By Staff Reporter
A surge in smuggled and tax-evaded cigarettes is draining Pakistan’s national exchequer of an estimated Rs324 billion annually, according to a new survey, exposing critical gaps in enforcement and unintended consequences of aggressive tax hikes on legitimate tobacco products.
By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The overseas workers sent home a record $4.1 billion in March 2025, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said Monday, driving the central bank to raise its full-year remittance and foreign reserve targets amid improving economic stability.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has granted Pakistan a four-month extension to finalise a transparency measure requiring senior bureaucrats to publicly disclose their assets, after the government warned that exposing officials’ financial details could heighten security and harassment risks.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will not retaliate against tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday, even as analysts warn the delayed levies threaten to destabilise the South Asian nation’s fragile export economy.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is deploying a high-level delegation to Washington to negotiate relief from punishing US tariffs that have pushed duties on its exports to 39 percent, threatening a bilateral trade relationship worth $6 billion annually, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said on Wednesday.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economy is showing tentative signs of stabilisation and recovery as reforms under an International Monetary Fund program begin to curb inflation and revive growth, though structural challenges and global trade risks persist, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Tuesday reported its first annual net profit in 21 years, a milestone that could boost government efforts to privatise the debt-stricken carrier after years of losses and operational crises.
By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan stocks cratered to an intraday low of 8,687 points on Monday—its biggest point drop ever—before closing 3.3 percent lower, reeling from a global sell-off sparked by China’s retaliatory tariffs on the U.S.
By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan’s exports to the US are poised to take a hit after President Donald Trump unleashed a 29 percent tariff on Pakistani imports, part of a broad salvo hitting dozens of countries as he ramps up a global trade war.
Inflation rate slowed to 0.7 percent in March, the lowest in over three decades, driven by weak demand and economic reforms, with urban inflation falling to 1.2 percent and rural inflation remaining flat.
