The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday voiced strong reservations over a set of politically unpopular provisions in the federal budget for the next fiscal year, urging the government to amend contentious clauses ahead of its expected approval in the National Assembly today (Thursday). Former finance minister and PPP MNA Naveed Qamar, who currently chairs the National Assembly Standing Co
Global public debt rose to $102 trillion in 2024, with developing countries accounting for nearly one-third — $31tr — of that total, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). These economies paid a record $921bn in interest payments, severely straining public finances and threatening essential public services. In its latest World of Debt repor
Pakistan lacks a central mechanism for monitoring energy efficiency in its steel sector, making it difficult to measure progress or tap into global green financing and carbon credit opportunities, according to a new World Bank report. The report, titled Steel Sector: Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation, released under the Pakistan Sustainable Energy Series, highlights several barriers hinder
Pakistan on Thursday reaffirmed its commitment to a clean energy transition, pledging to achieve 60pc renewable energy generation and 30pc electric vehicle penetration by 2030, while urging greater regional cooperation on electricity trade and connectivity under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) framework. Addressing the SCO Energy Ministers’ Conference virtually, Federal Minister for
The foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) dropped sharply by $2.7 billion in a week, falling to a three-year low and indicating that the $14bn target for FY25 will not be achieved. The SBP reported on Thursday that during the week ending June 20, its reserves decreased by $2.657bn to $9.064bn due to external debt repayments by the government, primarily for commercial bor