While approving an already allocated Rs7.5 billion subsidy package for the upcoming Ramazan, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet could not decide how to recover Rs100bn in additional money from gas consumers in the remaining four and a half months of the current fiscal year as the commerce minister pressed for reducing cross-subsidisation burden on industry. The meeting of
The prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are estimated to go up by Rs4-11 per litre for the next fortnight (Feb 16) owing to higher international prices and import premiums, neutralising an impact of minor exchange rate gain. Informed sources said the prices of both major petroleum products — petrol and HSD — had increased in the international market over the current fortnight and the P
The World Bank, in a policy note on agriculture and food in Pakistan, has pointed out that inappropriate government policies and regulations that distort markets, inhibit competition, and discourage private investment, as well as limited and poorly implemented efforts for research, innovation and technology dissemination are the underlying causes of the price hikes in the country. The ‘Just-in-
Prominent figures from the industrial sector have raised concerns over the economic challenges brought forth by the caretaker government’s policies. In a press statement issued on Wednesday, these industry leaders said the policies of the caretaker government, whose main responsibility was to organise elections, had brought in severe economic crises, the slowdown in industrial production and an
A foreign bank disclosed before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Wednesday that an employee was found involved in fraudulent actions, while the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said its forensic report had established the involvement of bank staff in the embezzlement of Rs410 million from the accounts of certain overseas Pakistanis. The additional director of FIA and th