Bharat Rakshak

So why is paki going after Indus Water Treaty., don't they have enough water as it is

someone should propose, that India divert waters from one of the rivers to save TSP from the misery of floods.

^^NCR region consumes more electricity than the whole of Pakistan”.



I might even add

Pakis destroying Shia tomatoes and kaafir onions

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... sn=scwspmo

But Shia oil is all halal. Baluchistan is full of smuggled oil from Iran. Watch any travelogue of the region and you can see ad-hoc roadside pumps and small trucks full of oil barrels.

Kafirs still do not understand that all things can be made halal as and when required by paying the demanded price to the mullahs (who are the certifying authority)

Chinese firm abandons Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan.

The Chinese engineers and staff have abandoned their repair of the mega 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir which is shut down since early July this year after Pakistan faced a continuous shortage of fuel and electricity.

The Chinese have given the excuses of local protests over the plant and the failure of the Pakistan police to offer credible security, however, China's sudden reversal of the project has created a major rift between Pakistan and and China over joint hydropower projects.

The plant is located near Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Chinese engineers were working to unblock a crucial tunnel.

The hydropower project worth Rs 508 billion saw a sudden halt within three years of its operation, exposing serious differences between Pakistand Chinese authorities over joint projects, particularly the Dasu and Mohmand power projects besides the Neelum-Jhelum plant, Islam Khabar reported.

A 3.5 km long tunnel that diverted water from the plant to the river developed a serious fault and forced a complete shutdown of the plant, at a time when the country was faced with a serious power crisis. The major cracks in the tailrace tunnel forced the authorities to shut down the project.

The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), which operates hydropower stations, later also confirmed that the project's "tailrace tunnel has been blocked and as a result, the power station has been closed for safety reasons".

The Pakistani authorities blame the Chinese for project slippages and inefficient operations. The Chinese, on the other hand, have their own complaints of delayed payments which they cite as the main cause of the delays, Islam Khabar reported.

WAPDA had pointed out in meetings with the Chinese company officials about slow progress despite time extensions, substandard construction quality, and poor supervision and management.

On the question of tunnel failure, the WAPDA had accused the Chinese of inefficiency at the stage of tunnelling which caused a delay in blocking the ingress of river water into the damaged tunnel.

The failure of the plant also brought to the fore the issue of the security of Chinese nationals working on Pakistani projects.

After the power plant came to a grinding halt in July, the contractor of the project, China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC), agreed to repair and restore the tunnel without an official agreement.

On July 10, the Chinese firm mobilised equipment and manpower to empty the tunnel of water to identify the cause of the blockage. The company said the entire restoration process would take at least six months, during which the plant would remain shut. It sought PKR 120 million from the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Corporation as interest-free financial support for the job.

However, not satisfied with the Chinese offer, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on July 13 issued directions to hire best international consultants to ascertain the cause of excessive water leakage in the powerhouse and pressure in the tailrace tunnel, evaluate the structural strength of underground works, identify lapses in design/construction which caused the blockage, suggest remedial measures, and provide technical assistance to NJHPC in preparing and pursuing the insurance claim.

But the Prime Minister's Office was persuaded to review its directive on the pretext that it would take a long time to hire international consultants and firms to identify the causes of tunnel failure and find a suitable solution to make the plant operational.

It is not known where the pressure came from-Chinese supporters in the bureaucracy or the Pakistan Army. In the end, the Chinese firm was, once again, engaged to carry out the repair and restore the blocked tunnel.

However, within a few days of the operation to dewater the tunnel, the Chinese firm had to stop its operations and demobilise its workforce after local residents disrupted the work in protest. The local residents had been protesting over the hydroelectric projects since 2018. They have several grouses-inequitable share of power, royalty, employment and environmental destruction.

The hydropower plant, completed at an estimated approved cost of about Rs508bn, became functional in August 2018 and has a capacity of producing around 1,500 MW of electricity.The project's construction was taken in hand in 2002 after 21 years of delay and completed in April 2018 -- again with repeated cost overruns and missed deadlines, the Dawn reported.

Major construction involving about 58 kilometres of tunnels was done by Chinese contractor CGGC-CMEC (Gezhouba Group), hired in December 2007.

