A substantial reduction in electricity tariffs, promised by the government, could not get past the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is currently holding back a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the first biannual review of the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF). It was widely reported in the media through official leaks that the prime minister would announce a Rs8 per unit reduction in elec
The stock market continued its record-setting streak for the second consecutive session on Thursday, pushing the benchmark KSE 100 index above 118,000. Topline Securities Ltd said the stock market continued its bullish momentum, reaching record-high levels with a record-high trading value in nearly two months. The benchmark index surged to an intraday high of 1,447 at 119,421.81 points before s
IT has been a pattern. Ever since it returned to power in 2022, the ruling PML-N has allocated tens of billions from public funds each year to the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme, ostensibly to shore up its own and allied parties’ sagging political fortunes. SAP, as the programme is referred to, is the cover given to political development schemes sanctioned and overseen by p
THIS is perfect. The power bureaucracy has decided to go on the offensive against users of net-metering services, and decided to describe them all as a ‘burden’ and tell the rest of the power users in the country that their bills are high because a few are escaping the grid by going solar. And thanks to this misfire, this entirely unnecessary hostility, we now have the perfect illustration of w
TWENTY-FIVE IMF programmes, and at least 17 high-powered tax reform commissions, task forces and donor-funded programmes later, the country still finds itself struggling to raise revenue. Once again, another government has announced its intention to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio. The pattern of repeated failure over decades should be a moment for pause and introspection — both for the government and