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Finance minister urges private sector to lead as public confidence key to economic progress

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday stressed the importance of restoring public trust in the government’s economic policies, saying that the private sector must take the lead in driving the country forward. His remarks came during the Senate session where he addressed economic challenges. "We cannot move forward until public confidence is restored. The private sector must step up a

IMF names new country head

The International Monetary Fund has appointed Mahir Binici as the new country head for Pakistan, while the government intensifies efforts to secure the $7 billion loan approval by the last week of September. All this is taking place amid growing suspicions about the motives of the global lender. The IMF's action to set wrong assumptions of the current account deficit during the last two prog

Stocks tumble on IMF, political uncertainty

Despite initially beginning the week with a bullish tone, the equities came under late selling pressure on Monday, forcing the KSE 100 index to close in the red amid IMF uncertainty and mounting political tensions. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed lower amid a slump in global equities and concerns about political noise. He said uncertainty over IMF approvals on the

Delayed bailout

IS Pakistan’s new bailout deal with the IMF in trouble? Is the Fund’s Executive Board deliberately stalling the approval of the $7bn Extended Fund Facility agreed between Islamabad and the IMF mission on July 15? Are there any geopolitical factors at play? These are the thoughts that come to mind after Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s fresh critique of the IMF amid delays in disbursement of th

The stealth cost of legislature

Lawmaking must be at the core of governance — defining powers, keeping checks in check, and ensuring public trust. Nonetheless, in Pakistan, lawmakers often swap their legislative hats for power-broker crowns. Instead of crafting laws, they’re busy chasing development funds and jockeying for influence. Elected to legislate and uphold the law, many Pakistani lawmakers seem more interested in the