The government may have to withdraw energy subsidies to big export industries, besides cutting non-salary, non-essential civil and security costs as part of harsh reforms required to obtain the International Monetary Fund’s consent for an economic bailout that ensures soft landing for the poor and vulnerable. Senior government officials said IMF mission chief for Pakistan Nathan Porter had alre
THE IMF decision to send its mission to Pakistan next week to discuss the resumption of its stalled bailout package should clear uncertainty and mitigate the risk of a sovereign default that appeared imminent with foreign exchange reserves lately dropping to just $3.6bn. That the Fund is sending its officials to conclude the discussions on the pending review of the programme after three months
If one was to pick the worst economic decisions in the history of economic decisions made by Pakistani policymakers, the Dar peg would easily be among the worst, given the disastrous economic consequences that it entails. The consequences, which are already beginning to manifest, will significantly erode the purchasing power of all segments of the population — except the rent-seeking class, whi
The Monetary Policy Committee met last week and decided to increase the policy rate by 100 basis points. Market activity began to respond to this development and the dollar began its rally against the rupee. The dollar had vacillated in the Rs217 to Rs222 range since Ishaq Dar became the Finance Minister. While that range had been broken through a couple of weeks ago, the intraday change on the
Pakistanis woke up on Sunday to a record single-day hike in the petrol price — which also now stands at an all-time high of around Rs250 a litre — after the government moved to address a run on filling stations fuelled by shortage fears, especially in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, the government had little success in smoothing out a fragile supply chain that has been on edge for weeks