News

Textile exports fall for second month

Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports fell by 1.99 per cent in September, marking the second consecutive month of negative growth. Official data shows that textile and clothing exports dropped to $1.57bn from $1.61bn in September 2024. This follows a sharper 7.34pc decline in August, reflecting ongoing challenges in the sector. The drop in September extends the volatility seen in the texti

Navigating fragility

PAKISTAN remains caught between cautious economic optimism and persistent challenges. This is the central message of the IMF’s latest assessment of the country’s outlook for the current fiscal year and its medium-term growth trajectory. The Fund’s new World Economic Outlook report projects Pakistan’s GDP to grow by a modest 3.6pc, with average headline inflation rising slightly to 6pc from 4.5p

Stocks surge, KSE-100 gains over 1,000 points in early trade

Bullish sentiment was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 1,000 points during the opening minutes of trading on Thursday. At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 166,704.11, an increase of 1,017.73 points or 0.61%. Buying interest was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas

Tax return filing deadline extended

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has further extended date for filing of income tax returns for tax year 2025 up to October 31, 2025. According to a Circular 5 of 2025 issued on Wednesday by the FBR, date for filing of income tax returns for tax year 2025 is further extended to October 31 in view of requests from various trade bodies and tax bar associations, the FBR added.

Reform momentum can lead to ‘immense growth’: Aurangzeb

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb said Wednesday that Pakistan’s reform momentum and economic liberalisation could set the stage for an “East Asia moment”— a period of dynamic, export-driven expansion inspired by the experience of high-growth Asian economies such as Singapore. In an interview with CNBC, the minister, who is currently in Washington DC to attend