Business

Following PPP’s threat, PM Shehbaz ‘approves’ Rs25bn for flood affectees

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

PPP threatened not to vote for the budget.
Amount to be utilised for Sindh flood victims.
PM to also hold meeting with PPP today.

ISLAMABAD: To address the reservations of a critical government ally, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved Rs25 billion in aid for flood victims, sources told Geo News on Monday.

The allocated amount — expected to be added to the debt-driven budget — will be spent rehabilitating the flood victims, the sources mentioned.

The PM committed to set aside the amount during a meeting with the party’s leaders last week.

Senior politicians Syed Naveed Qamar, Sherry Rehman, Syed Khurshid Shah, Qamar uz Zaman Kaira, Syed Murad Ali Shah, and Nisar Khuro were part of the PPP delegation.

A statement from the PM’s Office mentioned that during the meeting, the PPP leadership appreciated the prime minister for measures for public welfare in the budget despite the difficult economic conditions.

But PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a day later, slammed his coalition partners and demanded amount be allocated for flood victims, or his party won’t support the government’s budget, which has to be passed this month.

In a rally held in Swat on Saturday, Bilawal — also the foreign minister — complained to the prime minister about not being able to fulfil his promises in the budget.

Reacting to the foreign minister’s statement, Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Minister Ahsan Iqbal suggested discussing the matter in the cabinet and avoiding opening a new front.

When speaking to Geo News on Sunday, the minister said the coalition partners were consulted on every stage of preparation of the federal budget and its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.

He said that the 2023-24 federal budget was tabled in the National Assembly with the consent of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

To address the issues further, Premier Shehbaz will chair a meeting today (Monday) to address PPP’s concerns.

The meeting will also be attended by FM as well as ministers and experts related to the financial affairs of both parties.

In conversation with Geo News, PPP’s senior leader Nafisa Shah said the coalition partners had unanimously agreed that flood affectees would be provided relief and rehabilitated.

“Bilawal spoke about providing relief to the flood victims, who are, to date, still without homes,” she lamented.

Business

E&P Companies Will Invest $5 Billion in Pakistan’s Petroleum Industry

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Over the next three years, local and foreign companies involved in Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production sector have shown a strong desire to invest more than $5 billion in the nation’s energy sector.

Recent changes to the Petroleum Policy and the implementation of an exclusive tight gas policy, which provide better incentives and a more investor-friendly regulatory framework, are credited with the increase in investor confidence.

These strategic changes are expected to boost domestic energy production, open up new avenues for growth, and draw large amounts of both domestic and foreign investment.

Business

With inflation slowing, the SBP is anticipated to lower the policy rate for the eighth time in a row.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Businesspeople anticipate another reduction in the policy rate when the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) releases the updated rate.

The interest rate for the upcoming two months will be announced by the central bank. It is still unclear if the rate will stay the same or be lowered to reflect stakeholder expectations.

According to experts, the policy rate will be lowered in order to further boost the nation’s economic sector.

Interest rates may be lowered for the seventh time in a row if the inflation rate declines significantly more than anticipated.

In its last six sessions, the MPC had cut the policy rate by 10 percent. In January 2025, it decreased the rate by one percent to 12pc.

12PC POLICY RATE

In January, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced cut in key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 12 percent from 13pc in line with expectations of the business community.

The policy rate, which had been at 22 percent since June 2024, was slashed by 1,000 basis points to 12 percent.

The SBP governor said the decision was taken with careful consideration. “Although inflation is expected to decline next month (February), core inflation remains a pressing concern,” he stated.

Ahmed highlighted strong remittance inflows and robust export growth as key factors supporting the current account.