“The MPC noted that higher inflation outturns for April and May were broadly as anticipated. The Committee also noted sequential ease in inflation expectations of both consumers and businesses from their recent peaks,” the statement said on Monday.

Earlier in April, the bank raised the policy rate by 100 basis points to the record high of 21 percent in order to curb the surging inflation.

The meeting also said that the current monetary policy stance, with positive real interest rates on a forward-looking basis, is appropriate to anchor inflation expectations and to bring down inflation towards the medium-term target, barring any unexpected domestic and external shocks.

However, the MPC emphasized that this outlook is also contingent on effectively addressing the prevailing domestic uncertainty and external vulnerabilities.

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The lists of nuclear installation and facilities were exchanged as per the provisions of the Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities, signed on December 31, 1988 and ratified on 27 January 1991.

According to this agreement, both countries have to inform each other of the nuclear facilities. This practice of exchanging lists has continued since January 1, 1992.

“Pursuant to the agreement, the list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday,” the Foreign Office said in the statement.

Simultaneously, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also handed over their list of nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, according to the Foreign Office.

The exchange comes amid strain in ties between the two countries over the Kashmir issue as well as cross-border terrorism. These lists are exchanged under the provisions of the Agreement on Consular Access signed in May 2008.

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This massive haul will be shipped to Ukraine through Poland over the coming weeks.

Even as millions of people across Pakistan continue to struggle in dire misery due to a severe food shortage and worsening economic crisis, the country is all set to send another consignment of weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine fight the ongoing invasion by Russia.

The Economic Times reported that Project Shipping – a Pakistani shipping and brokerage firm – will transport the consignment from the Karachi Port to the Gdansk Port in Poland later this month with a ship named BBC Vesuvius.

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The UN 2023 Water Conference has wrapped after a breakthrough response to the global water crisis, with governments, businesses and civil society making almost 700 commitments to advance the water agenda, a dealmaker for accelerating sustainable development overall.

Pakistan on Thursday stressed the need for trans-boundary water cooperation, citing the 1960 Indus Water Treaty with India as an example of such successful cooperation that provided an effective mechanism to deal with issues related to the shared water resources.

Hasan Nisar Jamy, Water Resources Ministry Secretary and Pakistan’s chief delegate, told the UN Water Conference at the United Nations in New York that Pakistan shared surface and groundwater resources with two neighbouring countries.

“Within the South Asia region, population growth and increasing water demand, coupled with climate change impacts and ecosystem degradation, has made water cooperation even more imperative,” Jamy told the general debate.

“The Indus Waters Treaty, which governs sharing of the Indus basin’s waters, is one example of such successful cooperation, which provides an effective mechanism for cooperation and management on water issues,” Jamy added.

The conference, the first in almost five decades, aims at dealing with the water-related challenges. Speaking on the penultimate day of the three-day event, Jamy warned against unilateral actions, which could “spiral into threats to regional peace”.

Pakistan is among the top 10 water scarce countries in the world, and has also been among the top 10 climate vulnerable countries. Jamy stressed that Pakistan’s main water resource was highly sensitive to climate change.

On ‘Water Governance’, Jamy said that a policy was currently being implemented with focus on the construction of new reservoirs, improving water use efficiency, ensuring conservation and improving management.

“We have also started to formulate and promulgate ‘Ground Water Regulations’ and establish supportive authorities at the provincial and sub-national levels,” the chief Pakistani delegate added.

At the conference, The UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-IWEH) issued a new ‘Global Water Security 2023 Assessment’ report, bracketing Pakistan in the list of 23 least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) facing critical levels of water security and sanitation services.

Source : Tribune

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