The Senate Standing Committee on Commerce was informed on Wednesday that Pakistani banks were hesitant about issuance of financial instruments for doing trade with Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia. Commerce Secretary Sauleh Farouqi while briefing the committee, headed by Zeeshan Khanzada, said that this reluctance on part of local banks had led to start of barter trade with these countries. Mr
Amid claims of taking all the stakeholders on board, the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has increased the port charges after a gap of 20 years with immediate effect. Giving justification for the hike, the KPT on Wednesday said over the past two decades, the costs of operations, maintenance and modernisation have significantly increased due to the prevailing inflation and the escalation of the US
Reluctant to publicly disclose the names of the 620 beneficiaries who received a $3 billion ‘soft loan’ disbursed by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government during the Covid-19 pandemic, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that he would prefer to share details with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in an in-camera meeting. The PAC, which convened on Wednesday, was informed t
The export potential of the country’s defence production sector would be explored under a newly formed government body aimed at providing a single-window interface to potential investors, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Wednesday. “We have really good infrastructure [of defence production] … and we see the potential of export here,” he said, adding that by initiating exports in this secto
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed the hope that the $3 billion short-term bailout for the country would be given final approval by the International Monetary Fund board when it meets on July 12 and vowed to fulfil all commitments made to the lender. Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad to commemorate 10 years of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the premier poi