The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been facing a severe cash crunch for the last year because the centre is not fully paying its net hydel profits (NHP) and has also stopped funds committed for the erstwhile tribal areas. The previous government of PTI in the province was forced to borrow Rs285 billion from the State Bank of Pakistan under the ‘Ways & Means’ facility to pay salaries and pen
Pakistan’s development history has been in a state of crisis for decades. One major factor underlying this struggle is an imbalance in the balance of payments that can only be corrected through enhanced foreign exchange earnings via exports. Currently, the economy relies on unsustainable sources such as remittances, foreign loans, and tariffs, along with indirect taxes, to support a heavily imp
Punjab’s spending plan for the first four months — from July 1 to October 31 — of the next financial year unveiled last week clearly and unmistakably carries PML-N’s signature all over it: a massive development stimulus, a bloated subsidy and social protection programme, and an increase in the pay and pension of government employees. The Rs1.7 trillion expenditures authorised last week by the c
Pakistan has made every effort to secure the last tranche worth $1.1 billion of a $6.5bn International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan stalled since November last year. It hopes to get the tranche by the end of June, when the loan programme is due to expire. However, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is confident that the country will not default even if the IMF money does not come in. He has told the nation
After revising the budget in line with International Monetary Fund’s demands, the government expects a breakthrough announcement from the global lending agency over the next few days to get direly needed bailout funds. “Almost all the irritants between the IMF staff and the Ministry of Finance were addressed hours before the finance minister’s wind-up speech on Saturday,” an official said, addi