Tag: Pakistan

  • Pakistani rupee gains against US dollar amidst hopes for IMF deal

    Pakistani rupee gains against US dollar amidst hopes for IMF deal

    Pakistani rupee on Monday gained against the US dollar due to two key developments: the country secured $500 million from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and there was optimism around a potential deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    During intraday trading, the local currency witnessed an increase of Rs3.46 against the greenback in the interbank market, with the exchange rate at around 11:45 pm being Rs275.

    However, last week the rupee made even greater gains against the US dollar. The State Bank of Pakistan reported a 2.38 per cent appreciation, equivalent to Rs6.63, in the interbank market, with the local unit closing at Rs278.46 on Friday.

    According to the General Secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), Zafar Paracha, the hype around the earlier dollar appreciation was caused by the country’s financial institutions and international players manipulating rates.

    Paracha noted that the destabilized currency damages Pakistan’s image and discourages foreign direct investment and local investors. He anticipated that with the IMF agreement and inflows from friendly countries, the dollar should remain in the range of Rs260 to Rs265.

    He also highlighted that Pakistan’s political condition has been impacting the dollar rates, which is a new phenomenon. He mentioned that increasing Pakistan’s tax base, not tax rates, is crucial, and the government should reduce expenditures and subsidies given to elites.

    According to Geo, there is hope for a deal with the IMF, with a government official expressing optimism about striking a deal, and another official expecting to reach a staff-level agreement with the IMF in the coming days, although the Fund has not provided a timeframe for finalizing the agreement.

  • ‘Wazaarat rakhna mushkil hoga’: Bilawal warns of leaving PDM

    ‘Wazaarat rakhna mushkil hoga’: Bilawal warns of leaving PDM

    Pakistan People Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said on Sunday that it will be difficult for his party to remain part of the federal government if the center does not fulfil its promises of giving relief to flood victims of Sindh.

    Addressing a ceremony at the inauguration of Seed Subsidy programme for flood-affected farmers in Karachi on Sunday, Bilawal said, “Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif] and the federal government made promises for the flood victims and those promises and announcements need to be fulfilled. I will be talking to the premier; we [will] take up this issue in the National Assembly.”

    “Wherever these promises were made need to fulfilled, otherwise it will be very difficult for us [PPP] to continue working in the ministry,” added Bilawal.

    However, PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali-Zardari has said that they stand with the Shehbaz-led government.

    It is pertinent to mention here that PPP is part of the federal coalition government with Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari holding the Foreign Minister slot while among other portfolios, that of the State Ministry for the same also being held by the party’s Hina Rabbani Khar.

  • Tributes pour in for screen legend Qavi Khan

    Tributes pour in for screen legend Qavi Khan

    On Sunday night, Qavi Khan breathed his last, bringing an end to a long and celebrated career in film and television. The veteran actor who had been regarded as one of the most celebrated performers in the Pakistani entertainment industry, had acted in more than 200 films and dozens of drama serials. He was a fan favourite, gracing screens across the country for many decades in iconic dramas like ‘Aangan’ and ‘Ishq Jalebli’.
    Tributes are pouring in from celebrities and fans alike. Actors who had worked with Khan shared their grief on social media and also shed light on the experience they had while performing with him.

    Actor Nadia Jamil shared a video clip of Khan and a picture of them together, remembering Khan for “his words, his kindness, his work, his talent and his heart.”

    Singer and actor Farhan Saeed termed the actor as an irreplaceable part of the television industry

    Actor Sophia Mirza shared a clip of her first drama serial with Khan, and praised him for being an “academy for actors.”

    Actor Sami Khan sent a tribute to Khan as a ‘great human being’

    Actor Adnan Siddiqui remembered Khan as someone whose ‘stature in the industry will remain unmatched’.

  • Editorial: Are we betraying our culture if we accept something might be different?Bilkul nahi

    Editorial: Are we betraying our culture if we accept something might be different?Bilkul nahi

    Sar-e-Rah, a drama well known to the Pakistani audience, recently aired one of its most anticipated episodes that explored the struggles of a transgender boy who tries to gain acceptance from his family by studying hard.

    The episode delved into how Sarim (played by Muneeb Butt) is bullied by his stepmother and brother because of the fact that he is an intersex boy. However, Sarim and his father have a close bond, who encourages him to work hard and is the only one who embraces his true nature rather than hiding it away.

    In a scene that gained massive audience attention and praises on Twitter, the father and son are sitting by the sea where he teaches his son that there is no shame in wanting to be feminine, and he can choose to be whatever he likes because it won’t diminish his father’s love for him.

