Tyson Fury Deconstructs Mariusz Wach in Pattaya; Casts Doubt on Epic Showdown With Anthony Joshua

PATTAYA — Former two-time world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury secured a dominant seventh-round technical knockout (TKO) victory over…

NAB Launches Parallel Corruption Inquiry Into Rs8.5 Billion Karachi BRT Yellow Line Irregularities

KARACHI — The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Karachi has initiated a formal inquiry into alleged multi-billion rupee financial…

In a First, NEPRA Awards Parallel Power Distribution and SoLR Licences to DHA City Karachi

ISLAMABAD — In a landmark regulatory shift, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Friday awarded DHA…

Short-Term Inflation Climbs 9.66% Annually as Daily Fuel Price Hikes Broaden Economic Pressures

ISLAMABAD — Short-term inflation in Pakistan, measured via the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), registered a 9.66 per cent…

Private Importers Oppose State-Led Wheat Procurement Scheme, Warning of Multi-Billion Rupee Losses

KARACHI — Private sector cereal importers have raised serious alarms over recent regulatory proposals suggesting the government might…

Fuel Prices Rebound: Petrol and Diesel Rates Hiked Amid Persian Gulf Tensions

ISLAMABAD — The federal government on Friday increased the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs3.66…

Federal Tax Ombudsman Exposes Major Systemic Loophole in FBR’s FASTER Refund System

ISLAMABAD — The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO), Zafar Hijazi, has identified a critical systemic flaw within the Federal…

Finance Ministry Slashes Development Loan Mark-up by 5.85% Following Central Bank Policy CutsISLAMABAD — The federal government on Friday announced a substantial reduction of 5.85 percentage points in the mark-up rate chargeable on cash development loans (CDLs) and advances for the fiscal year 2025–26. According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, the rate has been set at 11.89 percent, down from 17.74 percent in FY25 and 17.84 percent in FY24. The drop is directly attributed to the easing of the State Bank of Pakistan’s benchmark policy rate, which receded from its historic 22 percent peak down to 11.5 percent. This newly adjusted 11.89 percent interest rate will also apply globally to federal loans and advances disbursed to government employees for house construction and transport purchases. Despite this fiscal relief, the updated mark-up remains roughly 15.4 percent higher than the 10.30 percent baseline recorded in FY21. Over a longer horizon, these federal borrowing rates have surged by nearly 175 percent since FY17, when the rate stood at just 6.54 percent. This lending structure functions as a lucrative revenue channel for the federal apparatus, which typically contracts foreign development loans from international lenders at concessionary rates near 2 percent before on-lending them to provincial governments, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan, and public sector enterprises (PSEs) at significantly higher mark-ups. Through this system, the federal government generated approximately Rs164 billion in interest revenue during FY26, following a massive collection of Rs245 billion in FY25.

ISLAMABAD — The federal government on Friday announced a substantial reduction of 5.85 percentage points in the mark-up…

Historic Deal: Seven Generic Drugmakers in Africa and India Secured to Produce Novel PrEP Pill for 129 Countries

WASHINGTON — U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck (known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada) has announced a multi-faceted…

Karachi Inundated by First Monsoon Spell as Rain Lashes Multiple Neighborhoods Across the Metropolis

KARACHI — The metropolis received its first official spell of monsoon showers on Friday as multiple localities across…

Monsoon Rains Lash Karachi, Triggering Widespread Power Outages Across Metropolis

KARACHI — Much-awaited monsoon rains lashed Karachi on Friday, bringing heavy downpours accompanied by strong winds across most…

Tragedy in Tank: 15 Martyred as Terrorists Ram Explosive-Laden Vehicle Into Joint Police Checkpost

TANK — A major terrorist attack targeting a joint police checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district has martyred…

PM Shehbaz Sharif Inaugurates Pakistan’s Largest Data Centre and Sovereign AI Cloud in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated Pakistan’s largest data centre and the Sky47 AI cloud…

FBR Announces Two-Day Complete System Shutdown for Scheduled Maintenance Starting August 8

ISLAMABAD — The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has announced a temporary nationwide shutdown of its entire digital…

Sindh Health Minister Links Rising C-Section Rates to Spiking Maternal Mortality

KARACHI — Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho has stated that the growing number of C-section (caesarean…