The Indian Panorama

Tag: Ishaq Dar

  • Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to visit Dhaka after 13 years

    Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to visit Dhaka after 13 years

    Dhaka and Islamabad (TIP) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday spoke with Muhammad Yunus via phone, exchanging Eid ul-Fitr greetings and reaffirming their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties. During the call, Sharif reiterated his invitation for Yunus to visit Pakistan and extended an invitation to a Bangladeshi cultural troupe, including legendary singer Runa Laila, to perform in Pakistan, as shared in a post by the Prime Minister on X.
    Sources said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Ishaq Dar will visit Bangladesh from April 22 to April 24. During the visit, he is scheduled to meet Muhammad Yunus and hold formal talks with Bangladesh’s Foreign Adviser Towheed Hossain and other cabinet members and officials. Several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and agreements are expected to be signed during this meet, focusing on enhancing trade, commercial ties, and people-to-people connections. Hina Rabbani Khar was the last foreign minister to visit Bangladesh in 2012.
    Dhaka and Islamabad have been looking at ways to increase the trade ties after starting first ever direct trade link via sea. The two countries have already agreed to start direct flights. After the exit of Sheikh Hasina government, the two sides also are looking at improving defence ties.
    Lt-Gen S M Kamr-ul-Hassan, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Armed Forces Division of Bangladesh, who is the second in command, was the first top Bangladeshi general to have travelled to Islamabad in many years in January, marking a difference in the priorities of the new administration in Dhaka. Following Hasina’s exit, India raised concerns over ‘targeted attacks’ on minority Hindus in Bangladesh. (PTI)

  • Ishaq Dar appointed Pakistan’s Deputy PM

    Islamabad (TIP): In a surprise move, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was on April 29 appointed the country’s Deputy Prime Minister.
    Dar, 73, a chartered accountant and a veteran politician, belongs to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
    According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, the appointment was made by PM Sharif “with immediate effect and until further orders”. (PTI)

  • Pakistan government orders Foreign Office to slash missions abroad as part of austerity measures: Report

    Pakistan government orders Foreign Office to slash missions abroad as part of austerity measures: Report

    ISLAMABAD (TIP): Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the foreign ministry to slash the number of missions abroad and reduce their offices, staff and initiate other measures to cut down expenditures of the debt-ridden nation by 15 per cent, a media report said on February 22.
    In a directive titled “Rationalisation of Foreign Mission Abroad” issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday, Sharif also demanded a well-considered proposal/plan from the foreign ministry in concern to the matter within two weeks positively, The News International newspaper reported.
    The move to slash the missions abroad was recommended by the National Austerity Committee (NAC), which was constituted by Prime Minister Sharif to suggest austerity measures for the country in the wake of the current financial crisis it is witnessing. “In view of the ongoing economic constraints and the consequent need for fiscal consolidation and control of external deficit, the prime minister was pleased to constitute NAC,” the report said.
    “The committee has recommended, inter-alia, that the expenditure on Pakistan Missions abroad may be reduced by 15 per cent. This may be achieved by curtailing the number of Foreign Missions, reduction in the number of officers and staff posted there and other suitable measures,” the report added.
    The move came as there has been increasing frustration among the political-cum-technocratic members of the federal cabinet for reluctance on the part of the government not to implement the recommendations given by the NAC which was constituted by the premier himself but so far no action got implemented in Pakistan has a chronic balance of payments problem which was exacerbated in the last year, with the country’s forex reserves declining to critical levels. As of February 10, the central bank had only USD 3.2 billion in reserves, enough to cover barely three weeks of imports. To stem dollar outflows, the government has imposed restrictions, allowing imports of only essential food items and medicines until a bailout is agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is seen as essential for the country to stave off default.
    Sharif’s government is hellbent on implementing measures to cut down on its expenditures by increasing taxes on the public and bringing down government expenses.
    Although Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in his mini budget speeches reiterated the government’s commitment to undertaking austerity steps by the Prime Minister within weeks, there was a perception that the government undertook all tough measures by hiking electricity, and gas tariffs and imposing Rs 170 billion additional tax burden there was no hurry for cutting down wasteful expenditures, the report said. (PTI)