News

Sugar export to Afghanistan resumes after four years

Sugar export to Afghanistan has resumed after a four-year suspension, with over 400 vehicles crossing the Torkham border in the last four days. According to sources, Pakistan recently allowed the export of 150,000 tons of sugar to Afghanistan, setting the August 15 deadline for the completion of the shipment process. Customs clearing agents at Torkham told Dawn that around 100 vehicles, each

Apex chamber to move Supreme Court on capacity payments

As a last resort to save the economy, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Tuesday announced that it would file a case in the Supreme Court against the unbearable capacity charges being paid to independent power producers (IPPs). FPCCI Acting President Abdul Mohamin Khan, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said despite repeated and unrelenting expressions of it

Q2 tech earnings hold key to market rebound

As earnings season goes into full swing, bullish investors hope solid corporate results will stem a tumble in technology shares that has cooled this year’s US stock rally. The S&P 500’s technology sector has dropped nearly 6% in just over a week, shedding about $900 billion in market value as growing expectations of interest rate cuts and a second Trump presidency draw money away from this year

For two years, economy in grip of stagflation

Ask anyone what’s been troubling them the most lately, and at least nine out of ten will say it’s the relentless price rise. The last financial year (FY24) ended with an average CPI inflation of 23.41%, compared to 29.18% in FY23 and 12.15% in FY22. Simultaneously, the economy grew by 2.4% in FY24, contracted by 0.2% in FY23, and grew by 6.2% in FY22. These indicators unmistakably show that the co

No ‘capacity payments’ for small hydel units

The government has decided to eliminate the concept of ‘capacity payments’ for small hydropower projects, aiming to reduce the financial burden on power consumers. Currently, consumers are shouldering 70% of electricity costs due to these payments made to Independent Power Producers (IPPs), totalling around Rs2.2 trillion annually to those not producing a single unit of electricity. During d