Tag: Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh

  • People likely to get record Rs6.37 billion relief this Ramzan

    People are likely to get record relief this Ramzan as a Rs6.37 billion package has been proposed.

    According to reports, the Ministry of Industries & Production (MoIP) has proposed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to approve the mega Ramzan relief package for 2021.

    Profit quoted sources at MoIP as saying that under the proposed relief package to be offered through utility stores network, the government would give a subsidy of around Rs40 per kilogramme on sugar, banaspati ghee and wheat flour. The ECC, which would be chaired by Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, is likely to approve the historic relief package soon, they added.

    As per an MoIP official, the average Ramzan relief package in the past 10 years ranged between Rs1.5 to Rs2.5 billion.

    “The relief package last year was Rs2.5 billion and the average savings for the consumers remained Rs10–Rs15 on various items. However, serious intervention will be required this year to control the prices of vegetable ghee and oil, sugar and even wheat flour,” he added.

    They said the relief package would include a reduction in prices of 14 essential items by 10pc to 15pc at utility stores, besides the sale of five items at subsidised rates.

  • PTI govt mulls selling PIA-owned luxurious New York hotel worth ‘billions of dollars’

    PTI govt mulls selling PIA-owned luxurious New York hotel worth ‘billions of dollars’

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is planning to privatise the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)-owned luxurious Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, drawing the ire of opposition members and the general public for “attempting to sell an asset of the national carrier worth billions of dollars”.

    The 19-storey hotel with 1,025 rooms plus allied facilities in New York City, with some of the suites being among the most luxurious available in Manhattan, is considered a valuable property that also carries cultural significance for Pakistan.

    Standing on the corner of 45th Street and Madison Avenue, in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, the hotel bears a quintessentially American name in honour of former United States (US) President Theodore Roosevelt, who had previously been the governor of New York State.

    It has remained in news for the last several years for its proposed auction. However, the management of PIA always rejected such claims.

    The said hotel was acquired by PIA Investment Limited on lease during the year 1979 with an option to purchase the property. PIA had purchased the hotel against $36.5 million against a demand of $59.5m by contesting a lawsuit against the owner in 1999. The Interstate Hotel and Resort is managing the Roosevelt Hotel since 1997.

    According to a notification issued Monday — at a time when the federal government is reportedly at odds with the national carrier after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s statements regarding PIA pilots having “dubious” licences –, the privatisation of the hotel was discussed in a meeting of the cabinet committee on privatisation on Wednesday.

    The meeting was chaired by Adviser to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, stated the notification issued a day before the meeting.

    It has, however, not been very well-received by the Twitterati.

    What do you think of the government’s plans to sell the luxury hotel owned by PIA? Let The Current know in the comments.

  • Govt gives ISI Rs1.66 billion for upgradation of agency’s telecom project

    Govt gives ISI Rs1.66 billion for upgradation of agency’s telecom project

    The government’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved a “supplementary grant” of Rs1.66 billion for the upgradation of Special Telecom Monitoring Project at the directorate of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

    According to a press release issued by the Press Information Department (PID), the ECC has also approved a supplementary grant of Rs500 million for the construction of Special Education School at the Defence Complex in Islamabad.

    The proposals for “technical supplementary grants” were moved by the defence division, the press release said.

    The committee has also instructed the ministry of national security and research to ensure procurement of wheat as per 8.25 million tonnes target set for the public sector this year.

    The ISI is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan, operationally responsible for gathering, processing and analysing national security information from around the world.

    It is currently headed by General Faiz Hameed.

  • New fuel taxes burden masses with additional Rs25 billion

    New fuel taxes burden masses with additional Rs25 billion

    The taxes imposed by the Federal government has burdened people with additional Rs25 billion per month who are already burdened with inflation, Pakistan Today reported.

    In comparison with a decline in global oil prices, the government did not provide any relief to the masses. They said the government had reduced per litre prices of petroleum products by Rs 5 instead of Rs15 litre. The government had fixed petroleum levy (PL) — imposed tex — on high-speed diesel at Rs25 per litre, which had failed to provide relief to the masses.

    Tax on petrol has increased by 106pc, if the taxes weren’t increased, petrol prices could have decreased by Rs 9 per litre. Instead of giving any relief, the government has imposed an additional tax of Rs6 per litre on kerosene oil.

    Furthermore, the government was likely to earn Rs60 billion per month from the taxes imposed on different petroleum products.

    According to the report, the government has increased taxes to meet the demand of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

  • Indefinite leave for FBR chief Shabbar Zaidi

    Indefinite leave for FBR chief Shabbar Zaidi

    Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi is on indefinite leave and has not joined the office, sending an application in this regard to Advisor on Finance to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, The Express Tribune reported.

    Read more: Imran’s ‘blue-eyed’ Shabbar Zaidi resigns as FBR chairman?

    The FBR chief is sick since January 9, has excused himself from working, and also informed the PM in this regard, reports said.

    Zaidi’s leave had expired on February 14, and he was supposed to join office on Feb 17, but did not. In his absence, FBR Acting Chairman Nausheen Javed Amjad has been handling the affairs of the bureau. 

