Tag: Foreign

ISLAMABAD - Majority of the members of the National Assembly on Thursday expressed concerns on the massive foreign content being telecast by the country's television channels which, according to them, was against the cultural values of the country.
Responding to different questions, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari agreed to the notion of the members and said that some dramas telecast by some TV channels were of Indian content and

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Balochistan government to provide details of agreements it made with foreign companies for exploration of gold and copper mines in Reko Diq area in Balochistan.
A four-member bench - comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday - was hearing a case against leasing of Reko Diq gold and copper mines in Balochistan worth more than $260

KARACHI - At a time when the economic managers in Islamabad are rejoicing at the achievement of a positive balance of $26 million in its current account, the country's financial accounts have 'coincidentally' deteriorated to their worst level in the last five years. According to official sources, Pakistan is in the deep end with its financial accounts facing on the most severe monetary imbalances since 2005.
"The current account surplus is indeed a good omen but, the country's

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Wednesday summoned for today (Thursday) the complete record of the contract of the lease of the Reko Diq copper and gold reserves to foreign exploration and mining companies.
A four-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday, also directed the former and incumbent Balochistan chief secretaries to appear in court today (Thursday) along with the

ISLAMABAD - Concerned about Pakistan's economic situation and perturbed by the political resistance to reforms per the commitment with international donors, foreign diplomats, particularly Americans and Britons, have stepped up their efforts to persuade opposition parties not to fight reformed general sales tax (RGST).
US Ambassador Cameron Munter on Monday called on PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and discussed at length the economic issues and

ISLAMABAD - Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar on Monday informed the Lower House of parliament that the state-run-airliner owed Rs 139,614 million on account of domestic and foreign loans as of November 30, 2010.
In a written statement, the minister said it was a common practice for airlines globally to acquire aircraft fleet on credit or lease (project financing). In line with this practice, the PIA had also financed its acquisition of Boeing 777 fleet, ATR fleet and Airbus A-310

ISLAMABAD - The Presidency has said that no proposal is under consideration to employ foreign guards for the security of the president.
Contradicting the report published in a section of media, stating that the government was considering hiring foreign guards for the president's security, President's Spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that the reports were completely devoid of truth.
He said that none of the personal staff for the president, from the military secretary (MS) to

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on Wednesday, lifted ban on the export of all types of foreign currencies (FCys) except the US dollar after, what the SBP spokesman said, was a result of stabilisation in the country's exchange rate.According to Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), the "good" decision would help the country avoid smuggling of foreign exchange and a monthly loss of over $200 million that the money exchangers used to contribute in the exchequer

KARACHI - Foreign funding is sought for the establishment of a transmission line to the Thar coalfields for the distribution of between 2,500 and 3,000 megawatts electricity from the coal projects to the national grid.
Ministry of Water and Power will hold a meeting shortly with all concerned stakeholders to resolve the issue related to the approval of the project from Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in order to ensure that work on the transmission

ISLAMABAD - The government is opposed to the grant of citizenship to the foreigners who are married to Pakistani women as it believes the permission would pave the way for back-door entry of anti-state elements into the country.
Interior Secretary Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on Monday that the same kind of proposal was rejected by the then standing committee on interior and the law ministry in 2005 on similar grounds of

ISLAMABAD - Intense lobbying is underway in the Foreign Office for the top slot of the foreign secretary, with two senior diplomats using their connections with the higher authorities to clinch the coveted post, while incumbent Salman Bashir is trying hard to retain the post.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had already decided to reshuffle the Foreign Ministry, including the change of hands at the foreign secretary's office. In the wake of the decision, various names are being

KARACHI - A healthy correction of around 121 points during the initial two trading sessions of the week provided the much needed boost to the bull in its ascent. During the preceding three trading days benchmark index gradually gathered pace and exhibited a bullish trend.
The market momentum was backed by established foreign investors who aggressively invested in the market. On Thursday, investment of around $11.76 million was conducted which pushed the benchmark index up by 178

TEHRAN - Iran opened the doors of its two atomic facilities to foreign diplomats Saturday, in a rare move to drum up support just days before talks with world powers about its sensitive nuclear programme.
The two-day tour to the heavy water installation in Arak and the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz - both located in central Iran - was snubbed by Tehran's key allies China and Russia, as well as the European Union.
Iran had invited several envoys to the

KARACHI - The flow of foreign investment in the "instable" Pakistan has declined by 15.4 percent to $1.05 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year, Pakistan Today learnt on Friday.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the net inflow of foreign investment in during July-December 2010-11 stood at $1.05 billion against $1.24 billion in the corresponding period last year, registering a dip of $191 million on a year-on-year basis.
Analysts see

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Thursday said it would not accept any foreign pressure for launching a military offensive against the Al Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants in North Waziristan, which the United States believes has become the hub of global terrorism.
"Washington knows our position, our viewpoint on full-scale operations in North Waziristan very well and we will move ahead at a time of our own choosing," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said while addressing his weekly

LAHORE - Mr Justice Azmat Saeed of Lahore High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition regarding the late Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer's four-day foreign visit and declared it non-maintainable.
The judge observed that since Salman Taseer had passed away, it would not be now possible to establish whether or not he had some mala fide intention by keeping his foreign tour secret. After hearing strong arguments from the petitioner, the court did not dismiss the petition and

LAHORE - The facility of online investment for overseas Pakistanis in the National Savings will boost the inflow of foreign exchange to the country. National Savings Director General Zafar M.Sheikh said that a website is being launched to facilitate overseas Pakistanis for online investment in National Savings from all corners of the world.
This initiative, he said would certainly attract overseas Pakistani workers to directly invest their savings in Pakistan, as a result the