Terroristan - October 8, 2018

[Bart S]

Meanwhile.. away in Sheikdom of Abu Dhabi..

Pak cricketers are displaying the fine art of strapping on the soosai vest on a perfectly fine mush and blowing it up in a futile bid for 72

What's more, it was RAW agent Azaz Patel who tripped them up during the chase with 4 wickets and caused them to lose.

Must be causing them much grief to be beaten by an Indian Muslim origin Kiwi, just a day after they were strutting around bragging that they had the match in their pocket.

Code: Select all

Full name Ajaz Yunus Patel

Born October 21, 1988, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India

Current age 30 years 29 days

Major teams New Zealand, Auckland, Auckland A, Central Districts, Central Districts A, New Zealand A

Pakistani newspaper coined an appropriate headline for today's Naya Pakistan:

Abu Dhabi Test: Pakistan takes a U-turn on victory

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/11/19/abu-dhabi-test-pakistan-takes-a-u-turn-on-victory/

[Bart S]

Some Paki commentators were hailing the Paki Supreme Court Chief Justice for taking up the cause of the Katas Raj temple vs the cement factories who were drying up it's sacred pond.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1446555/sc-di ... -pond-case

True to the Paki national ethos, he let the cement factories off with a slap on the wrist with diddly squat in compensation or restoration for the historic Hindu temple.

[Peregrine]

Cost Cuts in Media



Cheers

[Peregrine]

Don't make us a scapegoat': Imran counters Trump's tirade against Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that the US, instead of making the country a scapegoat for its failures, should do a serious assessment after US President Donald Trump's tirade against it for not doing "a damn thing" for America in curbing terrorism.

Khan, who is known for his fiery anti-American rhetoric, said in a series of tweets that "record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump's tirade against Pakistan" over the weekend.

Khan's remarks came after Trump defended his administration's decision to stop hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Pakistan for not doing enough to curb terrorism and criticised Islamabad for offering a hideout to al-qaida chief Osama bin Laden.

Taking to Twitter, Khan said that Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in the US war on terror and over $123 bn was lost to economy, adding that the US aid was a miniscule $20 bn. "Record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump's tirade against Pakistan: 1. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pak decided to participate in US War on Terror. 2. Pakistan suffered 75,000 casualties in this war & over $123 bn was lost to economy. US "aid" was a miniscule $20 bn," he said.

He added, "3. Our tribal areas were devastated & millions of ppl uprooted from their homes. The war drastically impacted lives of ordinary Pakistanis. 4. Pak continues to provide free lines of ground & air communications (GLOCs/ALOCs). Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?

Khan said Pakistan had borne the brunt of the United States' war on terror, which focused on militants that straddle the Afghanistan-Pakistan tribal belt.

Khan further said, "Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the US should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops & reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before."

Earlier, Pakistan human rights minister Shireen Mazari reacted angrily to Trump's comments, saying the US President "suffers conveniently from perpetual historic amnesia!"

Referring to bin Laden and his hideout in Abbottabad, Trump in an interview to Fox News on Sunday said, "You know, living – think of this – living in Pakistan, beautifully in Pakistan in what I guess they considered a nice mansion, I don't know, I've seen nicer."

The compound was demolished shortly after US Naval Special Warfare Development Group forces, in a daring helicopter raid, killed bin Laden in 2011.

The ties between the two countries strained after Trump, while announcing his Afghanistan and South Asia policy in August last year, hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to "agents of chaos" that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring terrorists.

In September, the Trump administration cancelled USD 300 million in military aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups like the Haqqani Network and Taliban active on its soil.

Cheers

[anupmisra]

Don't make us a scapegoat': Imran counters Trump's tirade against Pakistan

Taking to Twitter, Khan said that ... "Record needs to be put straight on Mr Trump's tirade against Pakistan: 1. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11 but Pak decided to participate in US War on Terror. "

Really? Lets do a fact check.

The Pakistan connection

Omar Sheikh..., on the instructions of General Mahmoud Ahmed, the then head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), wired $100,000 before the 9/11 attacks to Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker.

