Should we fear farm mechanisation and technical innovations? While there is widespread consensus that the use of machines is essential to increasing agricultural productivity, many people in Pakistan are concerned that it may reduce labour demand in the agriculture sector, rendering workers — especially unskilled ones — redundant, which may lead to higher unemployment in rural areas along with a w
The economy is projected to grow at two to three per cent, and the average inflation rate is expected to decline in the range of 20-22pc in FY24, from 29.2pc in FY23, according to the latest State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy statement. And to quote SBP Governor Jamil Ahmed, economic uncertainty has decreased since the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting two months ago, whe
Pakistan has issued notice of ‘Force Majeure and Excusing Event’ to Iran to suspend its contractual obligation on completion of multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project because of external factors outside Islamabad’s control. Simply put, Pakistan has expressed its inability to pursue the project as long as US sanctions on Iran remain in place or Washington tacitly green ligh
The key measure of stock prices surged on Monday to cross the psychological barrier of 48,000 points as investors reacted positively to the prospect of Saudi money flowing into Pakistan’s mineral and energy sectors. Topline Securities Ltd CEO Mohammed Sohail said the expectation of investment from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates along with the Pakistan Mineral Summit, scheduled to be
PAKISTAN’S car industry is in deep trouble. The last fiscal was one of the worst years the industry has ever seen. Its sales decreased in FY23 by almost 56pc to 126,879 units from a year ago. The plunge in car sales is driven mainly by three reasons. First, the demand for auto loans, historically a major driver of car sales in the country, is declining significantly because of the State Bank’s