According to sources, negotiations on a fresh loan program have been set between Pakistan and the foreign lender. There will be two stages to the meetings: technical discussions and policy-level conversations.

Prior to the upcoming negotiations, Pakistan must overcome formidable economic obstacles, including the collapse of an IMF-proposed tax amnesty program.

Although it hasn’t worked, the federal government had promised to include 3.1 million merchants in the scheme’s tax net. The recent turnover of senior officials has placed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in an atypical position.

The negotiation process with the IMF will be difficult for the new and inexperienced FBR team. The significant drop in FBR’s tax collections would likely worry the IMF.

A day prior, Pakistan obtained the eagerly awaited $1.1 billion last installment from the IMF as a component of the $3 billion standby agreement.

Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 828 million, or $1.1 billion in worth, were given to the SBP “after the successful completion of the second review by the Executive Board of IMF under Stand By Arrangement (SBA),” according to the SBP.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb stated Islamabad might obtain a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July. Pakistan is seeking a new, longer-term, and larger IMF loan.

Although Aurangzeb has neglected to specify the specific program in question, Islamabad has stated that it is seeking a loan for a minimum of three years in order to support macroeconomic stability and carry out long-overdue and difficult structural reforms. Should it be approved, Pakistan would receive its 24th IMF bailout.

Specifics state that a truck striking a landmine caused the first explosion, and that people congregating at the site caused the second explosion.

According to police reports, one person was killed and seventeen others were injured in the two landmine blasts. To get medical care, the injured are being taken to neighboring hospitals.

The previous month, a blast close to a mosque on Quetta’s Kuchlak Road claimed the life of a police officer and injured twenty others.

Twelve individuals were hurt, including five security officers, while one Eagle Squad official accepted martyrdom, according to rescue sources.

Medical attention for the injured was quickly provided at adjacent facilities.

In the meantime, to ascertain the nature and origin of the explosion, law enforcement officials started to investigate the incident and cordoned off the area.

Terrorist activity has been increasing in the province lately.

The Pishin district of Balochistan saw an explosion in February that left at least 12 persons dead and 25 injured, outside the office of a political party.

Separately, a blast that happened close to the JUI-F polling headquarters in Qila Saifullah, Balochistan, resulted in at least 12 deaths and numerous injuries.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was asked to set aside the NAB notice in a plea submitted by Imran Khan’s representatives, Salman Safdar, Usman Riaz, and Khalid Yousaf, according to the information.

Regarding the Toshakhana issue, NAB Rawalpindi called the PTI founder, who is detained, and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, on April 16.

Bushra Bibi, the former first lady of Pakistan, and Imran Khan, the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were the subject of a new investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) yesterday.

In a letter to the deputy superintendent of Adiala Jail and call-up notices to Imran and Bushra, the anti-graft body also asked for their attendance during the research.

Case of Toshakhana
In the Toshakhana case, an Accountability Court (AC) on January 31 imposed a 14-year prison sentence on the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and his spouse, Bushra Bibi.

AC Judge Muhammad Bashir delivered the decision. For ten years, the founder of PTI and his spouse were likewise prohibited from holding any public office.

A Rs. 787 million fine was also imposed by the judge.

Prior to this, in connection with the cipher case, Khan and his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi received 10-year prison sentences under the Official Secrets Act.

In a case concerning their marriage during the latter’s Iddat period, they were each given seven years in prison one day later.