Ahmed, the paymaster for the hijackers, was actually in Washington on 9/11.When Ahmed was exposed by the Wall Street Journal as having sent the money to the hijackers, he was forced to "retire" by President Pervez Musharraf.

Another person who must know a great deal about what led up to 9/11 is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, allegedly arrested in Rawalpindi on March 1 2003.

Khan, read before your speak.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/ ... eptember11

[Peregrine]

IMF sets stricter conditions for bailout package - Irshad Ansari

ISLAMABAD: As talks enter the final phase, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set even stricter conditions for Pakistan to implement in exchange for a bailout package – much needed for economic revival.

Some of the major conditions include imposition of more taxes worth Rs150 billion, further reduction in the rupee value as well as a tighter monetary policy.

Led by its mission chief Harald Finger, the IMF delegation is holding meetings with government officials to know their viewpoint on the reforms.

However, the government officials said no such conditions – affecting the country’s welfare and sovereignty – would be accepted, adding that already the government was working on the agenda of economic reforms and development.

Apprehensions were rife that implementing the IMF terms could slow down economic growth, stoke inflation and raise unemployment rate.

According to sources, the IMF review mission would stay in Pakistan till November 22. Until then, it would work on making a Technical Memorandum of Understanding as well as Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) and Letter of Intent (LoI) for disbursing the loan and setting terms and conditions. In the wake of reaching an agreement, the LoI and MEFP would be inked.

However, sources said besides the IMF, Pakistan was focusing on alternate sources and during the current visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to the United Arab Emirates, possibility of making headway for economic revival and overcoming financial troubles exists.

They said after that, PM Imran’s visit to Malaysia could also prove beneficial.

Sources said talks were under way with the IMF in which the international lender had presented proposals to reduce the budget deficit, adding that the fund had suggested 1.0 per cent increase in the rate of general sales tax (GST), taking it to 18 per cent from the current 17 per cent. The increase in the rate of GST would give additional revenue of Rs70 billion, they added.

The other day, the IMF reached out to parliamentarians and sought their support in the implementation of its reforms.

But only Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Shibli Faraz, who is Leader of the House in Senate, and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member of National Assembly Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha turned up for discussions.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) members did not attend the meeting. “The meeting had been arranged by the government without first seeking our consent,” said PPP Senator and Senate Deputy Chairman Saleem Mandviwalla, who had also been invited.

Cheers

[Peregrine]

Pakistan receives much-awaited $1b from Saudi Arabia - Salman Siddiqui

KARACHI: Pakistan has received the first tranche of $1 billion from Saudi Arabia under the $6-billion financial package aimed at stabilising the fast dwindling foreign currency reserves.

The much-needed inflow comes at a time when Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are negotiating a bailout package.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) confirmed on Monday that it had received $1 billion from Riyadh, giving a boost to the foreign currency reserves. Earlier, the reserves had contracted fast and dropped to a four-and-a-half-year low of $7.48 billion by November 9, 2018, according to the central bank.

The soft loan from Riyadh will be reflected in the country’s reserves when data is updated on Thursday this week.

Pakistan to get $3 billion in aid in next few days: Saudi envoy

The loan has improved the country’s capacity to pay for imports and conveniently pay off upcoming external debt instalments in the current fiscal year.

SBP spokesman Abid Qamar revealed that Saudi Arabia would release another $2 billion in two equal tranches over the next two months under an understanding the two sides reached during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Riyadh last month to attend an international conference titled “Future Investment Initiative”.

The kingdom had agreed to park $3 billion in Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves for a year and establish a credit line worth $3 billion for the sale of petroleum products on credit for three years.

The release of the soft loan is expected to put Pakistan in a better position in negotiations with the IMF and it can reach an agreement for a bailout of around $6 billion on softer conditions. The IMF team has been in Islamabad since November 7.

Imran has not lost hope on Saudi aid

Reports suggest that the IMF has asked Pakistan to let the rupee depreciate further as well as increase interest rate.

Independent economist Muzammil Aslam commented that the loan from Riyadh would fail to stabilise foreign currency reserves in the long run as they were depleting by over $1 billion every month.

“There is no other option left but to cut imports,” he said, adding that increase in exports was also the need of the hour to come out of the current financial crisis, but Pakistan had so far failed to do so.

