Business

In a first, interim govt to release Rs29bn in development funds

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

24-member steering committee to monitor release of funds.
Committee includes senators from PML-N, PPP, PTI, JUI-F.
It can also cancel or stop release of funds for any scheme.

ISLAMABAD: The incumbent caretaker government, led by Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, is set to release Rs29 billion in development funds for the first time in the country’s history, The News reported Wednesday.

The federal cabinet has also constituted a 24-member steering committee — headed by caretaker Minister for Communication Shahid Ashraf Tarar — to monitor and supervise the release of funds, said official sources.

The committee, which includes four caretaker ministers also comprises senators belonging to Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP), National Party (NP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and senior officials of ministries and divisions concerned.

The previous Shehbaz Sharif-led government reserved Rs90 billion for development funds for the fiscal year 2023-2024, out of which Rs61 billion was released in four months.

The sources said the PPP and other parties have raised the issue of failure to release the remaining development funds.

Headed by the caretaker minister for communication, the steering committee also includes federal ministers Sarfraz Bugti, Dr Nadeem Jan, Madad Ali Sindhi; senators Danesh Kumar (BAP), Palwasha Khan (PPP), Irfan Siddiqui (PML-N), Mohsin Aziz (PTI), Kamran Murtaza (JUI-F), Syed Faisal Sabswari (MQM-P), Tahir Bazinjo (NP), Arbab Umar Farooq (ANP), Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen (PkMAP) and federal secretaries for finance, planning and development, petroleum, power, housing and development.

The steering committee also comprises the Punjab Planning and Development Board chairman and Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh development additional secretaries. It will also have the power to cancel or stop the release of development funds for any scheme.

Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi, when approached to comment on the formation of the steering committee, said it was not in his knowledge.

“I have no knowledge of that,” he said in a one-liner.

Business

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

Published

12 hours 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

13 hours 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.