The first biannual performance review of the ongoing International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) was concluded smoothly on a “positive note”, with no signs of any major hiccups during the discussions. The end of the mission statement issued by the Fund late on March 14 shows that the discussions were successful, as predicted by most analysts, in spite of delays i
Just recently, the prime minister constituted a 15-member committee tasked with formulating policy and administrative measures to revive cotton production in the country. Once a net exporter, Pakistan touched a production peak of 13.96 million bales in 2014-15. Since then, however, output has experienced a dramatic downturn, plummeting to just 5.5m bales in 2024-25 — 50 per cent below target and 3
Pakistan’s economy is sending contradictory signals. The stock market is doing well, but large-scale manufacturing is not. Inflation is at a record low, but the interest rate was not cut in the last monetary policy meeting. The current account is afloat, but driven by record-high remittances rather than exports. Most of these indicators do not reflect the ground reality, where about 40 per cent
Not too long ago, the outskirts of Karachi had dense mangroves. Often, in the early mornings, you could see rowers powering through their boats just as the sun was rising. But the habitat has changed since then: unfettered urbanisation and an obsession with ugly concrete structures have done immeasurable damage to the city’s ecology. Fortunately and unfortunately, we are far from the only one. As
The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) slipped to $11.1 billion on March 7 from $11.25bn at the end of February, the latest data reveals. Total forex reserves, including those held by the commercial banks, however, rose to about $15.93bn from around $15.87bn. Despite impressive growth in remittances throughout this fiscal year, SBP’s forex reserves have remained