    Many users praised the way this episode depicted the relationship between the father and son, as portrayed by Nabeel Zafar and Butt’s moving acting. The show was lauded for handling a taboo subject in a delicate manner, and showing how important it is for parent’s to empathise with and support their children.

    In a time when censorship overrules freedom of thought, and many drama creators refuse to engage with the audience, there are creators who are making stories for the audience by taking bold steps in crafting unique stories that tackle social issues in a sensitive yet thorough manner.

    Unfortunately this message did not resonate with everyone, as harsh critics like fashion designer Maria B once again stepped up to criticise the drama for ‘promoting vulgarity’ and encouraging the acceptance of the transgender community. This isn’t the first time Maria B has targeted the transgender community through her hate campaigns and probably won’t be the last time either. But it all comes down to a few questions we really need to ask ourselves: How is being an intersex a bad thing? Why can’t we as people accept everyone for who they are and what they are? Why is it so hard for us to choose kindness? What are we so afraid of? How is accepting a child for what and who they are a problem? At a tender age, a child only needs validation and acceptance. Parents don’t love in categories, their love is unconditional. Then why do we always put conditions on things which only need love and kindness.

    Moving forward to the larger debate, which is about culture and what will people say. We need to understand that the world has massively changed. It’s the 21st century and people have a way of living on their own terms. Why do we always bring society, culture in things we ourselves are afraid to handle? Take the example of the scene in this drama itself, in our society a father is mostly shown as the angry adult, who doesn’t speak much, expresses even lesser and then here was a father, calm, tender and accepting of his son. We should promote such culture where fathers shower their children with kindness and love.

    Kindness and love is the need of the hour. Pakistan already has a lot of problems. Let’s not make acceptability a problem as well. Our children deserve better. They deserve peace, security and assurance that yes our parents have our back. It all starts from home. Children need these little affirmations from a young age. Let’s not disappoint them just because they are different.

  • In Bannistan, slaps get more praises than hugs

    Bannistan: the name that keeps circulating every now and then on social media, because it defines what it means to be a resident of Pakistan.

    In an era of inflation, robberies, the never ending rise of lynch mobs and rape cases, rather than looking for ways to encourage joy and laughter, we’ve pointed our pitchforks towards anything and anyone celebrating to their own beat. Whether it is women dancing in the streets, a bride dancing the night away on her wedding, the most simplest forms of affection and love will irk and anger us because after all, the most important rule in the land of Bannistan is to never let joy prevail.

    In the darkest times of humanity, it is our films and dramas that have sustained us and provided us with a glimmer of joy. Like when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down our lifestyles, we turned to films and movies to cope with the fear of surviving this deadly disease. Another poignant example is shown in the documentary ‘The Romantics’ when Aditya Chopra recalls how when there were a few weeks left before the release of his rom-com ‘Rab Nay Banadi Jodi’, the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai took place which wrecked destruction and fear across India. Terrified of the anticipated backlash, Chopra narrated how despite many of his colleagues insisting him to push the film’s release forward, he refused. Because as he declared: this was a more critical time than ever that people had a reason to find joy.

    Films aren’t just a form of entertainment, but a powerful medium to give solace to those struggling to find joy. It is also a powerful tool that can reach across masses beyond than politicians to spread messages about social issues. In this time more than ever, we need our films to teach empathy and love to their audiences, but the rules are completely opposite in the land of Bannistan. Because here, what gets the most ratings is divorces, crying bahus, slaps, incest and anything that involves fear and oppression.

    A scene from a Pakistani drama ‘Tere Bin’ has been going viral since yesterday because it featured a couple sleeping in the same bed together, along with the caption “Censor board is sleeping?” Because in the land of Bannistan, nothing makes us clutch our pearls more than a man and a woman being happy with each other.

    Mind you, this is the first time this drama began circulating widely among national discourse for literally a five minute scene where the two are soundly sleeping next to each other, but several other instances of violence depicted in the same drama had not received the same amount of rage. In the last 30 episodes of the same show, we watch a woman being forcibly married to her cousin, placed under house arrest and barred from meeting her foster parents, slapped by her fiance, slapped by her mother in law, tried to commit suicide. Did you ever hear about such scenes? Nope, because this consistent oppression and cruel manner of stamping out joy is what keeps Pakistanis happy. We hate joy. We hate watching women in consensual, happy relationships.
    What is a tragedy in this mess is this limited, but moving scene from Tere Bin is just a drop in the thousands of dramas Pakistanis celebrate and champion to promote family values everyday, which are littered with misogynist messages and scenes depicting violence and abuse.

