News

Traders urge govt to withdraw gas price hike

Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry (HCSTSI) President Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani has hit out at the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for its decision to make a massive increase of 65% in gas tariffs. He appealed to all political leaders and the country’s rulers to withdraw the gas price hike promptly to restore confidence of the business community and encourage collaborat

IT ministry fails to win cabinet’s nod

The federal cabinet has refused to accord its approval to the implementation mechanism established for the Digital Information Infrastructure Initiative to protect cyberspace and mitigate the risks associated with cyber-attacks. The project is being launched with an allocation of Rs5 billion out of information and communication technology (ICT) research and development (R&D) funds as bridge fin

LSM output hits 21-month high

Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing (LSM) industries reached a 21-month high output, with strong support coming from agriculture, petroleum products, wearing apparel, and pharmaceutical sectors in December 2023, hinting at a gradual turnaround in economic activities in the current fiscal year 2023-24. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Thursday that LSM output increased by 3.4

Cultural change for economy

THE topic of Pakistan’s non-ending economic quagmire elicits many proposals, some good, some reworded, and some repetitive. Rarely, if ever, is there a discussion on cultural aspects impinging on economic outcomes. I argue that, for the economic transformation of the country, cultural change is as important as factors like investment, savings, fiscal policy, etc. Importantly, the argument centr

Govt hikes petrol price by Rs2.73 per litre

The caretaker government on Thursday night hiked the price of petrol by Rs2.73 per litre for the next fortnight. The new price of petrol is now RsRs275.62 per litre from the previous price of Rs272.89, according to a notification from the Finance Division. The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) was increased by Rs8.37 to Rs287.33 per litre. In a late-night an­­nouncement, the Ministry of Fi