Business

In a first, interim govt to release Rs29bn in development funds

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

24-member steering committee to monitor release of funds.
Committee includes senators from PML-N, PPP, PTI, JUI-F.
It can also cancel or stop release of funds for any scheme.

ISLAMABAD: The incumbent caretaker government, led by Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, is set to release Rs29 billion in development funds for the first time in the country’s history, The News reported Wednesday.

The federal cabinet has also constituted a 24-member steering committee — headed by caretaker Minister for Communication Shahid Ashraf Tarar — to monitor and supervise the release of funds, said official sources.

The committee, which includes four caretaker ministers also comprises senators belonging to Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP), National Party (NP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and senior officials of ministries and divisions concerned.

The previous Shehbaz Sharif-led government reserved Rs90 billion for development funds for the fiscal year 2023-2024, out of which Rs61 billion was released in four months.

The sources said the PPP and other parties have raised the issue of failure to release the remaining development funds.

Headed by the caretaker minister for communication, the steering committee also includes federal ministers Sarfraz Bugti, Dr Nadeem Jan, Madad Ali Sindhi; senators Danesh Kumar (BAP), Palwasha Khan (PPP), Irfan Siddiqui (PML-N), Mohsin Aziz (PTI), Kamran Murtaza (JUI-F), Syed Faisal Sabswari (MQM-P), Tahir Bazinjo (NP), Arbab Umar Farooq (ANP), Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen (PkMAP) and federal secretaries for finance, planning and development, petroleum, power, housing and development.

The steering committee also comprises the Punjab Planning and Development Board chairman and Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh development additional secretaries. It will also have the power to cancel or stop the release of development funds for any scheme.

Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi, when approached to comment on the formation of the steering committee, said it was not in his knowledge.

“I have no knowledge of that,” he said in a one-liner.

Business

The NORINCO Group is invited by CM Sindh to explore opportunities.

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

Chinese companies have been invited by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to visit Karachi and other regions of Sindh Province in order to observe the quickly growing businesses and investigate prospects in fields like clean energy, infrastructure development, and public transit projects.

Speaking in Beijing to a delegation headed by the chairman of NORINCO International Co., Ltd., he stated that all facilities required would be provided by the governments of Sindh Province and Pakistan.

With assistance from NORINCO International, the Sindh Chief Minister stated that the Provincial Government will firmly urge North Vehicle and BeiBen to think about setting up a Vehicle Assembly Plant in the Dhabeji Special Economic Zone.

Business

A deal with Pakistan to fight financial crimes has been approved by the Saudi cabinet.

Published

11 hours ago

Farwa

In order to strengthen collaboration in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and associated crimes, the Saudi Press Agency announced this week that the Saudi cabinet, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).

Due to its severe money laundering and terrorism funding issues in recent years, Pakistan was added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list in June 2018.

The nation was taken off the gray list in October 2022 after enacting extensive measures to fortify its financial system.

The FMU is Pakistan’s financial intelligence unit, created under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2010 and tasked with collaborating with foreign partners and evaluating reports of suspicious transactions.

According to the SPA, “the cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in exchanging investigations related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and related crimes between the Financial Monitoring Unit in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the General Department of Financial Investigation at the Presidency of State Security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The MoU is an indication of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s growing strategic partnership. A significant Pakistani diaspora resides in the Kingdom, and numerous Pakistani businesses have established a presence there.

Saudi Arabia has been a key supporter of Pakistan’s economy, bolstering its reserves with substantial deposits in the State Bank of Pakistan and offering deferred oil payment facilities.