    Our censor board sent several notices to ‘Dil Na Umeed Tou Nahi’ because apparently, it is a sin to depict how vulnerable children from lower class families are easy targets for sex trafficking, but a drama like ‘Mere Pass Tum Ho’ get’s a theatrical screening across Pakistan because it shows us for who we really are, a women-hating nation whose biggest nightmare is a woman getting financially independent and wanting a comfortable lifestyle. Any time there has been an attempt to tell moving stories that championed voices of the oppressed, or tried to encourage dialogues about empathy or love, we stamp it out because it’s alien to us. Label them as ‘un-islamic’ and vulgar because we’re a nation of soul suckers, who can’t thrive properly unless we’re watching the misery of others before us.

    It’s imperative now more than ever that we re-think the success formulae of our dramas and movies, especially the kind of messages they are sending to their audiences. Because if a five minute scene featuring a brief intimate moment between a couple is enough to create a national storm, what does it reveal about the way men and women view each other in Pakistan. Pakistani women deserve better stories than what Pakistani audiences are providing them. Our younger generation doesn’t deserve to grow up knowing that a happy couple is a sinful couple, but should remember that like Chopra said, it’s essential that in times of tragedy we try to look for ways to uplift each other.

  • Customers express frustration over inability to pay for Netflix with Islamic Cards while being charged Sood for late payments

    Customers express frustration over inability to pay for Netflix with Islamic Cards while being charged Sood for late payments

    A Faysal Bank customer expressed his discontent with the bank on Facebook after his credit card was converted into a shariah-compliant card called “Noor Islamic Card”. The customer complained that he is unable to make transactions with Netflix or use the card for any “unislamic” purposes.

    He posted on Facebook, saying, “Just converted my Faysal Bank Credit into Noor Islamic Card. Now I can’t use the card on Netflix, bcoz they have become Islamic, and they cannot allow their customers to use their card on any unislamic things.”

    Other users also commented on the post, with one user pointing out that the bank still charges interest, which they refer to as Musawah payment, if a bill is not paid on time. Another user claimed that their conventional credit card was converted into a Noor Islamic Card without their consent and the bank’s response to their complaint was unsatisfactory.

    Many users expressed their frustration with the bank’s service, with some even stating that they would be closing their Faysal Islamic Card account due to the Netflix payment issue. One user also pointed out that Meezan Bank has the same policy regarding Netflix transactions.

    Another user shared their experience, stating that their Faysal Bank card did not work when they tried to buy movie tickets and food at the bank’s food court on the same day that their card was converted from a conventional card to an Islamic one. It was only then that they realized that their card had been converted.

    The conversion of conventional credit cards into shariah-compliant cards is a growing trend in Pakistan’s banking sector. While this is seen as a positive move by some customers, others are skeptical of the benefits and limitations of shariah compliant cards.

  • ‘Kapray istari karne ke liye frying pan bhi nahin deeya,’ Asad Umar jokes after being released from jail

    ‘Kapray istari karne ke liye frying pan bhi nahin deeya,’ Asad Umar jokes after being released from jail

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar has been released from Rajanpur District Jail after he voluntarily got arrested as part of his party’s Jail Bharo Tehreek (voluntary arrest movement).

    After the release, Umar praised party workers for participating in the movement.

    In another tweet, he took a jibe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, joking that jail officials did not provide him with a frying pan to iron his clothes.

    Several other prominent leaders also got released from jail including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senator Azam Swati and Zulfi Bukhari.

    Swati, after being released from Raheem Yar Khan district jail, said that “political engineering should stop now”. 

    PTI’s Zulfi Bukhari and Fayyaz ul Hassan Chauhan were released from Sargodha jail, while former Punjab Governor Umar Sarfaraz Cheema, Azam Khan Niazi, Sadaqat Abbasi, Ejaz Khan and others were also among the released PTI workers.

    The movement had been announced by PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the wake of the coalition government’s spree of arrests of key PTI leaders. However, after the Supreme Court’s verdict about the elections, the PTI chief called off the movement.

    LHC orders release of arrested PTI leaders during Jail Bharo Tehreek

    Earlier, Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the release of the arrested leaders of PTI during Jail Bharo Tehreek.

    Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued the order on the application of Fawad Chaudhry. The court suspended the detention orders of Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and other party leaders..

    The court also asked the parties, including the Punjab government, to respond on March 7.

    It is pertinent to mention here, that PTI leaders Shah Mahmood, Asad Umar and other leaders and activists were arrested from Lahore and transferred to other jails in the province.

  • Weekly inflation in Pakistan jumps to 41.07% due to edible oil, sugar prices

    Weekly inflation in Pakistan jumps to 41.07% due to edible oil, sugar prices

    According to data provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, edible oil, sugar, and vegetables helped drive the weekly inflation up to 41.07 percent on an annual basis.

