WHAT’S the budget if not ‘strategic’? A mere accounting exercise; an attempt at balancing income and expenditure of the government? Well, the fact is that most budgets in the past have been devoid of any strategic direction. Now, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has promised to introduce “bold measures” in the upcoming budget to steer the economy in a “strategic direction”. What he means by
Despite projected remittance inflows of $38 billion in the current fiscal year (FY25), Pakistan’s per expatriate remittance remains significantly lower than that of peer countries. “Although remittances have grown at a compound annual rate of 6.1 per cent from 2013 to 2023, per expatriate remittance remains low in comparison to other countries in the region,” said a report released by the Polic
The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for expressions of interest in purchasing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to June 13, the privatisation ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The government’s failed first attempt to privatise PIA cost the national exchequer $4.3 million, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed on February 26. In March, P
Investors offered over Rs3.2 trillion to buy treasury bills against the target of Rs650 billion, reflecting the markets’ fear that the interest rate may come down further to match the sharp deceleration in inflation. The investors, mainly banks, were willing to invest the highest amount of over Rs1.086tr for the longest period of 12 months, but the government raised Rs374.6bn for this period at
Chairman Railways Syed Mazhar Ali Shah on Tuesday anticipated the commencement of the crucial Main Line-1 (ML-1) project this year despite pending government funding while the Ministry of Railways manages to complete only six out of its 38 approved projects during the current fiscal year at a total cost of Rs260.085 billion. The chairman briefed the Senate Standing Committee on Railways that t