News

Big industry grows 9pc in July

The Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector staged a recovery, posting a robust year-on-year growth of 8.99 per cent in the first month of FY26, according to figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. On a month-on-month basis, the LSM posted a positive growth of 2.60pc in July 2025. This clearly indicates a revival in the industrial output at the start of new fiscal year.

Deadlock persists on GB traders’ demand for tax exemptions

The prime minister’s 22-member committee failed on Tuesday to reach consensus on recommendations for resolving grievances of Gilgit-Baltistan’s traders, with the matter deferred to another meeting scheduled for Wednesday. The committee, formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to address concerns over taxes and clearance of consignments imported from China via the Khunjerab Pass, met in Isla­mab

Senate panel seeks briefing on railways’ outsourcing policies

Matters relating to outsourcing trains, servicing and adopting public-private partnersh­ips by Pakistan Railways were rai­sed during a meeting of the Sen­ate Standing Committee on Railways, which met in Islamabad on Tuesday. Senator Rubina Khalid, who join­­ed the committee as a member, qu­­estioned the procedure and rationale behind adopting models not widely practiced internationally. The

Equities rebound, index recovers 945 points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rebounded strongly on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 945 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 155,384.51. The rally came after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained the policy rate at 11 per cent, in line with market expectations. The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to hold rates steady provided relief to investors concerned over t

New auditor general to face fallout from ‘most expensive typo’

A new auditor general will have to clean up the mess left by his predecessor, after the Auditor General of Pakistan’s (AGP) office backtracked on a controversial report, which gave an astronomical figure for irregularities unearthed in the federal government’s accounts. Maqbool Ahmed Gondal was sworn in as the country’s 22nd AGP on Monday, at a ceremony held in the Supreme Court. Appointed f