The joint session of parliament was called by President Asif Ali Zardari and was set for today (Monday).

The combined session is scheduled to begin at 3 PM, according to the National Assembly secretariat.

According to the NA secretariat, all preparations for the joint session of the parliament have been finished.

President Asif Ali Zardari will address the joint session, which will be chaired by Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

President Zardari’s speech will kick off the second parliamentary year.

It is important to note that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recommended that President Zardari call a joint session of parliament.

Negotiations on farm income tax have begun between a government economic team and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of an ongoing economic evaluation of a $7 billion loan package.

Members of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Ministry of Finance, and provincial authorities are attending the World Bank headquarters where the talks are being held.

Changes to the Sovereign Wealth Funds Act and its implementing rules will also be discussed.

The IMF delegation will discuss circular debt and rate rebasing with representatives from the Ministry of Energy and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).

The talks, which started this week, are crucial, according to sources. The IMF group is anticipated to make additional ideas and criteria this week. The next loan tranche will be made available if these terms and suggestions are approved.

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.