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
The government would soon be delisting two mega LNG-based power plants of about 1,230MW each — Balloki and Haveli Bahadur Shah — from the privatisation agenda for their expedited sale on a government-to-government (G2G) basis. The government has been in talks with friendly governments in the Middle East, including Qatar, for the sale of at least two out of four LNG-based power plants, the most
A massive power breakdown last week in Pakistan left millions of citizens without electricity across the country for most of the day on Monday. Triggered by ‘frequency variations’ in the system, it was the second major electricity breakdown since October, forcing many to compare the nation’s fragile power sector and its economy on the verge of collapse. Later in the evening, the State Bank h