Business

Following PPP’s threat, PM Shehbaz ‘approves’ Rs25bn for flood affectees

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

PPP threatened not to vote for the budget.
Amount to be utilised for Sindh flood victims.
PM to also hold meeting with PPP today.

ISLAMABAD: To address the reservations of a critical government ally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved Rs25 billion in aid for flood victims, sources told Geo News on Monday.

The allocated amount — expected to be added to the debt-driven budget — will be spent rehabilitating the flood victims, the sources mentioned.

The PM committed to set aside the amount during a meeting with the party’s leaders last week.

Senior politicians Syed Naveed Qamar, Sherry Rehman, Syed Khurshid Shah, Qamar uz Zaman Kaira, Syed Murad Ali Shah, and Nisar Khuro were part of the PPP delegation.

A statement from the PM’s Office mentioned that during the meeting, the PPP leadership appreciated the prime minister for measures for public welfare in the budget despite the difficult economic conditions.

But PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a day later, slammed his coalition partners and demanded amount be allocated for flood victims, or his party won’t support the government’s budget, which has to be passed this month.

In a rally held in Swat on Saturday, Bilawal — also the foreign minister — complained to the prime minister about not being able to fulfil his promises in the budget.

Reacting to the foreign minister’s statement, Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Minister Ahsan Iqbal suggested discussing the matter in the cabinet and avoiding opening a new front.

When speaking to Geo News on Sunday, the minister said the coalition partners were consulted on every stage of preparation of the federal budget and its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.

He said that the 2023-24 federal budget was tabled in the National Assembly with the consent of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

To address the issues further, Premier Shehbaz will chair a meeting today (Monday) to address PPP’s concerns.

The meeting will also be attended by FM as well as ministers and experts related to the financial affairs of both parties.

In conversation with Geo News, PPP’s senior leader Nafisa Shah said the coalition partners had unanimously agreed that flood affectees would be provided relief and rehabilitated.

“Bilawal spoke about providing relief to the flood victims, who are, to date, still without homes,” she lamented.

Business

SFD and Pakistan Sign Two Deals Totaling $1.61BLN

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Two agreements totaling $1.61 billion have been inked by Pakistan and the Saudi Fund for Development to improve their bilateral economic cooperation.

Business

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an MOU to strengthen their auditing industry collaboration.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

A spokesperson for the office of the Auditor-General of Pakistan (AGP) announced on Monday that the two countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in public sector auditing through improved cooperation between audit institutions of both countries, as well as training programs and the exchange of trainers.

This comes as a group from Saudi Arabia’s General Court of Audit (GCA), headed by GCA President Dr. Hussam bin Abdulmohsen Alangari, arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for a four-day visit.

The agreement was signed during AGP Muhammad Ajmal Gondal’s meeting with the Saudi delegates, aiming to strengthen audit cooperation, enhance knowledge-sharing, and improve governance, transparency and accountability in government spending.

Public relations officer Muhammad Raza Irfan of the AGP’s office told Arab News that the deal will further advance bilateral collaboration between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in addition to enhancing professional ties between the two nations’ auditing institutions.

In a statement released from his office, AGP Gondal was cited as saying, “This collaboration marks a significant step toward fostering international cooperation in auditing.”

“The exchange of ideas and methodologies will undoubtedly strengthen our capacity to meet emerging challenges and set new benchmarks for public accountability.”

Discussions at Monday’s meeting focused on fostering closer ties between the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, sharing innovative audit methodologies, and planning collaborative initiatives for the future, according to the AGP office.

The two parties decided to increase their knowledge of theme, environmental, and impact audits as well as to exchange best practices in audit standards, performance audits, and citizen participation audits.

The statement added, “It also agreed to exchange trainers, address new auditing challenges, plan cooperative audits, including a performance audit on the oil and gas sector in 2025, and work together on training programs.”

Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and excellence in public sector auditing.

Business

The government chooses to continue the PIA privatization process.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatization process will be restarted by the federal government, and expressions of interest would be requested within the month. Officials stated that the Prime Minister’s Committee on Privatization will convene to make the final decision.

Usman Bajwa, the secretary of the Privatization Commission, gave a briefing on the updated procedure to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatization. Additionally, he disclosed that airlines other than PIA are now able to compete with regional carriers thanks to IMF-approved aircraft tax concessions.

Farooq Sattar, the chairman of the privatization committee, underlined the importance of giving PIA workers at least five years of job security. Employee protection will continue to be a top priority and will be resolved prior to bidding, the Privatization Commission promised.

PIA’s liabilities totaling Rs650 billion have already been assumed by the government, and an additional Rs45 billion in outstanding debts must be paid before the privatization process can begin. As of the now, PIA has assets around Rs155 billion and liabilities worth Rs200 billion. It will be necessary for the new buyer to expand the fleet by 15 to 20 aircraft.

Additionally, the Privatization Committee has sought a timeline for the privatization of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Islamabad Electric Supply Companies. Officials stated that after the appointment of a financial advisor, the privatization process for these companies will accelerate.