Latest news with #Karachi
Reuters
an hour ago
- Business
- Reuters
Pakistan signs $4.5 billion loans with local banks to ease power sector debt
KARACHI, June 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan has signed term sheets with 18 commercial banks for a 1.275 trillion Pakistani rupee ($4.50 billion) Islamic finance facility to help pay down mounting debt in its power sector, the power minister said on Friday. The government, which owns or controls much of the power infrastructure, is grappling with ballooning 'circular debt', unpaid bills and subsidies, that has choked the sector and weighed on the economy. The liquidity crunch has disrupted supply, discouraged investment and added to fiscal pressure, making it a key focus under Pakistan's $7 billion IMF programme. Finding funds to plug the gap has been a persistent challenge, with limited fiscal space and high-cost legacy debt making resolution efforts more difficult. 'Eighteen commercial banks will provide these loans through Islamic financing,' Power Minister Awais Leghari told Reuters. 'It will be repaid in 24 quarterly instalments over six years.' The facility, structured under Islamic principles, is secured at a concessional rate of 3-month KIBOR, the benchmark rate banks use to price loans, minus 0.9%, a formula agreed on by the IMF. Leghari said it will not add to public debt. Existing liabilities carry higher costs, including late payment surcharges on Independent Power Producers of up to KIBOR plus 4.5%, and older loans ranging slightly above benchmark rates. Meezan Bank ( opens new tab, HBL ( opens new tab, National Bank of Pakistan ( opens new tab and UBL ( opens new tab were among the banks participating in the deal, he said. The government expects to allocate 323 billion rupees annually to repay the loan, capped at 1.938 trillion rupees over six years. The agreement also aligns with Pakistan's target of eliminating interest-based banking by 2028, with Islamic finance now comprising about a quarter of total banking assets. ($1 = 283.5000 Pakistani rupees)
Times of Oman
6 hours ago
- Health
- Times of Oman
Pakistan reports three deaths from Congo virus
Islamabad [Pakistan]: Three deaths from the Congo virus have been recorded in Pakistan on Thursday, which include two fatalities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Karachi, The Express Tribune reported. The victim in Sindh has been identified as a 25-year-old fisherman from Ibrahim Hyderi, while fatalities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been reported from Karak and North Waziristan. Health officials said Muhammad Zubair, a resident of Malir district, first experienced symptoms like high fever, muscle pain, abdominal discomfort, coughing, diarrhoea, bleeding, and loss of consciousness on June 16. He was admitted to Jinnah Hospital, where doctors suspected he had the Congo virus infection. He was shifted to the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital due to a lack of specialised treatment facilities, and he died there at 7 am on June 19. The Sindh Health Department has sent an active search and response to the impacted area. Contact tracing efforts have been conducted, with people who were in close contact with the deceased being identified and monitored. So far, no other cases have been reported. Residents and the family of the victim have been advised to follow strict precautionary measures to stop further spread, The Express Tribune reported. The fatality came after another death was reported from the virus earlier this week, when a 42-year-old man from Malir district was taken to Indus Hospital in Korangi on June 16 and died the next day. Two Congo virus patients from Karak and North Waziristan districts died at Hayatabad Medical Complex in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These fatalities have increased the death toll in the province to three. Meanwhile, three more patients infected with the virus are receiving treatment in isolation wards at the hospital. Health Advisor Ehtesham Ali said contact tracing and sanitisation operations have begun at the homes of the deceased and the infected, The Express Tribune reported. He further said that the advisory about the Congo virus was shared with all hospitals in Pakistan before Eid al-Adha, as the increased movement and slaughter of sacrificial animals increase the risk of transmission.
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Veteran Pakistani actress Ayesha Khan passes away in Karachi— report
ISLAMABAD: Veteran Pakistani actress Ayesha Khan was found dead in her flat in Karachi this week, various news outlets reported on Friday as tributes poured in from colleagues who had worked with her. As per reports in prominent Pakistani news websites such as The News, and other publications, 77-year-old Khan was found dead in her flat in Karachi's Gulshan-e-Iqbal area on Thursday. Quoting police, local media reports said Khan's body seemed to be around a week old when it was found, adding that the actress was living alone. Khan starred in several high-profile Pakistani drama serials such as 'Afshan,' 'Uroosa,' 'Aanch,' 'Bandhan' and 'Shaam Se Pehle.' Fellow actors and colleagues paid tribute to the actress as news of her death spread. Prominent actor Adnan Siddiqui recalled working alongside Khan in Uroosa, which was his first drama serial. 'She was my on-screen mother but brought a compassion reminiscent of a maternal figure, a presence that soothed, grounded and made a space feel more human,' Siddiqui wrote on Instagram. Siddiqui said Khan was never loud but rather calm and let her 'acting do the talking.' 'Ayesha jee wasn't just an actor; she was an atmosphere. And her absence will be deeply felt,' he wrote. A post shared by Adnan Siddiqui (@adnansid1) 'Devastating. Rest in peace, Ayesha ji,' Pakistani actress Anoushay Abbasi wrote beneath Siddiqui's post. As per Geo News, Khan's body was discovered when her neighbors informed her family about a 'foul smell' emitting from the actress' apartment. 'After being informed, police rushed to the scene and shifted her body to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center for medico-legal formalities,' the report said. It added that police said a post-mortem would be conducted if requested by the family. Later, Khan's body was shifted to Edhi Foundation's mortuary in Karachi's Sohrab Goth area, the report stated.
