Tribune pk

PESHAWAR, Pakistan— Militants attacked a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, triggering a shootout that left three soldiers and three militants dead, the army said Sunday. Four militants were also wounded, the military said in a statement. The overnight shootout early Saturday took place in the Miran Shah tribal area of North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The Pakistani army carried out search operations to track down those responsible for the attack. They also seized a cache of ammunition found with the dead militants. The military said it was “determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism.” Although the army says it has cleared North Waziristan of militants, occasional attacks and shootouts continue, raising concerns that the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, are regrouping in the area. Though a separate group, the TTP remains a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, during the last weeks of the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country after two decades of war. The takeover emboldened the TTP. They unilaterally ended a cease-fire agreement with the Pakistani government last November and have since stepped up their attacks in the country, particularly against the army.

A woman takes care of her child as she with other families take shelter in a school after fleeing from their villages of costal areas due to Cyclone Biparjoy approaching, in Gharo near Thatta, a Pakistan’s southern district in the Sindh province, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. In Pakistan, despite strong winds and rain, authorities said people from vulnerable areas have been moved to safer places in southern Pakistan’s districts. With Cyclone Biparjoy expected to make landfall Thursday evening, coastal regions of India and Pakistan are on high alert. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) MANDVI, India— The coastal regions of India and Pakistan were on high alert Wednesday with tens of thousands of people being evacuated a day ahead of a cyclone’s expected landfall. The India Meteorological Department said Cyclone Biparjoy was packing sustained winds of up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 mph) and was projected to make landfall near Jakhau port in the Kutch district of India’s Gujarat state on Thursday. Residents living within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the coast in Gujarat were evacuated, and those living within 10 kilometers (6 miles) may also have to leave, officials have said. Five people have been killed so far in incidents related to the cyclone, including three boys who drowned off Mumbai’s coast and a woman who was killed in an accident caused by strong winds in Gujarat. Rescuers were searching for another person who drowned off Mumbai. Experts say climate change is leading to an increase...

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PHOTO: FILE ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has paid off a $1 billion Chinese commercial loan, as the government on Tuesday held the first high-level virtual meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its final attempt to receive a $1.2 billion tranche. The $1 billion payment to China was made on Monday, which again pushed the gross official currency reserves below $3 billion. The first virtual contact between Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and IMF Mission Chief Nathan Porter was established after the presentation of the budget five days ago. Sources in the finance ministry said no major breakthrough could be achieved in the first virtual contact and another round of meetings would now be held to address the IMF concerns. The sources added that the IMF raised questions about the viability of the budget numbers, particularly the non-tax revenues. It also raised questions about the tax collection target of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). There were also queries about the reality of the Rs7.3 trillion allocation for the interest payments in the next fiscal year. The IMF team also raised questions about power subsidies. The global lender would hold a meeting with the Power Division, the sources added. The IMF team would also hold a separate meeting with the FBR. Soon after the meeting with the IMF, Dar did not comment on the question about its outcome and left the venue. Only 17 days are left until the expiry of the IMF extended programme and the government has now made the las...

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar addresses the post-budget news conference in Islamabad. PHOTO: ONLINE ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday requested China to fast-track the refinancing of maturing commercial loans of $1.3 billion and apprised it of the diminishing prospects of revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme. The request was made by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar during a meeting with China’s Charge d’affaires Pang Chunxue at the Finance Division. Government officials said that the finance minister raised the issue of refinancing the two Chinese commercial loans amounting to $1.3 billion. The loans are maturing in the next two to three weeks. Chinese authorities have already assured Pakistan that they will refund both the loans but Islamabad wants the money to be re-lent as soon as it is paid back, according to sources. Dar is said to have urged the Chinese charge d’affaires about timely refinancing the loans, which will prop up Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves. Pakistan is scheduled to make a debt repayment of $300 million to the Bank of China in less than two weeks and repay another $1 billion to China Development Bank within three weeks. The country’s official foreign exchange reserves stand at $3.9 billion and any delay in refinancing the loans could pull the reserves much below $3 billion. “The finance minister further updated the charge d’affaires about progress on talks with the IMF on completion of the ninth review,” said a statement issued by t...