Imran Khan Moved to Jail on Her Request, Lawyer Says

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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -A court in Pakistan granted a request on Wednesday by the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan to be moved to jail, her lawyer said, instead of the house arrest ordered by the government. In her petition to the Islamabad High Court, Bushra Bibi had accused authorities of violating her privacy and serving contaminated food in her home cell, which she and her lawyers said was dominated by men, a charge the prison staff has denied. Bibi says she has been detained in one room at Khan’s hilltop mansion in Islamabad since the couple’s January conviction on charges of illegally selling state gifts. Through her lawyers Bibi had asked to be shifted to jail, which authorities complied with shortly after the court issued the order, her party and a local administration official Afzaal Ahmad said. The court ordered authorities to shift her to Adyala jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, where Khan, 70, a former cricket superstar, is serving his 14-year sentence, his party said in a statement. Photos You Should …

Why are Pakistan’s wheat farmers protesting against the government? | Food News

Why are Pakistan’s wheat farmers protesting against the government? | Food News

Published by Sam

Islamabad, Pakistan – Tens of thousands of farmers in Pakistan are holding protests in several cities over the government’s decision not to buy their wheat, causing them huge losses in income. The farmers in Punjab, the country’s largest province and often called the “bread basket” of Pakistan, are demanding that the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crops. At a protest in Lahore, the provincial capital, on Monday, police violently pushed back the farmers with batons and arrested dozens of them. Here is what we know about the issue so far: What triggered the protests? The farmers are furious about the import of wheat in the second half of last year and the first three months of this year, resulting in an excess of wheat in the market and reducing prices. Agriculture is one of the most significant income sectors in Pakistan, making up nearly 23 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. Wheat makes up 2 percent of the whole. Following …

IMF .1 billion tranche to help Pakistan’s economic stability, says PM Sharif

IMF $1.1 billion tranche to help Pakistan’s economic stability, says PM Sharif

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ISLAMABAD : The disbursement of $1.1 billion by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will help Pakistan achieve greater economic stability, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday, amid discussions for a new loan programme. The funding was the second and final tranche of Pakistan’s $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF which it secured last summer to help avert a sovereign default. “The disbursement will bring more economic stability in Pakistan,” Sharif said in a statement from his office, adding that the standby arrangement was important in saving the South Asian nation from defaulting on its external liabilities. The IMF’s executive board approved the final tranche on Monday. The approval came a day after Sharif discussed a new loan programme with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh. Islamabad is seeking a new, larger long-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the IMF. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has said Islamabad could secure a staff-level agreement on the new programme by early July. Islamabad says it is seeking a …

Shanghai Electric Power pulls offer to buy stake in Pakistan’s K-Electric

Shanghai Electric Power pulls offer to buy stake in Pakistan’s K-Electric

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KARACHI, Pakistan : Shanghai Electric Power Company withdrew its offer to acquire up to 66.4 per cent of Pakistani power company K-Electric, the manager of the offer said in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday. The deadline for making a firm offer for the K-Electric stake expired on April 20 and Shanghai Electric has withdrawn its bid, Arif Habib Limited, the manager said in the notice to the bourse. K-Electric (KE) is the only electricity generator, transmitter, and distributor for Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, and its adjoining areas, and the only listed electricity supplier in Pakistan. It was privatised in 2005. Shanghai Electric has been in talks to acquire a stake in KE for more than half a decade. The deal has been repeatedly delayed due to regulatory approvals and liquidity constraints as a consequence of mounting circular debt in the country’s power sector. The government of Pakistan owns a 24.4 per cent stake in K-Electric. In June last year, Shanghai Electric reiterated its commitment to the deal, which was worth approximately …

Pakistan’s PTI slams poll body after Senate election delayed in a province | Politics News

Pakistan’s PTI slams poll body after Senate election delayed in a province | Politics News

Published by Sam

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s main opposition party has condemned a decision by election authorities to delay a vote for seats in the upper house of parliament from a province the party holds, calling it a continuation of “mandate theft” conducted since February’s general election. The elections to fill half of the Senate’s 96 seats are held every three years in Pakistan. The members, who have six-year terms, are elected by legislators in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and in the four provincial assemblies. The seats in the Senate are determined by the numbers held by different parties in the national and provincial assemblies. On Tuesday, a vote to elect 30 senators was held, days after 18 senators were elected unopposed from the Punjab and Balochistan assemblies. But the election for 11 seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly was delayed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which said some members nominated by the ECP to fill reserved seats in the provincial assembly were not administered oaths of office. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) …

