Author: newsdesk

  • Pakistan’s inflation expected to rise due to policy decisions and economic uncertainty, warns Finance Ministry

    Pakistan’s inflation expected to rise due to policy decisions and economic uncertainty, warns Finance Ministry

    Finance Ministry has warned that inflation in Pakistan is set to rise further due to a second-round effect of policy decisions made earlier this year to raise energy and fuel prices, the central bank’s policy rate, and the depreciation of the rupee to secure IMF funding.

    The recent political and economic uncertainties in the country are causing inflationary expectations to rise. The short-term rate of inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) hit a record 46.65 per cent last week, while monthly inflation recorded by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached 31.6 per cent in February – the highest in six decades.

    The ministry expects inflation to stay at an elevated level due to market frictions caused by the relative demand and supply gap of essential items, exchange rate depreciation, and recent upward adjustments of administered prices of petrol and diesel. Production losses due to floods have not yet been fully recovered, especially those of major agricultural crops. The shortage of essential items has persisted due to these factors.

    Moreover, the delay of stabilisation program has exacerbated economic uncertainty, due to which inflationary expectations have remained strong. The Economic Adviser’s Wing of the finance ministry has also conceded ineffective policy measures and the haplessness of the authorities in containing the inflationary spiral.

    A report from ministry warns that bulk buying during Ramzan might cause the demand-supply gap and result in escalation of essential items prices, although the government is taking steps to ensure a smooth supply of essential items. The report also warned that being largely dependent on prevailing climatic conditions, as witnessed last year, the delay in rains and early heatwave forecast by the Pakistan Met Office in April and May could adversely impact wheat production.

    On a positive note, the report said that despite challenges and uncertainties, the economy was showing continuous signs of resilience as depicted through contained fiscal and current account deficits during the current fiscal year.

  • Atlas Honda increases bike prices, Honda CG125 now priced at Rs222,900

    Atlas Honda increases bike prices, Honda CG125 now priced at Rs222,900

    Atlas Honda, the leading manufacturer in Pakistan’s two-wheeler industry, has recently announced a revision in the prices of its motorcycles. Effective immediately, the prices have increased up to Rs15,000, depending on the variant.

    As a result, the popular Honda CD70 motorcycle now carries a price tag of Rs149,900, while the base variant of the Honda CG125 is priced at Rs222,900.

    Here are the new prices of all Honda bikes:

    Bike Retail price  (Excluding sales tax) Sales tax — 18 per cent Retail price  (Including sales tax)
    CD70 Rs127,033.90 Rs22,866.10 Rs149,900
    CD70 DREAM Rs136,355.93 Rs24,544.07 Rs160,900
    PRIDOR Rs167,711.86 Rs30,188.14 Rs197,900
    CG125 Rs188,898.31 Rs34,001.69 Rs222,900
    CG125S Rs225,338.98 Rs40,561.02 Rs265,900
    CB125F Rs310,084.75 Rs55,815.25 Rs365,900
    CB150F Rs388,898.31 Rs70,001.69 Rs458,900
    CB150F Rs392,288.14 Rs70,611.86 Rs462,900

    Unfortunately, due to the recurrent price hikes from various bike manufacturers, two-wheelers are gradually becoming a luxury item, with no bike being sold below Rs100,000, even those from Chinese brands.

    Furthermore, the company has also extended the closure of its production plant for 15 days. In a similar move, Yamaha Motor Pakistan has also announced an increase in the prices of its five models, citing the rising cost of production as the primary reason.

  • ‘More mouths to feed than we can cope with’: Street Kitchen ‘Khana Ghar’ feeds millions of Pakistanis amid inflation

    Due the ongoing inflation crisis in Pakistan, food and petrol prices have risen astronomically, leading to many families finding it difficult to afford basic necessities like rice or flour. Writing for The Guardian, Zofeen T Ebrahim has covered the story of the street kitchen ‘Khana Ghar’ set up in Karachi’s poorest district by Parveen Saeed, who has been serving food to families for the past 22 years.

    Opening up to The Guardian, Saeed said that the kitchen has become even more busy since Ramzan began, as more families have arrived to receive one-month food rations:

    “But we can only give one bag to one family, and we need their ID cards to check that,” she said. “There are more and more mouths to feed than we can cope with.”

    Saeed, who had received the Pride of Performance award in 2021, sells salan and roti to families for only Rs 3. Before the Covid-19 lockdown, the kitchen provided meals for 6,000 people, but afterwards it rose to 7000, and now currently stands at 8,200.

    Saeed revealed that people stand in line for long hours in order to eat, because the ongoing political and economic instability has made it difficult for people to make a living:

    “These people are not beggars, they have become destitute..where are the jobs?”

    “Food prices have hit the sky. It is heartbreaking as they have waited for a couple of hours, only to leave empty-handed.”

    The newspaper also spoke to some of the regulars who visit Khana Ghar. Former construction worker Mohammad Shakeel, a father of six, suffered a head injury and broken wrists after which finding work became incredibly hard. He said the food was a ‘Godsend’ because “with a kilo of flour costing 150 rupees, we would not be able to survive the jump in food prices.”

