The Strict Terms of the IMF | Sale of Thunder Aircraft | Dengue Alert: Ishraq A Hashmi

 

With the approval of the $7 billion bailout package, where the economic circles of the country have expressed satisfaction, in the background of this encouraging situation, such conditions have come out from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will be a tough test for the government to fulfill. These include a re-examination of the NFC award formula, which, according to economists, could affect the distribution of resources among provinces, monitoring of provincial spending and the IMF in issuing development programs. In an effort to tighten fiscal discipline, the government will refrain from fixing grain prices. The energy sector will not be subsidized by more than one percent of GDP, making electricity more expensive. Pakistan will not be able to get additional grants during the loan program. The agricultural sector, real estate and retail sector should be brought under the tax regime. According to the IMF, despite the economic development, the challenges facing the country remain in place, business environment, weak governance.

And among the obstacles to investment, the state role and taxation system remained weak, however, it was recognized that the increase in agricultural activities, reduction in inflation and current account deficit and stable foreign exchange market conditions helped to improve foreign exchange reserves. According to the IMF, spending on health and education is inadequate and limited infrastructure and investment have affected economic capacity. Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who was part of the delegation led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to meet with the Managing Director of the IMF, said in an interview to the American Broadcasting Corporation in Washington that the Prime Minister's economic He called the agenda closer to the terms of the IMF. He said that documenting the undocumented economy of Rs 9,000 billion is our first priority. will impose such restrictions, which will not allow them to do many things. The finance minister said that the government papers contain data on people's lifestyles, including all information including vehicles and foreign travel. He confirmed this commitment.

He reiterated that retailers, wholesalers, agriculture and property sectors will be brought into the tax net. On the other hand, the government has included proposals to close more government institutions in its right-sizing agenda, which will be presented to the Prime Minister and later to the federal cabinet for approval. It will be done. After the approval of the bailout package of 7 billion dollars from the IMF, it will be easier to get more loans from other institutions and friendly countries. The economy will be able to free the country from the burden of foreign debts of 87 thousand billion rupees, will the foreign exchange reserves remain in a stable position without borrowing and the common man will get out of economic difficulties? Making the answer to all these positive is inevitable but a big challenge for the government and this should be the main objective of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's economic agenda.

Sale of Thunder Aircraft 

Pakistan is not only earning valuable foreign exchange by exporting agricultural commodities, industrial products and other rare goods to needy countries, but also strengthening the economy by contributing to international trade, business and transactions and highlighting its importance in the international community. It also has defense cooperation agreements with some countries, which is an inevitable norm in today's world. The latest initiative in this regard is the agreement to sell JF Block 3 Thunder fighter aircraft to Azerbaijan, an important country in Central Asia.

According to the public relations department of the army, the purpose of this deal is to increase the air capabilities of Azerbaijan. They have the ability to target from air to air and from air to ground. President of Azerbaijan Iham Aliyev witnessed their capabilities during his recent visit to Pakistan. sent to participate in 2024. President Aliyev on this occasion once again observed the performance of Pakistani Thunder jets which resulted in a mutual purchase agreement. Azerbaijan's defense capabilities will increase exponentially. After Myanmar and Nigeria, Azerbaijan is the third country to buy our aircraft and it is expected that Iraq will also do the same.

Dengue Alert For Pakistan

As the month of September draws to a close, the Meteorological Department has done well to issue an alert for possible dengue outbreaks. It would have been more appropriate if this warning had been issued some time earlier so that cleaning and remedial measures could have been taken earlier for the causes of water accumulation in houses, streets and other places. Both malaria and dengue are infectious diseases, with malaria-carrying mosquitoes breeding in dirty water and dengue-causing mosquitoes breeding in clean water. According to the analysis of dengue-causing conditions released by the Meteorological Department, dengue has started in Karachi since mid-September due to favorable weather conditions, which may spread to major cities of the country by October. It was said that the spread of dengue can also occur in rain-affected areas after monsoon.

During almost two decades, dengue fever has badly affected the health of people, so measures to stop the breeding of dengue mosquito are necessary to prevent its spread. During the last 10 years, an increase in dengue is being seen between September 20 and September 5 after the monsoon. Dengue becomes active during 3 to 5 months when the temperature is between 26 and 29 degrees. Meanwhile, if the humidity in the air remains between 60%, dengue gets a favorable environment. The active period of dengue attacks is two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset. To prevent mosquito breeding and bites, open water should not be allowed to accumulate inside and outside the houses, water containers should be covered, mosquito repellants, perfumes, etc. should be used. There is a need to maintain cleanliness in the streets and conduct awareness campaigns at the official and social levels as well.