Source: Council on Foreign Relations
Over the past five years, a rolling series of political and security crises have gripped Pakistan, but throughout much of this turmoil a relatively robust macroeconomic outlook provided a source of stability and opportunity. From 2004 to 2007, gross domestic product (GDP) growth ran over 7 percent annually, and bullish investors–Pakistani […]

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Source: BBC News
Two directors of a Pakistani currency company have been remanded in custody over allegations that they illegally transferred millions of dollars abroad.
The two directors of Khanani and Kalia International (KKI), one of the biggest foreign exchange companies, were arrested on Saturday.
Their company’s license to trade has also been suspended for a month […]

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Source: Press Trust of India
Islamabad, Oct 31 (PTI) The IMF might approve a rescue package for financially crunched Pakistan by November 15, two days before a meeting of the ‘Friends of Pakistan’ group to help the country overcome the economic crisis.
International Monetary Fund and Pakistani officials yesterday concluded negotiations in Dubai on a proposed macro-economic […]

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Source: Time
You wouldn’t want to be the President of Pakistan: Even as the military finds itself embroiled in a war against militants that much of the country’s elected leadership (and even more of the electorate) opposes, it’s hard even to keep the lights on as the limits of the country’s electricity supply mean daily blackouts […]

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Source: ABC News
Pakistan’s Economy Woes Compound Its Security Problems
Staring an economic crisis in the face, Pakistan is meeting with the International Monetary Fund today in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with hat in hand, asking the organization for badly needed funds that would save the country from default.
And in Islamabad, staring at his own empty pockets, […]

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Source: Asia One
An endorsement of Pakistan’s economic stabilisation package by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will almost certainly lead to more taxes and a further interest rate hike, at a time when the government is already doing away subsidies on oil and electricity.
The IMF issues a letter of comfort for donor agencies to give programme […]

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Source: Daily Times
* Negotiations a contingency plan if Pakistan fails to get lending from other financial institutions
* Pakistan seeking $6 billion
By Sajid Chaudhry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will conclude negotiations on the Economic Stabilisation Programme this week in Abu Dhabi, a senior official in the Finance Ministry told Daily Times on Sunday.
The […]

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Source: Arabian Business
The worsening security situation and a deepening financial crisis are continuing to cause pain and panic in Pakistan, the world’s sixth most populous country. Arabian Business reports on the implications for Gulf investors in the country.
When Benazir Bhutto was assassinated last year, the economic fault lines began to widen in Pakistan. Nearly a […]

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Source: New York Times
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Asif Ali Zardari returned from China late Friday without a commitment for cash needed to shore up Pakistan’s crumbling economy, leaving him with the politically unpopular prospect of having to ask the International Monetary Fund for help.
Pakistan was seeking the aid from China, an important ally, as it […]

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Source: DAWN
NEW YORK, Oct 4: Citing the threat posed by militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and the possible economic meltdown, President Asif Ali Zardari has asked the international community to give Pakistan $100 billion in grant to ensure the country’s survival.
“I need your help, if we fall, if we can’t do it, you can’t do […]

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Source: The Frontier Post
The inauguration earlier this week of Asif Ali Zardari as Pakistan’s president offers the possibility – but hardly the certainty – of a new beginning for Pakistan, and a new era in US-Pakistan relations. Zardari’s election gives Pakistanis an opportunity to move beyond the passions and antipathies of the Pervez Musharraf years. […]

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 This opinion was first published at The WeCite Blog

All so called patriotic rallies, all sit-ins, all strikes and damages incurred to public properties and buildings, all efforts to get rid of a dictator have paid off! Democracy has won in Pakistan, Ladies, Gentlemen, Politicians, and Laywers (yes, the politicians and the lawyers are a separate […]

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Source: BBC News
Pakistan needs a “substantial” injection of external funds if it is to improve its worsening economic situation, an IMF official has said.
Mohsin Khan said Pakistan had not yet requested help from the IMF, which some economists have called for, to address a growing balance of payment crisis.
A falling rupee, soaring inflation and […]

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Source: Herald Tribune
Pakistan’s economy will expand by less than 6 percent for the first time in five years amid double-digit inflation and ballooning budget and trade deficits, the central bank said Saturday.
Economic problems are adding to the pressure on Pakistan’s new civilian government as it struggles for power with President Pervez Musharraf and tries […]

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Source: Daily Times
LONDON: The outgoing Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr Maleeha Lodhi has said trade relations between the two countries were strong and strengthening day by day.
Britain and Pakistan have always enjoyed good trade relations and UK is currently its third largest trading partner, she said at a farewell reception hosted in […]

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Source: Daily Times
By Ijaz Kakakhel
ISLAMABAD: Sector Manager World Bank, Adolfo Brizzi, termed Friday the higher food prices as blessing for farmers and let the rural economy towards prosperity by investing more in agriculture sector.
Talking to Daily Times, he said the prices of petroleum products reached maximum level and are still rising.
He expressed these views after […]

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Source: Arab News
On the day of our departure for Jeddah, with our bags packed and goodbyes dispensed with, our group found itself together at the coffee shop of the hotel. There each one of us talked about whether this trip had changed our opinions of Pakistan and its people.
This is a country of about 160 […]

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Source: Chron
KARACHI, Pakistan — Pakistan’s currency edged toward an all-time low against the U.S. dollar Thursday amid anxiety about the new government’s ability to contain inflation as well as budget and trade deficits swollen by rising oil prices.
Since late February, the rupee has fallen about 8 percent against the dollar, which was trading at 67.15 […]

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Source: Tehran Times
CHICAGO (Bloomberg) — Wheat rose after Pakistan, Asia’s third-biggest producer, said it will produce less of the grain than forecast after high fertilizer costs prompted farmers to reduce planting.
Pakistan will harvest 22 million metric tons, less than the 24 million tons estimated in October, the farm ministry said on Wednesday. Fertilizer use fell […]

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Source: Xinhua News
SLAMABAD, March 27 (Xinhua) — Pakistan’s economy is expected to remain strong growth of 6.5 percent supported by all sectors during the current year despite many challenges, according to a United Nations report released Thursday.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in its economic and social survey […]

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Source: Associated Press
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s new government must take urgent action to prevent the country’s economy from tipping into crisis, the World Bank warned Thursday.
Praful Patel, a vice president at the bank, said the South Asian country needs to make painful adjustments to higher global prices for oil, commodities and foodstuffs or risk a slowdown.
“There […]

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Source: Washington Post
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The line for cooking oil was nearly a block long, just a few miles from the Parliament building. Saida Bibi, fistful of rupees in hand, elbowed her way to the front of the angry crowd shoving its way into the government food shop.
This Story
Food and Energy Shortages Stoke Inflation, Anxiety […]

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While the new government that comes to power in Islamabad will have its plate full of problems that the people of Pakistan are facing currently but the most important problem that it can certainly alleviate and give much needed relief to the people is to tackle the shortage of power generation on war footing.
The previous […]

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Source: [Emergency] Mailing List
By Yousuf Nazar
The new government’s economic managers may hold the key to its success or failure. Inflation, energy crisis, and stagnant exports would need immediate attention. There is a tendency to look at the economic issues in isolation from the politics but the economic policy would need heavy engagement from the new […]

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Source: Forbes
KARACHI, Pakistan (Thomson Financial) - Pakistan shares closed 3.19 percent higher Tuesday after a relatively peaceful election with the former ruling party conceding defeat.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s main index finished 458 points higher at 14,812.
Trading was closed Monday during a public holiday for the national parliamentary elections.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s political allies conceded defeat […]

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