Bharat Rakshak

That seems to be the least of their problems considering what is happening on the streets of every major city.

Looking at the videos posted in the twitter thread above, many men are attired in women's clothing Very few men are seen wearing gender appropriate clothing. The economic situation must be desperate that such drastic steps have to be taken.

Today's rate for PKR is 284.50/$

^^^^ Sir, open market rate per haramiweb is Rs 296 which is the highest it has ever been.

eventhough we crack jokes on pakistan, they are having a gala time. They are killing our soldiers in our land to welcome their ministers, showing defiance. we are watching terrorists detonating IEDs and firing steel bullets from china like eunuchs. govt is too engrossed in elections. KCR, kejriwal ,jagan ..they are running their own empires.Mr.modi's silence is sometimes too long...

FOREX
WORLD
COMMODITY

CURRENCY RATE
USD PKR Interbank Selling / May 10
292.25
USD PKR Interbank Buying / May 10
290.25

This is latest Paki rupee value.

jash_p wrote:

FOREX
WORLD
COMMODITY

CURRENCY RATE
USD PKR Interbank Selling / May 10
292.25
USD PKR Interbank Buying / May 10
290.25

This is latest Paki rupee value.

Kabul rate is 300 + . That’s the real rate

289.5 in Bloomberg right now. A jump of PKR 4.2. Keeping the fingers crossed and wishing boys continue to play well.

PKR Mohammad Ahmed will be the only 4th Pakistani to score a triple century. Lara's record is under threat now.

AK Phyrr!!
PKR crosses mark of 300 per USD in open market

May 11, 2023 (MLN): The Pakistani rupee (PKR) has surpassed the psychological barrier of 300 per USD as the local unit is being traded at PKR 301 per USD in the open market.

Also they had committed to interbank being based on market forces rather than a peg, and for some months indeed the gap between "open market" and interbank was 2-3 rupees. Now it is 15 rupees, so commitment be damned. Haramiweb open market rate is Rs 305/$. Interbank is formally still Rs 290/$, probably the only use of that rate is to stiff the few remittances thru banking channel, and facilitate a low low rate to send crore commander's son munna to UK for studies.

Kabul rate is an altogether different animal, it will probably be close to Rs 320 or more.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/10692 ... -programme

IMF calls on Pakistan to secure ‘significantly more financing’ for completing programme

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/10692 ... t-imf-deal

Ishaq Dar asserts Pakistan will not default even without IMF deal
“Rumours” about default should not be spread, says finance minister

So one thing is sure - IMF deal is not happening. Another thing is if finance minister is assuring of no default even without IMF deal, then exact opposite may happen.

1 USD = PKR 296 today.

Pakistan would do well to adopt Bitcoin as the official currency at this point. Or set up a Chinese currency printing press.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1752403/pakis ... review-imf
Pakistan needs significantly more financing for successful bailout review: IMF
Reuters, May 11, 2023
Pakistan needs significant additional financing for a successful completion of the long-stalled ninth review of the International Monetary Fund’s bailout package, the IMF said in a scheduled press conference on Thursday.
Obtaining commitments of “significant additional financing” is essential before the IMF approves the release of pending bailout funds that are crucial for the country to resolve an acute balance of payments crisis.
A staff-level accord to release a $1.1 billion tranche out of a $6.5bn IMF package has been delayed since November, with nearly 100 days gone since the last staff-level mission to Pakistan. That is the longest such gap since at least 2008.
Julie Kozack, the IMF spokeswoman, said that financing already committed by Pakistan’s external partners was welcomed.
The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China came to Pakistan’s assistance in March and April with pledges that would cover some of the funding deficit.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said during a seminar that Pakistan would not default, with or without the IMF.
On Thursday, the central bank reserves fell $74m to $4.38bn, barely a month’s worth of imports.
“Our team is very heavily engaged of course with the authorities because Pakistan indeed faces a very challenging situation,” said Kozack.
She added that the large South Asian economy was facing stagflation and had also been battered by a series of shocks including severe floods.
.....
Gautam

g.sarkar wrote:https://www.dawn.com/news/1752403/pakis ... review-imf
Pakistan needs significantly more financing for successful bailout review: IMF
Reuters, May 11, 2023
Pakistan needs significant additional financing for a successful completion of the long-stalled ninth review of the International Monetary Fund’s bailout
“Our team is very heavily engaged of course with the authorities because Pakistan indeed faces a very challenging situation,” said Kozack.
She added that the large South Asian economy was facing stagflation and had also been battered by a series of shocks including severe floods.
.....
Gautam

https://www.dawn.com/news/1752524/rupee ... -vs-dollar
Rupee hits new low near 300 vs dollar

Exchange rate numbers are catching up with the open market. 299 reached.

