By Staff Reporter
A critical anti-tax evasion initiative in the tobacco sector remains stalled in the mountainous region of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) despite years of planning, multiple deadlines, and urgent warnings about the growth of illicit cigarette production costing the national exchequer over Rs 300 billion annually.
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: The government will seek fresh expressions of interest for the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) later this month, a move spurred by the national carrier’s first annual profit in over two decades, signaling a potential turning point in the country’s long-stalled privatization efforts.
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) greenlit a government proposal on Thursday to slash electricity tariffs by Rs1.71 per unit for three months, from April to June 2024, tapping funds from the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) to ease consumer costs and spur demand.
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.