Arab News
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Arab News
Pakistan unveils new EV policy with over $353 million in subsidies for electric bikes, rickshaws
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday unveiled Pakistan's new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2025-30, announcing a five-year subsidy of over Rs100 billion ($353 million) for electric bikes and rickshaws. The move comes amid a steady rise in electric vehicle adoption in a market traditionally dominated by Japanese automakers. Pakistan's urban areas exhibit some of the world's highest levels of air pollution, with road transport being a major contributor. Chinese and Korean EV brands are increasingly entering the local market, making these vehicles a more frequent sight in cities such as Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. 'Total subsidy over five years will be over Rs100 billion and it will basically be focused on the two-and-three wheelers,' Haroon Akhtar Khan, a close aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, told a news conference. 'We will have subsidized financing for 116,053 electric bikes, 3,171 rickshaws.' 'A Rs9 billion [$31 million] subsidy will be allocated, and it is already there in the 2025-26 budget,' he continued. Khan added the government also allocated a 25 percent quota for women to increase their mobility. He projected the initiative will help with the annual savings of Rs283 billion ($1 billion) in fuel costs and a reduction of 4.5 million tons of carbon emissions. Khan said Pakistan's new EV policy was aimed at disincentivizing internal combustion engine vehicles and promoting electric mobility to help cut greenhouse gas emissions that damage the earth's ozone layer. He informed Pakistan has around 70,000 electric motorcycles, 5,200 electric cars and 450 electric buses, adding the government issued 61 manufacturing licenses for electric two- and three-wheelers including motorcycles and rickshaws. Khan also acknowledged the country lacks adequate EV charging infrastructure and faces challenges related to the absence of safety and quality standards. He said the government aims for 30 percent of all new vehicles produced over the next five years to be electric. 'So, we are establishing new electric vehicle testing rules, safety and emission standards,' he said. 'We have to make sure that if anybody is manufacturing an electric vehicle there are no emissions,' he continued. 'Another thing is battery disposal. We don't want to create any environmental problem that the battery is not disposed properly.' The country previously approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP) in 2019, aiming for electric vehicles to make up 30 percent of all passenger car and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030. The policy set an even more ambitious target of making 90 percent of all vehicle sales electric by 2040.
Arab News
a day ago
- Business
- Arab News
Five groups submit qualification documents in Pakistan's renewed push to privatize PIA
KARACHI: Pakistan has received qualification documents from five investor groups seeking to acquire a controlling stake in its loss-making national carrier, the Privatization Commission said on Thursday, as the government advances a long-delayed divestment plan. The privatization of state-owned entities has been mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Pakistan works to implement structural reforms and stabilize its economy, which has recently shown signs of macroeconomic improvement. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), in particular, has survived for years on government bailouts, placing further strain on the country's already cash-strapped finances. The government invited expressions of interest in April for a stake ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent in Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL), along with management control. The final deadline for submitting Statements of Qualification (SOQs) was today. 'The Privatization Commission received Expression of Interest (EOI) from ... eight interested parties,' the official statement said, adding that 'five interested parties submitted SOQs by the deadline today.' Among the groups that submitted documents are a consortium comprising Lucky Cement, Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures; a consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation with Fatima Fertilizer, City Schools and Lake City Holdings; Air Blue Limited; Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited, which is a military-backed firm; and a consortium including Serene Air, Augment Securities, Bahria Foundation, Mega C&S Holding and Equitas. The government had previously attempted to privatize PIA in 2024 but called off the process after receiving a single bid of Rs10 billion ($36 million) from Blue World City — far below the Rs85 billion ($305 million) floor price. The sale was scrapped, citing the airline's weak financial position and unattractive terms for buyers. PIA has long been a fiscal liability, with operational earnings repeatedly offset by heavy debt servicing. However, following restructuring, it reported an operating profit of Rs9.3 billion ($33.1 million) in April, its first in 21 years. 'The SOQs submitted by the parties will be evaluated by the Privatization Commission against the prequalification criteria,' the official statement informed. 'The prequalified parties will proceed to the next stage where they will be given access to the virtual data room to undertake buy-side due diligence.'