Official downhill skiing confirmed

Yawn - Govt tells IMF it will scrap fuel subsidy plan

The government has told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) it would not implement a fuel subsidy programme as the two sides negotiate a long-delayed $1.1 billion bailout for the country, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

As for fuel subsidy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in March proposed charging affluent consumers more for fuel, with the money raised used to subsidise prices for the poor who have been hit hard by inflation.

However, the government has now committed not to implement the cross-subsidy programme in the current fiscal year and beyond, an IMF spokesperson reportedly told Bloomberg.

The government also would not introduce new tax exemptions and would durably allow a market-based exchange rate for the rupee currency, the lender said.

Meanwhile things at the PSX - Pakistan Scam Exchange, are going on as usual

Up on fridin, down next mondin

Yawn - Stocks rally amid positive signals on IMF deal

Share prices reversed their downward trend on Thursday owing to positive signals on the macroeconomic front.

Topline Securities said the benchmark of representative shares opened on a positive note and hit an intraday high of 424 points after the Internatio­nal Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that it remained engaged with Pakistan on the restoration of the stalled Extended Fund Facility programme.

Furthermore, a decline in international coal prices also generated investors’ interest in the cement sector.

Looks a very peaceful Friday in Pakistan.

How is this possible without active manipulation? A climb back of Rs.14 only because of change in political situation is definitely not normal.
Rupee makes surprising recovery of over Rs14 per dollar

In a surprise move, the volatile Pakistani rupee made a sharp recovery of Rs14, trading at Rs284.90 against the US dollar in the interbank market on Friday.

At a point, the rupee had recovered over Rs14, to Rs284 per dollar. The currency partially gained ground after registering a drop of 3%, or Rs8.71, to an all-time low at Rs298.93 a day earlier. The recovery came following two major developments that took place over the last few hours.

First, according to market sources, the currency gained strength after the demand from importers relatively declined as oil payments were released a day earlier.

Secondly, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest from a court premises "illegal" and ordered authorities to release him “immediately”.

Explaining the movement of currencies, Dr Khaqan Najeeb, former adviser of the Ministry of Finance, said that currency’s movement in the short term is driven by the sentiments of the investors exporters, importers, remitters (in Pakistan’s case) as well as the inflows from debt creating and non-debt creating instruments.

“In Pakistan’s case, this sentiment over the last two, three days weakened as the country seemed to be in the challenging political situation,” he said, adding that the sentiment probably made people hold their dollars.

Hinting towards a possibility of intervention, Dr Najeeb said that it is possible that the central bank could have rightly intervened to ensure that the disorderly movement of the weakening of the rupee did not continue. {Shouldn't that result in further depletion of USD reserves held by TSP?}

Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Tahir Abbas said that a day earlier, when the rupee touched a historic low of 300, the demand for the US dollar was more because importers had to retire their payments due; however, today the demand is relatively less.

Another subsidy plan. Take that IMF

Rs 975 b power subsidies proposed

The Ministry of Finance has refused to pay for the cost of inefficiency or for clearing arrears of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) energy projects and has instead proposed subsidies worth over Rs 975 billion for the power sector, 37% less than the money demanded.

The Ministry of Energy had demanded Rs 1.54 trillion in power subsidies for the next fiscal year, a colossal amount that is 70% more than this year’s revised budget. The demand was surprising since the government has twice increased electricity tariffs in the outgoing fiscal year in order to reduce subsidies and control circular debt.

The ministry also sought a staggering Rs 102 billion to clear arrears of AJK consumers who are already availing highly subsidised electricity. The energy ministry seems reluctant to implement a decision to charge the electricity tariffs from the AJK consumers applicable in other parts of the country. The finance ministry, however, has proposed only Rs 55 billion. Against another demand of Rs 62 billion for the AJK subsidy -an amount of Rs 25 billion has been proposed by the finance ministry.

