اس موقع پر صدر شی جن پھنگ نے تجاویز بھی پیش کیں۔ پہلی، رابطوں کو فروغ دینا چاہیے۔ چین اور امریکہ کے حالات مختلف ہیں، لیکن کھلے دل کے ساتھ گہرے اور مسلسل مکالمے کے ذریعے باہمی افہام و تفہیم کو فروغ دیا جا سکتا ہے، اختلافات کو کم کیا جا سکتا ہے، مشترکہ مفادات کو اجاگر کیا جا سکتا ہے اور باہمی اعتماد کو مضبوط بنایا جا سکتا ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ دونوں صدور ایک دوسرے کا احترام کرتے ہیں، باہمی تعلقات اور قریبی رابطہ برقرار رکھے ہوئے ہیں۔ دونوں ممالک کے خارجہ، اقتصادی، مالیاتی، قانون نافذ کرنے والے اور عوامی و ثقافتی امور سے متعلق اداروں کے درمیان رابطوں کو مضبوط بنانے کی حوصلہ افزائی کی جانی چاہیے، جبکہ دونوں ممالک کے قانون ساز اداروں کے درمیان تبادلوں کی بھی حمایت کی جانی چاہیے۔ دوسری، مخلصانہ تعاون کرنا چاہیے۔ شی جن پھنگ نے کہا کہ چین اور امریکہ کے مفادات گہرائی سے ایک دوسرے سے جڑے ہوئے ہیں اور دونوں ممالک کے درمیان تعاون کے وسیع مواقع موجود ہیں۔ یہ درست ہے کہ چین اور امریکہ کا تعاون دنیا کے تمام مسائل حل نہیں کر سکتا، لیکن دونوں ممالک کے تعاون کے بغیر دنیا کے بہت سے مسائل کا حل مشکل ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ چین کے دروازے کھلے ہیں اور امریکی کمپنیوں کو چین میں سرمایہ کاری اور کاروبار کے لیے خوش آمدید کہا جاتا ہے۔

چین امید کرتا ہے کہ امریکی فریق چینی اداروں کے ساتھ منصفانہ سلوک کرے گا، تاکہ تعاون کی فہرست طویل اور مسائل کی فہرست مختصر ہو۔ شی جن پھنگ نے کہا کہ چین اور امریکہ دونوں مصنوعی ذہانت کے شعبے کی بڑی طاقتیں ہیں اور دونوں ممالک کے پاس اے آئی کو بہتر طور پر ترقی دینے اور اس کے ذمہ دارانہ استعمال کو یقینی بنانے کی صلاحیت اور ذمہ داری ہے، تاکہ مصنوعی ذہانت انسان کے کنٹرول میں رہے اور عوام کی فلاح و بہبود کے لیے استعمال ہو۔ چین امریکہ کے ساتھ منشیات کی روک تھام اور قانون کے نفاذ سمیت دیگر شعبوں میں تعاون بڑھانے کا خواہاں ہے۔ دونوں ممالک براہِ راست پروازوں کی تعداد میں اضافہ کر سکتے ہیں، جس سے عوامی اور تجارتی تبادلوں کو مزید سہولت ملے گی۔ تیسری ، پرامن بقائے باہمی کو برقرار رکھنا چاہیے۔ شی جن پھنگ نے کہا کہ چین اور امریکہ کے درمیان مسابقت تعمیری اور حدود کے اندر ہونی چاہیے۔ یہ ایک دوسرے سے بہتر کارکردگی دکھانے کی کوشش ہونی چاہیے، نہ کہ ایک دوسرے کو شکست دینے کی لڑائی۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ چین اور امریکہ کو تصادم اور محاذ آرائی سے بچنے کے لیے واضح حد قائم کرنی چاہیے اور دونوں بڑی طاقتوں کے لیے ایسا راستہ تلاش کرنا ممکن ہے جس پر وہ اس دنیا میں مناسب انداز میں ساتھ رہ سکیں۔

شی جن پھنگ نے کہا کہ دونوں ممالک کی مسلح افواج کے درمیان باقاعدہ مکالمہ جاری رہنا چاہیے اور بحران کے وقت رابطوں اور خطرات کی روک تھام کے نظام کو مزید بہتر بنایا جانا چاہیے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ ’’تھوسی ڈائیڈز ٹریپ‘‘ سے بچا جا سکتا ہے۔ صدر شی جن پھنگ نے اعلان کیا کہ چین آئندہ پانچ برسوں کے دوران ایک لاکھ امریکی نوجوانوں کو تبادلے اور تعلیم کے لیے چین آنے کی دعوت دے گا۔ انہوں نے یہ خوشخبری بھی سنائی کہ چند ہی دنوں میں پانڈا ’’پھنگ پھنگ‘‘ اور ’’فو شوانگ‘‘ اٹلانٹا چڑیا گھر میں آباد ہوں گے اور امریکی عوام سے ملیں گے۔ صدر شی جن پھنگ نے کہا کہ چینی قوم کی عظیم نشاۃِ ثانیہ کا حصول اور "امریکہ کو دوبارہ عظیم بنانا" ایک دوسرے سے متصادم نہیں ہیں۔ انہوں نے چینی اور امریکی عوام کے درمیان دوستی کو مسلسل آگے بڑھانے اور ایک بہتر دنیا کی تعمیر کے لیے مل کر کام کرنے پر زور دیا۔

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

وزیر خزانہ نے پی آئی اے کی بوئنگ 787 ڈریم لائنرز میں دلچسپی سے آگاہ کیا اور بوئنگ طیاروں اور انجنوں کی خریداری کے لیے مالی معاونت کے پیکیج پر زور دیا۔ گرانڈ کیے گئے بوئنگ 777 طیاروں کے لیے اسپیئر پارٹس کی فراہمی بھی زیرِ بحث آئی۔پی آئی اے طیاروں کی پری ڈیلیوری ادائیگیوں کے لیے ممکنہ مالی معاونت پر بھی بات چیت کی گئی۔ملاقات میں پاکستان میں ریفائنری اپ گریڈز کے لیے امریکی معاونت اور ریکو ڈک منصوبے کے لیے امریکی ایکسپورٹ امپورٹ بینک کی معاونت پر بھی گفتگو ہوئی۔وزیر خزانہ نے کہا کہ ریکو ڈک منصوبہ پاکستان کی مستقبل کی برآمدات کے لیے اہم ہے اور منصوبے میں تاخیر کی لاگت کو نظرانداز نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔محمد اورنگزیب نے کہا کہ اہم شعبوں کے لیے بین الاقوامی مالی معاونت متحرک کرنے کی کوششیں جاری ہیں۔ پاکستان کی ڈیجیٹائزیشن اور بین الاقوامی اقتصادی تعاون کے فروغ پر توجہ دی جا رہی ہے۔

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

انہوں نے کہا کہ اسلام آباد ہائی کورٹ کے فیصلے کے بعد اس حکم پر عمل درآمد کے پابند ہیں، ہم نے سارے انتظامات کیے ہیں، کنٹینر پڑے ضرور ہیں لیکن وہ ابھی سائیڈز پر ہیں۔وزیر مملکت نے کہا کہ کسی بھی کنٹینر نے ابھی تک کسی کا راستہ نہیں روکا، وفاقی دارالحکومت میں زندگی معمول کے مطابق رواں دواں ہے۔ان کا کہنا تھا کہ ضرورت پڑنے پر یہ کنٹینر اسلام آباد کے لوگوں کی جان و مال کے تحفظ کیلیے ضرور استعمال ہوں گے، ہم نہیں چاہتے کہ خیبر پختونخوا میں گورنر راج لگے۔طلال چوہدری نے کہا کہ پی ٹی آئی والے جو کہتے ہیں، وہ کرتے نہیں ہیں، یہ کہتے تھے کہ اسمبلیاں توڑیں گے یا استعفی دیں گے تو کوئی انقلاب آجائے گا، اب یہ جماعت خود اندر سے توڑ پھوڑ کا شکار ہے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ خیبر پختونخوا کے وہ وسائل جو صوبے کے عوام کی تعلیم اور صحت پر لگنے چاہیے تھے، وہ اب مارچ میں استعمال کیے جارہے ہیں۔

کریڈٹ: انڈیپنڈنٹ نیوز پاکستان-آئی این پی

Afterwards, Ambassador Akamatsu participated in a handover ceremony and presented the diverse collection of books under the “READ JAPAN PROJECT”, launched by the Nippon Foundation in 2008, and currently administered by the Tokyo Foundation to promote the global understanding of Japan through literature, the Embassy of Japan in Pakistan today handed over around 100 books to the Bahria University, Islamabad.

