The PML-N government in Punjab on Monday proposed a Rs5.33 trillion annual budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, focusing primarily on large infrastructure schemes and freebies for the urban middle classes, especially the youth, as well as small industries and farmers to regain the political ground it had lost in its stronghold in the 2024 election. The budget features a record Rs1.24tr Annual De
The government is reevaluating the powers granted to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officers to arrest suspected tax evaders and adding guardrails to prevent arbitrary detentions after concerns expressed by businesspeople and lawmakers over the blanket authority and its potential misuse. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday formed a committee to reexamine the matter and recommend stringen
Punjab on Monday presented Rs1.240 trillion Annual Development Plan for 2025-26, the largest-ever in its history and 43 per cent more than the previous year’s ADP, marking “a shift towards transformational planning, placing equity, innovation and climate resilience at the heart of development”. The government claims that the ADP is not just a funding plan rather a blueprint for shared prosperit
A status quo in capital gains tax (CGT) and dividend rates increased equity investor optimism, as the overall thrust of the federal budget remains on fiscal consolidation, which sparked renewed buying interest across the board, propelling the benchmark KSE 100 index to an all-time high in the outgoing week. However, the market came under pressure by the end of the week on news of the 50pc tarif
The Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) ought to catalyse long-term growth through strategic infrastructure investments, yet its balance sheet is a cautionary tale in capital misallocation. Even though PSDP allocations are capped at Rs1 trillion, the legacy “throw-forward” of already-approved schemes tops Rs10tr. This is worth more than 10 years of PSDP outlays, even if not a single new pro