
ISLAMABAD: January 18 –
BEIJING, Jan 18 (APP):: Iran’s use of drones and missiles to strike targets of the “terrorist organization has caused casualties of Pakistani civilians, which is a clear violation of the territory and airspace of a sovereign country and seriously violates the principles of the United Nations Charter, Cheng Xizhong, Professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law said on Thursday.
“To this end, Pakistan has responded strongly and conducted precise military strikes on terrorist hideouts within Iran using drones and missiles,” he said in an article published by Asia Pacific Daily.
He opined that in fact, in recent years, Iran and Pakistan had been committed to developing cooperation in various fields, including defence and security.
“The cross-border anti-terrorism incidents implemented by the two countries will inevitably affect the development process of their cooperation. If not handled properly, it may even affect regional peace and stability,” he added.
Prof Cheng said,”Both Pakistan and Iran are Islamic powers in the region. At this time, both sides should remain calm and restrained, avoid taking further actions that may escalate tensions, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.”
In addition, he said, “since terrorist organizations use the opposite side of the border as their hiding place, it may be beneficial for both countries to have in-depth discussions and close cooperation on joint anti-terrorism operations and cross-border counter-terrorism operations, which will be beneficial for both countries to achieve substantial results in counter-terrorism”.
ISLAMABAD, Jan 18 (APP): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered some 2,095 new companies in December 2023, bringing the total number to 209,604.
“The total capitalization for the newly incorporated companies is Rs 2.6 billion,” an SECP news release said on Thursday.
“Around 57% of Pakistani companies are private limited companies, with 41% being single member companies. The remaining 2% are public unlisted companies, not for profit associations, limited liability partnerships, and foreign companies,” it added.
Three foreign companies had established businesses in Pakistan, with 99 foreign applicants registered through eServices.
The trading sector took the lead with incorporation of 288 companies, followed by information technology with 286, services with 238, real estate development and construction with 220, education with 107, tourism with 98, food and beverages with 80, ecommerce with 66, marketing and advertisement with 51, power generation with 47, textile with 44, corporate agricultural farming with 43, mining and quarrying with 41, healthcare with 40, chemical with 39, transport with 38, pharmaceutical with 37, engineering with 35, fuel and energy with 34, cosmetics and toiletries with 32, lodging with 24, communication with 19, paper and board with 14, broadcasting and telecasting with 13, and cables and electrical goods with 10.
Some 151 companies were registered in other sectors, the SECP said.
The integration of SECP with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and provincial departments led to the registration of 2,036 companies for NTN registration, 56 with EOBI, 27 with PESSI/SESSI, and 31 with excise and taxation departments.
The SECP said,”Foreign investment in 62 new companies has been reported, with investors from Afghanistan, Australia, China, Denmark, El Salvador, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.”
The major chunk of investment was received from China, followed by Afghanistan, US, Nigeria, Denmark, Germany, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, it added.
KARACHI, Jan 18 (APP): The total liquid foreign reserves of Pakistan stood at US$ 13,145.1 million while reserves held by State Bank reached
$ 8,027.4 million in the week ended on January 12, 2023.
The State Bank of Pakistan, in a statement issued here on Thursday, informed that SBP’s reserves decreased by $127 million to $8,027.4 million due to debt repayments during the week under review.
Meanwhile, net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5,117.7 million, it added.
Total liquid foreign reserves held by the country, in the previous week ended on January 05, 2023, were $13,256.6 million. Among them foreign reserves held by the central bank were $8,154.8 million while net foreign reserves held by commercial banks were $5,101.8 million.