Bharat Rakshak

Because instead of delving into why the IMF conditions are now such a big issue while they weren’t before, we have personalised the answer. It is about individuals. Asad Umar took too long and then he rubbed the IMF people the wrong way; Hafeez Sheikh just didn’t care enough to push back; Shaukat Tarin went back and forth with growth and then stabilisation, and now Miftah Ismail is not negotiating hard enough.

ISLAMABAD: Addi­tional measures will be needed to bring Paki­stan’s budget for the year 2022-23 in line with the key objectives of its International Monetary Fund programme, the lender’s resident representative in Islamabad said.

“Our preliminary estimate is that additional measures will be needed to strengthen the budget and bring it in line with key programme objectives,” Esther Perez Ruiz told Reuters.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan now faces daunting challenges in dealing with the economic crisis to meet its balance of payments needs and avoid economic default.

The budget deficit in the outgoing year 2021-22 is expected to be around Rs5,200 billion. Circular debt in the power sector is going to be Rs2,500 billion. Trade deficit has increased by 58% to about $45 billion whereas current account deficit would be around $16 billion.

Consequent to high imports and pressure on exchange rate, the forex reserves declined to $9.7 billion, which is hardly sufficient to meet 1.5 months of imports.

Pak rupee has been falling against US dollar continuously and has declined to Rs202 from Rs180 a dollar. Consequently, inflation rate has increased to 14% despite a rise in the policy interest rate to 13.75%.

Gross public debt increased to Rs44,365 billion or 75% of GDP. Consequently, the debt servicing would be around Rs3,900 billion during the next financial year. Total external debt and liabilities increased to $128 billion by March 2022.

Government is in a difficult situation since it will have to pay $21 billion to the international creditors for external debt servicing during the next financial year.

Dilbu wrote:Yes it definitely sounds like that. Pakis are only trying to get the IMF approval so that real flow of money from iron brother, KSA and other brotherly mulks can come in. They have no intentions of implementing IMF conditions in earnest.

partha wrote:https://www.dawn.com/news/1694742/up-the-imf-creek

Because instead of delving into why the IMF conditions are now such a big issue while they weren’t before, we have personalised the answer. It is about individuals. Asad Umar took too long and then he rubbed the IMF people the wrong way; Hafeez Sheikh just didn’t care enough to push back; Shaukat Tarin went back and forth with growth and then stabilisation, and now Miftah Ismail is not negotiating hard enough.

Haha.. Bibi thinks Pakistan can negotiate harder with IMF. Bibi lives in London?

Bart S wrote:

Dilbu wrote:Yes it definitely sounds like that. Pakis are only trying to get the IMF approval so that real flow of money from iron brother, KSA and other brotherly mulks can come in. They have no intentions of implementing IMF conditions in earnest.

After umpteen rounds of being screwed over by the Pakis, those countries have wised up as well. The last loan from Saudi included in the terms that it would need to immediately be repaid if the Pakis did anything that caused revocation of the IMF approval.

KARACHI: Diesel and petrol prices could rise by Rs53 and Rs18 per litre, respectively, if the government passes on the full impact of global oil markets to consumers, effectively eliminating the subsidy in an effort to repay the IMF loan, The News reported Tuesday, citing industry officials.

According to oil sector calculations, the ex-depot price of high speed diesel (HSD) will be Rs257.14 per litre for the couple of weeks starting June 15, 2022, up from Rs204.15 per litre on June 1, 2022, a Rs52.99 increase.

KARACHI: In line with expectations, the rupee has plunged further and crossed Rs206 against the US dollar for the first time in the inter-bank market on Wednesday.

The domestic currency was available at Rs206.09 against the greenback, losing a fresh Rs0.93, a currency market dealer reported at 9.45 am.

This is the fourth consecutive working day of free-fall in the rupee, losing a cumulative 2.65% (or Rs5.32) to date.

partha wrote:Just IPL telecast rights were sold for more than Pakistan's IMF bail out funds of $6B. Inshallah the gap between India and Pakistan keeps getting bigger.

srin wrote:^^ Multiply by 2.65 !

Here's what I normally use: https://www.google.com/search?q=inr%3Apkr (type in INR:PKR in google search bar). Look at the historical rates ...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday announced a massive increase in prices of all petroleum products – especially petrol by Rs24 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs59.16 per litre — the third such raise within the last 20 days.

The new prices would come into effect from midnight tonight, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad. He was flanked by State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik.

The finance minister blamed the previous PTI government for making a faulty agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that had tied the hands of the incumbent and forced it to increase oil prices to put the economy on right track.

He said that the government had a big challenge to rescue country. “If we don’t increase oil prices, the country could face a default.”

KARACHI: Goods transporters have suspended operations at Karachi ports and threatened to go on strike after a late-night hike in fuel prices, leading to fears of nationwide supply-chain issues, ARY NEWS reported.