He suggested that Pakistan should acquire $2-3 billion from international capital markets by floating Eurobonds.

“Acquisition of IMF loan on stringent conditions will spark inflation; Pakistan should bargain for the loan in a better way,” he said.

Pakistan is also seeking financial packages from China and the UAE. “This, however, will take time,” commented Aslam.

Cheers

[anupmisra]

Meanwhile.. away in Sheikdom of Abu Dhabi..Pak cricketers are displaying the fine art of strapping on the soosai vest on a perfectly fine mush and blowing it up in a futile bid for 72

Oye Hoye! Ki far'k penda hai.

[Rohit_K]

Six dead, 24 injured as boat capsizes in Indus River
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/1 ... dus-river/

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 19 -- At least four people were killed and 15 others rescued on Monday after a boat capsized in Pakistan's southern Khairpur district, local Urdu media reported.

According to the reports, the boat was carrying around 20 villagers to the bank of the country's largest Indus River when it capsized near Sagion area of Khairpur in the southern province of Sindh. Following the incident, district administrations and rescue teams have been rushed to the area and shifted the bodies to a nearby hospital.

[Rohit_K]

OPINION: TRUMP IS RIGHT ABOUT PAKISTAN - by Lawrence Sellin | Retired Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve
https://dailycaller.com/2018/11/19/trum ... -pakistan/

During an interview with Fox News, President Trump stated that Pakistan has done little to curtail Islamic extremism — even sheltering al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden — despite accepting billions in aid from the United States. The president implied what many have come to believe: that Pakistan is responsible for prolonging the Afghan war, has nurtured Islamic extremism and, like Iran, has incorporated it as an element of its foreign policy.

That terrorist-reinforced foreign policy includes the 2008 attack in Mumbai, India, that killed more than 160 including 6 Americans. It was conducted by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terror gang enjoying the support of the Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI, and al Qaeda.

It is widely recognized that Pakistan created, supported and has given safe haven to the Taliban. Less well known is the role played by Pakistanis in the development and planning of the 9/11 attack. Although the perpetrators were Saudis, the planners were Pakistani and not initially members of al Qaeda, but the Muslim Brotherhood. It was largely a family affair. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM), son of a Deobandi cleric and often referred to as the “architect” of the 9/11 attacks is Pakistani and was born in Balochistan.

Ramzi Yousef is KSM’s nephew and one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434. He was a co-conspirator with KSM in the Bojinka plot, which included assassinating Pope John Paul II while he visited the Philippines and planting bombs inside twelve United and Delta Air Lines flights out of Bangkok. Although he was born in Kuwait, Ramzi Yousef is Pakistani. His father was from Balochistan and his mother is KSM’s sister.

Adel Anonn, aka Adel Bani, who had an Iraqi passport and believed to be Ramzi Yousef’s twin brother, was arrested in the Philippines in 1995 as part of a suspected terrorist cell. Abdul Qadir Mehmood, Ramzi Yousef’s older brother, is wanted in connection with a 2015 terror attack that killed 45 people traveling on a bus from the Safoora Chowk area of Karachi, Pakistan.

Best known as a provider of financial and material support for terrorist attacks, Abdul Qadir has reportedly switched allegiance from al Qaeda to the Islamic State (IS) and is hiding in Wadh, Balochistan, presumably under the protection of IS leader, Shafiq Mengal, a former Pakistani intelligence asset. Ammar Al-Baluchi, cousin of Ramzi Yousef and maternal nephew of KSM, is a Pakistani citizen in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Charges against him include facilitating the 9/11 attackers, acting as a courier for Bin Laden and plotting to crash a plane packed with explosives into the US consulate in Karachi. Al-Baluchi’s former wife, Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani militant, was convicted of shooting at US soldiers and is incarcerated in the United States.

Over the years, tens of thousands of Pakistani nationals, a conservative estimate, were trained and fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan. That has never stopped. During the August 2018 attack in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, 70 of the 400 Taliban killed were Pakistani nationals, whose bodies were returned to Pakistan. Afghan army chief of staff, General Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, said Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency was behind the five-day siege of Ghazni. He also said many members of Lashkar-e-Taiba were among those killed in Ghazni province.

