FOR much of 2023, Pakistan’s economic trajectory fluctuated from default panic to mitigation mode. The road remained rocky with a complex political scene, a population burdened with the devastating aftermath of the 2022 floods, rocketing domestic inflation, and the rupee in free fall against the dollar. With this backdrop, the government undertook timely tightening of external and domestic fina
From April onwards, the country has a substantial opportunity to increase textile exports and capture a larger chunk of the world market, says Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Patron-in-Chief Khurram Mukhtar. He said there were two main areas that the incoming government should focus on to boost textile exports: electricity-related reforms and the availability of capital. Electricity pric
Post-election scenario is more important for the economy as the ‘stalemate’ prevailing for the last 15 days will see a vital change with the formation of the new government, said market sources. Since the general elections were announced the stakeholders of the economy have been keenly watching the developments particularly the economic performance and the caretaker government’s relations with
The nationwide suspension of cellular mobile telephony as well as mobile data service at 8am on the election day caught the citizens by surprise, not only creating fear among the voters but also caused significant loss to several mobile data based businesses. The international internet watchdog ‘NetBlocks’ too has said it detected internet blackouts in multiple regions across the country and th
Despite being surrounded by political and economic uncertainties, the local currency remained stronger against the US dollar in the interbank market. The exchange rate, which has been a serious cause of concern for the government as well as stakeholders in the economy, remained stable for over two months. The State Bank of Pakistan reported the dollar rate at Rs279.34 in the interbank market