Rana Aslam, the head of the Karachi Goods Transport Association, said that an unprecedented hike in fuel prices and inflation is unacceptable for them. “We have suspended our operations at the ports and summoned a meeting to chalk out a future strategy against the hike in fuel prices,” he said.

He said that a nationwide strike and other strict measures will be mulled over during the meeting. “We will also mull over hike in transport fares,” he said and added that they have no other option to shut down their operations.

Dilbu wrote:GOODS TRANSPORTERS SUSPEND NATIONWIDE OPERATIONS AFTER FUEL HIKE

KARACHI: Goods transporters have suspended operations at Karachi ports and threatened to go on strike after a late-night hike in fuel prices, leading to fears of nationwide supply-chain issues, ARY NEWS reported.

Rana Aslam, the head of the Karachi Goods Transport Association, said that an unprecedented hike in fuel prices and inflation is unacceptable for them. “We have suspended our operations at the ports and summoned a meeting to chalk out a future strategy against the hike in fuel prices,” he said.

He said that a nationwide strike and other strict measures will be mulled over during the meeting. “We will also mull over hike in transport fares,” he said and added that they have no other option to shut down their operations.

207.85 - In the open market, the dollar was trading at Rs208.5 today.

In a major relief for Pakistan, the neighbouring country is just “one step away” from being removed from the grey list of the FATF — the international watchdog monitoring money laundering, terror financing, and other threats to global financial networks — top diplomatic sources have told CNN-News18.

Sources said Pakistan is likely to get ‘on-site visit’ to exit the grey list. The International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is likely to visit Pakistan in August, given that the country has fulfilled over 30 of the 34 conditions put forth by the agency.

KARACHI: The Pakistani currency plummeted against the US dollar and surpassed Rs208 against the greenback. The rupee was available at Rs208.25 against the USD at 12:25pm on Thursday.

The domestic currency plunged Rs1.79 to a record low of Rs208.25 against the greenback at 12:25pm. The rupee had closed at Rs206.46 on Wednesday, according to the central bank.

KARACHI: Markets across Sindh will shut down at 9pm in order to save electricity, a notification from the province's home department said Friday, as the country witnesses constant power outages.

The measure, which will remain in effect till July 16, is in response to the prevalent outages, and load shedding of the electricity and seeks to reduce the shortfall between the supply and demand of electricity, according to the notification.

The dollar continued its climb against the Pakistani Rupee on Friday, ascending to Rs209 in interbank trade. The greenback was trading at Rs209 on Friday afternoon (12:28pm), according to the Forex Association of Pakistan.

g.sarkar wrote:https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-ne ... 09258.html
Pakistan won't be removed from FATF grey list immediately, decision after onsite visit
A statement said that while Pakistan has substantially substantially completed its two action plans, it warrants an on-site visit to verify whether the implementation of the reforms has begun and is being sustained.
Global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said Pakistan will not be removed from its ‘grey list’ immediately and a decision in this regard will be taken after an onsite visit.
HT News Desk, New Delhi, Jun 17, 2022
A statement issued in this regard said that while Pakistan has substantially substantially completed its two action plans, it warrants an on-site visit to verify whether the implementation of the reforms has begun and is being sustained. It also needs to be seen “that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation and improvement in future”.
“Pakistan is not being removed from the grey list today. It will be removed if the onsite visit finds its actions are sustainable,” said FATF president Marcus Pleyer said. Pleyer further said an onsite inspection would be done before October, and a formal announcement on Pakistan's removal would follow.
The decision was taken the FATF June 2022 plenary session being held in Germany. The watchdog will continue to monitor the Covid-19 pandemic situation and take a decision on conducting a visit to Pakistan at the earliest.
.....
Gautam

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to their lowest levels since November 2019, reaching $14,943 million, data from the central bank showed Thursday. The total forex reserves held by the country stand at $14 billion as of June 10 – a level that covers imports for 1.32 months.

Meanwhile, the total reserves that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has amounted to stand at $8,985 million – the lowest level since July 2019. Breakdown: Foreign reserves held by the SBP: $8,985.3 million; Net foreign reserves held by commercial banks: $5,957.7 million; Total liquid foreign reserves: $14,943.0 million.

ISLAMABAD: In a major move, Power Division has decided to shut down commercial feeders from 7-10pm across the country in order to conserve energy amid soaring oil prices, it emerged Thursday.

According to a Geo News report, citing sources, the division took the decision to save electricity as part of the government’s plan to save fuel costs.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Central Power Purchasing Agency (CCPA) has sought hike in power tariff by Rs7.09. According to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), it will conduct hearing on CCPA plea for power tariff hike on June 27. The plea states that 8.80 percent electricity has been produced by furnace oil in May at a cost of Rs33.67 paisa per unit. CCPA also said in the petition that 10 percent of electricity has been produced by local gas, 22.89 percent by imported LNG and 24.50 percent by hydel.

