City Islamabad Financial News

Imran Khan, Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the ousted prime minister's plea to stay the criminal proceedings against him in the Toshakhana corruption case. The case pertains to the allegations that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief had “deliberately concealed” details of the gifts he retained from the Toshakhana — a repository where presents handed to government officials from foreign officials are kept — during his time as the prime minister and proceeds from their reported sales.

Pakistan's plan to import future shipments of Russian crude oil under a government-to-government (G2G) mechanism has hit a roadblock as Moscow is frustrated with the delay by Islamabad in setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to handle the payments and shipments. A Russian delegation visited Karachi last week to discuss the quality and pricing of its Ural grade crude oil, but was not satisfied with the progress made by Islamabad in creating the SPV, ET has learnt.

Election Commission of Pakistan on Monday directed the Islamabad police to arrest former prime minister Imran Khan and produce him before it on Tuesday in a case linked to contempt of the top electoral body. Irked by Khan's persistent absence from the hearings, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) instructed the Islamabad IG to arrest the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief for his failure to appear in the contempt case.

Seema Haider, a married woman from New Delhi — Anju — traveled to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to meet her lover, Nasrullah. According to reports by Pakistan-based Aaj News, Anju's journey to Pakistan was in pursuit of love, akin to Haider's illegal cross-over into India. However, unlike Haider's illegal entry, Anju was granted entry into Pakistan lawfully with a valid visa, as confirmed by Upper Dir SHO, Javed Khan.

Afghan Taliban has asked the Pakistan government to initiate another round of negotiations with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terror group, with a top leader in Kabul telling Islamabad that it should prefer peace over war, a media report said on Saturday. Pakistan's latest efforts aimed at seeking action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) by Kabul could not make headway, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Arshad Khan, fondly known as «The Blue-eyed Chaiwala,» captured the hearts of people worldwide a few years ago when a photograph of him selling tea at a Sunday bazaar in Islamabad went viral in 2016. Today, he stands proud as he accomplishes a remarkable feat — the opening of his very own café in London. With his dream now a reality, Khan's café, named 'Cafe Chaiwala,' stands tall on Ilford Lane in East London, an area bustling with a dense population of Asians, particularly Pakistanis, Indians, and Bangladeshis.

Pakistan has decided to dispatch a fresh arms consignment to Kiev coinciding with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba's «emergency visit to Islamabad» this week amid depleting stockpiles slowing down the counteroffensive against Russia. ET has learnt that a merchant vessel has been berthed at the Karachi Port since last week to load nearly 200 containers of defence stores by Pakistan Ordnance Factories.

Imran Khan on Wednesday again apologised for his controversial remarks against a female judge, saying he was sorry if he crossed the line. Just months after his ouster in April 2023, Khan in a fiery speech threatened Islamabad's top police officials and judge Zeba Chaudhry and said he would not «spare» them and file cases against them for «torturing» his party leader Shahbaz Gill. Khan, 70, Wednesday issued an apology, again, in the district and sessions court in connection with the case, Geo News reported.

Several media reports of late have said that Pakistan has been supplying weapons to Ukraine for that country’s resistance against the Russian invasion. Most such reports seem to originate from the Indian media but there is the occasional non-Indian source that goes into some detail about such transfers.  Pakistan’s defence relationship with Ukraine, over three decades old, is valued at some$1.6 billion but the flow has largely been towards Pakistan, in the form of T-80 UD battle tanks. It is these tanks, and some artillery ammunition, that Pakistan is suspected of sending to Ukraine.

forex reserves, according to a report published by Dawn quoting sources.  Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has convened multiple meetings of the committee formed to engage foreign operators for outsourcing. He told the stakeholders to finalize formalities to outsource the operations of Islamabad International Airport (IIA) by August 12.  On Saturday, Dar chaired a meeting of the steering committee for assessing the progress of airport operations outsourcing.

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) document at a recent ministerial meet of the grouping in Baku (capital of Azerbaijan). India was also successful in nixing efforts by Pakistan (at China's behest) to include reference to South China Sea disputes in the NAM document, ET has reliably learnt. SE Asian states, who are members of NAM and party to the South China Sea dispute, worked closely with India to defeat plans by Pakistan, hinted persons familiar with the development.

Indus Water Treaty between the two nations. India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations.  At a weekly media briefing, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked about options for Pakistan if India refused to accept the Court of Arbitration and its verdict on the Kishanganga and Ratle reservoirs issue, according to PTI reports.  “The Indus Waters Treaty was a gold standard of bilateral treaties on water and served both Pakistan and India well," she responded.  It is pertinent to note that the treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding the use of waters of a number of rivers.  In 2015, Pakistan requested the appointment of a neutral expert to examine its technical objections to India’s Kishenganga and Ratle Hydro Electric Projects (HEPs).

The International Monetary Fund has approved a much-awaited $3 billion bailout for Pakistan that likely will save the nation from defaulting on its debt repayments

Pakistan's finance minister says the International Monetary Fund has deposited the much-awaited first installment of $1.2 billion with the country's central bank under a new bailout

Saudi Arabia has deposited $2 billion into Pakistan’s central bank, a much-needed financial boost ahead of a critical meeting of the International Monetary Fund on the new bailout package for the cash-strapped South Asian country

The Taliban says beauty salons have been banned in Afghanistan because they offered services forbidden by Islam and caused economic hardships for grooms’ families

A spokesman at Afghanistan's Vice and Virtue Ministry says the Taliban are banning women's beauty salons

Xi Jinping urged Russian, Iranian and other leaders on Tuesday to work towards safeguarding «regional peace» as he addressed a virtual summit of their Shanghai alliance. Xi «called for efforts to safeguard regional peace and ensure common security», state news agency Xinhua said, adding that he urged member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to «follow the right direction and enhance their solidarity and mutual trust».

premier Imran Khan's appearance before the country's apex anti-graft investigation agency on Tuesday in a corruption case. Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, who is working as acting president in the absence of President Arif Alvi, who is away on pilgrimage, issued an ordinance to empower the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to arrest a suspect during inquiry period and also allow the NAB court to remand a suspect for 30 days in custody after arrest instead of earlier 15 days. The ordinance was issued at the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Pakistan on policies to be supported by a Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in providing USD 3 billion, the last minute rescue package for Islamabad’s acute balance of payment crisis. According to major global credit rating agencies Islamabad would be compelled to default on external borrowings without the IMF assistance. Surprisingly, Pak forex reserves are now below USD 3.5 billion, hardly sufficient for less than a month’s requirement for even essential imports.

Pakistan in badly needed relief to help bail out the impoverished country's ailing economy. The nine-month agreement must be approved by the IMF's Executive Board, which is expected to make a final decision in mid-July, a top IMF official, Nathan Porter, said in a statement late Thursday.