Friendly nations find trade deficit off-putting: Miftah

LAHORE: Finance Minister Miftah Ismail disclosed on Saturday that “none of the friendly countries is ready to financially support Pakistan” because it “has an imbalanced economy”, caused mainly by a huge difference between imports and exports.
He said the government, in a bid to bridge the gap between exports and imports, had taxed those manufacturing industries that had zero contribution to exports, besides bringing various other such sectors, including traders and builders, into the tax net.

...“What a country can do when its imports continue to rise and now [despite measures taken to ban import of various items] these have reached $80 billion. On the other hand, our exports are fetching just $30bn or so,” the minister said before asking his audience, “now you tell us how, with such behaviour, this country can move ahead. (start exporting water)

...“Therefore, we decided to impose 5 per cent additional tax on manufacturers having zero contribution to exports. We are just doing this to woo them to start exports and contribute to bridging gap between imports and exports,” he said. “When anything from Pakistan can be exported, then why our manufacturing sector is not going for it,” he wondered. (brilliant idea. Impost cost to whatever industry they have to force them to export. They should also impose tax on countries to force them to import from Pakistan)

Chinese firm abandons Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan.

The Chinese engineers and staff have abandoned their repair of the mega 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir which is shut down since early July this year after Pakistan faced a continuous shortage of fuel and electricity.

So a project that took almost 20 years ran for exactly 3 days and had to shut down due to pathetic Chinese construction quality.

I always smirk when I read Wapda as it reminds me about Hindi word Wipda (tragedy).

Looks like Baki FM Muft Ismail is about to wrap up & pack his boxes..

Yawn - PKR remains under pressure, falls by Rs1.72 in interbank

By 12pm, the local currency was changing hands at Rs229.9 per dollar, data shared by the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) showed. This equates to a depreciation of 0.75 per cent.

Separately, the PKR was being traded at Rs234 per dollar in the open market at the same time.

...

Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (Ecap) General Secretary Zafar Paracha said there were several factors behind the rupee’s decline, including an expected increase in the import bill in the aftermath of the devastating floods.

However, one of the primary reasons was that friendly countries, which had promised to provide financing once the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) deposit was received, had not yet fulfilled their commitments, he said.

“They appear reluctant to do so because of the political situation, corruption and our past record of not returning money, ” Paracha commented.
...

“Finance Minister Miftah Ismail appeared stressed during his presser on Saturday. He said the pressure on the rupee will remain.

“It appears we [only] delayed default and are moving towards it again. The government is not addressing issues, especially smuggling of currency and goods,” he said.

Once the Post Bajwa, General and related Army civilian bureaucracy appointments are done, Shehbaz Sharif Govt will resign and hold elections giving back power to Im the dim hold the baby.

I can also bet they are planning something like Pulwama or 26/11. Lets see what happens over the next few months.

vimal wrote:

Chinese firm abandons Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan.

The Chinese engineers and staff have abandoned their repair of the mega 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir which is shut down since early July this year after Pakistan faced a continuous shortage of fuel and electricity.

So a project that took almost 20 years ran for exactly 3 days and had to shut down due to pathetic Chinese construction quality.

I always smirk when I read Wapda as it reminds me about Hindi word Wipda (tragedy).

Vimal ji you think only us SDREs are chankian?

Do not underestimate the cunning TFTAs.. the jernails and politicos who skimmed the kickbacks of this project at the time of its inception have long retired. Now the new batch will simply try and get the Chinese to give fresh loan package to make their cuts... or get the Amreekis to give 'aid' for helping bring freedom to Ukraine.

Paki Finance Minister Miftah Ismail crying (literally) during a press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j55qJE42aBE


The guy actually has been making really unpopular decisions (relatively correct ones by Paki standards) and swimming against the tide to try and rescue Pakistan from the situation, but looks like he is getting little to no support.