ISLAMABAD: Abdul Waheed, who lives on the outskirts of Islamabad, has spent years working two jobs to support his family living back in his village in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Now a 46-year-old, he feels that even two jobs are not enough as he is facing difficulties in sending monthly ration to his family amid the runaway inflation. He said he was finding it extremely difficult to afford fuel for his motorcycle, which had jumped from roughly Rs2,500 per month to almost Rs5,000.

Measuring inflation through the lens of essential items like cooking oil, he recalled, five litres of cooking oil would cost Rs850 in 2018; then it was available for Rs1,950 before the PML-N came to power and three days ago, it was being sold for Rs2,750.

Waheed is not alone as a large chunk of the country’s population is dealing with inflation every day when they buy groceries or fuel and pay more for just about everything.

The soaring inflation is painful and inescapable for the people. On Friday, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS)’s Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) put a stamp on what the common man has been feeling. The SPI for the week that ended on June 16 recorded an increase of 3.38%.

The PBS also disclosed that the year-on-year trend depicted an increase of 27.82% in inflation.

Dilbu wrote:Mango abduls are feeling the heat.
Genie of inflation ready to devour all

ISLAMABAD: Abdul Waheed, who lives on the outskirts of Islamabad, has spent years working two jobs to support his family living back in his village in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Now a 46-year-old, he feels that even two jobs are not enough as he is facing difficulties in sending monthly ration to his family amid the runaway inflation. He said he was finding it extremely difficult to afford fuel for his motorcycle, which had jumped from roughly Rs2,500 per month to almost Rs5,000.

The air inside the Diwan-e-Khas Utility Store on Gizri Boulevard is rank with desperation. Tired citizens, both young and old, have lined up for two packets of subsidised ghee. Some sit, some squat; waiting for their turn as the line inches forward. They’ve been here for hours. Ask any one of them why they’re putting up with such misery, and they’ll tell you they cannot otherwise put food on the table.

“Only the poor come to the Utility Stores, and they treat us like beggars,” shares Shehnaz, in her late 30s and looking extremely exhausted. A breast cancer patient, she is accompanied by her two young daughters. “I asked the store staff to open the doors so we could have some air inside, but they refused,” she says, wiping the sweat from her brow. She is waiting for the confirmation message to come through. “My husband barely makes Rs18,000 a month. My eldest daughter is appearing for her matric exams privately. I do not have money to pay for the little one’s fee. I had to take her out. When I heard that cooking oil would be more than Rs400 per litre and petrol prices had also gone up, my heart sank.”

The customers have nothing to say to each other. They stand with their heads down, lost in thought. You can almost breathe in the helplessness in the air.

Rizwan Sikandar, a security guard who makes Rs18,000 a month, is waiting for his sisters outside the store.

“I work the night shift, so I was able to come here with my married sisters to get ghee for our families. My wife and sisters are illiterate and had been sent back twice because they did not have mobile phones,” he explains. “We have gone from three meals a day to two. With this mehngai, it seems we will soon have food enough for one meal only.” He says he’s been to three Utility Stores but can’t find any flour since the subsidy was announced. “I went early, but the staff said stocks were yet to arrive. It’s poor quality flour. We can’t use it unless we mix it with something else.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have not yet been able to reach close to a staff-level agreement for revival of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), leaving authorities in a tight spot to bridge the gap and get the updated federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 passed by the National Assembly.

The authorities in the finance ministry were expecting to conclude the staff-level agreement by Sunday (June 19) on the basis of revenue and expenditure measures that could deliver next year’s primary budget (the difference between revenues and expenditures, excluding interest payment) in Rs152 billion surplus.

However, the IMF staff still has reservations over Rs9.5 trillion expenditures projected by the authorities for the next fiscal year. The revenue measures in the budget, according to IMF estimates, are also insufficient to deliver slightly over Rs7tr target.

A top finance ministry official confirmed on Sunday night that they had not yet received the first draft of memorandum of economic and financial policies (MEFP) from the IMF as targeted earlier because certain matters remained unsettled. “We are working very closely with the IMF and will soon reach some conclusion,” the official said.

The government is targeting to secure the passage of the budget 2022-23 from the National Assembly on June 27-28, according to the finance ministry’s schedule of events. For this to happen, it has to reach an agreement with the IMF so that the agreed measures could be protected in the budget. In any case, the budget has to be passed by parliament by 28 to legally ensure its implementation with effect from July 1, as required under the Constitution.

KARACHI: The rupee declined further in the interbank market amid a delay in the signing of the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and was traded at 210.19 on Monday during the intraday trade, according to the Tresmark.