The selection made by the university are in English language spanning Japan's history, politics, economy, security, international relations, philosophy, literature, language, culture and more.

Ambassador Akamatsu, while speaking on the occasion, congratulated students and faculty, stating that the collections will serve as “a bridges of knowledge.” “I hope that the students of Bahria University will continue to make the most of these opportunities and become the next generation of bridges between Japan and Pakistan,” he added.

Ambassador Akamatsu happily noted that there has been a steadily growing interest in Japan among Pakistani youth. Looking ahead to the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, he expressed his hope that these books will provide Pakistani students with fascinating insights into the culture, society, and socio-economic development of Japan. In this context, he highlighted Japan’s long-standing economic cooperation with Pakistan and that Japan has always placed particular emphasis on education and respect for autonomy. He appreciated the Bahria University for their cooperation including advancing people-to-people exchanges between two nations.

On behalf of the Bahria University side, Rear Admiral Naeem Sarwar SI (M), Director General of Islamabad Campas, Bahria University, expressed sincere gratitude to the Nippon Foundation and the Embassy of Japan, noting the donation of books would help students learn about Japan that will pave the way for further strengthening the Japan-Pakistan relations.

The “READ JAPAN PROJECT” was initiated by the Nippon Foundation in 2008 to promote the understanding of Japan through the donation of Japan related books in English to research institutions, universities and libraries around the world.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

He said all necessary measures should be taken on time to ensure completion of the project and there should be no unnecessary delay at any stage.The interior minister said there was no room for further delay in completing the model jail project, which had remained pending for 15 years. He directed the relevant authorities to complete all construction, administrative and other necessary work before the inauguration. He also instructed all relevant institutions to work in coordination to ensure that the project was completed within the timeframe.

Talal Chaudhry said the work on the model jail was being monitored continuously. He added that the project would be completed within the scheduled timeframe in coordination with all relevant institutions.The meeting also reviewed the remaining work on the model jail, administrative matters and preparations for its inauguration. The Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency, Federal Prosecutor General, Inspector General of Islamabad Police, Director General of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency and other relevant officials attended the meeting.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

Following a complaint by citizen Muhammad Ramzan, the Wafaqi Mohtasib's regional office in Sargodha summoned railway officials. As railway authorities failed to provide a valid reason for the closure, the Mohtasib Office instructed Pakistan Railways to resume the route, a directive the administration subsequently complied with.The restoration has brought widespread relief and joy to residents of Sargodha, Multan, and surrounding districts.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

He said Pakistan subsequently conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan that were used for launching and storing the drones. Atta Tarar said the strikes were deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate and were limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan. He said Pakistan had repeatedly conveyed its concerns to the Afghan Taliban regime and its interlocutors over the continued presence of terrorist sanctuaries and support networks on Afghan soil.

Atta Tarar said that instead of dismantling such networks and taking credible and verifiable action against those using Afghan territory to carry out attacks against Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime had chosen to escalate the situation through hostile drone operations. “Pakistan will neither accept nor tolerate attacks launched from Afghan territory, whether by terrorist groups or by the Afghan Taliban regime itself,” he said. The minister said any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty would be met with an immediate and decisive response, adding that threats, denials or attempts to deflect responsibility would not alter the facts or constrain its right to defend its territory, people and national security.

He called upon the Afghan Taliban regime to immediately cease all hostile activity against Pakistan and fulfil its international obligations by taking effective, concrete, verifiable and sustained action against terrorist entities operating from Afghan soil. “Afghan territory must not be used to launch attacks or conduct hostile operations against Pakistan,” he said. Atta Tarar said Pakistan did not seek escalation and remained committed to regional peace, dialogue and constructive engagement. He, however, said the commitment should not be mistaken for weakness or unlimited tolerance of hostile actions. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

In the post, Tarar condemned Wednesday’s “deliberate and unlawful” drone incursion, calling it a “blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. He held the drone attacks were a “grave and unacceptable act of aggression”. The information minister said Pakistan had conveyed its concerns to the Afghan Taliban over the terrorist elements emanating from Afghan soil and the presence of terrorist sanctuaries. However, he noted that rather than dismantling the terrorist networks and taking action against them, the Afghan Taliban chose to “escalate the situation through hostile drone operations against Pakistan”. 

He said that in Wednesday’s attack, Pakistan’s air defence systems had “detected, tracked and neutralised all intruding platforms before they could reach any of their intended targets, comprehensively thwarting the attempted attack”. Tarar held that Pakistan will “neither accept nor tolerate” attacks from Afghan territory whether by terrorist groups or the Afghan Taliban regime itself. He warned against violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, vowing that it will be met with “an immediate and decisive response”. The minister further held that: “Any threats, denials or attempts to deflect responsibility by [the] Afghan Taliban will neither alter the facts nor constrain Pakistan’s inherent right to defend its territory, its people and its national security.” 

Tarar, in the post, called upon the regime in Kabul to halt immediately “hostile activity” and abide by international obligations “by taking effective, concrete, verifiable and sustained action against terrorist entities operating from Afghan soil”. The minister warned that the Afghan territory should not be used for attacks against Pakistan. He maintained that Pakistan remained committed to “regional peace, dialogue and constructive engagement” and was not seeking escalation. However, the information minister warned: “This commitment must not be mistaken for weakness or an unlimited tolerance of hostile actions”.

He also vowed that the country will defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and the lives of citizens with “full resolve and take all necessary measures to protect them”.Pakistan’s response came after eight drones, launched from Afghanistan, entered Pakistani airspace near the Torkham border and Kohat on Wednesday. Security sources said they were subsequently shot down. It was also reported that the Afghan Taliban engaged in unprovoked firing the night before near Kurram as security forces foiled an attempt by terrorists to cross into Pakistan.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

The two teams will come into this opening group stage clash under an immense amount of pressure, with the three points on offer here in terms of qualifying to the latter stages of the tournament which is crucial in the opening phase.Omani head coach’s preparations have been focused on how to contain Iraqi’s physical train on transition football and how to avoid the spaces being flooded with runs in from the midfielders. Oman and Iraq have a long-standing football rivalry, with the two teams lock horns in closely fought matches that are often attritional in nature.

Iraq has the advantage of playing on home turf in front of a rabid home crowd while Oman has a well-balanced team, comprising experience and flair to implement game plans, however intricate, when under the cosh. Football pundits foresee a fierce midfield struggle, with set-piece proficiency and organisational defence a function of victory.

Ica for Oman, to get a good result in this first game will mean so much more than the three points in the table, it will give the players a great psychological starting point for the difficult game that will follow.As the home fans wait in anticipation for the match to begin, the Warriors are concentrating fully on a disciplined display of high energy football, aimed to reach the world’s biggest football competitions.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

Earlier, Section 144 has been imposed in the federal capital, the district administration told. According to the administration, no gathering of any kind is allowed in the city.A ban on gatherings has been imposed under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024, the district administration said. The administration warned that strict action would be taken against those violating the restrictions according to law. A violation of the Act carries a punishment of up to three years in prison, according to the administration. The district administration urged citizens not to become part of any illegal activity.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

According to the administration, no gathering of any kind is allowed in the city Meanwhile, mobile phone and internet services will remain suspended in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and parts of Attock on September 26 and 27 in view of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) possible long march. Sources said mobile phone and internet services would be suspended in the twin cities and parts of Attock as part of security measures. A high-level security meeting held five days ago had discussed the closure of motorways, the GT Road and other key routes, along with measures to maintain law and order and address security concerns.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)

Alibaba Group is set to collaborate with Pakistan Post Office Department (PPOD) for the automation of its sorting centres under the prime minister’s directives.

According to an official document available with Wealth Pakistan, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) is the lead ministry for implementing the prime minister’s directives.

The development marks a move towards greater automation of PPOD postal processing infrastructure, potentially improving the handling and sorting of mail and parcels through technology-based systems.

The document further states that Alibaba Group is expected to submit an unsolicited proposal by September 15, 2026, which will provide the basis for moving forward with the proposed collaboration.

 The initiative is part of a broader set of measures currently being pursued by Pakistan Post.

The document also lists the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Cashless Economy initiative and the National Action Plan under the National Gemstone Policy 2026–30.

Under the cashless economy initiative, the Ministry of Finance is the lead ministry, while Pakistan Post signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in March 2026 for the collection of non-tax revenues.

Pakistan Post has also requested the Finance Division to facilitate the opening of a RAAST-linked account in line with the national cashless economy initiative.

The first phase of the cashless initiative will cover 85 General Post Offices (GPOs) and target 65 percent of PPOD revenue receipts, the document states.

