ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday addressed a gathering of Pakistani-American business leaders in Chicago, comprising 20 entrepreneurs, technologists and financiers, of which more than a third were former Fortune 500 executives, and invited them to bring their capital, networks and expertise to Pakistan. The minister stressed that…
The burial in Mashhad in northeast Iran follows a week of mass funeral processions, rallies and mourning ceremonies People carry the coffin of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, during his funeral procession, in Karbala, Iraq, July 9, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS Iran buries…
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chairs a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee under the National Action Plan to review the security situation in Balochistan in Quetta. PHOTO: GOVT OF PAKISTAN Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is chairing a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee under the National Action Plan (NAP) in Quetta to review the security…
ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan has emphasised that small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) constitute the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and remain central to the strategy for sustainable economic development. He said the government was undertaking comprehensive measures to empower SMEs, improve ease of doing business and…
Gold prices rose in both international and local markets on Thursday, while silver prices remained stable. In the international bullion market, the price of gold increased by $36 per ounce to reach $4,113. According to the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the price of gold per tola in the local market rose by…
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has held that private land acquired for a specified purpose may not, as a general rule, be diverted to a different purpose at the discretion of the beneficiary or its successor-in-interest. “Although we have no hesitation to observe that the acquisition of land under the Act being an exercise…
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday kept Pakistan’s economic growth forecast unchanged at 3.5% for the new fiscal year, while warning about the possibility of a renewed Middle East conflict that could heighten price volatility. In an update to its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the IMF showed Pakistan’s economic growth rate at…
Key ministries exceed budget authorisations, putting IMF-mandated primary surplus target at risk An employee counts Pakistani rupee notes at a bank in Peshawar, Pakistan August 22, 2023.Photo: Reuters ISLAMABAD: The federal development spending shot up to Rs912 billion, exceeding the downward revised allocation by Rs92 billion, after key ministries incurred more expenses than their authorisations…
PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has ordered a review of controversial amendments to the K-P Assembly Members’ Powers, Privileges and Benefits Act, 2026, following widespread public and media criticism and directed that all contentious provisions be reconsidered in consultation with parliamentary leaders. Addressing a meeting of the provincial cabinet on Wednesday, CM Afridi…
Atif Bajwa called on banks to reflect honestly on shortcomings and invest more aggressively in technology and human capital. “Technology is fundamentally changing the way banking is done… Yet, as an industry, we are still not investing enough in technology.”. photo:file KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has set an ambitious target to raise…