ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has requested Pakistani authorities to provide statistics with respect to interest and amortisation payments of major public enterprises, budgetary expenditures, including subsidies, grants, net lending and earthquake-related spending, official sources told Business Recorder on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco), much maligned by the public throughout the country for long and unscheduled outages, has made a shocking revelation that the recent power crisis has compelled it to install the most inefficient and expensive rental power plants.

LONDON (July 03, 2009): The Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank have launched a $500 million Islamic infrastructure fund, manager and adviser CIMB Standard said on Thursday. The two banks said last month they would set up the fund to invest in the 12 countries that are borrowing members of both banks, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): The Federal Board of Revenue has issued a new formula for calculation of duty drawback rates for exporters under the "manufacturing bond scheme" to clear thousands of pending claims at the level of Model Customs Collectorate (MCCs). The FBR on Thursday issued SRO.612(I)/2009 through amendment in Customs Rules, 2001 to fulfil a major demand of exporters.

ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): The government is likely to announce sales tax zero rating facility on the import and supply of construction material by investors of Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Gwadar or development of the infrastructure through amendment in the zero rating SRO.549(I)/2008. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has also given permission to export upto 50 percent of the production from zone to tariff area of the country on payment of normal duties rates.

ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has admitted that the taxpayers have misused the Universal Self Assessment Scheme (USAS), reflecting serious weakness in the voluntary payment system. According to the FBR latest quarterly review, the misuse of the USAS is evident from the fact that despite increase in number of returns for the last three years, there was 71 percent decrease in the income tax payments made during this period.

ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has proposed that the governments of Pakistan and France should chalk out a roadmap for pragmatic co-operation in the field of civil nuclear energy. He said that a working group could be established to develop an agreed way forward on nuclear co-operation.

ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): Terrorists on Thursday targeted the staff bus of Kahuta Research Laboratory (KRL), near PSO petrol pump at Chuhar Chowk main G T Road Rawalpindi Cantt with the result five persons were killed and more than 29 injured of them seven are in critical condition.

ISLAMABAD (July 03, 2009): Military said Thursday it had redeployed troops along the Afghan border to prevent Taliban fighters from fleeing a massive US offensive launched in southern Afghanistan. "It is a reorganisation of the forces in the border area," military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

CAMP DWYER (July 03, 2009): Thousands of US Marines poured into Afghanistan's Taliban heartlands Thursday, quickly capturing a district in the first major assault of President Barack Obama's new war plan. Dozens of aircraft ferried out the Marines from bases before dawn, aiming to take control of insurgent bastions of Helmand province in the country's south ahead of landmark Afghan elections next month.