KARACHI: The central bank is expected to keep its policy rate unchanged on Monday as escalating tensions between Israel and Iran stoke fears of rising commodity prices, threatening a resurgence of inflation in the financially strained country
Economy
Enforcement or heavier taxes
The latest budget is a reckless bet that the government can muscle through enforcement measures no one believes are feasible. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has staked the country’s fiscal future on a Rs14.1 trillion revenue target, a 19% jump from Rs11.9 trillion, underpinned by a crackdown on tax dodgers and IMF-mandated austerity. The problem? This plan assumes a level of political backbone and economic resilience that Islamabad has rarely shown. It’s less a strategy than a prayer, and the odds are stacked against it.
Pakistan to slash tariffs, abolish duties in bold export push
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to slash its overall tariff regime by more than 4% over the next five years as part of a bold reform package aimed at turbocharging exports and pivoting the nation toward an export-led growth model, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday.
IMF pleaser, growth freezer budget
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Rs 17.6 trillion budget for 2025-2026, rolled out by Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb, is a high-wire act, slashing the deficit to 3.9% of GDP from 5.9% to win IMF applause, while tiptoeing around the political third rail of taxing the untaxed and sparking growth in an economy stuck in neutral. Revenue projections hit Rs 19.3 trillion, Rs 14.1 trillion from taxes, Rs 5.1 trillion from non-tax sources, a blueprint drenched in discipline. Yet, with unemployment at 6.3% (and a jaw-dropping 44.9% for youth), a 241.5 million population swollen by a youth bulge, and an informal economy mocking the tax net, this budget risks being a masterclass in caution rather than the bold stroke Pakistan desperately needs. Stability is the buzzword here, but it might just be a polite term for paralysis.
Budget 2025/26: Taxes up, spending down, IMF smirks
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday rolled out a Rs17.573 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2026, slashing spending by 6.9% and targeting a hefty Rs14,131 billion tax take, up 8.95%, under the watchful eye of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Budget to put IMF before growth
By Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will step into the spotlight today, unveiling the federal budget for 2025-26 in parliament, a fiscal blueprint
Pakistan’s economy sees 2.7pc growth in FY25, but farms and factories beg to differ
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economy is set to expand 2.7% in the fiscal year ending June 2025, up from 2.5% last year, though concerns over inflated industrial figures and a weak agricultural sector cloud the outlook, the government’s economic survey showed on Monday.
Pakistan’s economy seen growing 2.7pc, survey set for unveiling today
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economy is expected to have grown by 2.7% in the fiscal year 2024-25, preliminary figures signal on Monday, with the official Economic Survey set to be unveiled later today by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
India’s suspension of Indus Waters Treaty risks nuclear war in South Asia
ISLAMABAD: Former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty risks sparking the world’s first nuclear war over water, escalating an already volatile standoff between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Nearly 1 in 2 Pakistanis live below poverty line under World Bank’s new standards
ISLAMABAD: Nearly half of Pakistan’s population is living below the poverty line, according to a World Bank report released on Thursday, a stark finding driven by the institution’s recent update to global poverty standards rather than a deterioration in the country’s economic conditions.