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PM Kakar sounds note of optimism on financial inclusion

Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said on Tuesday Pakistan is leading in terms of the opening of bank accounts in Edison Alliance’s global financial inclusion goal of providing one billion people with affordable digital solutions by 2030. Speaking at a webinar held in connection with the Spotlight Pakistan Day by the World Economic Forum on the success of the Virtual Remittance Gateway’s (VRG)

China is owed over $1tr in Belt and Road debt: report

China is owed more than a trillion dollars through its Belt and Road project, making it the biggest debt collector in the world, a report said this week, with an estimated 80 per cent of the loans supporting countries in financial distress. Beijing says upwards of 150 countries stretching from Uruguay to Sri Lanka have signed up to the BRI, a vast global infrastructure push unveiled by Presiden

PSX hits new peak in outgoing week

The benchmark of the national bourse exceeded in the outgoing week its all-time high of 52,876 points that it achieved in May 2017. Arif Habib Ltd said the outgoing week began with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintaining its policy rate at 22pc. The decision reflected that inflation had peaked and was expected to ease off in the near future. Furthermore, the federal cabinet approved a m

The need for political legitimacy

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finally announced the delayed elections on February 8 as the country’s moribund economy grapples with overlapping political and security crises. The polls were supposed to have taken place within 90 days of parliament’s dissolution on August 9, but the ECP delayed the exercise on the pretext of redrawing constituency boundaries after the latest digi

Fortifying fiscal outlook

The budget reflects a nation’s immediate and long-term fiscal priorities, serving as more than just an accounting document. The current state of Pakistan’s budget suggests that it has become primarily an accounting representation, lacking comprehensive fiscal planning for both the present and the future. There is a prevalent misconception that post-election, all challenges will automatically re