Year: 2022

World Bank (WB) has warned the government that Pakistan will lose a part of FY 23 funds from International Development Association (IDA) for not completing Prior Actions (PAs) under second Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II). The Bank conveyed this message to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail in a letter dated subsequent to his recent meeting with the Bank’s Vice President South Asia Region, Hartwig Schafer which was also attended by Aisha Ghaus Pasha, State Minister for Finance and Revenue, and Dr. Murtaza Syed acting State Bank of Pakistan Governor, Secretary…

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The enthusiasm with which the federal government has declared a ban on luxury imports to deflate the import bill is absent in their ‘weak-kneed stance’ on reversing the fuel subsidies, which is equally critical not only to ease pressure on the economy, but also for the resurrection of a half-dead IMF loan programme. Will this import ban deliver the same goods on the ground as it does on paper? There are claims that this clampdown will help the country cut the import bill by $6 billion on an annual basis.…

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that Pakistan requires Rs1,416 billion in subsidies for keeping the POL prices unchanged on an annual basis at the prevalent existing prices in the international market, so Islamabad will have to reverse fuel subsidies for achieving fiscal prudence. On electricity, the government requires subsidy of Rs139 billion on per annum basis. The IMF raised objections over breach of continuous performance criteria under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) where Islamabad was bound that it would not “impose or intensify import restrictions for…

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ork is in full swing on an emergency basis for the rehabilitation of the power sector and to cope with the current situation being faced by the sector. The LNG supply will not only improve the power supply in the country but also help the government overcome the power crisis. Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division) Khurram Dastgir said this during his visit to the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) Headquarters on Friday. He said that after the supply of LNG and furnace oil from the Ministry of Petroleum, more…

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As part of its “Power with Safety” drive, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Friday organized a webinar on “Workplace Stress Management” in collaboration with Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and K-Electric. Jawad Syed, Professor of LUMS and Muhammad Taimoor Khan, head of HSE, K-Electric shared their ideas and skills to control stress, said a press release. Chairman NEPRA, Tauseef H. Farooqi in his opening remarks, highlighted the importance of stress management given the very challenging nature of jobs in power sector and hoped that this awareness session…

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