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  • IMF and Pakistan discuss circular debt and energy sector losses in virtual meeting

    IMF and Pakistan discuss circular debt and energy sector losses in virtual meeting

    Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently discussed the country’s energy sector losses and efforts to reduce circular debt during a virtual meeting. The government is committed to adjusting fuel prices and quarterly tariffs to eliminate circular debt accumulation.

    According to The News, a new plan called the Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP) was shared with the IMF. This plan involves revising fuel price adjustments and quarterly tariffs upward to counter circular debt growth. The IMF expressed concerns about the plan’s sustainability due to slower recoveries.

    The government was advised to create an effective strategy to tackle this issue. The meeting took place virtually on a technical level. The newly appointed Finance Minister, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, is expected to hold a virtual meeting with the IMF team soon.

    The IMF’s first review is scheduled for October or November and will be based on economic data from the initial quarter (July–September) of the current fiscal year.

    Pakistan and the IMF signed a $3 billion bailout package under the Standby Arrangement in July 2023. Pakistan has already received $1.2 billion, with two more reviews planned to release the remaining $1.8 billion by March or April 2024.

  • India lands on moon; Pakistanis celebrate neighbour’s success

    India lands on moon; Pakistanis celebrate neighbour’s success

    As India became the fourth country to land on the moon and the first to land on its south pole, Pakistanis took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate their neighbor’s success.

    Fawad Hussain, former federal minister of science and technology, celebrated by saying, “What a great moment for #ISRO as #Chandrayaan3 lands on the Moon.”

    Pakistani actress and model Mara Hocane was fascinated by watching fiction turning into reality.

    Former Pakistan cricket team captain, Muhammad Hafeez, also known as “professor”, posted a congratulatory message.

    Shahmir Iqbal remarked how ‘Congratulations Neighbors’ is trending on X in Pakistan.

    Adnan Javed reminded the world of the importance of educating women for success.

    Ali Rajput congratulated India while mentioning that Pakistan was among the first countries to send a mission to space but chose a different path after 60s.

    Sara Taseer celebrated India’s success with a little fun.

    Anas Tipu also had a funny take on India’s success as he posted a meme stating, “Chand pe hai apun.”

  • Interbank market: US dollar reaches all-time high against Pakistani rupee, surpassing Rs300 mark

    Interbank market: US dollar reaches all-time high against Pakistani rupee, surpassing Rs300 mark

    The US dollar reached a new high against the Pakistani rupee, going past Rs300 in the interbank market on Thursday. At 11:15 am, it was at Rs300.4 as per the Forex Association of Pakistan. In the open market, it was valued at Rs314.

    The day before, the dollar ended at Rs299.64 and went up to Rs315 in the open market. The Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) reported buying and selling prices at Rs309 and Rs312.

    As the dollar keeps going up, experts are asking the government to do something about the black market. Saad bin Naseer from Mettis Global said that even though it’s hard to find dollars in the interbank market, they’re easily available in the open market at higher prices.

    Naseer didn’t like that the central bank kept the interest rate at 23 per cent because people prefer investing in foreign currencies over the local economy. Malik Bostan, who leads the Forex Association of Pakistan, warned against hoarding dollars, thinking their price will keep rising.

    Bostan noticed regular people buying dollars thinking they’ll become more valuable due to the increase in the interbank market. He also mentioned that removing import restrictions from the IMF made the rupee weaker.

    Zafar Paracha, from the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, blamed the rupee’s decline on more unnecessary imports. He agreed with Bostan and urged people not to buy more dollars during this uncertain time for the rupee.

  • Farhan Saeed compares India and Pakistan as Chandrayaan lands on moon

    Farhan Saeed compares India and Pakistan as Chandrayaan lands on moon

    India marked its footprint on history yesterday when their third attempt at landing on the moon turned successful. The space shuttle Chadrayaan-3 landed on the south pole of the moon, making India the first country to do so, and the fourth country after China, USA and Russia to make it to the moon.

    Pakistanis celebrated their arch-rivals achievement too, congratulating India for the fearless achievement.

    Farhan Saeed took to X (formerly Twitter) to compare the two countries, observing that while India was progressing, Pakistan keeps deteriorating because of its refusal to talk about the issues that plague it.

    “On #76thIndependance #India lands on Moon and most of us are worried about where #Pakistan stands & it’s future. The basic reason is we are not even allowed to talk about our shortcomings as a nation. That film/drama is banned that shows the true picture of our society…

    labelling it as some kind of propaganda against our country. There is hardly , in fact no prime time programs that talks about or identifies the ‘real’ issues of Pakistan like education, feudalism and the list goes on.”

    The former leader of the band Jal went on to slam politicians who continue to divert attention from important issues, and media anchorpersons who play along. “The priority/will/direction/strength of any Nation to achieve greater things is only dependent on the hunger of how they want to be seen/addressed in the world as a country,” he wrote.

    The ‘Suno Chanda’ stated that instead of working together as a team, Pakistanis are more obsessed with wars or conspiracies, and how our existence as a country is threatened, which he believed proves that we’re not doing anything right.

    Several other Pakistani celebrities had come forward yesterday to congratulate India for the moon landing, like Mawra Hussain who had tweeted:

    “I’ve been watching a space show these days.. it’s so so fascinating to watch fiction and then to know it’s now a reality for our neighbours is just incredible #Chandrayaan3 Congratulations India & lots of love to all of my Indian fans on this outstanding achievement.”

  • ATC allows Lahore Police to arrest Imran Khan in Jinnah House case

    ATC allows Lahore Police to arrest Imran Khan in Jinnah House case

    An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore has allowed Lahore police to interrogate and arrest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Jinnah House attack case.

