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Pakistan’s top economic body approves $160 million grant for defense projects

Pakistan’s top economic body approves $160 million grant for defense projects
Pakistan's military vehicles carry ballistic missiles while participating in an annual parade to mark the country's National Day in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 23, 2021. (AFP/File)
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Updated 04 October 2024
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Pakistan’s top economic body approves $160 million grant for defense projects

Pakistan’s top economic body approves $160 million grant for defense projects
  • Pakistan’s defense budget consistently attracts media attention due to the military’s substantial role in both the political and economic arenas of the country
  • The allocation of significant funds to defense sparks debates over balance between security needs and critical public services, such as education and health care
Updated 04 October 2024
Aamir Saeed
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ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), Pakistan’s top economic body, has approved a supplementary grant of around $160 million for defense projects in the current fiscal year, the Pakistani finance ministry said on Thursday.

The statement came after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presided over a meeting of the ECC, at which decisions were made regarding special allowances for the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), Anti-Rabies Vaccine, and other matters.

Pakistan’s defense budget consistently attracts media attention due to the military’s substantial role in both the political and economic arenas of the country. The allocation of significant funds to defense sparks debates over the balance between security needs and other critical public services, such as education and health care.

“The ECC also considered and approved a proposal submitted by the Defense Division for a TSG amounting to Rs45 billion ($160 million) for various already approved projects of defense services during CFY 2024-25,” the finance ministry said on Thursday.

The development came weeks after the government approved Rs60 billion ($215 million) supplementary grants for Operation Azm-e-Istehkam to root out militancy from the country, apart from a 17.5 percent increase in the overall defense budget in June to Rs2.12 trillion ($6.15 billion) in view of the country’s security needs.

The ECC considered and approved a proposal for increase in the rate of special allowance (equal to 20 daily allowances) for employees of the ANF paramilitary force to bring it at par with other federal law enforcement agencies (LEAs), according to the finance ministry.

“The impact of revision to the tune of Rs. 264.744 million ($950,000) in DA rates for the ANF employees would be met from within the current year’s sanctioned budget,” it said.

Media coverage and public discussions about the defense budget also reflect concerns about transparency, with governments only mentioning the overall figure without sharing further details.

Last month, Dr. Kaiser Bengali, a prominent Pakistani economist who resigned from the government’s high-powered austerity committee in August, noted among several observations that the answer to addressing Pakistan’s large budget deficit lied in reducing the government’s expenditures, including non-combat defense spending.

Topics: Pakistan Pakistan economy

Court issues warrants for several members of ex-PM Khan’s party in Pakistan Army headquarters attack case

Court issues warrants for several members of ex-PM Khan’s party in Pakistan Army headquarters attack case
Updated 07 December 2024
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Court issues warrants for several members of ex-PM Khan’s party in Pakistan Army headquarters attack case

Court issues warrants for several members of ex-PM Khan’s party in Pakistan Army headquarters attack case
  • Khan supporters attacked the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, other military installations on May 9, 2023, following his brief arrest in a land graft case
  • His PTI party says a commission should be formed under the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to independently investigate the events of May 9, 2023
Updated 07 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and other members of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party in a case pertaining to an attack on Pakistan Army’s General Head­quarters (GHQ) during violent protests on May 9, 2023.
Supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after his brief arrest that day. The attacks took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary vote in April 2022. The military rejects his allegations. 
Several cases against Khan and his party related to the May 9, 2023 violence were registered by the government, which also cracked down on his supporters allegedly involved in the riots. Khan’s party has chosen to distance itself from the protests and accused the country’s intelligence agencies of framing it for the violence. The military denies the accusation.
During a hearing on Saturday, Rawalpindi ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah ordered the city police chief to produce all 25 suspects, including PTI members Gandapur, Shibli Faraz, Shehryar Afridi, Zain Qureshi, Tahir Sadiq and Taimoor Masood, before the court on December 10.
“A commission should be formed under the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to independently investigate the events of May 9 (2023),” the PTI reiterated on X. “Unjustly imprisoned political detainees should be released!“
CM Gandapur, who heads the government of Khan’s party in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has led multiple protests in recent months to demand Khan’s release from prison and to challenge results of the Feb. 8 national election.
On Thursday, Khan, along with several others, was indicted on charges of inciting his supporters to attack the GHQ in Rawalpindi last year, his party said.
“Indictment was announced within Adiala prison premises,” the PTI said, referring to the jail in Rawalpindi where Khan has been incarcerated since last year.
Nearly 2,000 people were arrested following the May 9 protests and at least eight were killed. The government had called in the army to help restore order.
Khan, who remains a popular figure in Pakistan despite several court cases against him, has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the country’s powerful military.
He has also accused the military of rigging the February 8 election in collusion with the election commission and his political rivals to keep him from returning to power. The military, election commission and Khan’s rivals deny the allegation.