How will Pakistan’s new government manage the US-China rivalry? | Opinions

How will Pakistan’s new government manage the US-China rivalry? | Opinions

Published by Sam

On March 3, Pakistan’s National Assembly elected Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) as prime minister for a second time, and tasked him with forming a new coalition government, following one of the most controversial elections in the country’s history. The February 8 election was marred by allegations of large-scale rigging and military influence as well as delayed results. Such allegations and irregularities surrounding national votes are not unusual in Pakistan’s chequered democratic history, but this election cycle marked a new low as almost all political parties, albeit to different degrees, have raised rigging allegations, calling into question the legitimacy of the entire election process. Going forward, the new government is going to face immense political pressure at home. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf (PTI) party, which was forced to field its candidates as independents after losing its election symbol, had emerged as the largest group in the National Assembly with 93 seats and is expected to continue agitating in parliament as well as the streets. The ruling PMLN’s primary coalition …

Who is Muhammad Aurangzeb, the man tasked with fixing Pakistan’s economy? | Business and Economy News

Who is Muhammad Aurangzeb, the man tasked with fixing Pakistan’s economy? | Business and Economy News

Published by Sam

Islamabad, Pakistan — When Pakistan’s 19-member new cabinet took oath on March 11, one man stood out in the lineup: Muhammad Aurangzeb, a political outsider tasked with the challenge of steering the country out of its economic woes. Aurangzeb, a veteran banker who previously headed one of Pakistan’s largest commercial banks, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), has been given the reins of a $350bn economy over several other contenders, including the four-time finance minister Ishaq Dar. A graduate of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Aurangzeb also worked in major international banks, such as Citibank and JP Morgan, before his six-year stint at the HBL. A dual national, Aurangzeb had to relinquish his Dutch nationality to hold a public office in Pakistan. While he is not a member of the parliament as yet, according to the country’s rules, he has six months to become a parliamentarian in order to continue as a federal minister. Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb officially took over the responsibility as Finance Minister of Pakistan after taking oath at the Presidency, …

From the archive: How western travel influencers got tangled up in Pakistan’s politics – podcast | News

From the archive: How western travel influencers got tangled up in Pakistan’s politics – podcast | News

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We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2020: Travel bloggers have flocked to Pakistan in recent years – but have some of them become too close to the authorities? By Samira Shackle How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know Source link

‘Most vexing’ test: Can Pakistan’s Sharifs revive talks with India’s Modi? | Politics News

‘Most vexing’ test: Can Pakistan’s Sharifs revive talks with India’s Modi? | Politics News

Published by Sam

Islamabad, Pakistan — It was a brief, formal exchange. On March 5, two days after Shehbaz Sharif became Pakistan’s 24th prime minister, his Indian counterpart posted a 13-word message on social media platform X. “Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” the Indian premier wrote. Sharif took two days to respond. “Thank you @narendramodi for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” he wrote on March 7. Modi’s congratulatory message and Sharif’s response set off questions, even in a US State Department briefing, about the prospect of a detente between the nuclear-armed subcontinental neighbours that have barely functional diplomatic relations. The State Department weighed in, saying it hoped for a “productive and peaceful relationship” between New Delhi and Islamabad. But even though the Pakistani prime minister’s elder brother Nawaz Sharif has a long history of seeking breakthroughs with India – including with Modi – analysts on both sides of the border say that the direction of ties can only be gauged after India’s upcoming national elections, scheduled to …

Pakistan’s New Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, Installed As Pro-Khan Protests Hit Parliament

Pakistan’s New Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, Installed As Pro-Khan Protests Hit Parliament

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Shehbaz Sharif, the chairman of the PML-N party (Pakistan Muslim League-N), has been elected as the new prime minister of Pakistan by lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly on Sunday, according to national broadcasters. This will be the 72 year-old Sharif’s (who is brother of Nawaz Sharif) second time to lead the country as prime minister, having previously been in office between April 2022 and August 2023. He’s entering office for a five year term. New Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, via PTI Sharif said in his acceptance speech after a tumultuous and at times violent election season, “We were subjected to political victimization in the past but never took any revenge.” This appeared to be a shot at former PM Imran Khan, but without naming him directly. Sharif had secured 201 parliamentary votes to become the clear victor over rival Omar Ayub (at 92 votes), who significantly had the backing of Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Khan has been urging on his political movement and allies, candidates which were forced to run on independent platforms, from jail. Khan’s party …