Pakistan

Pakistan expresses solidarity with Saudi Arabia after US charges on OPEC

Published

5 months ago

Farwa

“We appreciate concerns of Saudi Arabia for avoiding market volatility and ensuring global economic stability,” FO says.
It says Pakistan reaffirms its long-standing, abiding and fraternal ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
KSA rejected US accusations of aligning itself with Russia amid Ukraine war by making oil production cuts to drive up crude prices.

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of statements made against the Kingdom in the context of the OPEC+ decision, Pakistan Tuesday expressed solidarity with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“We appreciate the concerns of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for avoiding market volatility and ensuring global economic stability,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

It added that Pakistan encourages a constructive approach to such issues based on engagement and mutual respect.

“We reaffirm our long-standing, abiding and fraternal ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Saudi defends oil policy in face of US charges

A day prior, Saudi Arabia rejected the United States’ accusations of aligning itself with Russia amid the Ukraine war by making oil production cuts to drive up crude prices, insisting it was purely a business decision.”We are astonished by the accusations that the kingdom is standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine,” the Saudi defence minister, Prince Khaled bin Salman, tweeted late Sunday.The Saudi-led OPEC+ cartel — which includes Russia — has angered Washington by deciding to cut production by two million barrels per day from November, adding further pressure on soaring crude prices.”It is telling that these false accusations did not come from the Ukrainian government,” Prince Khaled wrote. “Although the OPEC+ decision, which was taken unanimously, was due to purely economic reasons, some accused the kingdom of standing with Russia.

Biden vows consequences for Saudi Arabia

US President Joe Biden pledged on October 13 that “there will be consequences” for US relations with Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ announced last week that it would cut oil production over US objections.

His announcement came a day after powerful Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States must immediately freeze all cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including arms sales.

Biden, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, said he would not discuss what options he was considering.

“I’m not going to get into what I’d consider and what I have in mind. But there will be — there will be consequences,” he said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said a policy review would be conducted but gave no timeline for action or information on who would lead the re-evaluation.

The United States will be watching the situation closely “over the coming weeks and months,” she said.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, said Biden would work with Congress “to think through what that relationship ought to look like going forward.”

“And I think he’s going to be willing to start to have those conversations right away. I don’t think this is anything that’s going to have to wait or should wait, quite frankly, for much longer,” Kirby added.

Pakistan

Ramadan 2023: Sindh revises school, college timings

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

The Sindh School Education and Literacy Department on Monday announced the revised timings for all the educational institutions in the province during the holy month of Ramadan.

All the government and private schools in Sindh will now start at 7:30am and continue till 12pm (noon) from Monday to Thursday and on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the school timings on Friday will be from 7:30am to 11am.

Office timings

On Monday, the federal government also notified timings for public offices during the holy month.

In a notification, the Establishment Division said the public offices coming under the ambit of the federal government would operate from 7:30am to 1:30pm from Monday to Thursday.

Moreover, the public offices coming under the ambit of the federal government would operate from 7:30am to 12:00pm on Fridays.

First Ramadan expected on March 23

Meanwhile, The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast that there is a strong possibility that the crescent for Ramadan 2023 will be sighted on the evening of March 22 (Wednesday).

The update was shared by the Met department’s Climate Data Processing Centre. This means the first of Ramadan is likely to fall on Thursday, March 23 in Pakistan.

Pakistan

Cleric shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

A cleric was shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Tuesday after morning prayers.

According to police, Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi, was going back home after Fajr prayers in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block-9 when assailants riding a motorcycle opened fire at him.

The police said that Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi was a member of the Pakistan Ulema Association and a prayer leader at Mohammadia Noorani Islamic Centre.

There were no further details available about the incident.

Pakistan

Ramadan 2023: Minimum Nisab set at Rs103,159 for Zakat deduction

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety has fixed the Nisab for Zakat deduction for the ongoing year.

According to a notification issued by the ministry, Zakat will be deducted from saving accounts, profit and loss sharing accounts and other similar accounts having a minimum balance of Rs103,159 or above, on the first of Ramadan.

The Nisab was fixed at Rs88,927 in the previous year.

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Under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980, no Zakat would be deducted in case a bank account has a lesser amount than the value announced by the ministry, added the statement.

“All the Zakat Collection Controlling Agencies (ZCCAs) are requested to deduct the Zakat accordingly,” it said.

The first of Ramadan will likely fall on March 23, this year, subject to the appearance of the moon.

To be liable for Zakat — which is one of the five pillars of Islam — one’s wealth must amount to more than a threshold figure, termed the “Nisab”.

Those who do not want Zakat deduction from their accounts can submit a “Zakat exemption” form to their respective banks.