Topics: May 9 protests PTI protest Imran Khan GHQ

Pakistan weekly inflation slows to 3.57 percent year on year

Pakistan weekly inflation slows to 3.57 percent year on year
Updated 07 December 2024
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Pakistan weekly inflation slows to 3.57 percent year on year

Pakistan weekly inflation slows to 3.57 percent year on year
  • Pakistan also slashed interest rates by 250 basis points in Nov. to help revive a sluggish economy amid drop in inflation
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif congratulates nation as inflation hits lowest level since Oct. 2018, promises to resolve public issues
Updated 07 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), has slowed to 3.57 percent on a year-on-year basis in the week ending on Dec. 5, the country’s statistics bureau said, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulating the nation over the drop.
The SPI, which comprises 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at shorter interval of time so as to review the price situation in the country.
Inflation for the week ending on Dec. 05 decreased by 0.34 percent as compared to the previou week, with a major decrease observed in prices of tomatoes, chicken, pulses wheat flour, rice and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
In a statement issued from his office, Sharif noted that inflation had fallen to its lowest level since October 2018, saying that his government was working tirelessly to resolve public issues.
“Further steps are being taken for employment generation, industrial development and promotion of foreign investment in the country,” he said on Saturday.
The prime minister said an increase in remittances and investment from friendly countries as well as stable diplomatic relations were a reflection of Pakistan’s development journey.
“All stakeholders are playing their role in the national development journey,” he added.
Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 4.9 percent in November largely due to a high base a year earlier, the statistics bureau said this week, lower than the government’s forecast.
The finance ministry had projected inflation would slow to 5.8 percent-6.8 percent in November and ease to 5.6 percent-6.5 percent in December, it said in its monthly economic report published last week. Consumer inflation cooled from 7.2 percent in October, a sharp drop from a multi-decade high of nearly 40 percent in May 2023.
The South Asian country, which has been facing an economic slowdown, also slashed interest rates by 250 basis points earlier in November to help revive a sluggish economy amid a drop in the rate of inflation.
On Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed 109,000 points as the bullish sentiment prevailed at the market, analysts said. The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 814 points, or 0.75 percent, to hit a record high of 109,053 points as compared to the previous day’s close of 108,238 points.

Topics: Pakistan economy inflation in Pakistan Pakistan inflation

Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges

Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges
Updated 07 December 2024
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Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges

Pakistan forms five-member panel to draft rules for appointment of judges
  • The committee will comprise Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Attorney-General Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Ali Zafar and Farooq H. Naek, and Akhtar Hussain
  • The Judicial Commission of Pakistan says it accords highest priority to procedure and criteria for assessment, evaluation and fitness for appointment of judges
Updated 07 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi has constituted a five-member committee for drafting rules to regulate procedure and criteria for the appointment of judges, the Supreme Court of Pakistan said on Friday.
The development came after Chief Justice Afridi presided over meetings of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan to consider constitution of the committee to draft rules for judges’ appointment, nomination of Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan as eighth judge of the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, and the appointment of additional judges in Sindh and Peshawar high courts.
The committee to draft rules will be led by Supreme Court judge, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, and comprise Attorney-General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, Senators Ali Zafar and Farooq H. Naek, and lawyer Akhtar Hussain, according to a Supreme Court statement. The panel will draft rules and share them with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan secretariat by December 15.
“The Judicial Commission of Pakistan unanimously decided to accord highest priority toward framing of rules relating to regulating its procedure including the procedure and criteria for assessment, evaluation and fitness for appointment of Judges,” the Supreme Court of Pakistan said in a statement.
The commission also approved the nomination of Justice Hassan, a judge of the Supreme Court, for the constitutional bench of the apex court.
In its maiden session on Nov. 5, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, reconstituted under the 26th constitutional amendment, appointed Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan as head of the seven-judge constitutional bench to take up constitutional cases. The bench includes Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and high-profile cases with political implications will now be brought before it to adjudicate such matters.
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan nominated Justices Adnan-ul-Karim Memon and Agha Faisal as judges of constitutional benches of the Sindh High Court by a majority vote, according to the Supreme Court statement. The agenda for appointment of additional judges to the Sindh and Peshawar high courts was deferred till December 21.

