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May 29, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. Miftah pins hopes on sealing IMF deal by June
• The government expects to reach a staff level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on May 28, 2022, a day after the government ended a months-old freeze on fuel prices, reviving hopes that the country can unlock funding.
• `We are expecting a staff-level agreement with the IMF in June. What matters is the agreement, after which money can be deposited any time,` he told reporters at a press conference alongside Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha.
• `IMF will give $3bn. We have requested them to extend the programme by a year and expand it by $2bn. I expect that they will agree,` he said.
• Once the agreement with the IMF was finalised, it would pave the way for receiving loans from other multilateral organisations (such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank), he said. Even China had linked any loan with the revival of the IMF programme, he said
2. Prospects of success in ongoing talks with TTP `bleak`
• A United Nations Security Council report has reminded about the persistent threat Pakistan`s security faces from the Afghanistan based Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and warned that prospects of success of the ongoing peace process were bleak.
• The annual report of the 1988 Taliban sanctions committee monitoring team noted TTP`s linkages with Afghan Taliban, explained how the group benefitted from the fall of Ghani regime last year and touched upon its relations with other terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan.
• The banned T TP, the report noted, had up to 4,000 fighters based in east and south-east areas along Afghanistan Pakistan border and made up the largest group of foreign fighters based there
3. Govt bans public rallies at Greater Iqbal Park
• Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz has given approval to impose a ban on holding rallies in the Greater Iqbal Park, saying that the use of this historical park for holding public rallies is inappropriate.
• The CM refused the proposal to slap entry fee in the park, calling it the park of the poor. He said the government would not impose an entry fee in the park under any circumstance.
• The decision was made in a meeting of the Parks & Horticulture Authority presided over by the CM.
• According to a notification issued by the Lahore DC, the ban on any political or other form of fathering had been imposed keeping in view the maintenance and upkeep of the park
4. ECC okays import of 3m tonnes of wheat
• Pre-empting shortage and rising prices, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on May 28, 2022 decided to import two million tonnes of wheat on a government-to-government (G2G) basis, while 1m tonnes through an international tendering process under the existing arrangement.
• The ECC meeting presided over by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also approved supplementary grants of nearly Rs123 billion including one for payments to lawyers associations and subsidy amount on petroleum products differential claims of oil companies.
• The meeting reviewed the wheat situation in the country and directed the Ministry of Food Security to get the requirements of wheat by the provincial governments. Passco ASSCO will be the recipient agency for the imported wheat
5. IFC to invest $25m in Pakistan`s top fashion retailers
• The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest the equivalent of $25 million in Pakistani rupees in one of the country`s top fashion retailers to create jobs, promote gender equality and support the crucial textile sector post-pandemic.
• This investment is part of a broader effort by the IFC to support the development of Pakistan`s private sector, which is key to creating opportunities and combating poverty in the country, IFC announced on Saturday.
• Since 1956, IFC has invested over $1.2 billion in Pakistan, helping to support smaller businesses and spur the development of renewable energy, hydro, and wind energy projects.
