KARACHI: The government has started sweeping reforms, beginning with civil aviation.
A new division has been created to look after the sector, which until now had been controlled by the Ministry of Defence, highlighting the interest of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, credited for his open skies policy.
The Aviation Division is headed by Shujaat Azeem, Adviser to the Prime Minister. Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan International Airlines and Airport Security Force will be under the division.
Railways’ plea for subsidy
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Railways, facing severe financial crunch, has urged the new government to provide it with a Rs31 billion subsidy for revamp. Sources said yesterday that besides subsidy the railways also proposed allocation of at least Rs50bn in the annual budget. Pakistan Railways has development projects to be implemented in the fiscal year 2013-2014.
Islamabad eyes IMF bailout
KARACHI: Pakistan will likely go to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package of around $5bn to $6bn to restore the falling economy, financial experts said yesterday. The Nawaz Sharif government’s keenness to improve the economy is encouraging but it will take some time to come up in shape, they added. Repayment of around $140m to IMF under a Stand-by Arrangement loan facility is due on June 28.
Power shortfall above 4,000MW
LAHORE: The current electricity generation in Pakistan is 12,900MW against a demand of 17,000MW, according to reports. People are facing worst load shedding this summer with power shortfall exceeding 4,000MW and load shedding rising to 18 hours a day in most urban areas. People in rural areas are facing more than 20 hours of load shedding,
Agencies
