Category: Uncategorized

  • Intraday update: Pakistani rupee drops to all-time low of Rs270 against US dollar

    Intraday update: Pakistani rupee drops to all-time low of Rs270 against US dollar

    According to information provided by the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the Pakistani rupee depreciated by an additional Rs7.4 after falling to a record low last week, trading at Rs270 per dollar in the interbank market at approximately 1:30 pm on Monday.

    From Friday’s close of Rs262.6, this represents a loss of more than 2.5 per cent.

    The decline of the rupee was blamed on a lack of dollars by Zafar Paracha, general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP). He said that the dollar supply had not been resumed. Even though there is no agreement, we do not know where the banks will obtain their supplies.

    The SBP deputy governor assured representatives of exchange businesses last week that commercial banks would be instructed to provide money to the exchange companies.

    “There is a lot of panic in the market.” If dollars are received, it will cool down a bit. “As long as the market doesn’t settle, people will not sell their remittances or export proceeds,” Paracha said.

    The current spell of depreciation came after the coalition government ended its control on dollar’s price in order to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials to revive the $7 billion loan programme.

  • ‘PCB not an employment agency’: Najam Sethi says he will not hire, promote people based on ‘sifarish’

    ‘PCB not an employment agency’: Najam Sethi says he will not hire, promote people based on ‘sifarish’

    Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi on Sunday said that he will not hire or promote people in PCB based upon requests.
    “I am flooded with “requests” from relatives, friends, acquaintances & persons in authority to hire or promote people in PCB. Please, Please, everyone, understand PCB is not an employment agency. I cannot, will not, follow bad past practices to erode its professional integrity,” tweeted Sethi.

    Earlier, this month he requested his friends and high-ups to not ask for free tickets and passes for Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches.

    “I am making a personal request to all friends and high-ups NOT to ask for free tickets/passes to PSL matches starting next month. The Public Accounts Committee of National Assembly that audits PCB has warned us to desist from this practise,” tweeted Sethi.

  • Khan lashes out at govt on fuel hike

    Khan lashes out at govt on fuel hike

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan lashed out at the incumbent government for Sunday’s surprise hike in petroleum prices.

    In a tweet, he said, “Total mismanagement of our economy by a corrupt and incompetent imported govt has crushed masses and salaried class with the latest hike in petrol and diesel prices”.

    Moreover, he claimed that 35 per cent “unprecedented inflation” is expected with Rs 200 billion mini-budget.

    Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that the federal government has decided to hike the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 35 per litre.

    The decision came days before International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) officials are scheduled to visit Pakistan to discuss the stalled ninth review of the country’s current funding programme.

  • 41 dead after passenger bus plunged into ravine at Lasbela

    A passenger coach plunged into a ravine near Lasbela, leaving at least 41 dead, Dawn has reported.

    While confirming the event, Lasbela Assistant Commissioner Hamza Anjum told Dawn.com that the vehicle was going from Quetta to Karachi and had close to 48 passengers in it.

    “Due to speeding, the coach crashed into the pillar of a bridge while taking a U-turn near Lasbela. The vehicle subsequently careened into a ravine and then caught fire,” he said.

    He continued by saying that three people, including a mother and her child, had been saved and sent to the Civil Hospital in Lasbela. On the other hand, one of the injured people passed away from his wounds while en route to the hospital.

    The officer added that the bodies had been sent to Karachi’s Edhi mortuary.

    DNA testing will be used to identify the victims as the recovered remains were unidentifiable.

  • Govt increases petrol, diesel prices by Rs35 per litre

    Govt increases petrol, diesel prices by Rs35 per litre

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday announced that the federal government has decided to hike the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs35 per litre, which will be applicable from 11 am today.

    Dar said that 11 per cent increase was witnessed in the prices of petrol products in the international market.

    The prices of kerosene oil and light diesel oil have been increased by Rs18 per litre.

    After the latest round of hikes, petrol is now priced at Rs249.80, diesel at Rs262.80, kerosene oil at Rs189.83 and light diesel at Rs187.

    The minister was of the view that prices of petroleum products were not increased in the past 4 months, adding that prices of diesel and kerosene oil also decreased during the period.

    The minister went on to say that the speculations had also led to an artificial shortage of petroleum products in the market. “On social media, it was reported that [fuel prices] were to be jacked up by Rs47-80 which unfortunately became an incentive for them [hoarders],” he added, “because of this, we have received reports of artificial shortages in the market.”

