THE country is flying into a new year on the back of a weakly mandated government, a promise to hold elections, and mounting uncertainty from within and without. The year 2024 is when a new window of opportunity will open to reckon with all the ailments that brought us to this pass. But for that to happen, an elected government needs to enter, on time, and without the allegations of rigging tha
It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all that ails Pakistan. 2023 was essentially a year where crises across the political, economic, and security domains coalesced in a way that few could have imagined. And while the near- and long-term implications of the collapse post-2008 democratic order are yet to fully play out, the economic crisis has reached a point where even urban uppe
Exports to the Middle East bounced back with a growth of 28.98 per cent to $1.257 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year against $974.50m from a year ago. A surge in demand for Pakistani products was observed from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, according to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan. However, the exports to Qatar decre
The repatriation of profits and dividends on foreign investments plunged to just $46.8 million in November against the first four months’ average of $120m, reflecting restriction on dollar outflows amid falling foreign exchange reserves. The data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday showed the multinationals remitted $532.2m to their respective destinations abroad during the July-N
The cash-starved government raised almost 300 per cent more than the target through the auction of treasury bills on Wednesday, reflecting a widening gap between revenue collection and its ever-rising expenditures. The caretaker government has been borrowing heavily to meet the rising spending while the banks are equally eager to invest in the risk-free high-yielding government papers. In the l