The proposed Alibaba collaboration, however, represents a separate technology-focused initiative aimed at modernising Pakistan Post’s sorting operations, with further details expected following the submission of Alibaba Group’s proposal by the September 15 deadline.

Credit: INP-WealthPk

China’s rapidly expanding role in global pharmaceutical innovation is opening new avenues for Pakistan to pursue technology transfer, joint research and local manufacturing partnerships, potentially helping the country build domestic capabilities rather than remain heavily dependent on imported pharmaceutical technologies and inputs.

The opportunity has gained significance as Chinese-developed drugs attract growing international interest. Official Chinese data show that innovative-drug out-licensing deals reached about $110 billion in the first half of 2026 through 81 transactions, equivalent to around 80% of the total value recorded during all of 2025.

The deals covered 10 therapeutic areas, including oncology, metabolic, immune and neurological diseases, with buyers spanning about 20 countries and regions.

China’s National Medical Products Administration said the country accounted for about 30% of new drugs under development globally, while the number of clinical trials conducted there surpassed 5,000 for the first time in 2025. Of these, 2,997, or 57.5%, involved new drugs.

The momentum accelerated during 2025, when China approved 76 innovative drugs, up from 48 in 2024. More than 150 overseas licensing transactions involving Chinese innovative medicines were concluded during the year, with their potential value exceeding $130 billion, according to official data.

Building stronger university-industry linkages, joint research programmes, clinical-research capacity and mechanisms for absorbing and adapting transferred technology are essential if Pakistan wants to develop its own innovation capabilities.

China’s growing position in global pharmaceutical innovation therefore offers Pakistan an opportunity to deepen cooperation at a time when bilateral pharmaceutical engagement is already expanding.

Experts say the bigger objective should be to use those partnerships to move progressively from dependence on imported inputs and technologies towards local research, technology absorption, advanced manufacturing and greater participation in the global life-sciences value chain.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Dr Muhammad Saalim, Assistant Professor at the Capital University of Science & Technology (CUST), Islamabad, and R&D Consultant at PsiMega2 (Pvt.) Ltd., a biotechnology R&D and contract research organisation, said China’s experience demonstrated the importance of close collaboration between academia and industry in developing commercially viable innovation.

“From my experience of studying and working in China, I believe a major strength is the close collaboration between academia and industry, allowing China to address both current and future challenges,” he said.

For Pakistan, Saalim identified technology transfer, capacity building and joint research as the most promising areas for cooperation.

“Rather than simply importing finished technologies, Pakistan could learn from China’s approach of acquiring, localising, adapting and further developing technologies,” he said.

Saalim said China’s high-speed rail development provides a broader example of technological absorption and localisation. A similar approach in life sciences could help Pakistan develop its own research, manufacturing and technological capabilities instead of remaining dependent on imported solutions.

Recent Pakistan-China engagements indicate that cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector is already moving towards commercial projects.

The Ministry of National Health Services said a Pakistan-China pharmaceutical conference held in Islamabad in July generated 22 commercial agreements worth $629.5 million, alongside 84 memoranda of understanding with an estimated value of around $800 million.

The commercial agreements included projects in active pharmaceutical ingredients, local vaccine production, clinical trials, generic formulations and injectables, and medical-device manufacturing. The conference brought together 240 Chinese delegates representing 140 companies and 430 Pakistani representatives from 210 local firms.

Earlier, in May 2026, Pakistani and Chinese companies signed 10 MoUs covering API manufacturing, technology transfer, vaccine collaboration and pharmaceutical investment, providing another platform for industrial cooperation.

The technology-transfer opportunity is particularly important because Pakistan currently imports about 95% of the raw materials used in medicine manufacturing despite producing nearly 85% of its pharmaceutical products domestically, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.

Greater cooperation in APIs, vaccines, biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturing could therefore help Pakistan progressively increase local value addition while developing the technical capabilities required for more sophisticated production.

The opportunity also comes as Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry seeks a larger international presence. Pharmaceutical exports registered a record 34% year-on-year increase in 2025, according to the Finance Division, while the industry has proposed a dedicated PharmEx Pakistan platform to support market diversification, international certification and export expansion.

Saalim said the longer-term opportunity goes beyond attracting Chinese factories or importing newly developed medicines.

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The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) is combining field patrols, scientific research, community awareness and wildlife rescue to strengthen the protection of Margalla Hills National Park and conserve wildlife and natural resources across the Islamabad Capital Territory.

According to documents of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination available with Wealth Pakistan, Margalla Hills National Park, the principal protected area managed by the IWMB, covers approximately 17,386 hectares, or 42,961 acres and supports significant biodiversity.

The park is home to more than 600 plant species, 38 mammal species, 350 bird species, 32 reptile species and nine amphibian species, highlighting the importance of its continued protection and conservation management.

Under the Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Act, 2024, the board is responsible for the protection, preservation, conservation and management of nature and wildlife in the Margalla Hills National Park. Its functions include implementing the law, preparing and implementing management plans, developing conservation projects, protecting wildlife, conducting research, coordinating with government agencies and stakeholders, and formulating regulations.

A major part of the board's work involves field protection and enforcement. The documents show that the IWMB conducts regular patrols and surveillance through four ranges and their respective blocks to protect wildlife and natural habitats.

Its enforcement activities target a range of threats, including hunting and poaching, illegal wildlife trade, woodcutting, encroachment, forest fires, pollution and the illegal killing or capture of wildlife.

The board has 45 sanctioned posts, of which 31 are filled and 14 remain vacant, including 26 wildlife guard posts, with 20 filled and six vacant.

Alongside enforcement, the IWMB is focusing on research to support better conservation and management decisions. The board undertakes scientific research on wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems, collaborates with universities and research institutions, monitors wildlife and provides training and capacity-building. It also works on measures to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Community engagement is another part of its conservation approach. The board conducts environmental education and awareness programmes and works with local communities, students, the media and other stakeholders to encourage responsible and sustainable practices around protected areas.

Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation remain a key operational responsibility. The IWMB assesses injured, sick and distressed animals and develops appropriate rescue and rehabilitation measures in coordination with veterinary clinics, wildlife hospitals and rehabilitation centres. According to the documents, 131 animals were under care at the Rescue Centre in August 2026.

The board’s institutional role brings together protected-area management, wildlife enforcement, biodiversity conservation, research, community engagement, public awareness and animal rescue to support the sustainable management of wildlife and natural resources in the federal capital.

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The Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) ruling reaffirming the continued validity of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has strengthened Pakistan’s water rights under the treaty, shifting attention to how Islamabad translates that legal advantage into compliance through sustained diplomatic engagement and dispute-resolution mechanisms.

The IWT, signed by India and Pakistan in 1960, governs the sharing of the Indus River system and provides mechanisms for resolving disputes concerning water use and hydroelectric projects. Under the treaty, India can develop run-of-river hydropower projects on the western rivers, including the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, subject to specified design and operational restrictions.

The dispute entered a new phase in April 2025 when India announced that it was placing the treaty “in abeyance” following an attack in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan challenged the move, maintaining that India could not unilaterally suspend the agreement.

On August 31, 2026, the PCA unanimously ruled that the treaty remained fully in force and that India had no valid basis under the treaty or international law to suspend or terminate it. The decision reaffirmed India’s continuing obligations concerning the western rivers, including restrictions governing its hydroelectric projects.

With the treaty’s continued validity reaffirmed, attention has now shifted to compliance and the ongoing disputes over upstream hydropower projects.

The PCA also imposed interim measures concerning the Ratle Hydroelectric Plant on the Chenab River, prohibiting certain concreting works on the dam wall and power intake structure until 90 days after the Neutral Expert issues a final decision on the project’s compliance with the treaty. That decision is currently expected around July 2027.

The measures provide a temporary safeguard while the technical dispute over Ratle remains unresolved. They also mean that the treaty’s dispute-resolution mechanisms will remain important as questions surrounding Indian hydropower projects continue to be considered through separate proceedings involving the Neutral Expert.

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies Islamabad Tughral Yamin described the PCA decision as “only a moral victory”, arguing that its practical impact would depend on enforcement after India rejected the ruling as being beyond the PCA’s remit.

“Pakistan must seriously consider the options available to it. On the diplomatic front, the issue must be raised at all forums and world opinion should be shaped to convince the international community about the sheer criminality of stopping or planning to stop the river waters of the lower riparian,” Yamin told Wealth Pakistan.

Yamin said Pakistan should therefore pursue a broader diplomatic strategy rather than treating the PCA decision as the end of the dispute.

At the same time, Yamin cautioned against steps that could lead to further escalation.

“There can be a number of kinetic means short of actually going to war but these may have repercussions,” he said, raising the question of whether deliberate interference with water supplies could potentially be regarded as an act of war.