It is then no coincidence that all five Taliban representatives to the recent U.S.-Taliban peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar; Mullah Shahabuddin Dilawar, Qari Din Mohammad Hanif, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, Dr. Mohammad Naeem Wardak and Abdul Salam Hanafi, carried Pakistani passports and flew out of Pakistan.

The war in Afghanistan is not an insurgency, it is a proxy war being orchestrated by Pakistan. President Trump was wise to reduce aid to Pakistan. He should not support yet another International Monetary Fund bailout of Pakistan, its thirteenth, money from which will likely go directly to China to repay those debts.

The most effective leverage against Pakistan, however, is not financial but existential. That is, ethnic separatism: erasing the Durand Line and supporting the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and Balochistan independence groups.

That, Mr. President, is something Pakistan will recognize, a taste of its own medicine, so to speak.

Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel, an IT command and control subject matter expert, trained in Arabic and Kurdish, and a veteran of Afghanistan, northern Iraq and a humanitarian mission to West Africa.

[sanjaykumar]

Sure Mac, but when is this being reprinted in the Washington Post and NYT?

[sudhan]

Pakis lose the case against BCCI..

PCB get a giant egg on their report card.. all that mental mast**bation about all the moolah they were about to rake in ended up for nought..

[abhijitm]

That stupid case had no chance from the word go.

[pankajs]

The case was to show great activity, provide some excitement and ultimately show the faithfools how the whole world had ganged up on this fortress of Islam.

[SSridhar]

Oh no. . . . Pakistan might have failed with the ICC. It must now take the case to ICJ.

[SSridhar]

Oh no . . . this is a YYY conspiracy. " The judgement, which can be found here in full, is binding and non-appealable," the ICC said in a statement.

[SSridhar]

But, Pakistan wins hands down for two reasons:

1. It was able to bring a case against India in an international institution
2. It lives majestically to fight India another day

Allah Taala be praised.

[chetak]

Oh no . . . this is a YYY conspiracy. " The judgement, which can be found here in full, is binding and non-appealable," the ICC said in a statement.

that's quite a quranic statement, coming from the ICC.

So, the paki board can now be buggered any time the GoI so chooses.

Lots of presstitute Indian journos' contracts will not be extended by the ISI from here on.

From yawn, today

ICC dismisses PCB claim against BCCI, says ruling is 'non-appealable'
November 20, 2018

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has dismissed Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) $70 million compensation claim against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allegedly not honouring bilateral series agreement, a media statement by the cricket governing body said on Tuesday.

The ruling, passed by a three-member panel of the ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC), "is binding and non-appealable", the press statement said.

The DRC last month had held three hearings of PCB's claim, according to which BCCI had failed to honour a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2014 by the two boards that stated that the two neighbours were supposed to play six series in eight years between 2015-2023. The PCB claimed that the MoU was binding.

The Indian cricket body, however, argued that the contract is no longer legally binding as the PCB didn’t support BCCI’s ‘Big Three’ revenue sharing model where India, Australia and England would have got bigger share of the profit pie.

“There is no question of even paying a single penny to the PCB. They went back on their promise. The agreement was based on their support for our revenue model,” a senior BCCI official was quoted as a saying by the India Today last month.

[arun]

For good order ICC Press release stating PCB case against BCCI dismissed by dispute panel.

MEDIA RELEASE
20 Nov 18

PCB case against BCCI dismissed by dispute panel

On behalf of the Dispute Panel formed under the Terms of Reference of the ICC Disputes Resolutions Committee (DRC), the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the outcome of the recent DRC proceedings between the BCCI and the PCB.
Following a three-day hearing and having considered detailed oral and written submissions, the Dispute Panel has dismissed the PCB’s claim against the BCCI. The judgement, which can be found here in full, is binding and non-appealable.

The terms of reference of the DRC can be found here.