Debt servicing may consume Rs7.6tr

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s debt servicing cost may cross well over Rs7.6 trillion in the next fiscal year, which is roughly 15% more than the projected net income of the federal government but is still lower than the estimates made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sources in the Ministry of Finance told The Express Tribune that based on the fact that the federal government debt stood at Rs54.4 trillion at the end of March, interest payments in the next fiscal year may cross well over Rs7.6 trillion. However, a few officials have suggested showing the cost at around Rs6.9 trillion in the budget books aimed at having some additional fiscal space for spending in an election year.

The estimated Rs7.6 trillion debt servicing cost is 90% more than this fiscal year’s original budget set aside for interest payments and one-third higher than the revised estimates. It seems that taxes will be collected to just pay the cost of interest to domestic and foreign banks.

Petrol prices cut by 30 rs . Take that u kafir IMF

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/ ... m-protests
Pakistan’s reeling economy takes new hit from protests
Firms and gig workers see losses piling up amid internet shutdowns in big cities.
Khalid Hussain,12 May 2023
Karachi, Pakistan – On a hot day in Karachi, Mohammad Junaid, an employee of Pakistan Railways, stops his motorcycle by the roadside to ask passersby if they need a ride. Junaid works part-time for a ride-hailing service provider and earns about 800 Pakistani rupees ($2.7) daily.
“My salary is not enough to meet expenses,” he told Al Jazeera. “I must work for Bykea [the ride-hailing startup] to provide for my family.”
However, the suspension of internet services has diminished his income as rides are booked on the app, which needs the internet.
The same is the case with thousands of app-based food delivery service riders.
Severe internet connectivity issues were reported across the country’s big cities in the last three days following the arrest of Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party. Protests erupted throughout the country after the arrest, including one in front of the Pakistan Army’s general headquarters. Many cities witnessed violence.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said on Tuesday that mobile broadband services had been suspended at the direction of the interior ministry but has not given a timeline for their restoration. Khan was ordered to be released on Thursday, after the country’s top court termed his arrest illegal. However, the mobile broadband shutdown was not lifted.
Headline inflation in April hit a record high of 36.4 percent. Workers’ remittances, which contribute more than 8 percent to the economy, dropped by 29.2 percent in April on a year-on-year basis. Exports were down 26.68 percent in April year-on-year. The World Bank has revised Pakistan’s expected growth rate from 2 percent to a mere 0.4 percent.
The political turmoil in the country pushed the Pakistani rupee to a new low of 298.93 against the United States dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday.
“Pakistan has perennially struggled with the twin deficits – a current account and a fiscal deficit,” Ehsan Malik, the CEO of the Pakistan Business Council, a pan-industry advocacy group, said. “They have now been overtaken by a third deficit, which is the trust deficit. The latest developments are a continuation and buildup of this deficit.”
.....
Gautam

When queried on how he will tackle the loan situation with $73 Billion in debt maturing in 3 years, a top Imran confidante claimed that the Overseas Pakistanis who are collectively having $250 billion in assets have assured Imran that they will send more then $100 Billion by investing in Pakistani Real Estate Sector

^^ I really thank Mo A Jinnah when I read such things. Total population transfer is the need of the hour.

Vips wrote:When queried on how he will tackle the loan situation with $73 Billion in debt maturing in 3 years, a top Imran confidante claimed that the Overseas Pakistanis who are collectively having $250 billion in assets have assured Imran that they will send more then $100 Billion by investing in Pakistani Real Estate Sector

Is this real or are you making this up? I hope this is real and inshallah Imran Khan will be back in power. Either him or one of his trusted advisors is a RAA agint.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1753267
Declining remittances
Editorial, May 15, 2023
OVERSEAS Pakistanis are sending fewer dollars back home these days, with workers’ remittances dropping 13pc to $22.7bn during the 10-month period between July and April of this fiscal year as compared to the last one. The loss of $3.4bn in home remittances nearly matches the upcoming debt repayments of $3.7bn during May-June.
The amount is also equal to the ‘financing gap’ that Pakistan has been struggling to arrange for the restoration of the IMF funding programme. This loss becomes even more glaring considering the depleted forex reserves that are just enough to pay the bill for five weeks of controlled imports amid growing fears of a default.
The decline in home remittances has been across the board. Yet the Middle East, which contributes over half of Pakistan’s total remittances, is the key region playing a bigger part in this decline with Pakistani workers living in countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE having sent $2.5bn fewer dollars.
Likewise, the inward remittances from the UK and EU fell by $500m. While the decline from the UK and EU is attributable mainly to surging costs of living amid the ongoing economic slowdown in those economies, the large drop from the Middle East is being driven by growth in cash transfers through the illegal hawala/hundi channels.
Large traders and commercial importers are using these channels to buy foreign exchange from non-resident Pakistanis at much higher than the interbank rate to pay for their imports — to steal taxes as well as circumvent SBP restrictions imposed to slash imports, limit dollar outflow and protect its scanty foreign exchange reserves.
With the long-delayed IMF bailout deal nowhere in sight amid a drying up of external financing from other sources — including the so-called friendly nations — the workers’ remittances are crucial to keep the economy afloat and avert a default on sovereign debt.
.....
Gautam