He stressed that Pakistan would have to proceed “very intelligently” to avoid a situation in which its allies withdrew their support.

“PCA decision notwithstanding, Pakistan should leave no stone unturned for the revival of IWT and the stopping the construction of dams on the Indus, Chenab and the Jhelum,” Yamin said.

The ruling has preserved the legal framework through which Pakistan can pursue its water rights and challenge actions concerning the western rivers. The next challenge is ensuring that those legal protections translate into compliance.

The enforcement question, however, extends beyond the PCA proceedings. Pakistan will need to continue using the treaty’s dispute-settlement mechanisms while maintaining diplomatic engagement over compliance and closely following technical proceedings concerning projects such as Ratle.

Yamin said the PCA ruling should therefore be followed by sustained diplomatic and legal engagement aimed at preserving the IWT, ensuring respect for Pakistan’s rights under the treaty and pursuing concerns over upstream projects through established dispute-resolution mechanisms.

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Pakistan’s rapidly expanding rooftop solar and battery base is opening the door to “swarm electrification,” a model under which millions of privately owned energy assets could be coordinated to lower consumer costs, improve grid flexibility and support local electricity markets, experts say.

The concept is relatively simple. Instead of each rooftop solar system and battery operating independently, digital platforms connect groups of consumers so that surplus electricity can be stored, shared or traded locally. At a larger scale, these assets can be aggregated through a virtual power plant (VPP) and respond collectively when the national grid needs electricity or flexibility.

The model is gaining relevance as Pakistan’s distributed-energy base expands. Pakistan Solar Association analysis estimates distributed solar supplied close to 27% of the country’s electricity in FY2025, including about 51 terawatt-hours of generation largely invisible in grid-side data.

Storage is expanding alongside solar. Renewables First estimates that lithium-ion battery energy-storage imports reached around 4.6 gigawatt-hours in calendar year 2025, up 220% year on year, suggesting consumers are increasingly moving from simply generating daytime solar electricity to storing and managing it.

The economic question is therefore how these privately financed assets can create value beyond individual households.

A recent assessment by the Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development (PRIED) found swarm-grid arrangements technically feasible in both urban and rural settings, although their economics differed between the two.

Experts said the opportunity lay in converting scattered generation and storage into a coordinated resource rather than simply adding more solar capacity.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Syed Faizan Shah, Energy Adviser at the Power Division, said Pakistan could move from millions of individual distributed energy resources towards coordinated systems in which rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles and flexible electricity loads are aggregated through VPPs.

He said such coordination could allow distributed assets to function as a single intelligent source of power, creating greater value from investments consumers had already made while enabling households and businesses to participate more actively in the electricity system.

The challenge, however, extends beyond connecting equipment.

Muhammad Zakria, Executive Director for System Operations at the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO), told Wealth Pakistan that distributed energy resources could provide significant flexibility to the power system, but their effective integration required appropriate regulatory and technological foundations.

Real-time visibility, reliable forecasting, communication and control systems, together with appropriate grid standards, would be necessary to ensure that distributed resources could respond to system requirements without compromising grid security, he said.

The economics are particularly different outside major urban centres.

Ahsan Gaylani of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) told Wealth Pakistan that electricity in rural and marginalised communities was closely linked with economic activity and livelihoods, making affordability and reliability central to any decentralised model.

He said financing structures should bring together communities, private investors and development finance institutions or banks. Blended finance, concessional funding and government-backed de-risking instruments could help overcome the high initial costs that might otherwise prevent viable projects from proceeding.

International experience shows that aggregation can move beyond experimentation. South Australia has developed Australia’s largest VPP, linking thousands of household solar and battery systems so they can operate collectively. More than 7,000 public-housing tenants are already benefiting, according to the South Australian government.

The system has also provided grid-stability services during power-station trips, interconnector outages and other network disturbances, demonstrating how relatively small household batteries can collectively provide services traditionally associated with conventional power plants.

Experts said Pakistan’s solar transition was therefore entering a new phase in which greater value could come not only from installing additional panels, but also from developing the regulations, technology and financial incentives needed to coordinate existing solar systems, batteries and flexible demand into a broader power-system resource.

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Pak Datacom Limited (PDL) has proposed a more resilient satellite-connectivity model in which international high-throughput satellite services complement Pakistan’s national satellite capacity, as the company moves to migrate around 500 Ku-band links from ageing infrastructure to a higher-throughput platform.

According to a document available with Wealth Pakistan, PDL said that in providing satellite services through YahClick, avoiding exclusive dependence on a single satellite platform, gateway, or hub would provide an additional layer of resilience and help ensure the continuity of critical communications.

The company maintained that an alternative gateway could strengthen redundancy in the event of disruption to the primary satellite infrastructure while preserving national satellite capability as the core of the country’s communications architecture.

The strategic recommendation comes as PDL works to address connectivity requirements arising from the end of operational life of PAKSAT-1R and capacity limitations encountered during migration to the replacement satellite.

According to the document, PDL had been using PAKSAT-1R bandwidth for satellite services in Standard Ku and C bands. When PAKSAT-1R reached the end of its operational life, the company was informed that the required Standard Ku-band capacity could not be fully accommodated on PAKSAT-MM1.

PDL continued using MM1 capacity where available, including 12.5 MHz of C-band, while options were considered for links affected by constrained Standard Ku-band availability.

One alternative involved migration to the Low Ku band. However, the document states that this would require the replacement of complete terminal equipment for around 500 links.

It said PakSat initially indicated that it would provide the required Low Ku-band equipment but later said it was unable to supply it, as it was not readily available and would require specialised procurement or customised production.

Against this backdrop, PDL considered migrating the affected links to another satellite platform. YahClick, with which PDL has had a commercial arrangement since 2016, was considered for the approximately 500 links.

The company also cited changing customer requirements as an important technical consideration. Several clients now require speeds exceeding 30 Mbps, according to the document, making high-throughput satellite services better suited to such requirements than the proposed Low Ku-band solution.

The commercial implications are also significant. PDL said around 350 government-sector customers could be affected by a shift to the MM1 Low Ku band.

Given the higher associated costs, the company cautioned that some customers could obtain the same YahClick service from competing operators, potentially resulting in the loss of customers and revenue for PDL without providing an additional security benefit. It argued that any restriction imposed on YahClick should therefore apply uniformly across operators.

On the regulatory side, PDL said YahClick services are being provided through authorised arrangements originating from a PTA no-objection certificate issued to Redtone for YahSat services in February 2016.

The company said it subsequently completed the relevant requirements, including a memorandum of understanding, reseller agreement and authorisation for providing YahClick services, while the PTA was informed about the arrangement.

Regarding the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board (PSARB), the document states that the implementation and registration framework remains under development.

PDL said that if a specific NOC is determined to be applicable to its arrangement, it would initiate the prescribed formal process.

The company also noted that more than 4,000 YahSat-related satellite links are currently serving government and non-government organisations in Pakistan. Of these, PDL provides around 350, while other satellite service providers provide more than 600 links to government-owned organisations.

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A broad preferential trade arrangement, backed by regulatory cooperation, export diversification and stronger business links, could help Pakistan expand its underdeveloped commercial relationship with Australia as bilateral merchandise trade remains below $1 billion, trade experts say.

The issue has gained relevance after the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) called for bilateral trade to be raised to at least $3 billion and proposed negotiations on preferential market access for Pakistani exporters.

According to State Bank of Pakistan figures, bilateral goods trade fell from $973 million in FY2024-25 to $672 million in FY2025-26. Pakistan’s exports to Australia declined from $285 million to $275 million, while imports fell from $688 million to $397 million.

The broader commercial relationship is considerably larger when services are included. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) puts two-way goods and services trade at about A$3.4 billion in 2025, including approximately A$1.4 billion in Australian education-related services exports to Pakistan.

Australia’s main imports from Pakistan include textiles and clothing, while its major goods exports include pulses, oilseeds, coal and fertiliser.

The two countries are also modernising their investment framework. DFAT said negotiations are under way to replace or update the bilateral investment treaty that entered into force in 1998, with both sides working to complete negotiations during 2026.

Experts said preferential market access could help expand merchandise trade, but its effectiveness depends on the breadth of concessions and Pakistan’s ability to overcome regulatory and competitiveness constraints.

They said a preferential trade arrangement would provide a framework rather than a guarantee of higher trade. Its commercial impact depends on the breadth of market access and Pakistan’s ability to diversify exports, meet Australian regulatory requirements and develop stronger investment, services and business-to-business links.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Dr Manzoor Ahmad, former Pakistan Ambassador to the World Trade Organization and member of the Tariff Policy Board, said the present trade volume remains far below its potential and reaching the $3 billion target requires a strategic shift in the bilateral commercial relationship.