PCB case against BCCI dismissed by dispute panel

Click here for the Judgement / Award:

IN THE MATTER OF PROCEEDINGS BEFORE A DISPUTE PANEL OF THE ICC DISPUTE RESOLUTION COMMITTEE BETWEEN PAKISTAN CRICKET BOARD (“PCB”) and BOARD OF CONTROL FOR CRICKET IN INDIA (“BCCI”) – Award


Meanwhile point 65 on page 25 of the Judgement / Award had this very puke inducing paragraph :

The Panel was forcibly impressed by the sincere desire of witnesses for both sides, who displayed much mutual respect and even friendship, for the resumption, were it feasible, of bilateral tours between teams representing these two proud cricketing nations. The Panel expresses the hope that political considerations will not long prevent that desire from being fulfilled.

[Vips]

It will be fun to see the reaction in the paki channels. One 'anal' yst after the other will try to outdo each other in saying the case was not fought properly or office bearers did not have a case but still fought as they wanted to give millions of dollars in fees to their chosen team of lawyers etc etc.

Same circus happens every time the Shitistanis loose a case against India

[arun]

Dispute panel comment under 35 (iv) on page 14 of the Judgement / Award is a serious blow to the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republics of Honor and Dignity aka H&D by completely demolishing the Islamic Republics notion of Equal=Equal vis a vis India :

35. The PCB argued that the April Letter was a quid pro quo for its agreement to make unanimous in April the resolutions agreed by a large majority of ICC Members in February. The Panel cannot accept that. It assesses the PCB evidence to that effect as the product of wishful thinking for the following reasons: …………………….

(iv) In terms of any Indian tour to Pakistan, it was the PCB which was the suppliant. It was the host country which benefitted from the revenues in respect of such as tour. Bankrupts cannot be choosers, and while the PCB was certainly not bankrupt, at the very least sacrifice of such a tour would, as Mr Ahmad put it, “definitely make a dent in our financial reserves”. The prospect of bilateral tours with India as tourist was, in the PCB’s own words, “the most valuable prize in world cricket” but ex hypothesi for other ICC Members, not the BCCI itself. By contrast there was no necessity for the BCCI, the dominant force in world cricket in the modern era, to play away against Pakistan. The BCCI may have had the wish, but it was the PCB which had the need.

[anupmisra]

Now, how will the cash-strapped PCB pay their legal bills? I hope the loss means they would also be required, as the losing party, pay BCCI's legal bills, which together could amount to $ millions. Otherwise, wait for more lawsuits from the lawyers.

[anupmisra]

Hajam Sethi went overboard on this one. Now Im the Dim will drag him through mud and make him pay for the outstanding legal fees.

[anupmisra]

Paki self-aggrandizement continues.....

Pakistan to spearhead international campaign against defamation of religions: PM Khan

Imran Khan on Tuesday, at the opening of the two-day international Rehmatul-il-Alameen Conference at Islamabad's Jinnah Convention Centre, said that Pakistan would spearhead an international campaign against the defamation of religions.

The topic of the conference is "finality of Prophethood and responsibilities of Muslims in light of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)".

It is the 43rd conference aimed at promoting religious harmony, tolerance, brotherhood and equality, respect for humanity, non-violence, unity, reconciliation and culture of dialogue

Somehow the last two statements don't jive.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1446762/pakis ... ns-pm-khan

[Vips]

Now, how will the cash-strapped PCB pay their legal bills? I hope the loss means they would also be required, as the losing party, pay BCCI's legal bills, which together could amount to $ millions. Otherwise, wait for more lawsuits from the lawyers.

Aaap ke muhh me ghee shakkar.

Best Part is: BCCI will now file a counter compensation case against the PCB to demand the cost of arbitration. “We will make a presentation to the panel and demand entire cost of compensation to be borne by the PCB for the arbitration where there claims have been dismissed,” he added.

Paki Jokers

[Vips]

You Kafir, India lost the case. Read this:

The ICC panel did urge the two countries, with frosty diplomatic ties, to consider reviving bilateral cricket. “The Panel expresses the hope that political considerations will not long prevent that desire from being fulfilled,” the judgement’s conclusion read.

