Business

‘Unrealistic’: PPP accuses PML-N of pushing populist budget ahead of elections

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar defends budget proposals.
PPP leader terms it “election-oriented budget”.
NA body chair complains about delay in budget briefing.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) Friday called out its ruling partner, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), for presenting an “unrealistic” and “election-oriented budget”, questioning the party’s intention behind this “populist” move despite economic uncertainty.

PPP’s Nafeesa Shah, during the debate over the budget in the meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, said that Shehbaz Sharif-led government told the lawmakers that “tough decisions” would be taken in the budget; however, no such measure was unveiled.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar unveiled an Rs14.5 trillion (around $50.5 billion) budget on June 9, with over half set aside to service Rs7.3 trillion of debt, raising concerns from various stakeholders about the economy’s future.

“An economic storm is looming over our heads,” she warned, lamenting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pressurising Pakistan and the economy will be in more trouble in the coming days.

Committee Chairman Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh regretted that despite his important position, he wasn’t briefed, “even asked for a briefing about IMF matters but wasn’t given any update.”

Highlighting the issues which were still unaddressed, the chairman said that no action was taken against those banks which subjected businessmen to injustice and refrained from opening letters of credit (LCs) due to which containers are stuck are ports and those who manipulated the dollar rate.

Dar defends budget

At the outset of the hearing, the committee expressed displeasure over the absence of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. “I don’t know what problem the finance minister has with this committee,” Sheikh said, adding that the entire business community was present in the meeting with their business proposals.

However, Dar arrived at the meeting later and briefed the committee about the federal budget for the fiscal year 2023-24.

The finance minister cited the delay in talks with the IMF major reason behind the delay in the preparation of the budget strategy paper.

“Even if this wouldn’t have been an election year the budget would have remained the same,” he said in response to the complaints registered by the PPP leader.

Dar claimed that the tax targets had been set according to the inflation and growth rate. He also told the NA panel that a report had been sought from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman.

Business

An investigation was “launched” into PTA’s inability to get Rs. 78 billion back from Telcos

Published

19 hours ago

Farwa

The PTA has reportedly been instructed to reply to NAB by July 29. According to the enquiry, the national exchequer has suffered losses as a result of the delay in collecting dues.

The PTA has been asked to provide NAB with information about any pertinent records, court proceedings, and overdue bills. The NAB Karachi has summoned the PTA officials to appear with all pertinent documentation.

All of the principle sum has to be paid by the LDI firms, according to sources. But due to judicial stay orders, the collection of dues has been impeded.

These sources further state that a steering group has been established by the Ministry of IT to supervise the issue of dues recovery.

In a previous event, the tariffs levied on importing cell phones from outside were clarified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Contrary to what some internet reports claim, PTA clarified in response to recent news regarding the tariffs on mobile phone imports that there hasn’t been a formal decision to remove these levies in Pakistan.

the PTA.Pakistanis living abroad will be the only ones free from these levies, according to the PTA. A SIM card can be inserted and the phone restarted to temporarily register a device for non-PTA mobile subscribers.

Business

Weekly inflation in Pakistan increased by 0.17 percent.

Published

19 hours ago

Farwa

The SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned group was reported at 321.95 points, as opposed to 321.40 points during the previous week, according to the PBS statistics.

The SPI for the combined consumption group saw a 20.09 percent increase in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year.

The weekly SPI includes 51 necessary items for every spending group and 17 urban areas, with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.

The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, grew by 0.08 percent from 311.97 points to 312.22 points this past week.

0.18 percent,The index of consumption for the lowest consumption groups, which are Rs 17,732-22,888, Rs 22,889-29,517, Rs 29,518-44,175 and above Rs 44,175; increased by 0.13 percent, 0.15 percent, 0.18 and 0.19 percent, respectively.

Nineteen (37.25%) of the fifty-one commodities had price increases over the week, eight (15.69%) had price decreases, and twenty-four (47.06%) had unchanged pricing.

On a weekly basis, the following commodities saw significant price decreases: tomatoes (9.19%), onions (2.14%), LPG (1.04%), bananas (0.53%), wheat flour (0.35%), potatoes (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.16%), and bread (0.05%).

Chicken (4.80%), garlic (2.01%), pulse gramme (1.87%), eggs (1.71%), beef (0.93%), gur (0.89%), pulse moong (0.84%), fresh milk (0.45%), firewood (0.23%), and cigarettes (0.12%) were among the items whose average prices increased significantly week over week.

The commodities that saw a year-over-year decline were: wheat flour (31.75%); cooking oil (13.44%); vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (10.42%); vegetable ghee 1 kg (9.85%); mustard oil (8.33%); eggs (5.82%); rice basmati broken (4.15%); and tea package (2.52%).

Gas prices for Q1 (570.00%), onions (96.01%), pulse gramme (40.39%), powered milk (39.11%), garlic (34.61%), pulse moong (29.77%), men’s sandals (25.01%), beef (23.52%), salt powder (23.28%), pulse mash (22.50%), and energy saver (17.96%) were among the commodities whose average prices increased year over year.

Business

The price of gold has drastically dropped in Pakistan.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

As per the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the cost of 24-karat gold per tola decreased by Rs 2,300, standing at Rs 250,500.

A kilogramme of 24-karat gold costing Rs1,972 less at the local market, making it worth Rs2114,763. Ten grammes of 22-karat gold had a price decrease to Rs196,866 as well.

After losing a significant $43 during the day, the rate per ounce of gold on the international market also decreased. It currently stands at $2,370.

On Thursday, the price of 24-karat silver also experienced a decline, falling by Rs60 to settle at Rs2,860 petal.