Pakistan’s trade deficit with nine neighbouring countries widened by 34.64 per cent, reaching $9.787 billion in the first ten months of the current fiscal year (FY25), compared to $7.269 billion during the same period last year. Exports witnessed significant growth to Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, spurred by recent changes in the regional political landscape. However, trade with these
Seeking effective and practical steps for the realisation of agriculture income tax and improvements in retail sector taxation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has yet to take a position on Pakistan’s request for relief measures in the upcoming budget, due on June 2. The authorities, however, have committed to meeting any revenue shortfall through reduced expenditure in the Public Sector
Amid week-long talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on next fiscal year’s budget, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fast-track institutional reforms and maintain macroeconomic stability. During a meeting with an IMF delegation led by Regional Director for the Middle East and South Asia, Jihad Azour, the prime minister said the country was
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rebounded on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index rising by 960 points, or 0.81 per cent, to close at 119,931 — its highest-ever closing level and just shy of the 120,000 psychological milestone. The market opened on a strong note, with the index gaining as much as 1,135 points intraday, buoyed by broad-based buying across key sectors. Large-cap stoc
THE air in the Hafizabad Galla Mandi, usually thick with the happy dust of a bountiful harvest, felt strangely thin. Fewer trucks rumbled through the gateway than expected. The usual cacophony of haggling voices was muted, replaced by pockets of anxious murmuring. In the absence of major players like the Punjab and federal governments, most people like Yusuf expected a glut of wheat in the mar