  • ’10 saal me aik film hit’: Kangana Ranaut slams Shah Rukh Khan, shares hateful tweets

    ’10 saal me aik film hit’: Kangana Ranaut slams Shah Rukh Khan, shares hateful tweets

    Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut took a dig at Shah Rukh Khan and his filmography after a netizen wrote back to Kangana saying, “Kangana Ji’s film Dhakad earned 55 lakh rupees on the first day and lifetime collection 2.58 crores. While Pathaan film earned more than 100 crores on the first day.”

    Responding to the comment, the Manikarnika star said, “Yes, Dhakad was a historic flop, when did I deny this? This is SRK ji’s first successful film in ten years, we also take inspiration from him, I hope we will also get a similar chance that India gave him. After all this India is great, it is generous, Jai Shri Ram.”

    She also tweeted a series of hate tweets regarding Pathaan’s success and its slightly decent portrayal of Pakistani agencies.

    After noticing the same, former Pakistani actress Noor Bukhari took to Instagram and called out Indian actress Kangana Ranaut following her ‘hateful comments’ about Pakistan as the Bollywood actress took a jibe at Shahrukh Khan’s film ‘Pathaan’ for depicting “enemy nation Pakistan in a good light”. 

    This is what Noor wrote while giving Kangana’s face a silent but tight slap:

    It all started when Kangana, whose twitter account was just restored, praised the film Pathaan for doing exceptionally good business throughout the world cinemas. Later, Kangana realized her mistake and the ‘undisputed queen of feuds’ could not restrain her impulse and abruptly took a U-turn. In a thread of tweets, she lambasted the Pathaan for showing the enemy country Pakistan and ISI in a good light. Her scathing tweets hurt the sentiments of Pakistani people. 

  • ‘Misleading and incorrect’: OGRA rejects speculations about massive petrol price hike

    ‘Misleading and incorrect’: OGRA rejects speculations about massive petrol price hike

    The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Saturday rubbished rumours about a whooping increase of Rs80 per litre in petrol price.

    “It has been observed that speculative prices of gasoline and diesel are being reported in the print and electronic media since last evening, which is misleading and incorrect,” an OGRA spokesman said in a press statement.

    He advised the elements to avoid disseminating speculative prices of petroleum products in the “public interest” by spreading misleading and incorrect information.

    Earlier, OGRA also denied reports of a shortage of diesel and gasoline in the country, saying that sufficient stocks were available. However, in line with the government’s aim to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Ministry of Finance is expected to increase the price of petroleum in the upcoming fortnightly review.

    The massive depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar in the last two days would not reflect greatly in the review due on January 31 (Tuesday) as the average exchange rate would clock in at Rs240, information gathered from the country’s oil sector showed.

    However, the fortnightly review due on February 15 may reflect a significant increase in domestic petroleum prices on account of rupee depreciation.

    Free on board (FOB) pricing will result in a significant increase in the price of fuel and gasoline in the subsequent weekly review the following week, according to The News.

    According to sources with knowledge of the situation, using FOB would likely result in an increase of Rs25 in the price of fuel. “The exchange rate would create some hike, but not so much”, they said, attributing the hike to FOB as diesel price in the international market went up to $117 per barrel compared to $114 per barrel.

  • Dar vs Khan: Ishaq challenges IK to live debate on economy

    Dar vs Khan: Ishaq challenges IK to live debate on economy

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in a televised address on Friday, strongly criticised Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s economic policies and challenged him to hold a “live debate” with him on the economic crisis.

    The finance czar started by saying that the incumbent government sacrificed politics for the sake of the country.

    Taking a jibe at Khan’s address in which he narrated his economic successes, Dar said that the speech was “full of lies” and that he quoted wrong figures.

    “You [Khan] can hold a live debate and bring the economic survey and State Bank documents,” he said, asking the PTI chief to not mislead the public by quoting ‘wrong figures’.

    Speaking about Imran’s claims of creating 55 million jobs, the finance minister argued that the economic survey from the PTI setup showed that only 33 million jobs were created.

    Accusing Khan of creating the ongoing economic crisis, he said that inflation rate was 8.6 per cent under the former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, which spiked to double digits during the PTI era.

    Shedding light on International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dar said when Imran realised he was being ousted, he disowned all the agreements and left behind landmines, adding that Pakistan had only completed one IMF programme in its history which was under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif.

