– From July to December 2025, the total loss of loss-making state-owned enterprises was recorded at Rs342.8 billion, while profitable state-owned enterprises earned a profit of Rs423.3 billion.

A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises was held under the chairmanship of the Finance Minister, in which the performance of SOEs was reviewed.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the government has provided support of Rs804 billion to SOEs, during this period the government received Rs839 billion from government agencies.

According to the announcement, overall, state-owned enterprises provided a net financial profit of Rs35 billion.

The committee directed for improving financial discipline in government institutions and reducing dependence on public resources.

It also directed for accelerating reforms in institutions that are continuously incurring losses.

The meeting also reviewed the operational weaknesses, circular debt, and financial risks of the power and infrastructure sectors.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the committee appreciated the progress made in the digital monitoring system of the performance of SOEs.

The meeting also approved the appointment of independent directors on the board of the Printing Corporation of Pakistan.
 

Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam has been set to play for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) as a guest player in the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament.

There have been reports that OGDCL has employed Babar as a guest player for the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament.

It was reported that Babar approached the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) asking to be included in the squad of a domestic side for being associated with the long format and to be ready for Test cricket.

After Babar’s request to the PCB, it has arranged for Babar to play as a guest player for the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament with OGDCL.

The PCB has given confirmations about the schedule of the President’s Trophy Grade-I first-class tournament along with the teams’ rosters of the eight participating teams in the tournament. This is the opening red-ball tournament of the 2026-27 domestic cricket season and is set to start from 12 September and end with a five-day final match on 28 October.

President Donald ​Trump’s public approval rating rose from a record low, while Americans voiced growing support for Democrats gaining ‌power in the U.S. Congress in a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken in the days after the Republican Party’s first-ever midterm convention last week.

The four-day poll showed 63% of Americans – including four in 10 Republicans and nine in 10 Democrats – disapproved of Trump’s offer made in his ​convention speech that he would ensure all Americans get a $5,000 dividend if Republicans retain control of the ​U.S. Congress in November’s midterm elections.

The survey gathered responses from 1,143 Americans nationwide and had ⁠a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.

Some 35% of Americans give Trump a thumbs ​up for his performance in the White House, up from 33% in an August 28 to 31 Reuters/Ipsos poll, the ​lowest of his political career.

Trump’s popularity has declined since he launched a war on Iran in February that has disrupted oil shipments from the Middle East and pushed fuel prices near record highs, hitting U.S. household finances. Since the war started, Trump’s Republicans have ​also lost some support, and in recent weeks have lost their longtime edge as the better party for ​economic policy.

DEMOCRATS’ ELECTORAL EDGE

Asked which party they would vote for if the congressional elections were held today in what is known as ‌a “generic ⁠ballot” poll, 44% picked Democrats and 37% picked Republicans. The 7-point gap was the widest since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. For Republicans, losing control of either chamber could complicate Trump’s agenda in the last two years of his term.

Generic ballot polls are national polls that provide an overall view of which party ​poll respondents want to see ​in charge in Congress. ⁠While these polls provide a view of national public sentiment, they do not capture all the nuances of the state-by-state and district-by-district contests that determine control of the U.S. ​Senate and House of Representatives, contests in which Republicans hold some structural advantages.

Voters ​picked Democrats over ⁠Republicans as the better stewards of the economy – 38% to 37% – with Democrats gaining that edge over the summer for the first time in about a decade.

Trump’s construction projects throughout the U.S. capital – including a ballroom for the White House – ⁠were largely ​polarizing and viewed through a partisan lens, with 91% of Democrats ​in the survey saying they opposed the plans, compared to one in four Republicans who were against them.

Some two-thirds of Americans – including half of ​Republicans – considered the construction projects to be a low priority.