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HomeGo To PakistanPakistan negotiates IMF bailout, but Imran Khan has other plans

Pakistan negotiates IMF bailout, but Imran Khan has other plans

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Here’s what’s happening across the border: A money trail financing Islamic State in Afghanistan unearthed in Karachi; a local restaurant uses #MeToo to advertise itself.

Debt-ridden Pakistan may look for loans beyond quota

Pakistan might have to implement tougher domestic measures if Islamabad decides to move International Monetary Fund (IMF) for programme beyond its maximum quota limit of up to 435 %, roughly equivalent to $12 billion, under the Extended Fund Facility over the next 36 months, reported The News International.

A senior official from the finance ministry was quoted as saying, “Pakistan can access its quota up to 435 percent of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) quota of 2031, which will be translated into exchange rate of US dollar against SDRs in the range of around $12 billion and beyond that limit Islamabad can have exceptional access, but it can lead to stiffer conditions for the IMF programme.”

The official also said the exceptional access will be assessed after IMF and Pakistan have mutual agreements on the “exact financing gap”.

An IMF delegation will be visiting Islamabad from 7 to 20 November to review and arrive at a consensus on the macroeconomic policy route Pakistan must undertake for a short to medium term.

However, while these plans are still being negotiated by Pakistan officials and the government, Prime Minister Imran Khan has added confusion to the atmosphere by saying that Pakistan might not approach the IMF for loans.

Addressing a delegation of the Council of Newspapers Editors, All Pakistan Newspapers Society and Pakistan Broadcasters Association at the PM House in Islamabad, Khan said his government was in constant contact with friendly countries to work out ways of getting their financial cooperation.

He was quoted as saying, “Their response is positive. I am quite hopeful that we will not have to approach the IMF for our economic needs.”

Money trail funding Daesh in Afghanistan unearthed in Karachi

Investigators in Pakistan have identified a suspected network of militants and businessmen and discovered a ‘money-trail’ involving more than 50 bank accounts being used to fund the outlawed Daesh — the Arabic name for the outlawed terrorist organization Islamic State — in Afghanistan, reported The News International.

A city police official said that in addition to tracing the trail, investigators have arrested two cloth traders from Karachi and Quetta for their alleged involvement in transferring money through ‘Hawala Hundi’ to Afghanistan’s Islamic State network.

Karachi police’s Anti-Violent Crime Cells chief Irfan Bahadur said the development has given them leads about “unearthing and tracing a money trail used to finance terror in Pakistan.”

He also said the 2018 terror bombing episodes in MastungQuetta and other parts of the country were carried out by funds generated from criminal attacks such as kidnappings for getting ransom and extortion.

Irfan was quoted as saying, “The Daesh militants are generating funds from Pakistan including Karachi and their supporters, including some businessmen are helping them transfer money to other countries including Afghanistan.”

Karachi restaurant uses #MeToo to poorly advertise itself

Amid the ongoing global #MeToo movement, a restaurant in Karachi has courted controversy by indirectly referring to sexual harassment in cheap humour through its advertisements,  reported Pakistan Today.

Hamna Zubair, writer and editor at news daily Dawn, posted an unsettling advertisement of the Karachi-based Slamvich on Twitter. The advertisement appears to be passing off assaults and harassments as something to be taken lightly.

Replying to Zubair’s post, someone said that the ad doesn’t necessarily have a sexual undertone. However, another advertisement on the restaurant’s Facebook page suggested crude connotations.

Slamvich यांनी वर पोस्ट केले मंगळवार, ६ मार्च, २०१८

We only sell Slamviches. #nothingelse #slamvich #saytuned #foodporn #karachi

Slamvich यांनी वर पोस्ट केले बुधवार, १७ ऑक्टोबर, २०१८

PIA suffering operational losses of Rs 2 billion every month

Pakistan International Airlines, the country’s national carrier, is incurring operational loss of Rs 2 billion per month due to factors such as rupee’s (Pakistan currency) depreciation against the US dollar and an increase in fuel prices, aviation secretary Mohammad Saqib Aziz was quoted as saying.

Addressing the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation Wednesday, Aziz said the operational losses are besides liabilities of Rs 400 billion, including bank loans, reported Dawn.

He said overstaffing was another reason for the airline’s financial crunch. Salaries of the employees was also due because of this, said the official.

Aziz was further quoted as saying, “The matter has been taken up with the finance division and we hope that it will be settled soon.”

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