^^ This is the eventual fate of every paki civilian leadership.
Wait for the generals to come back swinging and remove the buffons before taking the awaam for a ride.

https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/news ... akistan-go
After the floods: Will Pakistan go under?
Ajay Singh, September 10, 2022
Many of Pakistan’s problems are due to their hostile relationship with India, a fact which is increasingly emerging in Pakistani media and was even voiced by General Bajwa. Lifting the nation from their flood of woes would require good ties with India, but for that, its policy of sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir has to stop.
The monster monsoon that hit Pakistan this August, wreaked the worst floods in recent memory—even stronger than the floods of 2010. The country went through eight cycles of incessant rain, receiving three times the annual rainfall, which submerged one third of the country, affected 33 million people and caused over $12 billion of damage to homes and infrastructure which will take five years to rebuild. One third of its cultivated land has been inundated and over 300,000 livestock—the bedrock of livelihood for many—have perished. As the waters recede, Pakistan stares grimly at impending epidemics, starvation and social unrest in a population that has been pushed to the brink.
The flood waters have also washed away the sites of Mohenjo-Daro—the ancient Indus Valley civilization, that perished 5,000 years ago by similar floods. In a way, the floods are symptomatic of global climate change. It is a part of a cycle of floods and drought, which will visit many parts of the world with increasing frequency. Ironically, the sub-continent, which has been amongst the lowest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, will be amongst the areas most susceptible to climate change, and Pakistan has been identified as amongst the nations most likely to succumb to it.
The floods have been called almost “Biblical in nature” but there is more to it than just climate change. Much of the havoc has been caused by systematic neglect and erosion of canals, distributaries and rivers and water channels which would have otherwise funneled the waters away. (Just like the floods in Bangalore were caused by encroachment of its lakes and neglect of infrastructure). But the malaise in Pakistan is more deep-rooted than that. At the heart of all its problems lies the economic, political and social turmoil within the country.
The floods will provide a body blow to Pakistan’s economy, which is already stagnating at $347 billion, having a minuscule rate of growth of 0.4 % per annum; a debt of $250 billion and foreign reserves just enough to cover six weeks of imports. Much of the debt is to China, whose CPEC has cost Pakistan $64 billion and given it infrastructure that does not generate return on investment. The signs of Pakistan’s disillusionment with CPEC comes in the manner they have recently dissolved the CPEC Authority. But that will solve nothing. So deep is Pakistan into the project, that they will now have to approach China for further loans to pay off existing ones, and fall into an endless debt trap which will be impossible to get out of.
The standard solution has been to approach the IMF, which Pakistan has already done 22 times before. But with the IMF, like most of the world, there is a Pak-weariness. It has released a tranche of $1.17 billion of the promised $6 billion, but the conditionalities include hiking electric tariffs and imposing levies on petroleum products. This led to an increase of Rs 50 per litre of petrol and sparked inflation to a historic high of 47%. The destruction of crops and livestock will lead to further shortages and raise prices to prohibitive levels. The signs are all there for an outpouring of public anger and violence that was seen in Sri Lanka earlier this year along with its attendant political and social chaos.
And, in the midst of it all, the FATF team had come on a five-day visit to check the measures Pakistan has taken against financing and sponsoring terrorism. Should it continue to remain on the FATF grey list, beyond the next review in October, receiving further aid will be difficult, even from traditional benefactors like Saudi or UAE.
Compounding all this, and ensuring that they can never put up a unified front against the many problems facing the nation, is the unfolding political drama. After Imran Khan was removed from power (orchestrated by the same Army that installed him) he has taken to the streets with anti-government rallies across the nation. All eyes are now set on the forthcoming elections, with the Sharif government somehow hoping to complete its term till they are due in 2023, and Imran Khan all set to discredit it further so that fresh elections can be announced earlier (a cost that Pakistan can’t afford now). His pitch is to play the card of being pushed out of power because of his honesty and refusal to cow down to “external forces”. And seeing the popular support he receives, and the manner in which his party has won the provincial elections in Punjab, he does have enough appeal to push the government into a corner.
......
Gautam

Only in Pakistan.....the crowd funding for Daimer Basha dam construction, collected PKR 40 Billion. They spent PKR 63 Billion on advertising for the dam!!

https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstor ... 3290b405bf

"As Pakistan experiences its worst flooding in years, the spotlight has turned to the country’s overwhelmed dams. At the centre of the controversy today is the proposed Diamer-Bhasha Dam on the Indus River. The “mega dam” that was supposed to serve as the country’s future lifeline has been caught in a scandal after it was revealed that Rs 9 billion (or $40 million) was raised from the public for its construction - but much more was spent advertising it."

"According to Pakistan’s Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC), Rs 14 billion or $63 million has been spent on advertising the dam, which is nowhere close to being completed."

