ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the European Union on Saturday underlined the importance of further deepening trade and investment ties, including through the EU’s GSP+ scheme, as a driver for sustainable growth, export diversification, job creation and mutually beneficial economic opportunity, the Pakistani Foreign Office said.
Economy
Pakistan lifts six-month gold trade ban, reviving jewellery exports
ISLAMABAD: The government has lifted a six-month ban on gold imports and exports, easing restrictions that had crippled the nation’s jewellery industry and aiming to revive trade in a key cultural and economic asset amid efforts to stabilise foreign reserves.
Islamabad calls first meeting of contentious NFC on Dec. 4 as pressure mounts to rewrite fiscal formula
ISLAMABAD: After months of postponements that have underscored the political and fiscal strains gripping the country, the government has called the first meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission for Dec. 4, setting the stage for what could be contentious negotiations over how to divide the nation’s tax revenues between the center and its four provinces.
Pakistan targets debut panda bond before Chinese new year , finance minister says
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to issue its first Panda bond before the Chinese New Year in late January, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said, in a clear signal that Islamabad is accelerating its push to diversify funding sources and re-enter international capital markets after years of isolation.
PPL denies building offshore island, says project prepares marshy drilling site
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) on Thursday rejected as misleading a report that it was reclaiming land from the sea to build an artificial island for oil and gas exploration, saying its project in a marshy area near Sujawal involved only preparations for safe drilling in difficult tidal terrain.
Pakistan inks MoU to sell JF-17 Block III fighter at Dubai Airshow
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan secured a memorandum of understanding with an undisclosed friendly nation for the sale of its advanced JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jet at the Dubai Airshow, in a deal the military described as a milestone that underscored growing international confidence in the country’s aviation industry.
Pakistan’s top anti-corruption agency is a ‘political compromise,’ IMF says in damning report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has committed to publish asset declarations of senior public officials starting in 2026 and to introduce risk-based verification of those filings as part of concessions to the International Monetary Fund to bolster accountability amid entrenched corruption.
Pakistan extends airspace ban on Indian aircraft until Dec. 24
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has extended its ban on Indian aircraft using its airspace until Dec. 24, according to a notice to airmen issued on Thursday, four days before the previous restriction was due to expire.
ADB approves $330 million to modernise Pakistan grid, lift hydropower transmission
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday approved loans totalling $330 million for the Second Power Transmission Strengthening Project, which the bank described as one of the government’s top priority investments to expand the national transmission network and evacuate low-cost renewable and hydropower to major load centres.
Profit repatriation surges 39 percent to $1.14 billion as outflow curbs ease
ISLAMABAD: Foreign investors sent home sharply higher dividends and profits in the first four months of FY26, led by a jump in transfers to China, even as fresh direct investment in the country continued to shrink.