Army Chief & Corps Commanders Call for Political Consensus | Imran Khan's Tweets & Questions?

partha wrote:

Vips wrote:When queried on how he will tackle the loan situation with $73 Billion in debt maturing in 3 years, a top Imran confidante claimed that the Overseas Pakistanis who are collectively having $250 billion in assets have assured Imran that they will send more then $100 Billion by investing in Pakistani Real Estate Sector

Is this real or are you making this up? I hope this is real and inshallah Imran Khan will be back in power. Either him or one of his trusted advisors is a RAA agint.

Uzair Younus in one of his recent podcast has mentioned this.

partha wrote:

Vips wrote:When queried on how he will tackle the loan situation with $73 Billion in debt maturing in 3 years, a top Imran confidante claimed that the Overseas Pakistanis who are collectively having $250 billion in assets have assured Imran that they will send more then $100 Billion by investing in Pakistani Real Estate Sector

Is this real or are you making this up? I hope this is real and inshallah Imran Khan will be back in power. Either him or one of his trusted advisors is a RAA agint.

the statement is real. the only problem is that Overseas pakis dont have that much money and even if they had they will not be investing it in paki land

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/107083 ... or-bailout

Pakistan will have no other option but to ask China for devising a mechanism to bailout the ailing economy of Islamabad for averting full fledge eruption of the Balance of Payment (BoP) crisis if IMF continues the declining revival of the Fund programme. {Pakistan should give final warning to IMF and USA that if they dont cough up money, Pakistan will have no option but to ask China!!}

..."Either the IMF will have to be revived through completion of 9th review or the programme will be scrapped. We will share no more data with the IMF without completion of ninth review” top official sources confirmed while talking to The News here on Monday.

"We will share no more data with the IMF without completion of ninth review” top official sources confirmed while talking to The News here on Monday.

What a tight slap to IMF. I hope IMF learns its lesson.

Former US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has called for resignation of army chief Munir while expressing full support to Imran Khan. What could be the reason?

1. Boredom
2. Hired by PTI to lobby US Govt
3. He is speaking on behalf of US Govt
4. RAA agint

RAA Agint

Please Sirji, Khalilzad is a CIA agint. He can only be a RAA dubble agint.
Gautam

#5 Fanboy of the handsome

This is a very boring YouTube overall with just one entertaining part. That is around minute 8:00 till minute 9:00.

The Pakistani journalist made his way to Goa to report on the SCO conference. About Goa he says the annual revenue from tourism is "11 arab dollars". The other chap despondently says "we don't even have 4 arab dollars".

Also, supposedly Jaishankar did shake hands with Bilawal, but that was before the viral-video scene, and away from the cameras. I'm not clear on the timeline, but it was also perhaps before Bilawal gave his half-assed press conference.

Economic distress: Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing down 25% YoY in March

^^The consequences of shutting down most imports to keep the currency stable.

Main contributors towards overall decline are food, tobacco, textile, petroleum products, cement, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles

The output of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) witnessed a decline of 24.99% year-on-year in March 2023, the largest drop since May 2020 (during the pandemic), data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Monday.

Meanwhile, production in July-March 2022-23 as compared to July-March 2021-22 has increased in wearing apparel, furniture and other manufacturing (football) while it decreased in food, tobacco, textile, coke & petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, non-metallic mineral products, machinery and equipment, automobiles and other transport equipment.

The poor performance in the industrial sector reflects the overall economic slowdown across various sectors in the ongoing fiscal year. The inability of the industries to secure Letters of Credit in the wake of government’s recent measures due to dollar shortage has dented production.

Oh, there was one more thing in that boring video above -- the Paki journalist met a fellow Pakistani, who told him that in order to sell textiles to American market chains like K-Mart, Pakis have to come to India.