He said a preferential trade agreement could provide an important catalyst but warned against a narrowly negotiated arrangement containing extensive exclusions or sensitive lists.

Pakistan had entered preferential arrangements in the past without achieving the expected transformation in trade, he said, arguing that market access matters only when it is broad and predictable enough to change commercial incentives.

Ahmad said Pakistan’s existing exports to Australia are heavily concentrated in textiles, demonstrating both an established competitive base and the need for diversification.

He identified pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, sports goods, engineering products, processed foods and higher-value agricultural products among sectors where Pakistan could develop a stronger presence.

Preferential tariffs alone, however, would not generate substantially higher exports, he said. Pakistani firms would also have to address regulatory standards, certification, quality requirements and marketing constraints in individual product categories.

The objective should be to identify products in which Pakistan could realistically compete and then address the specific tariff and non-tariff barriers restricting their entry into the Australian market, Ahmad said.

Pakistan’s own tariff regime is also undergoing reform. The National Tariff Policy 2025-30 says the government intends to rationalise tariffs to reduce anti-export bias, improve manufacturing competitiveness and integrate Pakistani firms more closely into global value chains.

Ahmad stressed that the relationship should also be treated as a two-way commercial opportunity. Australian agricultural commodities, machinery, livestock genetics and technology could contribute to Pakistan’s productive capacity, while deeper economic integration should not be judged solely by whether Pakistan maintains a bilateral trade surplus.

He identified services as another largely underused opportunity. Pakistan’s software, business-process, engineering, design, animation and cybersecurity services could be supplied digitally, reducing some of the distance and freight-cost constraints affecting merchandise trade with Australia.

Dr Ayesha Khan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Governance and Public Policy, National University of Modern Languages (NUML), told Wealth Pakistan that preferential access could support Pakistani exports but would not by itself deliver the $3 billion trade target.

She said textiles and apparel could benefit from lower tariffs, while processed foods, leather, surgical instruments, pharmaceuticals, sports goods and selected agricultural products offer opportunities for diversification.

Australian standards, food-safety requirements, certification, logistics and supply reliability would nevertheless remain important determinants of whether Pakistani products could successfully expand their market presence, she said.

Khan said any preferential arrangement should therefore address rules of origin, customs procedures and sanitary and phytosanitary requirements alongside tariff concessions.

She also called for greater private-sector participation and more regular use of the Australia-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee to identify and address practical barriers confronting businesses.

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Punjab is stepping up efforts to promote responsible antibiotic use and stronger biosecurity practices at poultry farms to contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and protect poultry health, according to the Poultry Research Institute (PRI).

Dr Farhan Afzal, Director of PRI, told Wealth Pakistan that greater awareness among poultry farmers about the judicious use of antibiotics, farm hygiene and effective biosecurity is essential for maintaining healthy poultry production.

“The Punjab Livestock Department has always remained at the forefront of awareness campaigns and other initiatives aimed at ensuring healthy poultry production in the province,” he said.

Punjab accounts for around 70% of Pakistan’s more than 15,000 poultry farms, making practices adopted in the province particularly important for the country’s poultry meat and egg supply.

Dr Farhan said the Punjab government is also participating in activities under the Fleming Fund, an international initiative aimed at tackling antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals.

The Fleming Fund is a UK-funded programme supporting efforts against AMR in countries across Africa and Asia. In Pakistan, its country grant, launched in 2019, focuses on addressing gaps in AMR surveillance and strengthening capacity to diagnose and monitor antimicrobial resistance.

Dr Farhan said the misuse and overuse of antibiotics could enable bacteria to develop resistance to medicines, making responsible antibiotic use important for both animal and human health.

He rejected the notion that a “superbug” is currently prevalent in Pakistan’s poultry sector, explaining that the term is non-scientific and generally used to describe bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics.

Good production practices, including proper farm management, effective biosecurity, accurate diagnosis and timely treatment, could substantially reduce disease risks and improve biosecurity at poultry farms, he said.

“Currently, no major zoonotic disease is prevailing in Pakistan’s poultry sector, particularly in Punjab,” Dr Farhan said.

He said common bacterial diseases such as E. coli and Salmonella could be controlled through basic sanitation measures at the poultry-production level and during the handling of poultry products.

He added that poultry meat in Pakistani households is generally consumed fully cooked, which helps eliminate harmful germs.

Dr Farhan said diagnostic and surveillance capacity is also being strengthened. The Bacteriology Laboratory at PRI Rawalpindi has recently been accredited by the Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC).

“This prestigious accreditation reflects the laboratory’s commitment to international standards of quality, technical competence and excellence in diagnostic services,” he said.

According to Dr Farhan, the accreditation would strengthen avian disease diagnostics, AMR surveillance and quality-assured laboratory services for the poultry sector.

Representatives of the poultry farming community have meanwhile supported measures to contain antimicrobial resistance but called for a broader national biosecurity policy covering the use of antibiotics in humans, livestock and poultry.

Dr Abdul Karim Bhatti, former Punjab chairman of the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), said unrestricted access to antibiotics remains a major concern.

“Whether antibiotics are intended for human beings or poultry, they are being sold at medical stores like chocolates. There should be a ban on the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics of all types,” he told Wealth Pakistan.

Bhatti said strict implementation of such a policy would help reduce the misuse of antibiotics and contain antimicrobial resistance among both humans and animals, including poultry.

The experts stressed that stronger farm biosecurity, improved disease diagnosis, responsible antibiotic use and tighter controls on the availability of antimicrobial medicines would be important for reducing AMR risks while maintaining safe and sustainable poultry production.

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Pakistan’s salt exports, including Himalayan pink salt, have the potential to reach $200 million from the current level of around $80 million through stronger international marketing, branding and greater value addition, according to industry representatives.

Muhammad Ismail Suttar, Chairman of the Salt Manufacturers Association of Pakistan (SMAP), told Wealth Pakistan that the country exported around 250,000 tonnes of salt last year, while its annual export potential could reach as high as 800,000 tonnes.

Pakistan has more than 10 billion tonnes of salt reserves and produces approximately 4 million tonnes annually, providing a substantial resource base for expanding exports.

Suttar said the suspension of trade between India and Pakistan has helped prevent Pakistani salt from being marketed by India as its own commodity in international markets.

India, he said, is now procuring Pakistani pink salt through third countries such as Malaysia, mainly for domestic consumption.

“We also ensure that India does not sell pink salt in Western markets as its own product,” Suttar said.

Discussing the global salt market, he said annual production and consumption are broadly balanced at around 350 million tonnes.

Industries consume about 92% of salt produced globally, while the remaining 8% is used for food consumption, mostly as table salt, he said.

Within the industrial market, around 60% of salt is consumed by the chlor-alkali industry, which supplies inputs for a range of applications in the chemical, glass, paper, textile, water-treatment and construction industries.

The chlor-alkali sector primarily uses salt to produce caustic soda and soda ash, along with several by-products, including sodium hypochlorite. Associated industries include glass and PVC manufacturing.

“A similar pattern of salt consumption prevails in Pakistan, with most of the salt being consumed by four industrial units,” Suttar said.

He urged the government to accelerate efforts to secure Geographical Indication (GI) protection for Pakistani pink salt as Himalayan salt in international markets, saying it would help establish the product’s Pakistani origin and strengthen its global identity.

Suttar said salt is essentially a geographical product and is generally consumed relatively close to where it is produced because freight costs could exceed the value of the commodity.

“In Pakistan’s case, rock salt is consumed in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while lake and sea salt is used in Sindh and Balochistan,” he explained.

He welcomed the Punjab government’s Pink Salt Value Addition Financing Scheme, aimed at promoting local industrialisation, increasing value-added exports and capitalising on the province’s mineral resources.

Industry representatives believe greater processing within Pakistan could substantially increase the export value of the country’s salt resources instead of relying primarily on shipments of the raw commodity.

Saquib Naveed, Chief Executive Officer of Jhelum-based Anaya Salt Craft, said Pakistan should not view pink salt simply as a commodity.

“The real opportunity lies in moving from bulk raw salt towards value-added products such as edible salts, grinders, seasoning salts, bath salts, spa products, salt lamps, candle holders, salt tiles, slabs, animal salt licks and other salt crafts,” he said.

Naveed said salt mines are located in the districts of Jhelum, Khushab and Mianwali, while salt-related manufacturing and value-addition activities have developed in several other parts of Punjab and Sindh.

“Salt craft units can be found around Jhelum, Chakwal, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Karachi, depending on the type of product and manufacturing activity,” he said.

