The inflows of workers’ remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis reached a three-month high at $2.39 billion in January 2024, instilling confidence in the domestic economy following the disbursement of the second loan tranche of $700 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the same month. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), remittances surged by 26% to $2.39 bil
Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities have peaked at Rs81.2 trillion – a figure that grew at a faster pace of over 27% during the past year, posing emergent management challenges to the newly elected government. The bulletin released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday showed that the country’s total debt and liabilities increased by another Rs17.4 trillion as of the end of December c
PAKISTAN is facing enormous macroeconomic challenges, as evident in its fragile balance-of-payments, weakening growth, and soaring prices. The new government is expected to quickly set about dealing with these issues. Its most pressing challenge is to formulate a longer-term financing plan to meet Pakistan’s growing external debt obligations, beginning with negotiations for a longer and larger
Pakistan’s polarised elections that followed nearly two years of unrelenting political turmoil and ongoing economic crisis have intensified uncertainty. That the manipulated outcome of this election would have serious consequences for the future of Pakistan, its citizens, democracy and civil-military relationship is known to all; it would also have a bearing on the nation’s fragile economy.
The election results reflect a profound disillusionment among Pakistanis, demonstrating their steadfast resistance to any form of meddling with their democratic mandate, whether overt or covert. The fragmented mandate and the lack of decisive victory by any single party are poised to result in the formation of a coalition government. Such a scenario is expected to prolong the country’s governme