BUDGET 2023-24 that was passed by parliament yesterday after the introduction of large fiscal-tightening measures to sweeten it for the IMF might resuscitate the bailout deal with the Fund, stalled since last November. As Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in his closing budget speech, the IMF’s concerns regarding the original budgeted deficit of 6.5pc of GDP have been largely addressed through th
AMID much fanfare, the government last week announced an “economic revival plan” focused on what it calls “untapped potential in key sectors of the economy” to attract foreign direct investment from “friendly countries”. A new body has been created, the Special Investment Facilitation Council, to undertake this task. Any initiative to address the dire economic situation is to be welcomed. But s
Despite divergent views and apparent distrust, as evident from public pronouncements during stretched negotiations on the resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, both Pakistan and the IMF staff remain engaged. That the negotiations are not breaking down indicates that the clinching of a deal would be the best option for both sides. With the next IMF tranche of $1.2 billio
People across Pakistan have been hit by a double whammy of extremely hot weather and prolonged power outages, with many distribution companies (Discos) resorting to observe loadshedding after the power shortfall crossed 6,000 megawatts on Saturday. In urban areas, three to six hours of loadshedding was reported while rural areas of the country experienced up to 12 hours of outages. In additi
Pakistan has exported roughly 115,000 people as managers since 1971 and 32,000 as doctors. A paltry number compared to labourers and drivers — the two top categories of emigrants — whose numbers are 5m and 1.8m, respectively, over the last three decades. The GCC countries, Europe, the US and the UK, remain historically popular destinations. These can be the ones considered relatively luck