    A widow who has been relying on Khana Ghar to feed her polio ridden daughter and toddler grandson said, “Had it not been for Parveen, we would have died from hunger.”

  • TRIGGER WARNING: Lodhran court sentences man to 25 years in prison for raping daughter

    A court in the Lodhran has sentenced a man to 25 years in prison and subjected to Rs 1,00,000 fine for torturing and raping his 15 year old daughter, as reported by Express Tribune.

    The rape case was filed by the survivor’s paternal aunt, Yasan, who revealed that she was suspicious when the father, Irshad, brought the girl to her house unconscious.

    The complainant told the police that after the girl woke up, she confessed to her aunt that her father had drugged and tortured her. When she and other witnesses approached Irshad, he confessed to the crime.

    The aunt urged the police to take strict action against the rapist.

  • Stampede for ration kills 11 in Karachi including three children

    Stampede for ration kills 11 in Karachi including three children

    A stampede at a private charity food ration distribution site in Karachi’s SITE industrial area on Friday left at least 11 people dead, including three children.

    Eyewitnesses and rescue workers reported that several people fell into a nullah at the location during the stampede. Reports suggest that some of the victims were electrocuted as an electricity power-line had fallen into the nullah.

    Several people, including women and children, also fell unconscious during the incident.

    The Abbasi Shaheed Hospital received nine bodies and six injured victims, while the Civil Hospital received two dead bodies, bringing the death toll to 11.

    The incident is one of several recent deadly stampedes at free food and flour distribution sites across the country as the population struggles with rising inflation.

    The government launched the flour distribution programme to reach millions of families in need during the holy month of Ramzan that began last week.

    Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has ordered an inquiry into the incident and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives.

    Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Khurram Sher Zaman demanded a transparent inquiry and action against those responsible for the incident, blaming the government for the people’s carelessness.

  • About 830,000 Pakistanis left the country in 2022 in search of better jobs

    About 830,000 Pakistanis left the country in 2022 in search of better jobs

    The Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment (BE&OE) has reported a historic surge in emigrants seeking overseas employment in 2022, with a staggering 829,549 individuals registering for job opportunities abroad. Syed Agha Rafiullah, Parliamentary Secretary for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OPHRD), presented this data to the National Assembly on Wednesday, shedding light on the nation’s growing interest in international job markets.

    Rafiullah went on to explain that although 12.45 million Pakistani workers had registered for overseas employment opportunities since 1971, the COVID-19 pandemic had significantly impacted emigration numbers in 2020 and 2021. Only 224,705 and 286,648 Pakistani emigrants had been recorded in those years, respectively.

    To combat this decline, the government is actively pursuing a diversification strategy, seeking new international employment markets for its workforce. In this regard, the government has already established statements of intent on migration and mobility with Greece and the United Kingdom, and is hopeful of signing a similar agreement with Germany soon.

    Moreover, the ministry is currently in talks with 12 nations, including Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Iran, Lebanon, Kuwait, Libya, Romania, Portugal, and Uzbekistan, to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on personnel export. In addition, 24 social welfare attachés have been deployed to 16 countries to explore new opportunities for Pakistani labor.

    The government is committed to providing Pakistani emigrants with the necessary training in line with the host country’s labor market requirements, as determined by the host country’s Labour Market Analysis (LMA). These measures reflect the government’s proactive approach in promoting overseas employment and ensuring its workforce’s sustainable livelihood.

  • ‘One-man show tabaahi ka baayis banega’: Maryam Nawaz criticises CJP Bandial for facilitating PTI

    ‘One-man show tabaahi ka baayis banega’: Maryam Nawaz criticises CJP Bandial for facilitating PTI

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter and without naming Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial criticised him, stating that “one man show will lead to disaster.”

    In a thinly veiled jibe at the crisis in the apex court, Maryam wrote, “A person whose own brothers judges mistrust him, raise questions, the decision given by him will have no legal or moral status.”

    “It is the responsibility of the entire nation to prevent the House of Justice from becoming the House of Tehreek-e-Insaaf on behalf of a few facilitators. A one-man show will lead to disaster.”

    It is pertinent to mention here that Maryam Nawaz’s tweet comes at a time when the SC judges have recused themselves from hearing the PTI’s petition against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to delay polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    The initial five-member bench comprising CJP Bandial, Justice Ahsan, Justice Akhtar, Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail held three hearings on the matter from Monday till Wednesday. 

    Another three-member bench was formed today after two of the five judges of the original five-member larger bench recused themselves.

  • ‘Sexist’: NADRA slammed for declaring men head of family

    ‘Sexist’: NADRA slammed for declaring men head of family

    Twitter users have slammed a sexist policy authorized by The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) after a user shared a screenshot of the message she received from the government organization that informed her that the husband was designated as the head of the household.

    The user went on to criticize NADRA as she had not nominated her husband as the head of the household, per the message stated.

    https://twitter.com/yougoglencocco/status/1640997625821380608?s=20

    The user further went on to question how this policy would become a threat for women trying to escape abusive marriages, because their private information is being sent to their spouses without their consent.

