Business

Pakistan’s economy performed best in 3 decades under Nawaz Sharif: Bloomberg

Published

4 months ago

Farwa

Imran Khan most popular politician with 57% approval rating.
“Public may be giving Sharif benefit of the doubt,” says Shukla.
Says road ahead won’t be easy for upcoming ruling party.

Pakistan’s economy under Nawaz Sharif’s premiership — who ruled the country thrice — had the best performance over the past three decades as compared to his rivals’ tenures, an analysis by Bloomberg Economics said.

The report found that Sharif’s PML-N scored better than Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) by using a misery index — which informally measures an economy’s state by adding its inflation and unemployment rate.

“Bloomberg Economics used an average of the index values over the respective years when each of the major political parties ruled the country since 1990. A higher value indicates more economic hardship for citizens,” said the publication.

According to Bloomberg, Nawaz looks ready to take power after the general elections slated for February 8 for the fourth time, with Khan being incarcerated and stuck in a quagmire of legal cases.

However, despite being in jail, Khan is still the most popular politician in Pakistan with an approval rating of 57%, as per a Gallup opinion poll. Meanwhile, Nawaz’s popularity increased from 36% to 52% in the past six months.

“The public may be giving Sharif the benefit of the doubt,” Ankur Shukla of Bloomberg Economics wrote in the report, adding that the “road ahead won’t be easy for any party that wins the election”, considering the high inflation and unemployment rate.

The inflation rate in Pakistan is close to 30% while the rupee performed as the worst in Asia last year with declining foreign exchange reserves.

Furthermore, the country is seeking a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the upcoming government will have to implement policies — withdrawing subsidies and raising taxes — that will be unpopular with voters.

The global lender also expects the economy to grow by 2% in the fiscal year.

Business

Pakistan’s lunar mission ‘ICUBE-Q’ reaches the moon orbit.

Published

10 hours ago

Farwa

Pakistan’s lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) entered orbit around the moon on Wednesday.

Pakistan’s historic lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) launched from Hainan, China, on Friday aboard China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft.

According to the IST, the satellite ICUBE-Q was planned and developed in partnership with China’s Shanghai University SJTU and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.

The ICUBE-Q orbiter is equipped with two optical cameras to image the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q has now been integrated into the Chang’e6 mission after successfully qualifying and testing it.

Chang’e6 is the sixth lunar exploration mission launched by China.

The launch event was streamed live on the IST website and social media platforms. Chang’6, China’s Lunar Mission, will land on the Moon’s far side to collect surface samples before returning to Earth for further research.

Business

The FIA and KE have launched 13 successful operations against power theft.

Published

10 hours ago

Farwa

In March 2024, operations were performed in collaboration with the FIA, targeting locations such as Marora Goth, Peer Abad, Ellahi Colony Metroville, Merchant Navy Housing Society, Johar Colony, Willayatabad, and Architects Society, among others. As a result of these collaborative efforts, six FIRs regarding power theft have been filed. Furthermore, four people were caught, with three being remanded to jail and one being released after paying the fines. To enforce governance and maintain accountability, a total fine of PKR 44.33 million was issued. Additionally, in partnership with FIA Balochistan, KE has conducted anti-theft operations in Hub, where teams from KE and FIA thoroughly investigated places including as markets, retail plazas, residential and commercial properties.

Regular actions against illicit power use are part of KE’s everyday activities to prevent line losses and protect the safety and security of the electrical infrastructure. Since the start of the fiscal year (FY 2023-24), over 24,000 kunda removal drives have been performed, resulting in the elimination of over 190,000 unlawful connections and the recovery of over 260,000 kgs of illegal kunda wires.
Ongoing raids involving law enforcement personnel and other agencies have resulted in the registration of around 994 FIRs against various individuals throughout Karachi. Since the launch of the nationwide power theft campaign in September 2023, more over 100,000 incidences of theft of 180 million units of electrical power have been identified in KE’s service zone.

In response to KE’s anti-theft initiatives, a KE spokesperson stated that “71% of KE’s feeder network is loadshed-free. However, 29% of the KE network remains difficult, with electricity theft and nonpayment of bills still key issues. Serious theft cases have been found in Baldia, Surjani, Korangi, Orangi, Liaqatabad, Landhi, and Lyari, among other places. Highlighting the repercussions of electricity theft, which may jeopardize the safety standards of the power network, the KE Spokesperson noted that PKR 117 million has been recovered.

Recognizing the challenges faced by current macroeconomic conditions, especially high inflation, KE is taking proactive steps to assist customers by establishing facilitation camps throughout the city. Since July 2023, approximately 240 recovery camps have been hosted around KE’s operational zone to help customers resolve billing concerns, including supporting payment plans with manageable installments.

Business

Budget 2024–25: The government intends to abolish tax exemptions.

Published

10 hours ago

Farwa

According to the specifics, the federal government plans to phase out existing tax breaks for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) regions in the upcoming fiscal year.

The decision to eliminate tax breaks in the FATA/PATA region is estimated to produce Rs 100 billion in annual revenue for the national government.

According to sources close to the issue, the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has already created a preliminary proposal for the next fiscal year’s budget, and the FBR head has also informed the finance minister on it.

Currently, the federal government provides tax breaks of Rs 1,200 billion to various industries; however, the IMF has instructed Pakistan to phase out these tax breaks in the next budget.

Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, passed the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024 last week in accordance with Article 75 of the constitution.

According to a President House News release, the bill proposes amending legislation governing taxes and duties.

The bill’s revisions include changes to sections 30DDD, 43, 45B, 46, and 47 of the Sales Tax Act of 1990.

Similarly, the amendment bill amended sections 29, 33, 34, and 38 of the Federal Excise Act 2005, as well as sections 122A, 124, 126A, 130, 131, 132, 133, and 134A of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.