Lawmakers belonging to the PPP, a key partner in the ruling coalition, during their speeches in the National Assembly on Monday not only made a scathing attack on the tax-laden and ‘directionless’ federal budget, but also targeted the ruling PML-N, claiming that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had lost popularity among the masses. Despite expressing serious reservations over the budget, the P
Claiming that the proposed federal budget 2024-25 practically cancelled the recently announced policy for setting up new and upgrading existing refineries, the oil industry has asked the government to revive the existing taxation regime, including continuing customs duty on diesel and sales tax laws on all petroleum products. In a representation to the federal ministers for finance and petroleu
The government’s borrowings in the first 11 months of the outgoing fiscal year have exceeded the combined figure of the two preceding fiscal years. This huge borrowing from banks was made when the interest rate was unprecedentedly high, at 22 per cent, indicating the size of debt servicing will enormously increase and exceed the budget estimates for the upcoming fiscal year. According to the
As the outcome of the caretakers’ wheat import scandal is still pending, traders are now urging the government to allow export of wheat and its related products. Cereal Association of Pakistan (CAP) Chairman Muzammil Chappal claimed that the country has a surplus of 3.9 million tonnes of wheat, and the association has asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to allow its export immediately. He sa
Despite being a shortened two-day trading week, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) scaled a fresh peak above 78,800 points over investor enthusiasm following no increase in taxes on capital gains and dividend incomes and over hopes of striking a new loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The bourse snapped gains of over 2,100 points during the week as many investors were also