News

PIA signs deal to promote Saudi tourism

Pakis­tan International Airlines (PIA) and Funadiq Travel & Tourism Services, the official marketing representative of the Saudi Tourism Authority in Pakistan, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost tourism and air travel between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. A spokesman for PIA said on Monday that the partnership aims to promote Saudi Arabia as a top tourist destination for Paki

Digital payments to IT vendors abroad shortly

Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khwaja has announced that arrangements are underway to facilitate digital outward remittances for IT companies, saying the move will enable IT exporters to seamlessly pay international suppliers and vendors. Speaking at HBL-P@SHA ICT Awards 2024 here on Monday, she said the awards empowered innovators, startups, and

Sazgar plans to roll out new energy vehicles next year

Competition for producing new energy vehicles (NEVs) has intensified as Sazgar Engineering Works Ltd (SEWL) plans to introduce the completely knocked down (CKD) model before Dec 31, 2025. In a stock filing on Monday, SEWL said the board of directors had approved the plan, which includes the expansion of the existing paint shop, construction of new warehousing facilities, installation of a solar

Number of ‘junk tax’ returns surges to 2.7m in 2023

Pakistan’s top tax machinery is confronted with a big dilemma of nil-filers, which has reached an alarming level of 68 per cent of total income tax returns in the tax year 2023, Dawn has learned from official sources. This presents a significant challenge for the government in identifying individuals not paying their taxes, with 2.3 million out of 3.4 million potentially concealing their taxabl

Senate committee slams SBP inaction over banks’ Rs65bn ‘unlawful’ profits

The Senate’s Standing Committee on Economic Affairs criticised the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) during a meeting on Monday for leniency in penalising commercial banks involved in Rs65 billion heist through unauthorised higher charges on opening of letters of credit (LCs) for imports at the height of a foreign exchange crisis in 2022. The meeting, presided over by Senator Saifullah Abro, sought