Pakistan flag carrier posts big loss
Airline's Third-Quarter Loss Widens on Fuel

Pakistan International Airlines Corp., the nation's largest carrier, said its third-quarter loss widened because of the higher cost of aircraft fuel.

The loss was 20.4 billion rupees ($250 million) or 9.79 rupees a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of 3.15 billion rupees, or 1.62 rupees, a year earlier, the Karachi-based company said in a statement to the stock exchange today. Revenue increased to 22.8 billion rupees, from 17.2 billion.

Pakistan International's shares, which have dropped 33 percent this year, were un traded at 4.20 rupees on the Karachi Stock Exchange. The airline's cost of fuel almost doubled to 14 billion rupees in the July-September period, from 7.12 billion rupees a year earlier, according to the statement. The company's net loss on currency conversions rose to 14 billion rupees, from 270 million rupees.

The loss in the nine months ended Sept. 30 widened to 38.4 billion rupees, from 10.9 billion rupees a year ago, the statement said.

Pakistan's government owns 88 percent of the airline.

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Next US president's Afghan challenge

The next US president stands to inherit a potentially more dangerous challenge in Afghanistan and Pakistan than the situation that led to the September 11 attacks in 2001.
The situation is so serious that analysts say the incoming administration will need to move quickly on a broad new initiative to address the Pashtun region, which both countries share, with a mix of military pressure and economic aid.
"It will be extremely important to have an effective new strategy right out of the box. They cannot wait for a lengthy transition," said J. Alexander Thier of the US Institute of Peace, a congressionally funded Washington think tank.

The two US presidential nominees, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, have pledged to make Afghanistan a top priority if elected to the White House on November 4.