In a decisive move to intensify the government’s ongoing anti-smuggling campaign, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif directed all relevant government bodies, particularly the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Pakistan Customs, to take stringent measures to combat smuggling across the country.

One of the key amendments reinforcing these efforts is the recent change to S.R.O.499(I)/2009 dated 13-06-2009, introduced via SRO 1619(I)/2024 dated 03-10-2024, which empowers authorities to confiscate vehicles and other conveyances used in transporting smuggled goods.

This amendment, announced earlier this month, is a reflection of the government’s firm resolve to eradicate smuggling, which has long plagued the nation’s economy, depriving it of critical revenue while encouraging the informal market.

Under the amendment, all conveyances involved in the transportation of smuggled goods are now subject to immediate confiscation without the option for redemption fine.

KARACHI – Bulls continue to rule the trade floor as Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) breached 86000 points level in intraday trading on Wednesday.

The KSE-100 index benchmark has climbed 477.14 points to reach 86,141 milestone with experts anticipating further gains.

The growing optimism, in the market due to the impending arrival of international guests for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit to be hosted by Pakistan, also became another major factor behind the situation at PSX.

A temporary easing of political tensions, combined with the economic stability following the IMF’s first tranche on September 30, allowed the Pakistan Stock Market to maintain upward momentum during the first half of the week. However, shares began to fall after a brief period of gains.

More to follow…

ISLAMABAD: As the ruling coalition doubles down on its efforts to reduce all-time high tariffs, the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) on Wednesday authorised the establishment of an independent multiplayer market for power generation and purchase to end the government’s role as a sole buyer of electricity.

In the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the committee principally approved the constitution of an Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) which will be later endorsed by the federal cabinet and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan under the Companies Act 2017.

“The ISMO is aimed at gradually decreasing the government’s role as a sole buyer of electricity and turning the electricity market into a multiplayer independent, transparent and competitive market,” stated a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Furthermore, the independent operator will also allow the power consumers to purchase electricity from suppliers other than power distribution companies.

Under the ISMO, long-term planning would be made to produce low-cost electricity and its transmission besides reducing the power prices and circular debt. The ISMO Board will comprise experts from the power sector.

The participants of the meeting were briefed on the circular debt of the power sector.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Shehbaz said the priority measures were being taken for the power sector reforms and instructed accelerated actions to reduce power theft and losses besides taking disciplinary action against the employees of the distribution companies involved in the theft.

The prime minister also directed the authorities concerned to utilise modern technology to bring reforms and curb power theft.

The high cost of electricity has become a contentious political issue, with opposition parties leveraging public dissatisfaction to criticise the incumbent government’s handling of the energy sector and agreements with independent power producers (IPPs).

The burden of high electricity tariffs falls disproportionately on the middle and lower-income segments of society, fueling public outrage and eroding trust in the government’s ability to manage the economy.

Analysts noted that a successful renegotiation with both local and international IPPs would drastically reduce tariffs, boost industrial competitiveness, and increase public trust in the government’s ability to effectively manage the economy.

On the other hand, a failed renegotiation could multiply the tariffs, bringing the government and consumers under added financial strain, crippling industry, and fanning public unrest.

Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday said that the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) had the potential of $40-60 billion export in the next 3 to 5 years.

Speaking at the ‘Export-led Economy – Race to $100 billion’ ceremony, along with Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, he said that the government would facilitates SMEs sector to achieve this potential target.

The minister reaffirmed the government commitment to significantly increasing exports, setting an ambitious target of $100 billion within eight years.

He stressed that achieving this target within eight years, would be beneficial, but in case of missing, it would pose significant challenges.

Ahsan emphasized the need to enhance production and leverage key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and information technology, mining, manpower and creative industries to drive growth.

In order to increase the exports, the government would collaborate with the relevant department/ministries to develop a dashboard, outlining a clear road-map for growth in these sectors, he added.

Similarly, he said that only 70 out of 500 companies on the Karachi Stock Exchange generated exports of around $10,000, and big KSE companies earned billions in profit without contributing to dollar exports.

To address this, he suggested for working on policies and incentives to encourage the private sector to contribute to the country’s exports.

Jam Kamal Khan attributed Pakistan’s export decline to various factors, including high interest rates, production costs, COVID-19, and the Ukraine conflict.

However, he highlighted that the government had formulated a strategy to increase the country exports to $60 billion.

He said that inflation and interest rates had come down consistently while the global investors were interested in investing in Pakistan.

“Investors confidence has restored after International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme”, he remarked.

“In the past, the focus was on textiles, now the focus is on pharmaceutical exports”, he added.

He said : “Pakistan’s economic future depends on significant increase in exports.”

He said that Pakistan’s textile and manufacturing sector exports had increased by 13.8% and 15.9% while agriculture exports increased by 54.8% to reach $7.95 billion in 2024. “Export Development Fund is being used effectively to increase export capacity,” he added.

He highlighted that the role of the private sector in achieving export target was extremely important and Pakistan was capable of more than $100 billion, but definitely there was need of a robust strategy.—APP