Pakis will now claim victory

[Peregrine]

Now, how will the cash-strapped PCB pay their legal bills? I hope the loss means they would also be required, as the losing party, pay BCCI's legal bills, which together could amount to $ millions. Otherwise, wait for more lawsuits from the lawyers.

anupmisra Ji :

Ehsan Mani as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) along with the EX i.e. Najam Sethi will ask Terroristan's FATHERS i.e. China, the Four to Five Emirates, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and many others such as the Taliban and other Terrorist Organizations Ityaadi, Ityaadi & Ityaadi to have the "Evil Indian Hindus Rice Eating Dark and Short Worshiping in Dark Places Wearing Kurta and Dhoti" of India to Play Kirikit with Terroristan!

Meantime here is an example of Terroristani Bravado :

'India's father' will also hold dialogues with Pakistan: Najam Sethi – 31 May 2017

Najam Sethi expressed his views while talking to media at Lahore airport.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Cricket Board Executive Committee chairman Najam Sethi has Wednesday said that ‘India’s father’ will also hold dialogues with Pakistan regarding the bilateral series.

Najam Sethi expressed his views while talking to media at Lahore airport on returning back from Dubai, and said the impression that negotiations with India failed in Dubai is wrong. If the matter is not solved, we shall move to International Cricket Council, he remarked.

Sethi said this is a complete process of four phases, the first step of conducting dialogues with Board of Control for Cricket in India has completed, and next three steps are yet to come.

On the other hand, India’s sports minister Vijay Goel bashed BCCI for holding the meeting with PCB, and said the governing body should first talk to the government before giving any proposal to Pakistan. The minister once again rejected any possibility of playing series with Pakistan.

Let it be known that BCCI had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PCB to play six bilateral series with Pakistan to get Pakistan’s support for Big Three system, but later refused to play.

Cheers

[Vips]

PCB will determine its future course of action in this regard after detailed deliberations and consultations with its stakeholders.

Future course of action for PCB ?

It will now determine which of the four-fathers (China, UAE or Saudi Arabia) Ehsan Mani/Najam Sethi will go to with the vaseline jar to beg for the compensation money it will have to pay the BCCI for lawyer fees and other costs.

[Peregrine]

Talks between Pakistan, IMF remain inconclusive - Shahbaz Rana

ISLAMABAD: Talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remained inconclusive on Monday as both sides could not bridge the gulf on issues of increase in electricity prices, hike in interest rate and tax collection targets.

The IMF and Pakistan will have to bridge the gap on all thorny issues today (Tuesday), the last day of talks as per original schedule, aimed at reaching a staff-level agreement for the second bailout package in the last five years. here was expectation that Monday’s afternoon session will be the final round of parleys.

“There is still a gap between the positions of the IMF and Pakistan,” said Finance Minister Asad Umar on Monday, after holding talks with the IMF. The minister did not disclose issues that are hindering the conclusion of the parleys, which began nearly two weeks ago.

It had been expected that both sides would announce outcomes of the talks on Tuesday.

The IMF has asked Pakistan to enhance the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) tax collection target by over Rs300 billion to Rs4.7 trillion for this fiscal year, according to the finance ministry sources. Pakistan and the IMF also had difference of opinion on transfer of resources to the provinces under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award. The fund wanted provinces to pick the cost of stipends paid under the Benazir Income Support Programme.

The finance minister said so far there was no change in the IMF’s schedule.

Pakistan had invited the IMF to review the possibility of signing an extended fund facility aimed at bridging $12-billion financing gap, during the current fiscal year. It has adopted two-pronged strategy by reaching out to friendly countries and also knocking the door of the IMF. The country on Monday received $1 billion from Saudi Arabia out of $3 billion, confirmed the finance minister.

Sources in the ministry said there was still disagreement between the IMF and Pakistan on almost every important issue. They said that the IMF was also demanding full disclosure of China-related debt obligations. The Chinese debt, both public and publically guaranteed, was one of the main sticking points, sources claimed. The minister said Pakistan believed in transparency and it would not hide anything that is related to the external debt.

According to sources, the IMF was demanding 22% further increase in electricity prices to address the issue of the circular debt. They said the fund was of the view that the countries have successfully managed the circular debt issue by increasing the tariffs.

