The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has asked the Employees’ Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) to devise a comprehensive plan to clear the Rs2 trillion dues of pensioners. The decision was made during the ECC meeting, which was presided over by Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar, which approved the budget for the EOBI. EOBI Chairperson Ms Naheed Durrani gave a c
A day after witnessing the biggest day-on-day decline in the benchmark of major shares, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index returned to trading in the green on Wednesday. According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index gained 1692.65, or 2.86 per cent, to stand at 60,863.62 from the previous close of 59,170.97, effectively halting the bearish momentum that had continued througho
THE country is flying into a new year on the back of a weakly mandated government, a promise to hold elections, and mounting uncertainty from within and without. The year 2024 is when a new window of opportunity will open to reckon with all the ailments that brought us to this pass. But for that to happen, an elected government needs to enter, on time, and without the allegations of rigging tha
It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of all that ails Pakistan. 2023 was essentially a year where crises across the political, economic, and security domains coalesced in a way that few could have imagined. And while the near- and long-term implications of the collapse post-2008 democratic order are yet to fully play out, the economic crisis has reached a point where even urban uppe
Exports to the Middle East bounced back with a growth of 28.98 per cent to $1.257 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year against $974.50m from a year ago. A surge in demand for Pakistani products was observed from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, according to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan. However, the exports to Qatar decre