Topics: pakistan supreme court Supreme Court of Pakistan PAKISTAN CHIEF JUSTICE chief justice Yahya Afridi

Six Pakistani soldiers, 22 militants killed in restive northwest

Six Pakistani soldiers, 22 militants killed in restive northwest
Updated 07 December 2024
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Six Pakistani soldiers, 22 militants killed in restive northwest

Six Pakistani soldiers, 22 militants killed in restive northwest
  • The soldiers died in an attack in Kurram district where fierce sectarian fighting has killed at least 130 people in past few weeks
  • Pakistan has blamed a surge in militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on militants operating out of Afghanistan, Kabul denies the allegation
Updated 07 December 2024
REHMAT MEHSUD

ISLAMABAD: Six Pakistani soldiers and 22 militants were killed in three separate gunfights in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Saturday.
Nine militants were killed and six injured in a gunfight during an intelligence-based operation in KP’s Tank district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Ten militants were killed in another operation in the North Waziristan district, while six Pakistani soldiers were killed while repulsing a militant attack, which left three assailants dead, on a check-post in the Kurram district.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji [militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement. “Security Forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe-out the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve.”
The attack targeted the check-post near Bagan, a populated locality in Kurram district where fierce sectarian fighting has killed at least 130 people during the past few weeks. However, a ceasefire between the area’s Sunni and Shia communities is holding and the attack on the security check-post was not connected to the recent clashes.
“Kurram is calm but tense amid acute shortage of medicines and edibles,” Kurram police spokesman Riaz Hussain told Arab News.
A jirga, a council of tribal elders, which announced an indefinite ceasefire in Kurram on Friday, was meeting rival Shia and Sunni tribes for a solution to their differences stemming from land disputes.
Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Last week, an army captain among two Pakistani soldiers and eight militants were killed in two separate operations in KP’s Bannu and Khyber districts, the Pakistani military said.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks.
Afghan officials, however, deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.

Topics: militancy in Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan Army

Pakistan’s Haris Rauf, India’s Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC’s player of month

Pakistan’s Haris Rauf, India’s Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC’s player of month
Updated 07 December 2024
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Pakistan’s Haris Rauf, India’s Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC’s player of month

Pakistan’s Haris Rauf, India’s Jasprit Bumrah nominated for ICC’s player of month
  • The third nominee is South African Marco Jensen who excelled against India and Sri Lanka last month
  • Pakistani spinner Noman Ali last month bagged the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for October
Updated 07 December 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced nominees for the Men’s Player of the Month Award for November, with Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf, India’s Jasprit Bumrah and South African Marco Jensen named as contenders.
The award recognizes the best male cricketer of the month, considering performances in Tests, one-day and Twenty20 internationals. A voting academy and fan determine the winner from the three nominees.
“Rauf played a pivotal role in Pakistan’s historic ODI series win in Australia — their first in 22 years,” the ICC said this week. “The 24-year-old Jensen showcased his all-round brilliance across all formats in November and India’s Bumrah reaffirmed his reputation as one of the greats of the games.”
The ICC said that Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe saw a strong performance by Rauf as the tourists won both the ODI and T20I series 2-1. Rauf took 10 wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the second match, steering Pakistan to victory. He continued his form in the T20Is, with five wickets and wrapped up the month with 18 dismissals across formats.
Jansen excelled in the T20I series against India, showcasing his all-round skills with a 17-ball 54 in the third match and consistent wickets. His standout performance came in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Durban, where he recorded career-best match figures of 11/86, including a seven-wicket haul that dismissed Sri Lanka for 42, securing a dominant 233-run victory for South Africa, according to the ICC.
Bumrah led India to a commanding 295-run victory in the opening Border-Gavaskar Test in Perth with an eight-wicket haul. His fiery opening spell restricted Australia to 104 after India’s first-innings collapse.
Pakistani spinner Noman Ali last month bagged the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for October after his stellar 20 wickets in a Test series against England that helped his team secure a 2-1 victory.

Topics: ICC player of the month Haris Rauf Jasprit Bumrah International Cricket Council (ICC)

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Pakistan spinner Noman Ali bags ICC’s prestigious men’s Player of the Month award
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