Tag: Finance

Agriculture groans under inequity and lack of finance

KARACHI: Commercial banks should reduce interest rates on agriculture loans for small farmers. The government must subsidise the effort, while ensuring correct implementation of the Sindh Tenancy Act. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was also called upon to monitor loan schemes and ensure transparency.
This was demanded at consultative workshop on the state of agriculture and issues faced by small farmers, jointly organised by Participatory Development Initiatives (PDI), Oxfam

WikiLeaks – Saudi ‘critical’ finance base for Qaeda and Taliban

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is the key source of funding for radical Islamist groups including Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas and Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, according to a US diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks on Sunday.
"Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide," said the document, an assessment from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dated December 30, 2009. "Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for Al

Can’t fund it anymore – Finance Division proposes privatisation of Railways

ISLAMABAD: To put the Pakistan Railways on the right track, the federal finance secretary on Friday proposed the government to privatise the organisation, saying the move would cure all its financial and administrative woes.
Finance Secretary Salman Siddique proposed the privatisation of Pakistan Railways due to the government's financial constraints as well as Pakistan Railways' poor performance for the last several years. He said the Finance Division was unable to provide more

Public depts in trouble as Finance Department blocks funds

LAHORE
Provincial departments are in deep financial trouble as the Punjab Finance Department has stopped funds, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday.
The departments, including Education, Health, Communication and Works, and Livestock are feeling the heat of financial crunch and have no option but to linger on payments to their contractors and halt all kind of development, sources said.
"Only salaries and pensions of government employees are being paid," an official of the