The finance minister took a position that after increasing Rs1.27 per unit tariffs last month, the government would bridge the remaining gap through improvement in efficiency and recovery of past arrears, they added.

The sources said the IMF has demanded significant increase in the interest rates to contain the inflation, being stoked by the further devaluation of the local currency and increase in electricity and tax rates. The fund also demanded steep devaluation of the currency and adoption of total free float exchange rate regime.

Due to divergent views on the exact increase in the interest rates that currently stand at 8.5%, both sides could also not reach to a number of the budget deficit.

A further increase in the interest rate would also jack up the federal government’s cost of debt servicing that has already soared to Rs1.82 trillion. The rupee devaluation would increase external debt servicing cost.

In the baseline scenario, the IMF has projected that the budget deficit would remain far higher than the upward revised target of 5.1% of GDP for this fiscal year, said the sources. The higher cost of debt servicing would necessitate further increase in tax collection.

The IMF has also insisted setting the FBR’s revenue collection target at Rs4.7 trillion – an increase of over Rs300 billion. This is despite the fact that the FBR is already facing Rs68-billion shortfall in first four months of the fiscal year against the revised target of Rs4.398 trillion.

The international lender demanded Pakistan to change its audit policy and abolish the condition of not auditing a firm for at least three years after the last tax audit, the sources said.

However, Umar expressed reservations against the IMF demand and said that it would discourage companies and individuals, they said.

The sources said the IMF asked the federal government that it should transfer the responsibility of financing the BISP operations to the provinces. But this cannot be done until the provinces agree to the proposal.

The provincial governments have already informed the IMF that they would oppose any structural change in the current NFC award that ensures transfer of 57.5% of the total resources to the provinces.

Cheers

[anupmisra]

Pakistan Cricket Board Executive Committee chairman Najam Sethi has Wednesday said that ‘India’s father’will also hold dialogues with Pakistan regarding the bilateral series. Najam Sethi expressed his views while talking to media at Lahore airport on returning back from Dubai, and said the impression that negotiations with India failed in Dubai is wrong.

Who's your Daddy!?

[anupmisra]

Paki hoor's reaction to yet another loss.

[abhijitm]

Problem is earlier PML-N was punching bag for all army pasand journos. Now what? How can they tell army's own feces PTI that it stinks!

[anupmisra]

There's a link in the below link to download the ICC judgement.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/915817

A sub-sub-section of the judgement:

However, the Panel was ultimately persuaded by the evidence of the BCCI witnesses, notably Professor Shetty, the maker of such requests for approval over a number of years, and Mr Kurshid, a former Foreign Minister of India, who were both subject to strenuous and painstaking challenge by the PCB’s counsel but never disavowed that such approval was a sine qua non. Mr Kurshid, with an eloquence befitting his recent high office, described this as “an oral tradition”.

The Panel’s conclusion is that what varied was the readiness with which such approval
for an Indian tour of Pakistan would or would not be granted, which itself, was a reflection
of the state of relations between the two Governments and peoples, informed by security
and political considerations rather than whether there was any need for such approval in
the first place.

The Panel accepts that the awareness of the BCCI’s claimed need for government approval was indeed reflected not only in PCB emails but also in minutes of PCB board meetings

Pakimorons. Can't read their own emails and minutes? Someone is going to lose his/her job over this fiasco.

[anupmisra]

Asia Bibi needs German passport to leave Pakistan: lawyer

The lawyer for Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian acquitted of capital blasphemy charges, appealed on Tuesday to Germany to give her whole family citizenship to start a new life in Europe.

Saiful Mulook told a news conference in Frankfurt

“The whole world is asking why she’s not coming,” Mulook told reporters.

“If the German chancellor directs her ambassador to give a passport to her, her husband and her two daughters conferring German nationality, nobody can stop her for one second because she is no longer Pakistani,” he added.

She and her family are staying at a safe house in Pakistan

Mulook said the status of a friend of Bibi’s husband, who has a wife and five daughters, whom he would like to join them, was a sticking point. Another wife of Bibi’s husband and her three daughters were not seeking to leave Pakistan with Bibi, he added.