    Other women also slammed NADRA for refusing to recognize female agency, and pointed out how this policy alienates single parent households, especially with women who had escaped abusive relationships.

    Sharing their experiences of being turned away from offices while applying for their CNIC card, female tweeps blamed the policy that demands that a male guardian verify themselves as the head of their household.

    NADRA responded to the tweet by sharing that this policy was designed to guard family data from unauthorized access, because of which they had decided to inform the family head about procedures related to family data.

    “It is one of the security features to guard family data from unauthorised access. In order to maintain the integrity of family data, @NadraPak informs every family head about any processing through which someone becomes part of his family.”

    This tweet was bashed by Twitter users are regressive for refusing to recognize women as the head of their households, as activist and researcher Ammar Rashid tweeted that the government body should not have violated the privacy of women by leaking their data this way.

    “Maybe @NadraPak should try to institute measures to confirm identities that don’t openly violate the constitutional right to privacy of adult female citizens? Other countries seem to be managing data security just fine without such archaic rules.”

    Another user said: “A married woman is usually above the age of 18 and that makes her legally a citizen. She must have access to her OWN security features without having man govern her changes to the card.”

    https://twitter.com/dcfaiqalethal/status/1641077646548148227?s=20

    The Chairman of NADRA, Tariq Malik addressed the controversy in a tweet on Thursday, sharing that the policy did not discriminate against women from becoming the head of the household, and shared statistics that showed more women were nominated for this position than men.

    “@NadraPak policy of declaring head of family is not gender specific. See thru lens of #realdata 28 million citizens declared their mother, 291,039 declared their sisters, 116,800 men declared their wife as head of family. And, 3.69 million females who are self head of family.”

    Malik further went on to reveal that the backlash to this policy has encouraged the department to reform it in order to prevent discrimination of any kind:

    “Declaring head of family is self reported event. I have directed our Public Engagement Department to sit down with social scientists and subject matter experts to bring reform in policies and SoPs. Suggestions welcomed. We have revamped quite a few since a year.”

  • Babar Azam shares pictures from Masjid-e-Nabawi ahead of New Zealand series

    Babar Azam shares pictures from Masjid-e-Nabawi ahead of New Zealand series

    Skipper of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, has shared pictures from Masjid-e-Nabawi on Thursday.

    In the photos, the star batsman is standing in the courtyard of Masjid-e-Nabawi, the second holiest place for Muslims worldwide. In 2022, pictures of Babar Azam performing Umrah also went viral on social media.

    He surprised his fans by sharing recent pictures of his spiritual trip to Masjid-e-Nabawi. Babar, who was earlier scheduled to participate in a Ramadan tournament in Lahore, will perform Umrah in the ongoing holy month.

    Fans congratulated him for performing Umrah again and asked him to pray for winning the World Cup.

    Meanwhile, Babar’s teammate Haris Rauf also performed Umrah on Thursday and shared his picture on Twitter.

    Test Cricketer Muhammad Abbas also performed Umrah this year. Babar, Shaheen, and Muhammad Rizwan were on rest during the Afghanistan series, and now the Men in Green are preparing for the New Zealand series.

    New Zealand is scheduled to play four T20, five ODI’s, and three test matches in Pakistan. The current Pakistan versus New Zealand schedule is as follows:

    April 14 – 1st T20I, Lahore

    April 15 – 2nd T20I, Lahore

    April 17 – 3rd T20I, Lahore

    April 20 – 4th T20I, Rawalpindi

    April 24 – 5th T20I, Rawalpindi

    April 26 – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi

    April 30 – 2nd ODI, Karachi

    May 3 – 3rd ODI, Karachi

    May 5 – 4th ODI, Karachi

    May 7 – 5th ODI, Karachi

  • Donald Trump becomes first US president to face criminal charges

    Donald Trump becomes first US president to face criminal charges

    A New York grand jury on Thursday indicted former United States (US) President Donald Trump, over hush money payments made to a porn star.

    Trump became the first ever former US president to face criminal charges.

    The 76-year-old Republican denies all wrongdoing in connection with the payments made ahead of the election that sent him to the White House.

    The former US president survived two impeachment threats and kept prosecutors at bay over charges ranging from the US Capitol riot to missing classified files — only to land in court over a sex scandal involving Stormy Daniels, a 44-year-old adult movie actress.

    Calling his indictment a “political persecution and election interference,” Trump believed that it would backfire on his successor, President Joe Biden, state prosecutors and his Democrat opponents.

    On March 18, Trump had declared he expected to be arrested within days over the payment to Daniels – who received $130,000 weeks before the election that brought Trump to power, to stop her from going public about a tryst she claims they had a decade earlier.

    In predicting his indictment, Trump also issued a call for demonstrations and dark warnings that it could lead to “potential death & destruction” that “could be catastrophic for our Country.”

    Trump, who is seen as the frontrunner for Republican nomination in the 2024 election, has branded all of the investigations political persecution.

    Trump staged his first presidential campaign rally in Texas on Saturday, addressing several thousand supporters — far fewer than the 15,000 he had expected — in the city of Waco, Texas.

    “The innocence of people makes no difference whatsoever to these radical left maniacs,” said Trump.