News

Stocks hit all-time high above 154,000 points

Bulls ext­ended their run on Friday as the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at yet another all-time high, marking the sixth consecutive session of gains on the back of strong institutional interest in banking and cement stocks. The index surged 1,612 points, or 1.06pc, to settle at 154,277.19, comfortably above the 154,000 barrier. During the session, it touched an intraday peak of 154,511 points

Govt mulls new taxes in Islamabad to fund Jinnah Medical Complex project

The federal government is considering imposing new taxes in Islamabad to contribute to the operational costs of Jinnah Medical Complex and Research Centre, which will be built at H-16. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is executing the mega project of the Ministry of Health of the federal government. Sources said that recently Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while chairing a meeting dire

Tempting fate — the aftermath of floods

Beyond the thousands directly affected by the devastating floods, countless struggling Pakistanis, still waiting for promised relief from improved macroeconomic indicators, now fear the wider impact of the crisis on their already difficult lives. If flooding persists and recovery and reconstruction efforts remain slow, the fallout on food security, livelihoods, and household resilience could in

Pakistan joins global dialogue at US Soybean Export Council’s Soy Connext 2025

In mid-August in Washington, DC, the spotlight was on soybeans, a humble crop with a big impact on global food security. At Soy Connext 2025, organised by the US Soybean Export Council, more than 700 participants from 59 countries came together to discuss how soy can help feed a growing world. Trade teams from 34 countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and others, toured Ame

Agriculture: The unfinished dream of land reforms

Agriculture has always been the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. In 1947, most of the land was concentrated in the hands of large landlords, while peasants were denied equal rights. The first major attempt at reform came in the 1960s under General Ayub Khan, who introduced a land reform programme aimed at redistributing land from big landlords to small farmers. However, these reforms largely fai