According to Naveed, Pakistan’s major markets for salt and salt-based products include Europe, North America and the Middle East, with demand covering both food and non-food value-added segments.

He said Pakistan has an opportunity to transform Himalayan pink salt into a much larger export industry, but achieving this requires a shift from exporting the mineral in bulk towards processing, manufacturing, branding and product innovation within the country.

Industry representatives said expanding value addition would allow Pakistan to capture a greater share of the final retail value of its salt rather than competing mainly as a supplier of a relatively low-value bulk commodity.

With substantial reserves and an established international identity for Himalayan pink salt, stronger branding, international marketing and domestic manufacturing could help Pakistan move towards the $200 million export potential identified by the industry.

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The 220kV Mirpur Khas and Zhob grid station projects are nearing completion, with physical progress reaching 98.98% and 88.90%, respectively, according to an official document available with Wealth Pakistan.

The two projects are part of the ADB-funded Power Transmission Enhancement Investment Program, Tranche-II, being implemented by the National Grid Company.

The 220kV Mirpur Khas grid station project is set to be completed on September 30, while the 220kV Zhob grid station is fast heading towards completion on October 30, 2026. The document identifies security issues in Balochistan as the reason for the delay in the Zhob component.

Progress on the SCADA-III upgrade also continues, with the project at 87% and expected to be completed by December 31, 2026.

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) recommended a revised PC-I of SCADA-III on December 11, 2025. The ECNEC approved the revised PC-I on January 15, 2026.

According to the document, an additional $28 million in financing from Tranche-IV is required for SCADA-III, with the related amendment approved by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on January 20, 2026.

Several major transmission-line components under the programme have already been completed. The 210.75 km D.I. Khan-Zhob transmission line project was completed on April 8, 2023, the 108km Guddu-Shikarpur project on June 3, 2023, the 92km Shikarpur-Uch transmission line on March 21, 2022, and the 115.2km Uch-Sibbi transmission line project, completed on February 28, 2022.

The ADB Loan (Tranche-II) 3577-PAK carries a total financing of $260 million. According to the document, $244.53 million has been utilised, leaving $15.47 million unutilised.

The loan was signed on March 20, 2018, became effective on April 4, 2018 and carries a closing date of August 23, 2026. Its scope includes construction of 220kV grid stations and transmission lines as well as the SCADA-III upgrade.

A separate concessional ADB facility, Loan No. 3420-PAK, totals $9.865 million, of which $7.135 million has been utilised and $2.742 million remains unutilised.

That facility supports consultancy services under the transmission programme, including the Facility Management Consultant (FMC) and individual consultants for environmental and social safeguards. Mercados Aries International has been hired as the Facility Management Consultant under an $8.55 million consultancy agreement signed on December 12, 2017.

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Pakistan has launched a new land and water-use planning project to support federal and provincial governments in protecting agricultural land from unplanned urban expansion, as national food demand is projected to rise by at least 50% by 2050.

The 2026-28 project, “Strengthening National Food Security through Integrated Land and Water Use Planning,” will be implemented jointly by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. FAO is funding the initiative at no cost to the government.

Talking to Wealth Pakistan, Project Manager, FAO Pakistan, Wakas Karim Awan said the initiative would help authorities identify where fertile agricultural land is being converted, understand the scale of the change and use that evidence to make better land-use decisions.

He said one of the main outcomes of the project would be a Digital National Land-Use Change Atlas, which would show how much farmland was converted to other uses between 2005 and 2025 and where these changes took place. It would also provide projections of how land use could change up to 2047 by continuing with business-as-usual.

The project will also prepare a model zoning framework to help identify which areas should be protected for agriculture and how land and water should be managed in an integrated manner. This framework will first be tested in three districts before it can be considered for wider use.

In response to a question, Awan said the pilot districts would be selected jointly with provincial governments through the Technical Working Group. Provincial governments will also help shape the zoning criteria and coordination arrangements.

The project aims to prevent the growing loss of productive farmland as cities expand and land is increasingly used for housing and other development projects. Uncoordinated urban growth, rising land prices, conversion of farmland on city outskirts, pressure on groundwater, and construction on natural drainage channels and floodplains are all putting food-producing areas under increasing strain.

Evidence from major cities shows how quickly urban expansion is encroaching on agricultural land. In Lahore, the built-up area more than doubled from 470 square kilometres in 2003 to 956 square kilometres in 2023, with about 325 square kilometres of the increase coming directly at the expense of farmland.

In Multan, the share of built-up land rose from 9% in 1993 to 32% in 2023, while the share of agricultural land declined from 76% to 66%. Rawalpindi recorded a 22.2% increase in built-up area between 1990 and 2020 and a rise of 3°C in land surface temperature.

Mr Awan said the project would treat land and water planning as connected issues. He said that the rate of decline in total water storage in the Indus Basin increased from -0.65 centimetres a year during 2002-15 to -2.16 centimetres a year during 2015-22, while more than 60% of Pakistan’s water is pumped from underground reservoirs.

The project will start by setting up a Technical Working Group and gathering the required data. During the first year, the focus will be on preparing the National Land-Use Change Atlas, reviewing how farmland changed between 2005 and 2025, and estimating how land use may change up to 2047. The zoning framework will then be tested in three districts, while consultations with provinces, training and wider policy discussions will continue into the second year.

The FAO Pakistan project manager said the project is designed to leave behind a practical framework for government institutions to continue using after the project period. The framework, once tested in three districts, could be integrated into decision-making and scaled up for land-use zoning at provincial and national levels, he added.

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Basmati rice and cotton yarn emerged as two of Pakistan’s strongest export performers in August 2026, with their rupee values jumping 67.02% and 46.42% year-on-year, respectively, as several major export categories recorded gains over the same month last year.

According to trade data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and available with Wealth Pakistan, Basmati rice exports were valued at Rs24.341 billion in August and increased 14.43% from July as well as 67.02% from August 2025.

Cotton yarn exports reached Rs26.140 billion, rising 41.33% month-on-month and 46.42% year-on-year. Meat and meat preparations also recorded a strong annual increase of 27.22%, with August exports valued at Rs13.087 billion, up 0.18% from July.

The gains came as Pakistan’s overall exports totalled $2.542 billion in August 2026, 5.22% higher than $2.416 billion in August 2025, although they were 13.86% lower than the $2.951 billion recorded in July. In rupee terms, exports stood at Rs705.892 billion, up 3.32% year-on-year but down 13.97% month-on-month.

Knitwear remained the largest export commodity at Rs130.691 billion. Its exports were 3.72% higher than in August 2025 despite declining 11.94% from July. Readymade garments followed at Rs101.903 billion, posting a 9.85% year-on-year increase while falling 20.32% month-on-month.

Bedwear exports were valued at Rs70.816 billion and declined 6.94% year-on-year and 17.43% from July. Cotton cloth, at Rs37.390 billion, fell 16.01% from a year earlier and 5.01% month-on-month.

Other rice exports stood at Rs28.953 billion, up 7.98% year-on-year despite a 15.72% monthly decline. Towels, valued at Rs23.537 billion, were down 2.34% year-on-year and 20.41% from July, while made-up articles excluding towels and bedwear reached Rs19.110 billion, rising 1.32% annually despite a 10.98% monthly fall.

The broader two-month export trend remained positive. Exports during July-August 2026 totalled $5.494 billion, an increase of 7.73% from $5.100 billion in the corresponding period last year. In rupee terms, exports rose 5.58% to Rs1.526 trillion from Rs1.446 trillion.

The data showed the same contrast in rupee and dollar terms: exports remained above their year-earlier level despite a sizeable fall from July. Several major commodities also displayed the same pattern, with annual gains accompanying month-on-month declines.

The August commodity figures therefore presented a mixed but notable export picture: Basmati rice, cotton yarn and meat preparations posted particularly strong annual gains, while readymade garments, knitwear, other rice and made-up articles also remained above their August 2025 levels.

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Major developed-market central banks are moving back towards interest rate increases or keeping borrowing costs elevated as renewed energy-price pressures from the prolonged Middle East conflict complicate the global fight against inflation.

The latest policy decisions mark a shift from the monetary easing that dominated much of 2025, with the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan raising rates in September, while policymakers at the Bank of England debated whether another increase was needed.

The US Federal Reserve on September 16 raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.0%, saying inflation remained elevated and uncertainty was high partly because of geopolitical developments. The increase followed three rate reductions in 2025 that had brought the range down to 3.50%–3.75% by December.

