News

Cabinet okays PIA sale amid skyrocketing losses

The federal cabinet on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for privatising Pakistan Inter­national Airlines (PIA), whose total losses have increased to Rs750 billion. It also strongly condemned Israel’s aggression on Palestinians, calling it a blatant violation of UN resolutions and demanding an immediate halt to the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza. The cabinet also approved the appointments of forme

Agro, food exports jump 37pc

Pakistan has seen a significant increase of 37.4 per cent in the export of agro and food products in the first quarter of the current fiscal year from a year ago amid soaring domestic food inflation. The surge in food products exports can be primarily attributed to the unprecedented rupee depreciation and the persistent disruptions in the supply chain and higher prices in the international mark

Car sales almost halve in July-Sept

Car sales plunged 44 per cent followed by a 23 per cent drop in jeeps, SUVs and pickups during the July-September quarter despite a month-on-month (MoM) jump in August and September. Barring tractor sales, other segments also gave a dismal performance led by a drop of 47pc in trucks, 32pc in buses and 10pc in two- and three-wheelers. Total car sales clocked in at 16,021 units in July-Septemb

Wheat output estimated at over 32m tonnes

The Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) has fixed the wheat production target at 32.12 million tonnes for rabi season 2023-24, an increase of 12.20 per cent over last year’s 28.2m tonnes, according to a senior official of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research on Wednesday. Punjab has been projected to produce 25 million tonnes of wheat while Sindh’s target is 4m tonnes followed

IMF sees fiscal deficit exceeding govt target

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday forecast Pakistan’s fiscal deficit — the gap between the country’s total resources and expenditures — for the current financial year at 7.6 per cent of GDP, almost 1.1pc higher than 6.5pc target set by the federal government. Even after taking into account Rs600bn cash surplus targeted by the Centre to come from provincial governments, the IMF