But things came to a head when it became clear by February 2019 that there was still a gap of $6.3 billion between the amount raised and the amount needed to construct the dam.

"A now-retired Nisar then stunned the public by announcing that the fundraising was not done to construct the dam, but rather to raise awareness. “We never thought this money would be sufficient to complete the project. We wanted to create awareness and make people understand how important it is,” he said, sparking widespread backlash from a stunned public."

That's not the funny part. The funny part is that much of the dam fund was collected by the chief justice of Pakistan, Nisar, from the parties who had come to the supreme court for their court case.

Before hearing the case and delivering verdict, he'd encourage the plaintiffs and defendants to contribute to the dam fund.

Like numerous Kickstarter campaigns, nobody got a dam and nobody knows where the money went.

Anujan, London Forex futures projections expect PKR/$ to be 300 by late 2023.
Pak would be finished economically much before that.

This thread captures the economic stresses manifesting for the awaam at a very high level

https://twitter.com/cruindggn/status/15 ... 9413399552

ramana wrote:Anujan, London Forex futures projections expect PKR/$ to be 300 by late 2023.
Pak would be finished economically much before that.

baki virus just refuses to die out...and just like virus it's difficult to know when it is dead and when not dead...they have found new way to beg money..climate risk..as they dont emit greenhouse gases the world should pay..its a different thing that pakjab is very well damned and has got good canals..so good that the two banks of ichogil canal are at different heights....


https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journa ... ae10600e71

Saeed Shah: They say that climate change has been caused by the rich world developing itself over the last 200-plus years. But the impact is being felt most sharply in poor countries like Pakistan. Pakistan, along with other developing countries, believes that the rich world owes poor countries like Pakistan, reparations, compensation, for the effects of climate change.

Saeed Shah: Pakistan says that global warming disrupted the usual monsoon rains. Pakistan says that global warming has disrupted its climate for months, so it suffered a terrible heatwave in the spring. Now, in the summer, it has got a record monsoon downpour. What we're seeing across the world is a pattern of events, wildfires and droughts, extreme weather events, and Pakistan says that the way the monsoon fell this year, the quantity of the downfall of water plus the disrupted path of the monsoon this year, these were down to global warming.

india right next to it suffers the same thing every year..but does not go out with a begging bowl

ramana wrote:Anujan, London Forex futures projections expect PKR/$ to be 300 by late 2023.
Pak would be finished economically much before that.

On top of that this chart is also interesting.

https://www.bourse.lu/security/XS1056560920/209026



If you lend Pakistan 100$, Pakistan agrees to pay you 8.5% interest per year and then agrees to give back 100$ at the maturity date.

Technically that paper should be worth 100 + 8.5*(number of years till maturity).

Look at the bonds maturing on april 2024. Technically that paper should be worth at least 100 + 8.5 = 108.5

It is trading at $62. Interestingly the dip and recovery correlates with suspense before IMF loan approval.


If someone is confident that Pakistan will return the money, they can buy the paper at $62, wait 1.5 years, and get 108.5 from Pakistan a 74% profit in 18 months. So at least some section of the market is expecting that Pakistan wont return the money. Bond traders tend to be savvy....

Excellent post !

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/wor ... rticleshow

Pakistan is close to its worst ever crisis. Its people have been asked not to have tea, are living through 10-hour power cuts while bills are up 50% in a month, and paying 2Twenty-one percentmore for everyday things than they did a year ago — inflation is at a 14-yearhigh. Was this the path the country’s leaders put it on?There was always a touch of the dramatic toZulfikar Ali Bhutto. With enduring stagecraft,
he told his people in1965: “If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass or leaves, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own. We have no alternative.” Bhutto could have added prescience to his resume. Because all three eventually came true — India did build a bomb, Pakistan got
its own and, now, its people are close to “eating grass”. Have less tea

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... rticleshow

NOT going to happen

You give 50 billion and after 4 years they will begging again.

