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Pakistan has removed the acting chief of state-run television after a caption read "Begging" instead "Beijing" during a broadcast of Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to China, which has promised economic aid to the South Asian country.
Khan was in Beijing seeking financial aid to help end a spiralling balance of payments crisis after securing $6 billion in support from Saudi Arabia and before Pakistan sat down to talks with the IMF.
An official Ministry of Information order seen by Reuters said the ministry had withdrawn the services of Hasan Immad Mohammadi, who had served as acting managing director of Pakistan Television for just a matter of weeks.
A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday arrived on a two-week visit to Pakistan for talks on a financial package on request of the government."The IMF team has arrived and today they will hold meetings with State Bank of Pakistan officials," Mehrin Liaqat, spokesperson of the Finance Ministry told Anadolu Agency.Pakistani officials will brief the international money watchdog over the country's economic situation and its urgent need.During the stay in Islamabad, the IMF team will also meet Finance Minister Asad Umar and heads of the country's Finance Bureau of Revenue and State Bank of Pakistan.Pakistan says Chinese help stemmed payment crisisPakistan has approached the money watchdog for the second time during the last five years after the country faced serious financial challenges. It will be the 22nd program since Pakistan and the IMF relations began.On Tuesday, a day before the arrival of IMF team, the finance minister announced that his country had overcome the balance of payment crisis with help from Saudi Arabia and China. "Pakistan urgently needed $12 billion to bridge the gap of the current account deficit and that gap was filled with the help of Saudi Arabia and China," Umar told reporters in Islamabad.Last month in October, Pakistan formally approached IMF for financial assistance to overcome the deficit.
IMF team lands in Pakistan for talks on financial help
PTV apologised after "Begging" ran on screens for 20-25 seconds on Monday while Khan was making a speech, kicking off a debate on social media as to whether the misspelling was deliberate.
Khan has criticised Pakistan's many international bailouts and decried previous leaders as roaming the world with a begging bowl.
An information ministry spokesman said the misspelling had nothing to do with Mohammadi's removal, saying it was a "routine affair".
Pakistan's balance of payment crisis is over after Beijing’s assurance it would provide short-term financial relief to Islamabad, the country’s finance minister said on Tuesday.The announcement came a day before an International Monetary Fund team is due to arrive in Islamabad to discuss a financial package for the country.Addressing a press conference with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Finance Minister Asad Umar said that during Premier Imran Khan’s just-concluded visit to China, Beijing agreed to extend an economic relief package to Pakistan."Pakistan urgently needed $12 billion to bridge the gap of the current account deficit, and that gap was almost filled with the help of Saudi Arabia and China," said Umar, but gave no details of China's package.The governor of Pakistan’s State Bank and Finance Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan will meet Chinese officials on Friday in Beijing to discuss the package, he added.Pakistan, China agree to trade in yuanOver 1,200 arrested over blasphemy protests in PakistanChina's economic future is linked to Pakistan through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), though which China hopes to gain access to the Arabian Sea.Saudi Arabia last month announced a $6 billion financial package for Pakistan during Khan’s visit to the kingdom.Beijing and Islamabad signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding during Khan’s visit, including one for using Chinese currency in bilateral trade in lieu of U.S. dollars."The use of local currencies in bilateral trade would benefit both countries, while China also offered subsidized foreign exchange rates when both countries trade in local currencies," Umar said.Qureshi said that both countries agreed to upgrade the strategic dialogue to the foreign minister-level and strengthen cooperation in all fields, including defense and the economy.China and Pakistan also agreed that prisoners of both countries will serve their remaining sentences in their respective countries, Qureshi added.
Pakistan says Chinese help stemmed payment crisis
Finance Minister Asad Umar said on Tuesday that "Pakistan's immediate balance of payment crisis is over", adding that the combined Saudi support plus as-yet-unspecified aid promised by China had shored up foreign currency reserves.
Umar spoke a day before the arrival on Wednesday of an IMF team for a two-week visit to Islamabad to negotiate Pakistan's request for a 13th IMF bailout since the 1980s.
He has previously said the country needs $12 billion in immediate relief.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Imran Khan meets China's Xi in first official visit to Beijing