    Sensitive Price Index (SPI) measurements of short-term inflation were still on the high side and would go up much more once customers start to feel the full effects of increased electricity tariffs.

    The cost of bananas, chicken, sugar, cooking oil, gas, and cigarettes increased for the week ending March 2, despite a 0.30 percent weekly decline in inflation.

    Of the 51 items, 32 saw price increases, nine saw price decreases, and 10 witnessed no change in price.

    The items whose prices rose the greatest during the reviewed week in comparison to the same week last year were: onions (311.17 per cent), cigarettes (165.86 per cent), gas charges for Q1 (108.38 per cent), diesel (93.82 per cent), petrol (77.89 per cent), eggs (77.83 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (76.96 per cent), rice basmati broken (75.55 per cent), pulse moong (73.30 per cent), bananas (72.66 per cent), chicken (64.70 per cent) and tea Lipton (64.53 per cent).

    Moreover, the highest year-on-year fall was recorded in the prices of tomatoes (56.29 per cent), chillies powdered (7.42 per cent).

    The prices of bananas (7.34 per cent), long cloth (3.44 per cent), energy saver (3.33 per cent), 1Kg vegetable ghee (2.48 per cent), gur (2.03 per cent), cooked daal (1.87 per cent), Lipton tea (1.79 per cent), match box (1.66 per cent), lawn printed (1.52 per cent), 5-litre cooking oil (1.45 per cent), and sugar (1.07 per cent) experienced the biggest week-on-week increase.

    On the other hand, the prices of onions (13.24 per cent), eggs (6.11 per cent), garlic (4.24 per cent), chicken (2.00 per cent), tomatoes (0.59 per cent), gram pulse (0.38 per cent), and potatoes (0.33 per cent) decreased compared to the previous week. However, LPG (1.84 per cent) and petrol (1.80 per cent) saw an increase in prices.

    The government, under the IMF’s conditions, has been implementing strict measures to cool the economy and curb inflation. The policy rate increase and the general sales tax increase from 17 per cent to 18 per cent are expected to further increase the retail price of consumer goods.

    To generate revenue and bridge the fiscal deficit, the government has already taken several measures, including adopting a market-based exchange rate, increasing fuel and power tariffs, withdrawing subsidies, and imposing more taxes.

    As a result of these measures, the government has revised its annual inflation rate projection from 26 per cent to 31 per cent.

  • Ishaq Dar denies reports of financial emergency amidst economic turmoil

    Ishaq Dar denies reports of financial emergency amidst economic turmoil

    On Friday, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar denied reports suggesting Pakistan should impose a financial emergency, amidst constant criticism over the current economic turmoil. He berated Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for spreading “fake news” about Pakistan heading towards default. Dar blamed the previous PTI government for pushing the nation of 220 million people on the brink of default, claiming that it was the coalition government that saved the country by prioritising the state over politics.

    Dar recalled that when the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) ousted Khan through a no-confidence motion, the leaders of the coalition government had decided to keep aside all political interests in the wider interest of the state. He stated that the PTI leaders have been calling him out since the rupee plunged to a historic low of Rs285.09 a day earlier while February’s inflation hit nearly a 50-year high of 31.5 per cent.

    Expressing his surprise and concerns over Khan’s continuous criticism of the coalition government, he said: “I am unable to understate whether he (Khan) has a problem in his leg or brain.” Instead of protecting the national interest, PTI’s leadership tried to sabotage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal, Dar said. “Khan’s attitude is selfish.”

    According to Geo, Dar reiterated that Pakistan has neither defaulted in the past nor will it default in the future. Referring to Khan’s remarks about default, the finance minister said that the PTI chairman’s statements adversely affect the country’s financial markets. He, however, admitted that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) reserves fell below $3 billion. It should be noted that the liquid foreign reserves held by the country stand at around $9 billion as of February 24 while the net reserves held by commercial banks stand at around $5.5 billion.

    The finance minister revealed that China has renewed a facility under which Pakistan expected an additional inflow of $500 million in the “next few days”. He highlighted the PDM-led government’s economic achievements, stating that the foreign exchange reserves held by the SBP climbed to $3.8 billion from $2.8 billion recorded last month. He maintained that the government returned $6.5 billion of foreign debt during the current fiscal year.

    Dar drew a comparison between the economic performance of nearly four years of PTI and almost 11 months of PDM-led government. He shared numeric data to prove that Khan and Co. did everything to “destroy the country,” but the numbers show who is sincere with the country. Dar argued that the opposition — the PTI — has not really improved Pakistan’s standing. However, Pakistan will escape the economic quagmire, he said, adding that the country is making repayments to bilateral and multilateral lenders and has made payments beyond its capacity.