    Dar also claimed that during their previous tenure international rating agencies predicted Pakistan would join G20 by 2030.

  • ‘He cannot make accusations every time his wife has a dream’: Bilawal roars at Khan for accusations on his father

    ‘He cannot make accusations every time his wife has a dream’: Bilawal roars at Khan for accusations on his father

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari took Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to task for the allegations he made against Asif Ali Zardari.

    Tweeting from his official account, the foreign minister minced no words while responding to Imran Khan’s statement that former President Asif Ali Zardari was plotting to assassinate him.

    Bilawal wrote that after terrorist outfits called him and his party out by name in direct threats, Imran Khan has now made false accusations against his father.

    “These statements increase threats to my father, my family and my party. We take them seriously given our history,” tweeted Bilawal, whose mother, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a terrorist attack in 2007.

    “We are exploring legal responses to Imran latest defamatory and dangerous accusations. In the past he threatened my father that he was ‘in the crosshairs of his gun’. His and his associates history as both sympathisers and facilitators of terrorists are well documented”, said Bilawal.

    “Imran must realize every time his wife has a dream he cannot just come on tv and make accusations about people. Her dreams won’t stand up in court,” said Bilawal taking a jibe at the former First Lady, Bushra Bibi.

    “His latest accusation that my family has any association to a terrorist organization or that we would employ them to cause him harm not only defies logic but exposes us all to an increased threat.”

    Stating that PPP will challenge Imran, Bilawal said that populist fiction cannot be allowed to dominate our discourse, poison our politics and damage our democracy. “We will not tolerate being victims of terrorist and put up with propaganda from their political front men.”

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif tweeted, “Imran Niazi’s baseless & dangerous allegations against former President Asif Ali Zardari are not only irresponsible but also conform to a pattern of conspiracy theories meant to spread venom against his political opponents.”

    “Such nonsensical rhetoric is an attempt to remain politically relevant. The whole nation knows how he has used politics of hatred to divide the society for the sake of power.”

    Adviser to the Prime Minister, Qamar Zaman Kaira, also responded to Imran Khan’s accusations, stating that PPP will not let Imran Khan off the hook for alleging that former Asif Ali Zardari plotted to kill him.

    Imran Khan had alleged on Friday in a televised speech that PPP Co-Chairman Zardari was plotting and financing an assassination attempt for which the ex-president had hired terrorists.

    Kaira, a PPP stalwart, rejected the allegations as “atrocious”. He said that the allegations had gone beyond lies, promising that PPP won’t spare Imran Khan.

    “A former prime minister talks about his alleged assassination plan. The court should order an investigation. If his allegations are genuine, then those responsible should be brought to the book. If the allegations are proven untrue, Imran should be punished,” said Kaira while speaking on Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada kay Sath.

    PPP leader Kasim Gillani also spoke up tweeting, “The absolutely vile, slanderous and defamatory allegations by Imran Khan against President Asif Zardari will be responded to robustly and legally.”

    Khan had claimed that four people orchestrated a plan “behind closed doors” to assassinate him.

    “I got to know about it and then I recorded a video explaining the attack. In a public rally, I announced that I would release the video if something happened to me. They stepped back after this,” said Khan.

    Without naming anyone again, Khan said that another plan was made to have me killed by a religious extremist — hinting towards the November 3, 2022, Wazirabad attack, where he was shot in the legs and is still recovering from the injuries.

    “Now, there’s a Plan C. Asif Zardari is behind it. He has amassed a lot of money through corruption, invested that money with terrorists and hired a militant organisation.”

  • South Asian women most vulnerable to human trafficking: UN

    South Asian women most vulnerable to human trafficking: UN

    According to a recent UN report, women continue to make up the majority of trafficking victims in South Asia.

    However, compared to other years, more men were identified as trafficking victims in the area in 2020, according to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime study (UNODC).
    Even while pandemics and catastrophes made populations more vulnerable to trafficking, the “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022” also revealed a drop in the crime.
    In 2020, there were 11% fewer victims worldwide than there were in 2019.

    Over the same time period, the number of convictions for trafficking offences decreased by 27 percent as well, strengthening the downward trend that UNODC has been tracking since 2017.
    South Asia (by 56%), Central America and the Caribbean (by 54%), and South America all had declines (46pc).

    The report also stated that both men and women were trafficked in South Asia for the purposes of forced labour, sexual exploitation, and to a lesser extent, forced marriage.