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Pakistan to seek economic support, climate financing at World Bank, IMF talks

Pakistan is expected to seek financial support for its debt-ridden economy and funds to address climate vulnerability at the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb arrived in Washington on Sunday to attend the talks, which bring together finance ministers and central bank governors from 191 countries to address

Removal of support price increased availability of wheat: FAO

The removal of the official purchases of wheat at the minimum support price since 2024 has contributed to increased market availability, as farmers, unable to sell to the government, released gre­ater volumes into the open market, exerting additional downward pressure on prices. The Food Price Monitoring and Analysis of the Food and Agriculture Orga­n­isation (FAO) says the retail wheat flour p

Record March surplus fuels rally on PSX

Despite overnight concerns regarding a contraction in Large-Scale Manufacturing and decreasing foreign exchange reserves, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced renewed buying interest from equity investors on Thursday. This boost in confidence was driven by a record current account surplus and a series of positive developments, enhancing the overall economic outlook. Ahsan Mehanti of Ar

Double-edged sword

THE generous ‘incentives package’ for Pakistani expats, announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is yet another symptom of the Dutch disease afflicting Pakistan’s economy. In our case, however, the disease is not linked to natural resources, which mostly remain unexplored, but to the growing reliance on workers’ abroad to stay afloat. Amid drying up foreign loan and aid flows, the dependence

China and Pakistan

HOW should Pakistan choose between the US and China? So far, a choice has not been foisted upon us, but the time is coming when it will be. Before that time arrives, it is a good idea to devote some structured thinking to the matter and be prepared to act. Not too long ago, a piece of advice was offered by Hina Rabbani Khar, one-time minister of state for finance and foreign minister of the cou