Jailed ex-PM Sharif should be provided collection of Indian singer Mukesh's songs: Pak Minister
Lahore, Sep 14: Pakistan Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Saturday that the government should provide a tape recorder and a collection of songs by legendary Indian playback singer Mukesh to deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is serving a seven-year prison term in Kot Lakhpat jail here.
Sharif, 69, was convicted in the Al Azizia Steel Mills case and sentenced to seven years in jail in the wake of the apex court's July 28, 2017 verdict in the high-profile Panama Papers case. He has been serving the prison term since December 24, 2018.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, during his US visit in July, had told a gathering of the Pakistani diaspora that he will ensure on his return to Pakistan that Sharif is not provided an air conditioner or TV in the Kot Lakhpat jail.
"I know Maryam Bibi (Sharif's daughter) will make some noise, but I say to her, return the money. It's as simple as that," Khan had said.
Replying to a question on providing air conditioner to Sharif, Rashid said: "I am not against withdrawing the air-conditioning facility from Nawaz Sharif or any other leader lodged in the jail. Rather, I am in favour of providing a tape recorder and songs of Mukesh to him and others".
According to people close to Sharif, the three-time premier, has a taste for classic Bollywood songs.
The Al-Azizia Steel Mill case was about setting up steel mills in Saudi Arabia allegedly with corruption money.
Three corruption cases - Avenfield properties case, Flagship investment case and Al-Azizia steel mills case - were launched against the Sharif family by the National Accountability Bureau in 2017 following a judgment by the Supreme Court that disqualified Sharif in the Panama Papers case in 2017.
Sharif and his family have denied any wrongdoing and allege that the corruption cases against them were politically motivated.
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Rupee falls 5 paise to 90.22 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee weakened by 5 paise to 90.22 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, amid a strengthening American currency, higher crude oil prices and incessant outflow of foreign funds.
An unprecedented geopolitical concern and global trade uncertainties have accelerated the dollar demand worldwide, adding strength to the greenback and putting pressure on the Indian currency, analysts said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.24 and gained slightly to trade at 90.22 against the greenback in early deals, registering a loss of 5 paise from its previous closing level.
On Monday, the rupee ended 1 paisa higher at 90.17 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent higher at 98.73.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 0.28 per cent higher at USD 64.05 per barrel in futures trade.
Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 3,638.40 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex rose 125.96 points or 0.15 per cent to 84,004.13, while the Nifty advanced 47.25 points or 0.18 per cent to 25,837.50.
Analysts attributed the buying trend in equities to the positive cues triggered by strong domestic macroeconomic numbers.
According to government data released on Monday, India's retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 1.33 per cent in December, mainly due to higher prices of food items, but remained below the Reserve Bank of India's lower tolerance level.
Also, the latest data from the Income Tax Department showed the government's net direct tax collection grew about 8.82 per cent to over Rs 18.38 lakh crore in the current fiscal till January 11 due to slower refunds and better corporate tax mop-up.
Net corporate tax collection grew 12.4 per cent to over Rs 8.63 lakh crore, and taxes from non-corporates, including individuals, rose 6.39 per cent to about Rs 9.30 lakh crore.
