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Govt amends rules for Pak-Tajikistan transit trade

The government has amended the Tajikistan-Pakistan transit trade rules, which will cover inward and outward flows at Karachi, Qasim and Gwadar ports. The amendments were made through a customs notification, SRO560 of 2023, by amending an earlier notification. As part of the rules, registration of foreign businesses and other users with the Customs Computerised System to issue user ID or passwor

Cash-strapped govt squanders money on image-building

The current fiscal year is about to close with extraordinarily tight fiscal positions and the austerity policy of the PDM government, but discretionary spending on development schemes for constituencies of parliamentarians of the coalition partners and publicity continues to grow. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Tuesday enhanced the allocations for parliamentarian’s

Current account in surplus for second month in a row

The current account posted a surplus for the second consecutive month, shrinking the 10-month deficit by 76 per cent year-on-year, the central bank said on Tuesday, following stringent import restrictions by the government to manage an economy in turmoil. The surplus of $18 million in April came after the country’s current account turned to $654m in March — a big monthly figure and the first su

Stocks shrug off political noise, add 231 points

Share prices oscillated within a short range on Monday owing to the political upheaval prevailing in the country. Arif Habib Ltd said the benchmark KSE-100 index managed to close the trading session on the higher side even though it opened in the negative zone. Investors’ engagement remained modest as they awaited political clarity. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti said investors took into account the

CORPORATE WINDOW: Depressed mood post protests

With less than a month to present the next fiscal year’s budget, the government is contemplating holding meetings of the Annual Plan Coordination Committee and the National Economic Council on May 23 and June 1, respectively, to finalise over Rs900bn worth of federal Public Sector Develop­ment Programme (PSDP). And even before these events, representing both the Centre and its federating units,