The policy reversal has coincided with renewed US price pressures. Consumer prices rose 3.4% year on year in August 2026, while the energy index jumped 16.3%. Gasoline prices were 27.4% higher than a year earlier and fuel oil prices surged 52%, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The European Central Bank has also returned to tightening. On September 10, it decided to increase all three key policy rates by 25 basis points, taking the deposit facility rate to 2.50%, the main refinancing rate to 2.65% and the marginal lending rate to 2.90%.

The ECB directly linked the decision to the Middle East conflict, saying it continued to generate inflationary pressure and that inflation was expected to remain well above its 2% target for an extended period. Its latest projections put headline inflation at 3.0% in 2026, 2.5% in 2027 and 2.1% in 2028.

Euro area inflation accelerated to 3.2% in August from 2.9% in July, compared with 2.0% a year earlier. Energy alone contributed 1.29 percentage points to the annual inflation rate, Eurostat data showed.

Japan added another leg to the tightening cycle on September 18. The Bank of Japan voted 7-2 to raise its overnight policy rate to around 1.25%, effective September 24, after increasing it to 1% in June.

The BOJ cited high crude oil prices, yen depreciation and rising inflation expectations among the pressures confronting the economy. It said higher crude prices stemming from developments in the Middle East were expected to push inflation higher, particularly through energy and goods prices, and indicated that it would continue adjusting rates if economic and inflation conditions warranted.

The Bank of England stopped short of raising rates, maintaining Bank Rate at 3.75%, but its September decision showed increased concern over inflation. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 to hold rates, with three members favouring an immediate 25-basis-point increase to 4%.

The bank said the prolonged Middle East conflict had contributed to further increases in crude and refined energy prices, while UK inflation climbed to 3.1% in August. It warned that the energy shock could keep inflation above target for longer and increase the risk of second-round effects on wages and prices.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, a treasury manager at EXIM Bank of Pakistan, who wished to remain anonymous, said the recent decisions showed central banks were becoming less willing to look through energy-driven inflation when there was a risk that higher prices could become embedded in the broader economy.

“Central banks are facing a difficult trade-off because energy inflation originates largely from supply conditions, but if it persists, it can influence broader prices, wages and inflation expectations. That increases the likelihood of monetary authorities maintaining restrictive rates for longer or responding with additional tightening,” the official said.

Tahir Ahmed, Manager Treasury Operations at Pak Oman Investment Company Ltd, said the renewed shift away from the easing cycle reflected an increasingly uncertain inflation outlook.

“Energy shocks can pass rapidly through transportation, production and consumer prices, while monetary policy operates with a lag. Central banks therefore have to judge whether the initial rise in energy prices will remain temporary or spread into underlying inflation. The recent policy decisions suggest that authorities are attaching greater weight to the second risk,” he said.

Oil prices have provided the immediate backdrop to the policy shift. The US Energy Information Administration said Brent crude averaged $91 a barrel in August, $7 higher than in July, as total Middle Eastern exports remained constrained.

The renewed tightening also has implications beyond the economies directly affected. Higher policy rates and bond yields in major developed markets can keep global financing conditions restrictive, increasing borrowing costs and affecting capital flows to emerging and developing economies.

The September decisions indicate that the anticipated path towards steadily lower global interest rates has been disrupted. While the four central banks are responding differently to their domestic conditions, the common challenge is the renewed inflationary pressure coming through energy markets.

With energy prices again feeding into headline inflation and geopolitical uncertainty remaining elevated, major central banks are signalling that containing renewed price pressures may take precedence over a return to monetary easing.

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Pakistan’s textile industry faces growing competitive pressure in the European Union as the EU-India Free Trade Agreement moves towards implementation, threatening to narrow Pakistan’s preferential tariff advantage in a market that absorbs a large share of its apparel and textile exports.

The risk is particularly significant because Pakistan’s exports to the EU are heavily concentrated in textiles and apparel, while India competes in many of the same product categories. Lower tariffs on Indian goods could influence European sourcing decisions and enable Indian exporters to compete more aggressively on price.

The EU absorbs 49.3% of Pakistan’s non-knitted apparel exports, 42.5% of its made-up textile exports and 40.5% of its knitted apparel exports, making any change in competitive conditions in the European market particularly important for the industry.

Pakistan currently retains a strong position in several European textile categories. It holds around 14% of the EU market for cotton products, compared with India’s 8.5%, and 10.9% of the market for made-up textile articles, against India’s 5.2%.

According to a brief by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), the EU-India FTA would provide preferential access for nearly 99.5% of Indian exports once ratified, eroding the tariff advantage of around 9% to 12% that Pakistan currently enjoys under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which provides duty-free access on approximately 66% of EU tariff lines.

The removal of tariffs on Indian products could therefore increase competitive pressure on Pakistani suppliers, with experts identifying apparel, home textiles, cotton yarn and fabrics among the higher-risk categories.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Dr Junaid Ahmed, chief of research at PIDE, said Pakistan’s vulnerabilities extended beyond the expected erosion of its tariff advantage.

He said India had stronger trade complementarity with major EU markets, including Italy, Spain, Greece and France, indicating that its export basket was more closely aligned with European demand. India also maintained a comparative advantage in man-made fibres, carpets and textile intermediates, while Pakistan remained concentrated in cotton-based textiles and apparel.

Ahmed said Pakistan also faced structural disadvantages in energy pricing, access to finance, trade facilitation, logistics and institutional effectiveness.

Pakistan’s electricity tariff stood at 13.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with 9.3 cents in India, while its policy interest rate was 10.5%, against India’s 5.25%, he added.

India also performed better in customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics competence, tracking and delivery timeliness. These advantages could enable Indian exporters to respond more efficiently to European demand once tariff barriers are removed.

Wajid Islam, Research Economist at PIDE, warned that even limited erosion of Pakistan’s European market share could create concentrated employment risks, as the textile and apparel sector supports around 15 million people and accounts for roughly 40% of industrial employment.

With the country’s GSP+ status due for review by year-end, uncertainty over the continuation of these preferences could place exporters under additional pressure as India moves towards treaty-based access, he told Wealth Pakistan.

Islam recommended improving energy efficiency, labour productivity, trade facilitation and logistics while investing in automation and compliance with EU sustainability, labour and product standards.

Pakistan also needed to diversify its export markets and move from low-value production towards design, branding and higher-value textile products, he said.

The experts stressed that Pakistan’s ability to preserve its textile position in the EU would depend on retaining preferential access while addressing domestic competitiveness constraints.

They said reducing production costs, improving productivity and logistics, increasing value addition and strengthening supply reliability would become increasingly important as Indian exporters gain stronger tariff and commercial access to European markets.

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The KfW-financed 220kV Gharo grid station project is steadily moving towards its September 2027 completion, with physical progress reaching 31.03%.

According to an official document available with Wealth Pakistan, the project has utilized €5.54 million out of €27 million in financing, equivalent to 20.5% of the available loan financing, while €21.46 million remains unutilized.

The project’s start date was September 11, 2025, and completion is scheduled for September 10, 2027. The loan was signed on July 27, 2020, and became effective on May 28, 2021. The closing date of the financing facility is December 31, 2027.

The document attributes the delay to multiple factors, including COVID-19, the absence of the bank's standard bidding documents for the approved Single Stage Two Envelope procurement process, which led to prolonged deliberations, and subsequent delay by the consultant in preparing the bidding documents.

The 500kV Chakwal grid station, backed by a €43.76 million KfW loan, is also making progress.

The NGC board has approved the financial bid evaluation report for hiring the project implementation consultant through the KfW's tender agent and authorised the process to proceed towards pre-award negotiations with the successful bidder.

As part of the procurement process, the tender agent, the relevant NGC team, and the successful bidder held a pre-award meeting on July 22, 2026.

Preparatory works at Chakwal have also advanced. A total of 89 acres required for construction of the grid station have been acquired, and the boundary wall has been completed.

For the associated transmission line, the detailed survey and soil investigation have been completed, while the plan and profile and sub-soil investigation report have been approved.

Overall progress on the project stands at 5%. The financing was signed on December 19, 2022, and became effective on March 14, 2024, with the loan scheduled to close on December 30, 2027. The document shows €3.35 million has so far been utilised from the €43.76 million financing.

The latest progress on the Gharo and Chakwal schemes shows movement across both construction and preparatory stages, as NGC advances new high-voltage grid infrastructure with support from German development.

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Pakistan’s developing olive industry could contribute Rs7.6 billion annually to the national economy 10 years after completion of a project covering 33,000 acres, as the country builds a farm-to-fork value chain spanning cultivation, processing, quality control and value addition.

According to documents of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research available with Wealth Pakistan, economic modelling suggests the sector could generate this annual contribution while continuing to generate benefits for the national economy through sustained quality standards and farm-to-fork practices.

