KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank has withdrawn two long-running incentive schemes that paid commercial banks to attract overseas remittances, after the cost of the programmes swelled to a level that drew the attention of the International Monetary Fund, according to central bank circulars and sources in the financial sector.
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Senate panel to seek FIA, NAB probes into power sector graft, brief prime minister
ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee decided on Thursday to brief Pakistan’s prime minister on alleged irregularities and corruption in foreign-funded power sector projects, and to ask two federal investigative agencies directly to open inquiries, after the government’s Economic Affairs Division said it lacked the authority to order a probe into projects run by another ministry.
Pakistan Army to get all-local wheat supply from 2026-27 crop
ISLAMABAD: The government approved the supply of 175,000 tonnes of fresh, wholly domestic wheat to the Pakistan Army for the 2026-27 crop year, ending a four-year arrangement under which troops were fed flour milled partly from imported grain that soldiers had repeatedly complained about.
Imran Khan’s PTI party to skip Kashmir vote, backs protesters over ‘politics of power’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party founded by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, said on Thursday it would boycott the upcoming general election in Azad Kashmir, citing weeks of civil unrest, arrests of political workers and a blockade of food supplies to the region.
Pakistan seeks fresh S&P rating upgrade to unlock $2 billion in bond sales
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally asked S&P Global Ratings for a further upgrade to its sovereign credit rating, seeking to raise around $2 billion this fiscal year through additional international bond sales, local media reported on Friday.
Pakistan’s trade deficit widens 21.6 percent to $39.47bln in FY26, missing export target by $5.2bln
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 21.57% to $39.471 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June, as exports fell and imports climbed, official data showed on Thursday, missing the government’s export target by more than $5 billion and adding fresh strain to the country’s external finances.
PEMRA seeks Islamic council’s opinion on Geo News suspension
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s media regulator has asked the country’s top Islamic advisory body to determine whether the punishment already imposed on Geo News, one of the country’s largest private television broadcasters, is sufficient over a Muharram broadcast that authorities said risked offending religious sentiment, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters and officials.
Relative of senior politician among five charged in kidnapping and sexual assault of two foreign women in Lahore
LAHORE: Police in the Pakistani city of Lahore registered a criminal case on Thursday against five suspects accused of kidnapping two foreign women for ransom and subjecting them to sexual assault, an incident that has drawn direct intervention from the top elected official in Punjab province.
Pakistan restores internet service after subsea cable fault disrupts traffic
ISLAMABAD: Internet services across Pakistan returned to normal on Friday after engineers repaired a fault in an international submarine cable system that had disrupted connectivity for users nationwide over the preceding two days, the country’s telecommunications regulator said.
PM Sharif to attend Khamenei funeral, then head to Turkey for trade talks
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Iran this week to attend the funeral of assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei before continuing to Turkey for talks on trade and regional security, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Thursday.