In a little over eight months of this fiscal year (between July 1, 2022, and March 3, 2023), the PML N-led federal coalition government borrowed Rs1.961 trillion from commercial banks to fill in fiscal gaps in its revenue and expenses. During the same period of the last year, the then PTI government had borrowed about one-third of this amount —Rs619 billion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan
Cherry-picking by investors led the index of representative stocks on the Pakistan Stock Exchange to post a small gain on Wednesday. Arif Habib Ltd said the KSE-100 index opened on the lower side owing to the ongoing political turbulence caused by the government’s attempt to arrest former premier Imran Khan. However, bulls quickly drove the index up to an intraday high of 193.69 points as in
The informal sector’s contribution to Pakistan’s economy is remarkable as it adds a handsome volume of approximately $661 billion, tantamount to 35.6 per cent of GDP. According to the International Labour Organisation, it constitutes 75pc and 68pc of jobs in rural and urban areas; however, it is pregnant with issues like child and bonded labour, gender-based discrimination, and insecurities in the
The government on Wednesday increased the prices of all petroleum products, except the insignificant light diesel oil (LDO), by up to Rs13 per litre for the next fortnight. With the latest review, the most inflationary high-speed diesel (HSD) prices made a new record, reaching Rs293 per litre. The HSD price adjustment directly impacts consumer prices because of an increase in transport costs.
The drought-hit regions of northern and central India, all the way up to Pakistan, are staring at lower food output and high prices as the region is set to receive lower than normal rainfall due to the El Nino weather pattern in the second half of the year. The trend is likely to affect cereal and oilseed crops across Asia with the forecast of hot, dry weather. Chris Hyde, a meteorologist at