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Structural impediments challenge Pakistan’s macroeconomic stability: SBP

Structural impediments are challenges to sustaining macroeconomic stability, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s annual report on the state of the economy said on Thursday. “Falling investment … unfavourable business environment, lack of research and development, and low productivity, alongside climate change risks continue to constrain the economy’s growth potential,” the SBP said in a statement . Additionally, the central bank noted that “longstanding inefficiencies in the energy sector have resulted in the accumulation of the circular debt”. “While the government has started to address energy sector challenges through substantial price adjustments, there is a need to broaden the scope of these efforts by introducing sectoral policy and regulatory reforms,” it said. The SBP added that the reforms were necessary to address the inefficient nature of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that continued to burden fiscal resources already restrained by a low tax-to-GDP ratio. On a positi
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School girl ‘sexually assaulted’ in Jhelum

GUJAR KHAN: An eight-year-old girl has allegedly been sexually assaulted by vendor of her school canteen in Pind Dadan Khan town. According to the police sources, Sajida Khanum, a widow mother of the girl, reported to the police that her daughter was a student of KG class at a private school located in vicinity of DSP office. According to Sajida Khanum, when the girl returned from school on Oct 15 she told her mother that she was sexually assaulted by the canteen man. After registering the complaint the police got the alleged victim medically examined and also registered a case under section 376-iii of PPC and arrested the accused. Meanwhile, the school has also been sealed by the local administration. The residents of the area have voiced concern over rising incidents of assaults on students and urged the Punjab chief minister and the minister of education to bring the culprits to justice. Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2024 from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/oFmBhNQ
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SC disposes of lawyers’ plea against constitutional amendments upon withdrawal

The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a petition seeking a declaration that the government’s much-touted ‘Constitutional Package’ cannot be introduced or enacted by parliament after the plea was withdrawn. The Consti­tutional Package comprises legislation proposing a set of constitutional amendments, including the extension of the top judge’s term. Experts fear that the proposed amendments would virtually erode the independence of the judiciary by restricting the SC to only hearing appeals or petitions of civil and criminal nature. Perturbed by the government’s plans, a group of lawyers, led by former Supreme Court Bar Association Abid Shahid Zuberi had moved a petition before the apex court in September to restrain the government from tabling the bill before parliament. The petition was previously returned by the SC registrar’s office but was fixed for hearing in a supplementary cause list issued on Saturday. A petition against the amendments was also filed last week by t
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India blames Canada PM Trudeau for damaging ties over Sikh separatist murder row

India blamed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday for disastrous diplomatic fallout following the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada. New Delhi held firm its defiant stance towards Ottawa — an approach in sharp contrast to its compliant attitude this week towards the United States, where India is also accused of directing a separate assassination plot. Canada has alleged that India arranged the killing of a Sikh separatist, naturalised Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, murdered in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Vancouver in June 2023. India has called the allegations “preposterous”. But Trudeau, at a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday, said Canada had “clear… indications that India had violated Canada’s sovereignty”. Canada’s top envoy to New Delhi, Stewart Wheeler, who India has ordered to leave by Saturday night, has said Ottawa had provided “credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the Government of India and the murder o
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How Israels bulky pager caught Hezbollah unaware

The batteries inside the weaponised pagers that arrived in Lebanon at the start of the year, part of an Israeli plot to decimate Hezbollah, had powerfully deceptive features and an Achilles’ heel. The agents who built the pagers designed a battery that concealed a small but potent charge of plastic explosive and a novel detonator that was invisible to X-ray, according to a Lebanese source with first-hand knowledge of the pagers and teardown photos of the battery pack seen by Reuters . To overcome the weakness — the absence of a plausible backstory for the bulky new product — they created fake online stores, pages and posts that could deceive Hezbollah due diligence, a Reuters review of web archives shows. The stealthy design of the pager bomb and the battery’s carefully constructed cover story, both described here for the first time, shed light on the execution of a years-long operation which has struck unprecedented blows against Israel’s Iran-backed Lebanese foe and pushed t
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US welcomes SCO Summit amid reservations

The United States, in a statement on Tuesday, made it clear that Pakistan has the autonomy to align with any regional groupings but advised that such associations must “strictly adhere to international law and not violate the sovereignty of other nations.” The US policy statement comes as Pakistan hosts the high-stakes Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad, featuring major players like Russia, China, India, Iran, and key Central Asian states. During a press briefing , US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasised the importance of compliance with global norms, stating, “The United States respects each country’s sovereign right to associating groupings of its own choosing.” But “we will encourage every country to ensure that its participation in multilateral fora upholds and respects international law and reaffirms the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of all nations,” he added. Miller also addressed the concerns raised by Pakista
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Pakistan, Russia commence joint military drill ‘Druzbha VII’ at Pabbi

Pakistan and Russia have commenced a joint military exercise codenamed Druzhba (Friend­ship) VII, marking the 7th bilateral joint counterterrorism exercise between the two militaries, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Tuesday. According to the military’s media wing, the drill is “aimed at refining professional skills through joint training, besides harnessing the historic military-to-military relations among friendly countries”. “The two-week long exercise commenced on October 13 at National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Pabbi, with the participation of Light Commando Troops of Pakistan Army and Russian Military Contingent,” the ISPR said. According to the statement, the Commandant National Counter-Terrorism Centre graced the exercise’s opening ceremony as a chief guest. The last military drill — Druzbha VI — was held at the Molkino Trg area of Krasnodar, Russia, in 2021. Pakistani armed forces routinely conduct joint military exercises with other nat
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