Mulook, who has himself sought refuge in the Netherlands after being threatened for taking on Bibi’s case

That's right. Entitlement rights do not go away even after one converts out of malsi in toiletistan.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/39638 ... tan-lawyer

[anupmisra]

BCCI to file counter case to recover legal costs from PCB after winning long-pending compensation feud
Ouch. Spilling saaaalt over burnt skin saar!

The BCCI on Tuesday said it will approach the ICC's Dispute Resolution Committee to recover the legal cost from the Pakistan Cricket Board after the sport's world governing body rejected Pakistan's compensation claim against India for not playing bilateral series.

https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/ ... 86021.html

[Bart S]

BCCI in it's workings is rather like the IAS/IFS babus. Like the proverbial elephant, they have a long memory and are known to hold grudges indefinitely, even against their own (e.g Kapil initially being denied the one-time bonus payout to former Indian cricketers for his involvement with the ICL). The Pakis have burned any remaining bridges that they had with the BCCI (there was still some element in the BCCI that was pushing for cricket ties even when the govts didn't want them), and fully expect the BCCI to slowly but surely absolutely destroy them over time.

[la.khan]

Trump calls pakis fools When it rains, it pours!
Trump and Pakistani PM in War of Words Over Bin Laden, Afghanistan and Terrorism

We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!..

Why do I get the feeling that Trump & pakis are made for each other

[Peregrine]

X Posted on the I W T Thread

Water storage

Pakistan’s water problems have been at the forefront of the national agenda recently, with both the prime minister and chief justice of the Supreme Court bringing public attention to their initiative to raise funds for construction of new dams. We were given some more evidence of how dire the crisis is when the Wapda chairman said that Pakistan’s existing dams have lost one-fourth of their storage capacity. This is not a new problem. Increased sedimentation in dams has been gradually reducing the ability of dams to store water and this is expected to become worse in the coming years. At present, dams have the capacity only to hold about 30 days of water. The Wapda chairman wants this to be increased to 120 days. To do so, however, we cannot focus only on constructing new dams. As the chairman said, we need to shift the entire way we think about water. He believes Pakistan has to improve the way hydel electricity is generated, and the circular debt has to be brought under control. The water crisis is going to become an existential threat to the country as we begin to feel the ravages of global climate change; current thinking is simply not bold enough to stave off this looming disaster.

There are steps the government could take to start Pakistan down the road to water sustainability. It should empower the National Water Council and implement a water policy that encourages conservation and more efficient use of water. The largest user of water is the agricultural sector and current policy allocates water based on size of land holdings rather than need. This needs to be changed immediately. Existing dams need to be better maintained so that their capacity does not shrink so rapidly. Pakistan’s biggest problem, however, is also the one that is most difficult to solve. The country is reliant on the Indus Waters Treaty to ensure we get a fair share of the water from the tributaries of River Indus. India, though, has been changing the facts on the ground by rapidly constructing new dams. This has allowed it to divert more water for its own use. Renegotiating the treaty or convincing international courts and arbiters to restore Pakistan’s share is crucial for a country that does not receive sufficient rainfall. Until such time as the Indian government is ready for negotiations and an equitable solution, Pakistan will just have to use the water it has as wisely as possible.

Cheers

[abhijitm]

Trump calls pakis fools When it rains, it pours!
Trump and Pakistani PM in War of Words Over Bin Laden, Afghanistan and Terrorism

We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!..

Why do I get the feeling that Trump & pakis are made for each other

I am just praying in fit of rage (or cocaine or whatever) he declares Balochistan as independent country. We will then take it from there.

[nam]

BCCI in it's workings is rather like the IAS/IFS babus. Like the proverbial elephant, they have a long memory and are known to hold grudges indefinitely, even against their own (e.g Kapil initially being denied the one-time bonus payout to former Indian cricketers for his involvement with the ICL). The Pakis have burned any remaining bridges that they had with the BCCI (there was still some element in the BCCI that was pushing for cricket ties even when the govts didn't want them), and fully expect the BCCI to slowly but surely absolutely destroy them over time.

Nothing of that sort will happen. BCCI is led by politicians.All it requires is some heart warming tweets from dimmer, and there is stampede in the BCCI to start cricket again.