    Read more: Pakistan has a cure for coronavirus and Chinese can’t stop thanking for it

    According to the report, Zaidi said that his health was not good and he would follow his doctors’ advice.

    On the other hand, the PM’s aide on finance said that if Zaidi could not continue with his work as the FBR chairman owing to ill-health, a new chairman would be appointed after consultations.

  • Naya Pakistan: ‘Gas shortage to double’

    Naya Pakistan: ‘Gas shortage to double’

    With a projected shortfall of 477 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) and amid lack of new explorations, the shortage of gas is likely to be doubled next year, Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) has been informed.

    According to Profit, a meeting of the CCoE, chaired by Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, was informed on Wednesday that the demand of gas had risen by 5 per cent per annum during the past seven years.

    The heavy gas shortfall recorded last month (December 2019) was nearly 270 mmcfd.

    “One of the major reasons for this upsurge was the consumption of gas in the winter season by the domestic sector, which prefers to use heavily-subsidised gas as compared to other energy sources,” officials of the Ministry of Energy informed the CCoE.

    The committee was further told that work on adding 70 mmcfd gas in the Sui Southern Gas Company’s system and taking LNG supplies for Sui Northern Gas Pipeline up to 1,300 mmcfd had already started but its implementation was hampered by issues pertaining to the grant of ‘Right of Ways’ from the Sindh government, which had granted only one RoW so far while two more were still awaited since last summer.

    “With these measures, nearly 70 mmcfd gas is likely to be added to SSGC by the end of January.”

    According to the energy ministry, in view of 2020-21 projections showing a shortfall of 477 mmcfd, the government has decided to build additional terminals; five new private terminals were awarded in Nov 2019, while process for a dedicated pipeline of 1.2BCFD+, required to carry imported LNG from these terminals to north, would also begin soon.

    The CCoE noted that there was a need to work on contingency plans for 2020-21 to overcome the gas shortage. It stressed using energy produced through gas and electricity as a whole to provide more options to energy consumers and to bring efficiency in the system.

    Earlier, the Ministry of Energy briefed the CCoE on the current demand-supply situation of gas/RLNG, natural gas allocation and management, average gas supplies, winter load management, indigenous gas production, supplies and consumption in different regions, and LNG requirement by the SNGPL/SSGC.

    The CCoE asked the ministry to brief in the next meeting the current situation in the power sector so that the problems in both gas and power sectors could be properly analyzed and contextualized uniformly and a realistic and more efficient solution to bridge the demand and supply gap could be chalked out.

  • ‘Petrol price is Rs75 per litre,’ says PTI leader Uzma Kardar

    Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf’s (PTI) MNA Uzma Kardar has said that petrol is being sold at Rs75 per litre in the country, which in reality is being sold at Rs114.24 per litre.

    Uzma Kardar said this while replying to a question of a reporter about petrol prices in Pakistan.

    This is not the first time any PTI leader has made a statement mentioning wrong prices of things in the country. A few days earlier finance advisor Abdul Hafeez and prime miniter’s aide Firdous Ashiq Awan, both in there statements mentioned wrong prices of Tomatoes and Peas (Matar) in Pakistan.

    Abdul Hafeez Sheikh had earlier claimed that tomatoes are being sold at Rs17 per kilogramme (kg). However, the fruit is being sold at as much as Rs320 per kg in the market as reported by citizens who bought groceries from multiple locations.

    Similarly, Firdous Ashiq Awan had earlier claimed that peas are being sold in the market for only Rs5 per kilogram.

  • Week after Sheikh’s Rs17/kg claim, tomato prices reach record high of Rs400

    Week after Sheikh’s Rs17/kg claim, tomato prices reach record high of Rs400

    Over a week after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Adviser on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh claimed that tomatos were “being sold for Rs17 per kilogram (kg) in Karachi”, latest reports have revealed that the prices have soared to Rs400/kg from Rs300-320/kg last week.

    Speaking to media personnel, the PM’s adviser had said that people were lying when he was told that tomatoes were being sold at Rs240/kg. He told reporters that they were being sold at Rs 17/kg at Karachi’s sabzi mandi [vegetable market].

    A journalist then asked, “Which sabzi mandi, sir?” To which, Dr Sheikh responded, “You go and check it out yourself!”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    According to Dawn, in the absence of any landed price of the Iranian tomato, greedy traders also brought the price of Swat and Sindh crop at par with the Iranian tomato rate to make huge profits. But the local administration, like its past practice, quoted an unrealistic retail rate of Rs253 per kg compared to Rs193 per kg.

    In the first week of November, the official retail rate of tomato was Rs117 per kg and Tuesday’s official price clearly indicated that the government itself was revising the price upward.

    Traders said a box containing 13-14 kg of tomato was available at Rs4,200-4,500 depending on the quality, thus forcing many traders to suspend purchasing.

    The government had last week issued a permit for importing 4,500 tonnes of tomato from Iran, but the arrival of the red fruit had yet to pick up pace in the market, resulting in a persistent hike in the rates in view of rising demand.

    Of the 4,500 tonnes, only 989 tonnes had arrived in the country so far, a trader said, adding that he could not confirm whether more quantities arrived at the Taftan border on Tuesday.