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01:35

Kaspersky identifies vulnerabilities in barcode scanners, posing potential threat for the warehouse industry

00:53

Auto Policy 2026-31 Sets 1pc Tax on Electric Cars — and Makes ICE Buyers Pay for Exports

00:52

Pakistan Must Reapply for GSP+ — and the EU-India Deal Has Already Cut What It Is Worth

00:51

GDP Revised to 3.65pc — but Growth Collapsed to 2pc in the Final Quarter

00:50

IT Exports Reach $435m in September — $2m Short of the Record, and the Wrong Number to Watch

15:15

Punjab Approves a Rs1.995 Trillion Industrial Plan — Nearly Half of It From Private Money It Does Not Have Yet

Industry

Manufacturing, energy, logistics and the physical economy.

Data card: the draft auto policy sets sales tax at 1 percent for battery electrics, 6 percent for range-extended electrics and 9 percent for plug-in hybrids, funded by an ICE levy raising Rs232 billion over five years

Auto Policy 2026-31 Sets 1pc Tax on Electric Cars — and Makes ICE Buyers Pay for Exports

The approved auto policy draft sets sales tax at 1pc for battery EVs, 6pc for REEVs and 9pc for PHEVs, funded by a levy on conventional cars.
23 Oct
Data card: of Punjab's Rs1.995 trillion industrial and export programme, Rs906 billion is expected from private investors and not yet committed, against a provincial share of Rs1,089 billion and a target of 162,000 jobs

Punjab Approves a Rs1.995 Trillion Industrial Plan — Nearly Half of It From Private Money It Does Not Have Yet

The Punjab cabinet approved a Rs1.995tn industrial and export programme targeting 162,000 jobs, of which Rs906bn is expected from the private sector.
20 Oct
Data card: 50,480 cars, jeeps and pickups were sold in Q1 FY27, of which 41,872 were cars, up 43 percent, while jeeps and pickups fell 34 percent and two- and three-wheelers reached 553,994 units

Car Sales Up 43pc or 19pc? Both Are Right — It Depends What Counts as a Car

PAMA data shows cars up 43pc in Q1 FY27 but jeeps and pickups down 34pc, leaving the combined four-wheeler figure up 19pc.
14 Oct
Data card: from 9 October DRAP requires a 2D barcode and serial number on all registered drugs made locally or imported, while batches manufactured before the deadline stay exempt and no penalty schedule has been published

Every Medicine Made or Imported Since 9 October Must Now Carry a 2D Barcode

DRAP's Phase I serialisation regime took effect on 9 October, requiring a unique 2D Data Matrix code on every locally made and imported medicine.
13 Oct
Data card: FY26 pharmaceutical exports of 319.01 million dollars, down 30.3 percent, with Afghanistan accounting for 42 percent of the previous year's drug exports and about 20 percent implied growth in all other markets

Pharmaceutical Exports Hit Three-Year Low of $319m — But the Afghan Border Explains Almost All of It

Medicine exports fell 30pc to $319.01m in FY26, but stripping out Afghanistan suggests the rest of the export book grew about 20pc.
9 Oct
Data card: 2,276 used vehicles imported in September 2026 against 48 units in May, with 98 percent coming through the Gift Scheme and Rs3.4 billion of local parts production said to be displaced

Assemblers Demand Suspension of EDB’s Used Car Import Relaxation as FIA Probes the Notification

PAMA wants the EDB notification of 30 September suspended after commercial used vehicle imports rose from 48 units in May to 2,276 in September.
7 Oct
Data card: Thar Block II Phase III lifts annual mine capacity to 11.2 million tonnes, taking generation on Thar coal to 1,980 megawatts at 3.75 dollars per MMBtu

Thar Coal Phase III Lifts Mine Output to 11.2m Tonnes a Year, Feeding Lucky Electric’s 660MW

Phase III at Thar Block II raises annual mine capacity 47pc to 11.2m tonnes, taking generation on Thar coal to 1,980MW.
6 Oct
Data card: Barrick will not commit to full Reko Diq construction, with phase one costs up 40 percent from $4 billion to $5.6 billion, half the project held by Balochistan and federal state enterprises, a $2.1 billion gap between the phases summed and the published total, and no revised date given

Barrick Will Not Commit to Full Reko Diq Construction. Phase One Already Costs 40% More.

Pakistan owns half of it. The published total of $7 billion now understates the cost by $2.1 billion, and no revised date has been given.
1 Oct
Data card: Punjab wants 120,000 electric bikes on the road, equal to 5.6 percent of national annual two- and three-wheeler sales, worth Rs24 to 35 billion in vehicles, leaning partly on Verra carbon credits, with no budget, timeline or interest rate published

Punjab Wants 120,000 Electric Bikes on the Road. That Is 5.6% of the National Market.

A guaranteed order pool this size is stronger industrial policy than the 1% NEV tax. The carbon credit financing is the least proven element.
30 Sep
Data card: The PTEA says exports are negative while national data says up 6.76 percent, against FY2025-26 textile export growth of 0.34 percent, a Rs1.73 fuel cost adjustment loaded onto industry, Rs40 billion more in refunds disbursed, and no published cost per unit

The New PTEA Chairman Says Exports Are Negative. The National Data Says Up 6.76%.

Both can be true, and margin is the likeliest reconciliation. Two of the sector's three named constraints moved in opposite directions this month.
28 Sep
Data card: NEPRA cut K-Electric's tariff 19 percent to a notified Rs32.37 a unit from a determined Rs39.97, taking Rs200 billion off the federal subsidy burden to FY2030 and 40 percent off the allowed rate of return mid-period, with ten IESCO bidders watching

NEPRA Cut K-Electric’s Tariff 19%. Karachi’s Bills Do Not Change.

A Rs200 billion subsidy saving, an allowed return cut 40% mid-period — and ten IESCO bidders about to price the regulatory risk it demonstrates.
24 Sep
Data card: An electric bike with a 125's power costs Rs290,000, with the 20-litre fuel quota covering about 900 km before subsidised petrol runs out, Rs173 to charge 2.88 kWh for 110 km against about Rs779 of subsidised petrol, and 8 percent of the battery's rated cycle life under warranty

An Electric Bike With a 125’s Power Costs Rs290,000. The Fuel Subsidy Does Not Cover It.

Roughly a quarter of the running cost of a petrol 125, even against subsidised fuel. The battery warranty covers about 8% of the cells' rated life.
23 Sep

Most read

Kaspersky identifies vulnerabilities in barcode scanners, posing potential threat for the warehouse industry

Auto Policy 2026-31 Sets 1pc Tax on Electric Cars — and Makes ICE Buyers Pay for Exports

Pakistan Must Reapply for GSP+ — and the EU-India Deal Has Already Cut What It Is Worth