    Imran Khan is already in Attock district jail to serve a three-year sentence in the Tosha Khana case.

    After Imran Khan was arrested on May 9 in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case, protests started across the country, with violent clashes between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and law enforcement agencies. Eight people died in the riots, while several others were injured. The rioting led to the ransacking of several state buildings and installations, including Jinnah House in Lahore and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

    Protesters accused of attacking military installations will be tried under the Army Act.

    The Inspector General of Police (IGP) requested permission in an application to ATC to interrogate and arrest Imran Khan in the case pertaining to May 9 riots. On Wednesday, ATC Lahore approved the application submitted by the IGP.

  • Sister donates womb in UK’s first successful transplant

    Sister donates womb in UK’s first successful transplant

    Surgeons at Oxford have successfully carried out the first womb transplant in the UK.

    The womb was donated by a 40-year-old woman to her 34-year-old sister who was born without a uterus. The donor already had two children and considers her family to be complete. The sisters live in England and have requested to remain anonymous.

    The recipient was born with a rare condition known as Type 1 Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) in which the uterus is “absent or underdeveloped, but has functioning ovaries”.

    The procedures were carried out by a team of 20 doctors which lasted around 17 hours in operating theatres at the Churchill hospital in February.

    It has been six months since the transplant and according to the doctors, both the women have “recovered well from surgery”. The recipient has embryos in storage that will be transferred.

    BBC reported that transplant surgeon Isabel Quiroga, who steered the team implanting the womb, said that the recipient was “absolutely over the moon, very happy, and is hoping that she can go on to have not one but two babies. Her womb is functioning perfectly and we are monitoring her progress very closely.”

    Prof Richard Smith, gynaecological surgeon, who led the organ retrieval team, has spent 25 years researching womb transplantation. He told the BBC it was a “massive success”.
    “The whole thing was emotional. I think we were all a bit tearful afterwards.”

    The donor is currently on immunosuppressive drugs in order to prevent tissue rejection however, the uterus will be removed after a maximum of two pregnancies due to long-term health risks.

    The first womb transplant surgery took place in Sweden in 2014 and the recipient successfully had a baby. She had received a womb from a friend in her 60s.
    Since then, 100 womb transplants have been carried out across the globe and around 50 babies have been born — mainly in the US and Sweden, but also in Turkey, India, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Germany and France.

    According to British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the surgeons in the UK were given permission to perform womb transplants in 2015, but “institutional delays” and Covid deferred it till now.

  • ‘You made us proud’: SRK, Indian celebrities celebrate as Chandrayaan-3 lands on moon

    ‘You made us proud’: SRK, Indian celebrities celebrate as Chandrayaan-3 lands on moon

    Indians all over the world are rejoicing as space shuttle Chandrayaan-3 lands on the south pole of the moon on Wednesday evening, becoming the first country to do so and the fourth country to fly to the moon. This was India’s third lunar exploration mission, launched on July 14 amidst much fanfare.

    Bollywood celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan took to social media to celebrate the historical achievement, lauding the scientists who helped put India on the moon.

    Bollywood Badshah SRK shared a picture of the Indian flag on the moon on his Instagram account, congratulating the team behind the mission.

    Hrithik Roshan tweeted that he was proud to witness his people making strides and accomplishing history.

    Kareena Kapoor posted her congratulations with a picture of the space shuttle and the moon.

    Siddharth Malhotra shared a post on his Instagram stories and in the caption he wrote how proud he was of being a witness to history being made.

  • Will your city get monsoon rain in the next four days?

    According to the Met Department, monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea are likely to penetrate the upper parts of the country from Tuesday night, whereas a westerly wave is also likely to enter these areas today.

    Under the influence of these systems, rain and wind-thunderstorms are expected in different parts of Kashmir, including Neelum, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhanoti, Kotli, Bhimber and Mirpur.

    A warning has also been issued for different parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Haripur, Kohat, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi and Nowshera from August 23 to 27 with occasional gaps.

    Rain and thunder showers are also expected in Kurram, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Karak, Waziristan, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Faisalabod, Toba To Singh, Jhang and Bhakkar from 24th to 26th August. While in Dera Ghaz Khan, Ramrour, Musa Khel, Barkhan, Zhob, Kalat, Khuzdar on 25th and 26th August.

    The warning stated that moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to increase the water flows in local nullahs/streams of Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Galliyat, Murree, Rawalpindi/Islamabad from August 23 to 25.

    Moreover, moderate to heavy rains may cause urban flooding in the low-lying areas of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Peshawar, and Lahore as well as may trigger landslides in the vulnerable areas of Murree, Galliyat, Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the wet spell.

  • India makes history as Chandrayaan-3 successfully lands on moon

    India makes history as Chandrayaan-3 successfully lands on moon

    India makes history by being the first country to ever land on the moon’s south-pole.

    Earlier today, former Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, congratulated India on X (formerly Twitter) as the country awaits the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing:
    “All eyes on #Chandryaan3 Moon landing 5:40 PM, great day for Indian Science Community and Space scientists, Congratulations to people of India on this great achievement”

    Chandrayaan-3 (means “mooncraft” in Sanskrit) is the third Indian lunar exploration mission. It was launched on 14 July 2023 and was expected to land near the lunar south pole region on 23 August around 05:45 pm IST and the touchdown was expected around 06:04 pm IST.

    So far, only three countries, the United States, Russia, and China, have been able to achieve a controlled landing on the lunar surface. But now India has become the first country to land on the moon’s south pole.

    Earlier in the week, Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft was to land in the same area, however, it crashed on August 19 after spinning out of control.