PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will transition from the unfunded pension scheme to a funded one by 2045 after all employees hired under the former are expected to retire, show official documents. The unfunded pension scheme for government employees was replaced by a contributory pension system in 2022. While unveiling the next budget a few days ago,…
ISLAMABAD: IT and Telecom Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Thursday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to launching 5G internet services, stating that work on the project was ongoing. She was speaking at a ceremony to mark a major milestone — Pakistan surpassing 200 million telecom subscribers, including 150m broadband users and over 2m fibre-to-home subscribers. Organised by…
ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission has taken significant steps in advancing its reform agenda by initiating the process for the appointment of financial advisers for four power distribution companies and two power generation plants, while also receiving expressions of interest (EoIs) from eight parties seeking management control of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ltd (PIACL). These developments…
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to finalise a national industrial policy at the earliest, aiming to increase production and provide sustainable solutions to challenges facing the sector. Presiding over a meeting on the promotion of the industrial sector, the premier stressed that the policy must be completed in consultation with all…
The upcoming budget is expected to mark a shift in Pakistan’s economic direction, from an inward-looking, protectionist stance to a more outward-orientated, globally competitive approach. Such a transition is complex and will take time to deliver tangible results, so it is natural for questions and concerns to arise. Foremost among them is whether these reforms are truly…
ISLAMABAD: The government has flagged a series of critical risks to next year’s budget and medium-term outlook, including slower than targeted GDP growth, inflation shocks, exchange rate volatility, lower revenue buoyancy, debt servicing costs, poor performance of state-owned entities (SOEs) and unexpected climatic and other natural disasters. In a written statement on fiscal risks placed…
Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations so far pose only limited risks of contamination, experts say. But they warn that any attack on the country’s nuclear power station at Bushehr could cause a nuclear disaster. Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities in its military campaign, but that it also wants to avoid any…
An Islamabad court on Friday extended the physical remand of the main suspect in the murder case of social media influencer Sana Yousaf for another three days. Islamabad Police had arrested Umar Hayat, the main suspect in the 17-year-old’s murder, on June 3, nearly a day after she was gunned down in her house in the federal capital. Police…
Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed has termed “Pakistani talent and Chinese technology an invincible wall” for peace, security and stability in South Asia, while observing that the “global balance of economic and political power is shifting from West to East, heralding the Asian Century.” Pakistan has held strong bilateral relations with China which has supported it…
PAKISTAN is, for the moment, in President Donald Trump’s good books, as he told the media that he “loves” this country before throwing a working lunch in honour of Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House on Wednesday. Though the meeting, apparently arranged through ‘unconventional means’, may have rewritten the rules of protocol, as no senior…
