Says 27 out of 28 FATF conditions met
\n Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has informed the Senate that the country will start using the $1.2 billion Saudi oil facility on deferred payment from March.
\nTarin told the house during the question hour on Friday that the government has tried not to pass on to people the full burden of international increase in petroleum products. He said, \u201cWe have reduced sales tax and Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on petroleum products to provide relief to the masses.\u201d
\n\u201cWe went to Saudi Arabia and told [its government] that oil prices are rising so give us [oil] on deferred payments,\u201d the finance minister said. \u201cWe have not used the deferred payment facility until now. We will use it from next month.\u201d Tarin said Pakistan had been using its own reserves at the moment. The finance minister said foreign exchange reserves of State Bank of Pakistan have increased over the last one year which will help reduce pressure on the rupee. Tarin said Pakistan received three billion dollars from Saudi Arabia in the month of December 2021 for a period of one year at four percent interest rate.
\nHe said that the country\u2019s exports and remittances are increasing whilst the trade deficit was reduced by $1.5 billion last month. Responding to a supplementary question, the finance minister said that Pakistan has met twenty seven out of twenty eight conditions of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). He hoped that the country would come out of the grey list in the next review meeting of FATF.
\nIn a written reply, the minister said that it is a fact that import bill jumped 70% to US$ 33 billion in July-November 2021 compared to US$19.5 billion in the corresponding months of 2020, adding that increase in import is mainly due to substantial increase in the price of oil, gas, coal and food commodities in the international markets.
\nThe minister said moreover, increase in the investment in capital goods, raw material and intermediate goods due to enhanced activity in the industrial sector also contributed to the increase in the import bill. He said that further, significant increase in the import of vaccines has also impacted the import bill.
\nHe said that the following steps have been for curtailing imports; State Bank of Pakistan has imposed 100 percent Cash Margin Requirement (CMR) on import of 525 items to discourage the import. The government has increased the Regulatory Duty from 15 % on import of various vehicles\u201d. another question, in written reply, the minister said that regulatory duty (RD) has been levied on import of multiple luxury and non-essential items.
\nMinister for Science and Technology, Shibli Faraz told the house that Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments have started important projects for provision of clean drinking water.
\nMinister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Muhammad Khan said several projects worth billions of rupees have been launched for the development of Balochistan and Gwadar.
\nTaking the floor, Leader of the House in the Senate Shahzad Waseem said Pakistan wants cordial relations with all the countries including the United States. He categorically stated that Pakistan is not part of any camp.
\nHe regretted the silence of international human rights over rising religious hatred and extremism in India, saying the worst form of Islamophobia is being seen in India which poses threat to peace and stability.
\nLater, the house was adjourned to meet again on Monday at 03:00pm.
\nThe financing agreement for the oil facility was signed last November between the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and the Pakistani Economic Affairs Division. \u201cAs per Financing Agreement, the SFD will extend the financing facility up to $100 million per month for one-year for purchase of petroleum products on deferred payment basis,\u201d a statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs had read.
\nA $4.2 billion Saudi support package, which included a $1.2 billion oil loan facility, was agreed during Prime Minister Imran Khan\u2019s visit to Riyadh in October last year. In December, Pakistan received the $3 billion loan but the oil facility is yet to be put into use. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says 27 out of 28 FATF conditions met Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has informed the Senate that the country will start using the $1.2 billion Saudi oil facility on deferred payment from March. Tarin told the house during the question hour on Friday that the government has tried not to pass on to people the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3988,501,676],"class_list":{"0":"post-243941","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-oil-facility","9":"tag-saudi-arabia","10":"tag-shaukat-tarin"},"yoast_head":"\n