Category: Recent Post

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road has always had its share of traffic, but lately the main thoroughfare that connects central Karachi to its major port is in a state of near constant gridlock. An elevated street eats up two of the road’s three lanes, but it’s empty — part of an incomplete project to create express lanes for public buses that was supposed to finish three years ago.It’s one of many towering structures scattered throughout the Pakistani city that were part of the latest plans to bring a modern transportation to Karachi, one of the…

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CPI inflation has been recorded at 8.9 percent for October 2020, against 9.04 percent in September. Although general inflation reduced yet, food inflation is still in double-digit and has increased. Last year, in October 2019, the CPI was at 11.04 percent, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday reported. Average inflation of July-October 2020 was recorded at 8.86pc compared to 10.32pc in corresponding period of last year. In FY20, the average inflation was recorded at 10.74pc, with peak reading in January of 14.56 percent year-on-year. The latest CPI bulletin…

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The government has decided to borrow Rs3.5 trillion from the banking system till the coming January as it still needs resources to finance budget deficit despite growth in nontax revenue, it was learnt. The government aims to sell domestic debt up to the end of January 2021 to finance the budget deficit that stayed at Rs440 billion or 0.9 percent of gross domestic product during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year. The improvement in the budget deficit was attributed to an increase in non-tax revenues, while…

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ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has pinpointed more than Rs1.543 trillion worth of malfeasance and mismanagement of public funds by public sector entities, including the Petroleum Division and its subordinate oil and gas companies, during the fiscal year 2018-19. In an audit report, the AGP noted with serious concern the management weaknesses in the Ministry of Energy — Petroleum Division — as “no mechanism was in place for monitoring the assessment, collection of revenue receipts, recovery of arrears of gas development surcharge, gas infrastructure development cess, petroleum levy…

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KARACHI: The government is trying to boost exports of halal meat and other perishable and non-perishable items to Saudi Arabia to further enhance economic diplomacy between the two countries, a senior official said this week. The country’s federal cabinet has recently approved export of livestock to Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to earn foreign exchange and boost farmers’ profitability. “Our six meat exporting companies have recently registered with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, removing a major obstacle in our way to export to…

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