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Govt proposes tax breaks for ‘expensive’ new energy vehicles

The government has started consultations for the New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Policy 2025-30, aimed at revolutionising the country’s transportation sector to cut carbon emissions. In this regard, a meeting was held in the Ministry of Industries on Monday, attended by the automakers, and it was highlighted that the policy would focus on promoting local NEV manufacturing, decreasing reliance on fossi

IMF’s Pakistan mission chief meets finance minister Aurangzeb to discuss $7bn loan performance

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Pakistan mission chief Nathan Porter met with Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the $7 billion loan performance, a statement from the Finance Ministry said. The meeting comes a day after the opening of an unplanned official visit of the IMF to the country, led by Porter. The unscheduled visit of the IMF mission chief c

Iran, Russia link bank card systems to counter sanctions

Iranian bank cards can now be used in Russia, state television reported, as the two countries linked their banking systems in the latest bid to counteract sanctions. Iranian banks have been excluded since 2018 from the SWIFT international financial messaging service, which governs the vast majority of transactions worldwide. The move is part of a raft of sanctions that were re-imposed on Ira

IMF seeks update on revenue system’s digital overhaul

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sought a detailed, output-based update on Pakistan’s digitalisation plans for its revenue system, including the use of artificial intelligence to expand the tax base and increase collections. On the energy side, the country has pledged to halt gas supply to captive power plants (CPPs) by January 2025, redirecting them to the national grid despite a stro

Stellar performance tosses PSX to new highs

Due to positive economic data and a larger-than-expected interest rate cut, the stock market experienced a record-setting streak throughout the outgoing week, except for one session, ultimately closing above 93,000 for the first time. After staging a robust rally on the first day amid anticipation of a fourth straight cut in the benchmark interest rate ahead of the announcement of monetary poli