https://zeenews.india.com/world/pakista ... 09678.html
Pakistan's economy continues to sink despite international support
In the wake of the increased economic losses and reduced GDP growth, the per capita income is projected to slow down. The government had envisaged a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent for the current fiscal year.
Zee Media Bureau, Sep 14, 2022
Islamabad: Despite support from Saudi Arabia and International Monetary Funds (IMF), Pakistan is on the verge of economic collapse with a lack of funds. The political instability, deteriorating business environment and mismanagement of the economy have pushed the country into investment fatigue from the traditional partners exposing the country to economic risks as well as political uncertainty, reported Asian Lite International.
Initially, there was hope for Pakistan, when on August 29, the Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the combined seventh and eighth reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan, allowing the authorities to draw the equivalent of SDR 894 million (USD 1.1 billion).
But the recent floods and heavy monsoons in the country have dampened the hope of a quick revival from the economic crisis, reported Asian Lite International. The initially estimated losses due to the natural disaster have accumulated in the range of USD 18 billion.
Pakistan`s agriculture sector faces the worst blow as at least 18,000 sq km of agricultural land have been wiped out.The agriculture growth might remain zero or slide into negative against the envisaged target of 3.9 per cent for the current financial year 2022-23.
Nearly 80 districts of Pakistan have been worst hit by the floods. Thousands of people have been lodged in tents or are waiting for shelter under open skies along the main highway that leads to Hyderabad. Either side of the highway could be seen inundated by floodwater for miles.
In the wake of the increased economic losses and reduced GDP growth, the per capita income is projected to slow down. The government had envisaged a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent for the current fiscal year.
Moreover, poverty and unemployment will go up manifold from 21.9 per cent to over 36 per cent. Some 37 per cent population was hit by poverty after floods in 118 districts, as estimated by the Pakistan government. The catastrophic floods displaced more than 33 million people and are estimated to have caused USD 30 billion of damage, adding to skyrocketing inflation and a financial crisis. In this scenario, IMF help would be inadequate. Although the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided an additional USD 30 million and China promised RMB 100 million in humanitarian assistance, Pakistan needs more to keep its essential supplies and post-flood reconstruction, reported Asian Lite International.
Recently United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who recently visited Pakistan said that Pakistan needed "massive" financial support for relief, recovery and rehabilitation in the wake of the catastrophic floods that displaced more than 33 million people and are estimated to have caused USD 30 billion of damage.
.......
Gautam

Flood seems to have happened at the right time for Pakistan. It will greatly improve their begging bowl.

The notable thing is the perfunctory regard given Pakistan at this time. This is the type of catastrophic event that heralded Bangladesh. Then it was a typhoon.


I do not believe the demonstrable lack of global sympathy is racist. Similar devastation in Madagascar or Burma would have triggered massive aid, including from India and the US.

It's time to remember one great PM of Pakistan who said something about bum and grass. Pakis have their bum on the grass, let them enjoy it.

https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 401_1.html
Pakistan rejects flood relief donation worth $145,000 from Bangladesh
Pakistan has rejected Bangladesh's offer to supply humanitarian aid worth 14 million takas (roughly $145,000) as the country continued to suffer great loss during monsoon flooding
IANS | Islamabad , September 15, 2022
Pakistan has rejected Bangladesh's offer to supply humanitarian aid worth 14 million takas (roughly $145,000) as the country continued to suffer great loss during monsoon flooding, according to local media.
On September 1, Bangladesh's Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief reportedly allocated funds for 10 tonnes of biscuits, 10 tonnes of dry cakes, 1,00,000 water purification tablets, 50,000 packets of oral saline, 5,000 mosquito nets, 2,000 blankets, and 2,000 tents to be sent to Pakistan.
However, it remains to be seen whether Islamabad would accept the friendly and humanitarian Bangladeshi gesture, Khaama Press reported.
According to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League government had always been generous towards humanity and that the authorities concerned had been directed to assist in the relief efforts in Pakistan.
"Pakistan Army is reportedly averse to the proposal of aid from Bangladesh as any such relief assistance may undermine Pakistan's global image," she said as per local media.
......
Gautam

vimal wrote:It's time to remember one great PM of Pakistan who said something about bum and grass. Pakis have their bum on the grass, let them enjoy it.

Hum ne paw paw ( 250 gm) ke grass pallet bna lie he . Insahallah har Bakistani ke uper phode ge.

g.sarkar wrote:https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 401_1.html
Pakistan rejects flood relief donation worth $145,000 from Bangladesh
Pakistan has rejected Bangladesh's offer to supply humanitarian aid worth 14 million takas (roughly $145,000) as the country continued to suffer great loss during monsoon flooding
IANS | Islamabad , September 15, 2022

"Pakistan Army is reportedly averse to the proposal of aid from Bangladesh as any such relief assistance may undermine Pakistan's global image," she said as per local media.
......
Gautam

shows how much caring the paki army is to its own country men., oh wait is it not a singularly large mafia organisation controlling a country ..no wonder

Remember, after PM Modi tweeted his condolences to TSP.

