An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission and Pakistan have made significant progress towards reaching a staff-level agreement for an extended fund facility (EFF), the global lender said on Friday. The IMF’s comments helped the benchmark share index scale a record high and breach the key 76,000 level. The IMF has opened discussions with Pakistan on a new loan programme after Islamabad last month …

Bulls dominated the trading floor at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as stocks climbed more than 900 points on Friday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it and Pakistan made significant progress on a new loan. After the opening bell, the benchmark KSE-100 traded in the green. The index climbed 956.44 points, or 1.27 per cent, to stand at 76,070.91 points …

ISLAMABAD: After an unsuccessful voluntary registration push for the Tajir Dost Scheme (TDS), the Federal Board of Revenue has claimed that retailers’ registration reached 17,000 in six major cities during the drive that entered its 22nd day, official sources told Dawn on Thursday. The voluntary registration incentivised traders and wholesalers to register into the tax framework by the April 30 …

ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan will hold 13th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) virtually today (Friday) in the run-up to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s first visit to China after coming to power early this year. Pakistan is pushing for expediting approval of financing for development of $6.7bn Main Line-1 (ML-1), notwithstanding internal opposition, and about $1.9bn …

KARACHI: Without any foreign inflow, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves showed a meagre increase, while commercial banks recorded a significant drop during the week ending May 17. On Thursday, the central bank reported a $22 million increase in its reserves to $9.157 billion during the week. This upward trend in reserves reflects the SBP’s strategic dollar …

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his rival, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, kicked off their election campaigns on Thursday, each arguing that only they can snap the country out of its economic and political malaise. Sunak, whose Conservative Party has trailed Labour by around 20 percentage points in opinion polls since he became PM in October 2022, shocked and …

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has urged the UN Security Council to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable, halt the supply of weapons to them, and impose political and legal consequences on the states and individuals responsible for these crimes. During a Security Council debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts, Pakistan also called for the protection of civilians under …

TRAVELLERS to Saudi Arabia holding visit visas will not be allowed to enter the holy city of Makkah during the Haj season, according to the Kingdom’s Ministry of Interior. In a statement, the ministry said the ban would remain in force from May 23 to June 21. Foreigners currently in Saudi Arabia on visit visas have been requested not to …

BEIJING: A furious China launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan on Thursday in what it said was a response to “separatist acts”, sending up heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te. The exercises, in the Taiwan Strait and around groups of Taiwan-controlled islands beside the Chinese coast, come just three days after Lai …

TORONTO: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said Canada is “prepared to recognise the state of Palestine at the right time — not necessarily as the last step along the path.” Trudeau’s statement came in response to a challenge from New Democratic Party (NDP) MP and foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson in the House of Commons, as she urged him …