Crackdown
The federal government has issued orders to block the passports of suspects declared absconders in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust corruption case. Among the people facing the penalty are property tycoon Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz, former accountability adviser Shahzad Akbar, and Farhat Shahzadi, a close friend of Bushra Imran.
Rejected Offer
The PTI has rejected a new offer from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to resume talks aimed at achieving political stability. The premier had indicated willingness to form a parliamentary committee to probe the May 9 and Nov. 26 incidents—as well as the PTI’s 2014 sit-in and the 2018 and 2024 general elections. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub has said the offer is “too little, too late.”
Seeking Peace
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to engage with tribesmen living on both sides of Pak-Afghan border in a bid to restore peace in the restive region. The provincial government is currently compiling terms of reference for the talks, which it says will then be shared with the federal government for final approval before there is any formal implementation of the process.
PECA Protests
Journalist bodies are set to launch a nationwide protest movement against the controversial PECA amendments that became law after the assent of President Asif Ali Zardari. JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has lamented that the president did not honor a commitment to consult with journalists before approving the bill.
FBR Halts Vehicle Purchase
The Federal Board of Revenue has ‘temporarily’ halted the procurement of 1,010 new vehicles amidst mounting criticism from the public as well as Senate panel. The tax body will now submit a proposal for the purchase to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority for analysis prior to proceeding with the purchase. Earlier, senators had questioned why the purchase occurred without a formal tender.
Halted USAID
The Foreign Office has said Pakistan is optimistic about a resumption of assistance programs under the U.S. Agency for International Development once President Trump’s administration has completed its review. Trump has paused all foreign development assistance programs for 90 days to assess their efficiency and consistency with U.S. foreign policy.
PIA Flight Ban
The federal cabinet has decided to form a fact-finding committee to determine motives behind former aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s “irresponsible and speculative” statements in 2020. Speaking on the floor of the House, Sarwar had alleged a majority of PIA pilots had fake licenses, pushing several countries to ban the airline from operating in their airspace, causing severe revenue losses.
Revising Tariffs
The government has successfully inked agreements with 14 Independent Power Producers to revise tariffs downwards. The move aims to achieve savings of Rs. 813 billion for consumers, helping resolve the roughly Rs. 329 billion circular debt. Under the deal, the IPPs will return excess profits of Rs. 31 billion while the government will close ongoing probes against various IPPs.
Seeking Legal Intervention
Former Prime Minister Prime Minister Imran Khan has written a 349-page letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Constitutional Bench chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, urging them to take notice of alleged human rights violations, electoral fraud, and the arrests of PTI workers. The letter has also criticized the judiciary for failing to provide justice despite multiple petitions seeking the same.
Revenue Shortfall
The FBR chairman has informed a Senate panel the tax body failed to achieve its targets for the first six months of the ongoing fiscal due to exchange rate stability, lower than expected inflation, slow recovery of large-scale manufacturing sector and less than expected low GDP growth rate. He expects this trend to continue through February with a reversal in the last four months of FY2024-25.