KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank on Friday described fiscal year 2023 as “extraordinarily challenging” for national economy, saying it brought a number of domestic and external shocks for the country in which the financial well-being of the people was compromised by structural weaknesses and spiraling inflation.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) presented a mixed economic report card in the Governor’s Annual Report (GAR) for the last fiscal year which it is legally require to prepare and submit to the national parliament, specifying its economic objectives, monetary policy conduct and the overall health of the economy and financial system.
The report said despite the economic hardships, the bank had focused on financial inclusion by facilitating the digitization of services which had led significant growth within the sector.
However, price stability and inflation remained major concerns for the country, with the average headline national consumer price index rising up to 29.2 percent. The bank noted this situation could only be addressed through tough measures that it was willing to take in the coming months.
“The SBP responded to these challenges by maintaining a contractionary policy stance, raising the policy rate by a cumulative 825 basis points during FY23, in addition to the 675 basis points increase in FY22,” the central bank said in a statement that detailed the contours of the annual report.
“The GAR FY23 asserts that the central bank will continue to take decisions to prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched and keep inflation expectations anchored to achieve the medium term target of 5-7 percent by the end of FY25, with FY24 inflation moderating to 20-22 percent on account of the impact of contractionary monetary policy, improvements in domestic supplies, softer non-energy global commodity prices, and the high base effect,” it added.
The report complained that political uncertainty in the country weighed on business and consumer sentiments, generating a negative impact on the overall economy.
The real GDP contracted by 0.2 percent, it said, and budgetary targets for the government’s fiscal and primary balances were missed by large margins amid less than planned tax revenues and lower than budgeted reduction in subsidies.
However, the central bank continued to emphasize its objective of maintaining stability of the financial system while reporting it had achieved considerable progress in the area.
“The country’s financial sector grew steadily and continued to meet the economy’s needs of credit and financial services,” the SBP statement added. “Total assets of the banking sector grew by 17 percent in FY23.”
“Within the banking sector,” it continued, “Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) performed well during the review period and outperformed their conventional counterparts on several fronts, such as financing and investments along with a double-digit growth in deposit mobilization.”
It may be recalled that Pakistan suffered devastating impact of monsoon floods during the last fiscal year along with elevated global commodity prices and the delay in the ninth review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
The SBP said all these factors added pressure on the country’s external account and created a tough situation for the economy.
Pakistan central bank calls fiscal year 2023 ‘challenging’ amid economic shocks, rising inflation
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Pakistan central bank calls fiscal year 2023 ‘challenging’ amid economic shocks, rising inflation
- The bank says it will continue to take necessary measures to prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched
- SBP counts financial inclusion as one of its objectives, saying total banking sector assets grew by 17% in FY23
Food lovers relish international flavors, global cuisines at Karachi Eat 2025
- Three-day annual Karachi Eat festival features cuisines from Middle East, Turkiye and Italy
- Food stall owners say festival helps them bring global cuisines to Pakistani audiences
KARACHI: The air at Beach View Park in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi was filled with the enticing aroma of Sicilian slow-cooked beef, Arabic Paratha, beefy Chapli Kebabs from Peshawar and mouthwatering Chicken Tikka.
Welcome to Karachi Eat 2025, Pakistan’s biggest annual food festival. The three-day festival has been taking place in the ‘City of Lights’ every year in January since 2014. This year’s festival, set to conclude today, Sunday, also features hundreds of eateries and offers a variety of cuisines to visitors.
According to Ticket Wala, a platform that sells tickets for entertainment events, chefs from Indonesia, Singapore, Turkiye, Romania, Malaysia, France and other countries visited Karachi for the festival.
Sarah Aziz, a food stall owner passionately selling Sicilian cuisine, told Arab News she wanted to bring international cuisine to Pakistanis who could not travel to countries around the world.
“We want to bring the flavors out there for everyone who can’t go to Sicily, Portugal, or Malta,” she said. “We want to bring the food here, so they can also cherish and enjoy it.”
Aziz said she wanted to “convert” her cuisine, which was for a niche market, so that many people in Pakistan can enjoy and develop a taste for it.
“So, the menu is basically based on slow-cooked beef with lamb fat,” she said. “We are doing handmade pesto with garlic paste.”
For others like Muhammad Ismail, 28, the festival provided an opportunity for him to indulge in his love for Arabic cuisine.
