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Jan 15, 2025 اردو ► PRINT EDITION ► BR MARKETS ► Dollar to PKR ►

Dr Hafiz A Pasha

Food inflation rises to 22pc!
Opinion

Food inflation rises to 22pc!

The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the first full week of 2020 ending on the 9th of January has been released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Credit must be given to the PBS for, more or less, immediate release on a weekly basis of informatio
Updated 14 Jan, 2020 06:13am
Economic outlook for 2020
Opinion

Economic outlook for 2020

The single most important development in 2019 on the economic front was the entry by Pakistan into a three year Extended Facility with the IMF. The Program envisages very intensive and fast moves to achieve a big reduction in the current account deficit i
Published 07 Jan, 2020 12:00am
Fall in industrial output
Opinion

Fall in industrial output

The fall in output of the large-scale manufacturing sector has become pervasive and persistent in nature. Given the strong backward and forward linkages of this sector with other sectors of the national economy this does not auger well for GDP growth in 2
Updated 24 Dec, 2019 06:07am
Human development in Pakistan
Opinion

Human development in Pakistan

The Global Human Development Report (GHDR) of the UNDP was released recently in Islamabad. This report constructs a Human Development Index (HDI) for 189 countries. This ranking of countries has emerged as a key measure of the level of development in rela
Updated 17 Dec, 2019 09:24am
Rising poverty
Opinion

Rising poverty

The measurement of the number of poor in Pakistan has relied on different approaches. The most commonly used method is to derive a poverty line and determine the extent to which the per capita consumption expenditure of a family falls below this poverty l
Updated 10 Dec, 2019 05:24am
Understatement of the rate of inflation
Opinion

Understatement of the rate of inflation

Pakistan has been experiencing double-digit inflation after a gap of eight years. This has motivated the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to change the base year of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2007-08 to 2015-16 so as to be able to monitor inflationa
Updated 03 Dec, 2019 05:51am
The downside of Pakistan's economy
Opinion

The downside of Pakistan's economy

The government has recently been making frequent positive statements about on-going developments in the economy. Rightfully, success in the process of stabilization has been highlighted. The current account in the balance of payments was transformed into
Published 26 Nov, 2019 12:00am
Lower GDP growth rate in 2018-19
Opinion

Lower GDP growth rate in 2018-19

The economy has been in a state of 'stagflation' for over a year now. The GDP growth rate has fallen while there has been a spurt in the rate of inflation. What is not generally realized is how wide and deep the decline in value added or production is in
Updated 19 Nov, 2019 10:24am
IMF first programme review
Opinion

IMF first programme review

The IMF has recently released a press note following the completion of the first Programme Review by the IMF Staff Mission in its visit to Pakistan. The good news is that the review was successfully completed and agreement was reached with the Authorities
Updated 12 Nov, 2019 08:39am
Growth in FBR Revenues
Opinion

Growth in FBR Revenues

The outcome in terms of the level and growth of revenues collected by FBR up to October has been made public recently. Apparently, during the first four months of the current fiscal year these revenues have shown a growth rate of 16 percent. This growth r
Published 05 Nov, 2019 12:00am
Big drop in industrial production
Opinion

Big drop in industrial production

The information on the Quantum Index of Manufacturing (QIM) for the month of August 2019 has just been released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. This has raised alarm bells. There has been a sizeable drop in production by the large-scale manufacturin
Updated 29 Oct, 2019 06:49am
The youth programme
Opinion

The youth programme

The government has recently launched the Rs 100 billion 'Kamyab Jawan Programme' for youth. The primary focus is on providing opportunities for acquisition of skills and for access to subsidized credit for small projects to generate employment and incomes
Published 22 Oct, 2019 12:00am
Prevalence of 'decent work'
Opinion

Prevalence of 'decent work'

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has described 'decent work' as employment which, first, provides for adequate earnings, second, is completed in decent work time, third, ensures stability and security of work, fourth, provides for equal opportu
Updated 15 Oct, 2019 05:46am
Rising food prices
Opinion

Rising food prices

Food prices have been rising rapidly in the last few months. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the inflation rate in food prices was only 1.4 percent in the September 2018. A year later in September 2019 the rate of increase in food prices has
Published 08 Oct, 2019 12:00am
Rising food prices
Print

Rising food prices

Food prices have been rising rapidly in the last few months. According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the inflation rate in food prices was only 1.4 percent in the September 2018. A year later in September 2019 the rate of increase in food prices has
Updated 01 Nov, 2019 05:10am
Economic outlook for 2019-20
Markets

Economic outlook for 2019-20

The Asian Development Bank has in its recent publication 'Development Outlook' presented a somewhat sombre picture of the prospects for the economy of Pakistan in 2019-20. The GDP growth rate is projected at 2.8 percent while the inflation rate is expecte
Updated 01 Oct, 2019 07:36am
Recent trends in exports and imports
Markets

Recent trends in exports and imports

The external trade statistics have been released somewhat belatedly by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for the months of July and August 2019. These statistics need to be analyzed carefully to determine why exports have registered a growth rate of less
Updated 25 Sep, 2019 10:31am
Surging external debt
Markets

Surging external debt

The total external debt and liabilities of Pakistan have risen to above $ 106 billion by the end of 2018-19. There was an increase of $11.1 billion during the year. However, this was somewhat smaller than the rise in the level of external debt and liabili
Updated 17 Sep, 2019 07:12am
Management of public finances
Print

Management of public finances

The budgetary debacle of 2018-19 has raised questions about the quality of financial management by senior officials of the Ministry of Finance. Not only is the budget deficit the largest since the 80s at 8.9 percent of the GDP but also the spillover from
Published 03 Sep, 2019 12:00am
2019-20 fiscal targets in IMF programme
Print

2019-20 fiscal targets in IMF programme

The year, 2018-19, has come to a close with a very different outcome than was originally anticipated. The budget for the year was presented initially in May 2018 by the outgoing PML(N) Government. This envisaged a budget deficit of 4.9 percent of the GDP,
Published 27 Aug, 2019 12:00am