Political stability remains amiss. The suppression of dissenting voices and human rights is fuelling fears that this hybrid government may eventually become a repressive regime. The economy has started showing some signs of recovery, but leveraging it for sustainable growth in the future is becoming difficult not only due to structural problems, like a high level of debt and lavish ways of runn
A comprehensive report on the state of provincial economies, akin to the National Pakistan Economic Survey, does not appear to be forthcoming. Currently, development efforts at the provincial level appear to be politically driven rather than aligned with the prioritised needs of the masses. Consequently, the outcomes are modest and have a high opportunity cost. In economic terms, opportunity
The economy is expected to be high on the agenda when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif makes a five-day trip to China next week, but the outcomes of the visit are not expected to have any major impact on budget preparations. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed on Friday that Mr Sharif’s trip, which starts tomorrow, will include talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qia
Reiterating the government’s resolve to increasing exports, Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Sunday said that the registration system for pesticides would be digitalised to streamline the processes. During a meeting with the director general of plant protection, Dr Tariq Khan, the minister said, “An effective system for the inspection of rice and mango pl
Marking the highest optimism in last two years, 18pc Pakistanis believe that the country is heading in the right direction. It said males were twofold more optimistic than females. However, economic problems continued to top the list of worrying issues for Pakistanis. These were the crux of the “Consumer confidence index survey” conducted by a market research company, Ipsos, for the second q