“I just had Arabic Paratha here,” Ismail, a banker by profession, told Arab News. “I have it there [Saudi Arabia] too but this one tastes exactly like the authentic one you get in Saudi Arabia, and it’s absolutely amazing,” he said.
Shaikh Ameen, the owner of Arabi’s, a restaurant in Karachi that offers Arabic cuisine, said there was a growing appreciation for Middle Eastern cuisine in Pakistan.
“We offer authentic shawarma, mutabbaq and kunafa, so we’re serving these authentic dishes here,” Ameen said.
“There are quite a few people from the Middle East, especially families, who are familiar with this food, and they really enjoy it. Moreover, people’s tastes have evolved, and they really like these flavors now.”
Kashaf Noman, a textile designer in her 20s, expressed her enthusiasm for the festival.
“I am loving it, it’s very really organized and I have many more options here than at other festivals, so it’s really nice, I’m having fun,” she said.
Noman said she had relished fish gyozas, waffles and a Mexican drink.
CHAPLI KEBABS AND BOHRA CUISINES
While the festival featured a plethora of international flavors, it also celebrated local specialties like the Chapli Kebab, Bohra cuisines and dishes from Pakistan’s northern mountainous regions.
Bohra cuisine comprises of food items made famous by the Bohra community, a Shiite Muslim sect.
The festival also provided a platform for lesser-known regional cuisines to showcase their items. Zaeem Ud Din, 25, a student and stall owner, introduced the traditional Chapshoro dish from the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
“Our Chapshoro is not spicy; people’s taste buds aren’t the same but we still wanted to bring a tradition with us,” he said.
“We aimed to introduce something unique from Gilgit-Baltistan as not everyone can travel there.”
There were also some outlets from Pakistan’s second-largest city Lahore, which enjoys a food rivalry with Karachi.
Despite the general perception that Lahore’s food is inferior to that of Karachi in terms of taste, Lahore-based food stalls attracted a significant crowd at the festival.
“If someone says you can’t find anything like Karachi in Lahore, they should definitely try Arif Chatkhara,” Mirza Zaidan Baig, owner of the popular Lahore eatery “Arif Chatkhara,” told Arab News.
And for those who did not like Arif Chatkhara’s sumptuous items, Baig had a generous offer.
“If they don’t like it, we will send them back with double the amount they paid,” he said.
Pakistan rejects Afghanistan’s ‘concocted’ allegations of training Daesh militants
- Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says accusations “attempt to shift the blame” of militancy on Pakistan
- Urges Afghanistan to dismantle “terrorist infrastructure,” prevent use of Afghan soil for militant attacks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif this week rejected “concocted” allegations by Afghanistan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who accused Islamabad of arming and training Daesh militants.
In a statement this week, Stanikzai claimed Daesh has centers in Pakistan where Pakistan Army soldiers arm and train militants, and then send them to Afghanistan for subversive activities.
His allegations come amid tense relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with both countries trading blame over surging militant attacks in their countries.
“Pakistan categorically rejects baseless, concocted, and contrived allegations by Acting Afghanistan DFM Stanikzai, which are an attempt to shift the blame,” Asif wrote on social media platform X on Saturday.
The Pakistani defense minister said that as per the UN Monitoring Team’s report, over two dozen militant groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Al-Qaeda, Daesh, East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) are operating in Afghanistan.
“The interim Afghan authorities are well advised to fulfill the assurances given to the international community by dismantling terrorist infrastructure and taking visible and verifiable actions to prevent Afghan soil from being used against other countries,” Asif added.
Ties between the two neighbors have been strained because of a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan’s western regions that border Afghanistan since 2022, after the breakdown of a fragile truce between the Pakistani government and the outlawed TTP.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
The two countries also conducted cross-border strikes in each other’s territory last month in the latest escalation of hostilities along the border.
Pakistan commends OIC for empowering females during ongoing summit on girls’ education
- Pakistan’s deputy PM meets OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha in Islamabad
- At least 150 dignitaries from 44 Muslim and other friendly states are attending summit
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met the chief of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) this week to laud the inter-governmental organization’s efforts in empowering women, the foreign office said, as Islamabad hosts a two-day conference on girls’ education in Muslim communities.
