Category Archives: Pakistan News

Pakistan’s new government must put development before debt repayment Reply

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A family in Rawalpindi. Ending debt payments would give Pakistan time to develop new sources of revenue.

A family in Rawalpindi. Ending debt payments would give Pakistan time to develop new sources of revenue.

Reposted from The Guardian

by Nick Dearden

With an economy paralyzed by IMF interference, Pakistan could reassert its independence by halting debt repayments.

No matter which government Pakistan’s people had voted for last week, the debt payments the country is scheduled to make in the next two years will largely decide that government’s economic policy. That is, unless the government decides to put its people ahead of those repayments. Given the scale of problems Pakistan faces, is it possible that a sovereign economic agenda could find its way on to the table?
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After Decades of Neglect, Pakistan Rusts in Its Tracks 1

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Pakistan's once efficient railway network has steadily decayed over the years

Pakistan’s once efficient railway network has steadily decayed over the years

Reposted from The New York Times
By Declan Walsh

Resplendent in his gleaming white uniform and peaked cap, jacket buttons tugging his plump girth, the stationmaster stood at the platform, waiting for a train that would never come. “Cutbacks,” Nisar Ahmed Abro said with a resigned shrug.

Ruk Station, in the center of Pakistan, is a dollhouse-pretty building, ringed by palm trees and rice paddies. Once, it stood at the junction of two great Pakistani rail lines: the Kandahar State Railway, which raced north through the desert to the Afghan border; and another that swept east to west, chaining cities from the Hindu Kush mountains to the Arabian Sea. More…

LG to invest billions to capture Pakistan market Reply

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LG Electronics has launched world’s first 84-inch Ultra HD TV, equipped with 3D technology, in Pakistan

LG Electronics has launched world’s first 84-inch Ultra HD TV, equipped with 3D technology, in Pakistan

Reposted from The Express Tribune

By Shahram Haq

LAHORE: LG Electronics, a South Korean multinational company, has launched world’s first 84-inch Ultra HD TV, equipped with 3D technology, in Pakistan with ambitious plans to invest billions of rupees to widen its product range and compete with fellow multinational Samsung in the market.

The 84-inch television carries a price tag of Rs2 million that only the wealthy can afford to buy.

“We have decided to expand our operations by enhancing production capacities to capture growing consumer demand in Pakistan,” said DY Kim, President of LG Electronics Gulf, while talking to The Express Tribune on Thursday. More…

Rice Sales From India May Drop From Record on Vietnam, Pakistan Reply

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thCA55CA3RReposted from Bloomberg

By Pratik Parija & Prabhudatta Mishra

Rice exports from India, the world’s second-largest grower, are poised to slump from a record as supplies from Vietnam, Myanmar and Pakistan widen a global glut, according to the International Rice Research Institute.

Shipments including the aromatic basmati variety may decline 32 percent to 7 million metric tons this year from 10.25 million tons in 2012, said Samarendu Mohanty, a senior economist with the Philippines-based organization. This compares with 9 million tons estimated by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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Pakistan market soars on Sharif win Reply

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Pakistan Market SoarsReposted from Financial Times, Beyond Brics

by Stefan Wagstyl

With a 17 per cent rally this year in the Pakistan stock market driven largely by hopes of a Nawaz Sharif election win, it might have seemed that his apparent victory was in already in the price.

But investors clearly believe there is still a little more juice the engine. The benchmark KSE 100 index rose 1.6 per cent to a record high in Monday trading, as many business people celebrated the former prime minister’s expected return to power. More…

Barrick, Antofagasta give up hope on Pakistan mine Reply

by • Pakistan News • Tags: ,

Pakistan MiningReposted from Mining Weekly

by Reuters

LONDON – Canada’s Barrick Gold and Chile’s Antofagasta have given up hope of mining Reko Diq, a disputed but promising copper and gold project in Pakistan’s poorest region of Baluchistan, and will demand compensation instead.

Reko Diq was meant to be the biggest foreign investment in Pakistan’s mining sector. But development has been frozen since 2011 after the provincial government refused a mining license for the venture jointly owned by Barrick and Antofagasta – Tethyan Copper Company – months after a request was submitted.

Tethyan began international arbitration proceedings in November 2011.
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Acumen Fund to Invest in Pakistan’s Energy Sector Reply

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Acumen Fund is investing in rural energy in Pakistan

Acumen Fund is investing in rural energy in Pakistan

Reposted from The News

Acumen, a pioneering non-profit global venture firm addressing poverty across Africa and South Asia, has announced its first investment in the growing rural energy sector of Pakistan, a statement said.

Acumen is giving a loan of Rs86 million to Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) to support the creation of four community-managed micro hydel units in Chitral, it said.These plants would provide 24 hours clean electricity to remote off-grid communities in Chitral district, a region with limited access to electricity. More…

Pakistan-US alliance takes hits on campaign trail Reply

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In this Sunday, April 28, 2013 photo, Pakistan's former Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Sharif speaks during an election rally in Murree, Pakistan.

In this Sunday, April 28, 2013 photo, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Sharif speaks during an election rally in Murree, Pakistan.

Reposted from the Boston Herald

By Munir Ahmed and Zarar Khan

ISLAMABAD — On the campaign trail in Pakistan, candidates boast about their readiness to stand up to Washington and often tout their anti-American credentials. One party leader even claims he would shoot down U.S. drones if he comes to power.

So it’s perhaps no surprise that the government that emerges from next month’s parliamentary election is likely to be more nationalistic and protective of Pakistani sovereignty than its predecessor.

As a result, the U.S. may need to work harder to enlist Islamabad’s cooperation, and the new Pakistani government might push for greater limits on unpopular American drone strikes targeting Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the country.
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Enhancing trade between Pakistan, Sri Lanka urged Reply

by • Pakistan News, Sri Lanka News
download (24)
Reposted from The Nation
The High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka Qasim Qureshi visited Galle District of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. During the visit to Galle, the High Commissioner participated in a meeting with the officials of the Galle District Chamber of Commerce & Industry.  The meeting reviewed the prevailing business environment between the two friendly countries. Qasim Qureshi emphasised the need to explore ways and means to further enhance business connectivity and the volume of trade between two countries. More…

IMF says met with Pakistan, but received no aid request Reply

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Reposted from Reuters

By Anna Yukhananov

nternational Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief to Romania

nternational Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief to Romania

The International Monetary Fund said it met with Pakistani officials last week, but has not yet received a request for aid from the South Asian country, which faces a critical balance of payments situation.

“Pakistan faces difficult economic challenges and we urge the authorities to begin taking the necessary actions to stabilize the economy and lay the groundwork for future growth,” Jeffrey Franks, the IMF mission chief to the country, said in a statement. More…