Author: Niyoosha Sarbani

Libya’s state-owned oil company, the National Oil Corporation (NOC), had established last month a new program office, but multiple foreign press reports claim that one of the staff running the office is embroiled in a major fraud case in Kazakhstan. Peter Sztyk, a Canadian lawyer and entrepreneur who also goes by the name “Petro”, has joined a group of foreign consultants who will manage the Office of Strategic Programs, which the NOC inaugurated in February 15 during a meeting with local oil industry executives in Benghazi. Who is Peter Sztyk? The Canadian lawyer graduated in 1993 from Concordia University with bachelor in…

Pakistan and Switzerland inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Saturday in Bhurban, solidifying their commitment to foster cooperation in the domain of disaster management. The agreement was formally signed by Switzerland Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who is on a visit to Pakistan, and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik. The signing ceremony took place in Bhurban. Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman, other ministers, and officials of relevant authorities were present on the occasion. During the MoU signing ceremony, the prime minister expressed anticipation for Swiss cooperation in obtaining an advanced warning system and…

Three passengers, including a Chinese national, were apprehended by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Immigration Police at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, for their alleged involvement in an attempted departure using fraudulent travel documents. As SamaaEnglish reports, Leo Ping, identified as the main suspect, was arrested at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi while attempting to board a flight bound for Bahrain, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. Investigations revealed that Ping was carrying counterfeit travel documents. Another passenger named Iqbal Muhammad Arshad, who comes from the Mandi Bahauddin district of Punjab, was also caught attempting to travel with fraudulent travel documents on the same flight.…

The impacts of global warming on the glaciers, snow, and permafrost in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, including those in Pakistan, are “unprecedented and largely irreversible,” a significant assessment by an eight-nation organisation, a report said Monday. In the report, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said Pakistan’s glaciers are losing mass at an alarming rate and the country’s coastline is projected to rise continuously over the next decade which will make Karachi more vulnerable to flooding and erosion. Meanwhile, those across the HKH region can lose up to 80% of their present volume, the report mentioned.…

A recent research showed that Pakistan is losing Rs240 billion annually due to tax evasion by illicit cigarettes traders. IPSOS, the third largest market research company in the world with its presence in 90 markets, recently conducted a market assessment of illicit cigarette brands in Pakistan. A survey of 1000 shops in 10 districts across Pakistan (Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Bahawalpur, and Sukkur) was conducted to check and analyse the availability and prices of locally manufactured tax evaded brands and smuggled brands while ascertaining estimated market shares through their visits. This research was conducted in the…

The agriculture sector of Pakistan contributes 18.9% to GDP and employees 42.3% of the labor forces, including women. The estimates suggested that half of country’s population still resides in rural areas and directly dependent on the agriculture, including production of wheat, cotton, sugarcane, rice, mangoes, dates and kinnow. Yet, it faces a huge food crisis because of rapidly growing population and insufficient food productivity. Pakistan is currently at 92nd rank out of 116 nations in Global Hunger Index. A report by IPCINFO, which conducted survey in districts of Baluchistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, highlighted that all these areas are facing high…

The United States called Thursday on Pakistan to move ahead on stalled reforms sought by the IMF, promising technical help as the world’s fifth most populous nation weathers an economic crisis. Pakistan signed a $6.5 billion bailout package with the International Monetary Fund in 2019 but less than half has been released as the country reneges on conditions. “The reform(s) that Pakistan and the IMF agreed to are not easy, but it’s crucial that Pakistan take these actions to bring the country back to sound financial footing, avoid falling into further debt and grow Pakistan’s economy,” said Elizabeth Horst, the…

The imposition of fines and stalling of various projects have increased economic mistrust between Pakistan and China, at a time when the former nation is facing a financial crisis. A Pakistan civil court had imposed a USD 2.48 million fine on China National Petroleum Corporation after it was alleged of violating the contract signed with Petroleum Exploration (Pvt) Ltd. According to reports, there have been unresolved differences between the two governments, because of which many projects have been stalled.  Media reports suggest that investments have been slowed by China in large infrastructure projects as these projects have been projects…

Drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal influence on power are the key challenges facing Tirana Albania is one of the smallest countries on the Balkan Peninsula, and this can be seen from the economic indicators of the country. The gross domestic product per capita according to the World Bank amounts to 6,492 dollars, while in Bulgaria it is 12,221 and in Croatia – 17,685 dollars. This value would be significantly higher, but Albania, like Bulgaria in the 1990s, cannot deal with criminal groups. While this is not new information, the scale of the problem became clearer last month when local police dismantled…

KARACHI: Two suspects arrested by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) have made startling revelations about the fake currency business in Karachi, ARY News reported on Sunday. During the investigation, the suspects revealed that a gang is running a fake currency business in Karachi. The arrested men also gave the names of 21 accomplices working in the gang. The arrested men were identified as Imran and Shaheedullah. They disclosed that fake currency notes are circulating across the metropolis, adding that the gang members are printing fake currencies of different countries including US dollars, Saudi Riyals, British Pounds and UAE Dirhams. The…