Category: Business

The distressed people of Pakistan will need to act smartly, learn to live with less, find constructive channels to vent their frustrations and revive family/community bonds to save and sustain their households. The PTI’s budget announced on June 12 did little to provide financial relief or instil hope in ordinary families. Many Pakistanis find the […]

“Uncertainty” was perhaps the best description by Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh of the next year’s federal budget. He had valid reasons. But this corresponded well with the usual criticism of an “unrealistic” budget with “ambitious” targets. To begin with, the budget seeks to increase the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) tax collection by almost Rs1.06 […]

PESHAWAR: The traders and politicians claimed on Sunday that federal budget disappointed people, who were already battered by price hike. Awami National Party central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Qaumi Watan Party provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao and Markazi Tanzeem Tajiran president Malik Meher Ilahi in their separate statements said that government did not […]

LAHORE: Punjab plans to modestly increase its development spending, cut taxes and implement an economic stimulus to facilitate small businesses in its budget for the fiscal year 2020/2021 to mitigate the crippling impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and create jobs in the province. Officials told Dawn on Sunday that the government plans to target public development investment […]

ISLAMABAD: Oil companies and refineries have blamed the bureaucracy for current petrol shortage in the country, saying the indecision regarding import as well as enhancing local petrol production led to the current situation. The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) on Sunday said that a “disinformation campaign and maligning of refineries and oil marketing companies (OMCs)” […]

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed the federal government to address petrol crisis within three days and produce a compliance report. A bench consisting of Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ahmad Ali observed that the people were deeply troubled by petrol shortages but the government was busy holding useless meetings. Federal petroleum […]

ISLAMABAD: The tax exemptions cost in the current fiscal year rose to Rs1.149 trillion, up 18.25 per cent from Rs972.4 billion in the preceding year, the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20 showed on Thursday. Tax exemptions are the revenues foregone by the state by granting exemptions under different categories to various industries and other groups. These […]

ISLAMABAD: There has been no significant impact of Covid-19 on the agriculture sector which, on the aggregate, recorded a remarkable growth of 2.67 per cent in 2019-20 compared to 0.58pc growth achieved last year, the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20 said. Released on Thursday, the document adds that positive growth was noted in all important crops […]

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Thursday held six major oil marketing companies (OMCs) responsible for petroleum shortage across the country and imposed on them a cumulative fine of Rs40 million. The authority also issued fresh show-cause notices to Askar Petroleum, Byco Petroleum and BE Energy for similar violations of rules and […]

• Growth crashes into negative territory• Public debt increases to 88pc of GDP• FBR revenues to take Rs800bn hit ISLAMABAD: The data released by the government presented a dismal economic performance as all indictors painted broad-based setbacks and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh blamed Covid-19 for a […]