They started saying that they will not accept any aid from India .

It's not much different than that.

What they simply mean, and are saying so in other ways, is that it should not be called 'Aid'.

It should be 'reparations' or 'reimbursement'.. which they believe they are entitled to.

Well in that case let them eat bum and grass in whatever order they want to. Each pious momeen along with his four + forty.

They can always mortgage their F16s to get aid, house awam in their posh bases and grow wheat on corner plots. Bakis should not become beghairat

Banks sending dollars out via credit cards.

Amid the daily dollar rate appreciation, banks have doubled their buying of the US currency and are sending it abroad via credit cards while the government grapples to control greenback outflows.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday reported the closing price of the dollar at Rs236.84, an increase of 96 paise compared to the previous day’s rate of Rs235.88.

The dollar has a strong grip over the exchange rate and the clutch is getting stronger each day amid falling foreign exchange reserves and higher imports.

The open market reported the dollar price at Rs241 on Friday, which was almost the same as on Thursday. Currency dealers said finding dollars and other currencies is difficult since demand is very high.

Speaking to Dawn, currency market experts said the SBP and the government have tight control over dollar buying from the open market, but the banks are providing a way out through credit cards.

“The average banks’ buying per week was around two to four million dollars, which has now gone up to $12m on an average,” said Malik Bostan, the chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP).

It is extremely difficult to buy more than $500 for a common man from the open market but the official way out has been found. Travellers could take up to $10,000 per person from the country, and now credit cards are in high demand.

The currency dealers said the banks’ dollar buying has sucked away greenbacks from the open market.

“We have asked the government to half the limit for travellers to $5,000,” said Mr Bostan. He also suggested that there should be a spending limit of $2,000 per month on credit cards.

Currency dealers said the government is trying to boost country’s foreign exchange reserves by restricting spending and borrowing from global lenders, but the outflows from banks’ via credit cards could undermine the efforts.

Though the SBP insists there is no curbs, the importers said that opening LCs (letters of credit) for raw materials is not easy. “This is being done as the SBP wants to minimise the import bill,” an importer said.

Banks are also buying dollars from the grey market at much higher rates, claims a currency dealer.

However, the outflow through credit cards has added to the vulnerability of the exchange rate, which further strengthens the US dollar in Pakistan.

SAUDI ARABIA CONFIRMS ROLLOVER OF $3BN DEPOSIT FOR ONE YEAR: SBP

ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Fund for Development has confirmed it will extend for one-year a $3 billion deposit currently placed in the SBP accounts since 2021, ARY News reported on Sunday quoting the State Bank of Pakistan.

The deposit was to mature on Dec. 5, but that has now been extended to next year, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Twitter.

No dollars for food imports from Iran, Afghanistan

KARACHI: The food importers, especially vegetables, from Afghanistan and Iran have been relying on the grey market to make payments since they are not allowed to buy dollars from banks or exchange companies, Dawn has learnt.

The country has been facing an acute shortage of tomatoes, onions, potatoes, etc after floods destroyed crops pushing up prices to unprecedented levels across the country.

This situation has forced the government to immediately allow imports of these foodstuffs from neighbouring countries to bridge the supply and demand gap but it has not made any arrangements for the provision of greenbacks to make payments against these imports.

Looks like no additional assistance is going to come from IMF for flood assistance.
IMF to support Pakistan's flood relief, reconstruction efforts 'under current programme'

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sunday said it would support flood relief and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan under the current programme agreed to between the two, according to a statement from the IMF's resident representative in the country, Esther Perez Ruiz.

The statement said that the IMF was "deeply saddened" by the devastating impact of the recent floods in Pakistan and extended its sympathies to the millions of flood victims.

"We will work with others in the international community to support, under the current programme, the authorities’ relief and reconstruction efforts, and especially their ongoing endeavour to assist those affected by the floods while ensuring sustainable policies and macroeconomic stability," the statement said.