Dar met OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha, who is in Islamabad to take part in the International Conference on “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The global summit, which aims to find ways to advance girls’ education across the Muslim world, is being attended by over 150 dignitaries from 44 Muslim and other friendly states, according to Pakistan’s foreign office.
“Welcoming the OIC delegation to Pakistan, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister commended the OIC’s dedication and commitment to women empowerment and its unwavering focus on girls’ education in the Islamic countries,” the foreign office said on Saturday.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed Israel’s war in Gaza and the situation in the Middle East, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, Islamophobia, discrimination, violence against Muslims worldwide and the role of OIC in that regard.
“The DPM/FM commended the appointment of OIC’s Special Envoy on Islamophobia to help coordinate the work of the Organization and its Member States for addressing discrimination against Muslims all over the world,” the statement added.
The two-day conference resumes today, Sunday, and will see an “Islamabad Declaration” announced at the end of the conference that would outline decisive steps to transform girls’ education in Islamic countries.
Pakistan’s finmin departs for Asian Financial Forum to meet top Chinese officials, investors
- AFF brings together influential leaders from government, finance and business in the region
- Muhammad Aurangzeb will also interact with foreign media publications during the tour
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has left for Hong Kong to take part in the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) 2025 where he is expected to meet top Chinese officials, financial experts and investors, state-run media reported on Sunday.
The AFF is the region’s premier platform that brings together influential leaders from government, finance, and business communities globally for ground-breaking discussions and exchange of insights on the global economy from an Asian perspective.
AFF 2024 brought together over 140 elite speakers from around the world and attracted over 3,600 visitors from more than 50 countries and regions, including over 70 overseas and mainland China delegations.
“Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has departed for Hong Kong to represent Pakistan in the eighteenth Asian Financial Forum,” Radio Pakistan reported.
“During his visit, he will meet with heads and senior officials of major Asian financial institutions.”
The state media said Aurangzeb will meet Chinese and foreign officials, financial sector experts, professionals, investors and top businessmen during the summit.
These include the heads of China International Capital Corporation Limited, China New Energy Sky Rail Limited and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, it added.
The Pakistani finance minister will also hold interactions with foreign media, which include speaking to international publications such as Bloomberg, Nikkei Asia and other media representatives.
His visit to Hong Kong takes place as Pakistan attempts to ward off an economic crisis that has drained its resources and triggered a balance of payments headache for the country over the past two years.
Pakistan has made some economic gains since 2023 by slashing inflation down to single-digit figures from a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 and registering gains in the stock market.
Authorities in Pakistan’s southwest order case against coal mine owners after methane blast kills 12
Authorities in Pakistan’s southwest order case against coal mine owners after methane blast kills 12
- The incident occurred on Thursday, with rescuers managing to retrieve four bodies from the mine filled with gasThe incident occurred on Thursday, with rescuers managing to retrieve four bodies from the mine filled with gas
- Provincial mining department says 82 workers were killed in 46 coal mine accidents in Balochistan last year
QUETTA: The government of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province ordered the lodging of a case against the owners of a private mining company on Saturday after a deadly methane gas explosion on Thursday killed 12 workers inside their coal mine located about 40 kilometers from Quetta.
Rescue teams recovered four bodies of the miners on Friday and another seven on Saturday morning. Rescuers had faced challenges retrieving the bodies from 4,000 feet inside the mine filled with hazardous gas.
In a notification issued on Friday, the provincial mining department directed the district administration to lodge a First Information Report (FIR), or police complaint, against the owners of United Mineral Company Sanjdi.
“An accident occurred on 09/01/2025, which killed twelve miners,” the notification said. “Therefore, it is requested to lodge an FIR against Sheikh Abdul Aziz and Hayat Khan, owners of the mine.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province in terms of landmass, is one of the most impoverished regions in the country, yet it is among the richest in terms of mineral resources, with gold, copper and coal mines scattered across various districts.
Many coal mines in the province are operated by private companies, often under lease agreements with the government.
These mines are notorious for hazardous working conditions and poor safety standards, where deadly incidents are common, and miners work deep underground without adequate safety equipment.
According to the Mines and Mineral Department of Balochistan, 82 workers were killed in 46 coal mine accidents in 2024.
“Following the request of the mining department, we are lodging an FIR against the mine owners of the private mineral company located in Sanjdi,” Saadi Bin Asad, deputy commissioner of Quetta, told Arab News.