Pakistan has more than 4 million hectares of potential olive plantation area, along with millions of wild olive trees. The country has developed defined olive-growing clusters across different zones and approved 22 olive varieties for cultivation.

Initially dependent on sapling imports from Mediterranean countries, Pakistan has successfully shifted to domestic propagation of olive plants since 2022, helping save foreign exchange through public-private partnerships and targeted capacity building.

Under federal, provincial and international development programmes, more than 7.5 million olive trees have been planted nationwide over around 60,400 acres. Of these, 66%, or 5 million trees, have been planted under the PSDP Olive Project, covering 60 districts and engaging 12,000 olive farmers.

Another 6,594 acres of olive groves have been equipped with water-saving irrigation systems to improve water-use efficiency.

To strengthen post-harvest processing, 51 olive oil extraction units have been installed across Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. These include 15 extraction units established under the PSDP project, while others have been funded by provincial governments, the World Bank, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, TIKA and other agencies.

Supporting infrastructure includes six fruit-processing units, 500 pre- and post-harvest kits, 14 DS nursery tunnels, five weather stations and four laboratories equipped for olive oil quality analysis.

Human resource development has also formed a major part of the programme. A total of 276 capacity-building programmes covering orchard and nursery management, post-harvest handling, Good Agricultural Practices, Good Manufacturing Practices, oil extraction and value addition have benefited 17,986 stakeholders nationwide.

The sector has also expanded into entrepreneurship and value-added production. Pakistan now has more than 100 olive-sector entrepreneurs, up from only a handful initially, producing olive oil and value-added products including pickles, jams, cosmetics, soaps and nutraceuticals, each under its own brand.

The documents said maintaining quality standards to enable future exports remains a major focus. Pakistan has already received international recognition for quality through the award-winning “LO-Loralai Olives.”

The national olive cultivation programme, spearheaded by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, has been running for a decade and has helped turn barren lands into productive orchards while developing a more resilient and sustainable olive ecosystem.

FAOSTAT data cited in the documents show a promising trend, with olive oil imports declining significantly while exports have increased over the same period.

Beyond its economic potential, the documents identify carbon sequestration, climate resilience and improved public health, which could help reduce future healthcare expenditures, among the wider benefits of olive-sector development.

Pakistan has also been granted permanent status in the International Olive Council. A national olive policy and action plan has been formulated, while the Olive Policy has been approved by the cabinet and officially launched by the Prime Minister.

The policy provides a framework for sustainable growth and regulation of the industry, with emphasis on increasing agricultural productivity, promoting value addition and reducing dependence on imported edible oils.

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Environmental compliance efforts gained momentum in Islamabad in 2025 as the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) issued 130 notices, a five-year high, conducted 120 enforcement visits and intensified action across industrial, construction, healthcare and plastics sectors.

According to documents of the Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination available with Wealth Pakistan, the agency also issued 28 Environmental Protection Orders (EPOs) during 2025. Over the five years from 2021 to 2025, Pak-EPA carried out a total of 591 enforcement visits, issued 526 notices and served 149 EPOs.

A steadily rising budget has backed the regulatory push. Pak-EPA’s regular allocation has increased from Rs70 million in 2022-23 to Rs132 million in 2026-27. The latest budget includes Rs77 million for salaries and establishment-related expenditure and Rs55 million for operational spending.

Industrial compliance remained a key focus. In September 2025, Pak-EPA inspected 10 industrial units in Humak Industrial Area, Islamabad, and found that none had obtained the mandatory environmental approval required under Section 12. The agency subsequently issued notices requiring personal hearings under Section 16.

The agency also took action against polluting brick kilns. It monitored emissions and compliance with environmental standards through inspections, legal notices and Environmental Protection Orders, while three kilns in Islamabad were demolished in November and December 2025 in coordination with the Capital Development Authority and Islamabad Capital Territory Administration.

Pak-EPA also continued enforcement of the Single-Use Plastics (Prohibition) Regulations, 2023 through inspections, confiscations, warnings and fines. In January 2026, an operation in Ghauri Town led to the confiscation of approximately 100 kilogrammes of prohibited single-use plastic items.

The healthcare sector also remained under regulatory scrutiny. During 2024-25, 97 healthcare facilities were covered in 89 inspections and site visits, while eight EPOs were issued for non-compliance. Legal proceedings were also ongoing against 24 high-rise buildings under environmental assessment and post-approval monitoring requirements.

The agency’s enforcement work is supported by its Central Laboratory for Environmental Analysis & Networking (CLEAN) in Islamabad. The laboratory is equipped to analyse pollutants in air, water and soil and can also conduct field measurements using portable equipment for compliance with National Environmental Quality Standards.

CLEAN also analyses municipal and industrial effluent, investigates pollutants affecting public health, develops testing procedures for National Environmental Quality Standards parameters and provides research facilities to universities and institutions. It also offers internships to university students in the environmental field.

Pak-EPA currently has 71 sanctioned posts, of which 50 are filled and 21 vacant. The documents say vacancies are concentrated in selected professional, technical and field positions, while a number of posts are at different stages of recruitment through the Federal Public Service Commission.

Under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, Pak-EPA serves as the federal environmental regulatory and enforcement agency within its prescribed jurisdiction, with responsibilities covering pollution control, environmental standards, environmental assessments, research and environmental protection.

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Pakistan has finalised a climate cooperation framework with South Korea, while a proposed carbon-market agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is under consideration, and the country has also shown interest in joining Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism.

According to a document available with Wealth Pakistan, another carbon fund, identified as NOGER, has also shown interest in Pakistani projects as the country pursues bilateral arrangements for carbon trading under the Paris Agreement.

The document said a Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Climate Change with South Korea, including voluntary cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, has been finalised and will be signed soon.

A bilateral agreement with KSA under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement is also undergoing inter-ministerial consultation.

The document said Pakistan has also shown interest, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in joining Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism.

Pakistan has already signed an agreement with Norway for engagement under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. The agreement was signed in April 2026 and provides for an avenue for transferring high-quality emission reductions from Pakistani projects to Norwegian buyers.

A Norwegian fund, the Norwegian Article 6 Climate Action (NACA) Fund, has initially shortlisted seven Article 6 projects from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination pipeline, and is currently evaluating them.

Pakistan Policy Guidelines for Trading in Carbon Markets, 2024, are already in place, providing a regulatory framework for participation in international carbon-trading mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Detailed rules building on the policy guidelines are being finalised in consultation with the provinces to clarify procedures and requirements and remove administrative discretion in the processing of cases. The document said the final version of the Carbon Market Rules has been sent to the Law Division for vetting.

The absence of rules does not, however, hinder carbon-credit projects, as the ministry is issuing Letters of Intent and considering authorisation cases under Pakistan Policy Guidelines for Trading in Carbon Markets, 2024.

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Pakistan’s elderly population is projected to rise more than 2.5-fold by 2050, creating growing pressure on healthcare and income-support systems while opening opportunities for professional care services, skilled employment and a wider “silver economy”, health and development experts say.

The latest National and Provincial Level Population Projections 2023–2050, released by the National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS), project Pakistan’s population aged 65 and above to increase from 8.6 million in 2023 to 22.6 million by 2050.

The report says the increase signals the need for greater investment in elder care and social protection and calls for forward-looking policies covering healthcare, social protection and inclusive labour markets.

The demographic shift means Pakistan will have to prepare its health and social-protection systems for a substantially larger elderly population while developing ways to keep older citizens economically and socially engaged.

The implications are already visible in formal old-age protection. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26, the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) had 322,751 active old-age pensioners during July-March FY2026 and disbursed Rs31.54 billion in old-age pensions during the period.

Experts say preparations need to begin well before demand for healthcare, long-term care and income security becomes substantially larger.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), said Pakistan should increasingly approach the issue as “ageing for development” rather than viewing older people only as welfare recipients.

He said today’s young population would eventually grow older with decades of accumulated knowledge and experience, making it important to develop systems through which senior citizens could continue contributing to economic and social development.

Development policy, he said, needed to become more inclusive across age groups so Pakistan could benefit from the experience of older citizens while preparing its institutions for the demographic transition.

Healthcare will be a central part of that preparation. Pakistan has already established a National Technical Working Group on Healthy Ageing under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, which has been working on a policy framework and stronger health-system responses for older people.

Syed Moeez Ud Din Kakakhel, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Ageing and Inclusive Development (FAID), told Wealth Pakistan that Pakistan needed to strengthen geriatric expertise, expand home-based care and develop professional training for people providing elderly-care services.

He said the demographic shift should also be viewed as an economic opportunity rather than solely as a future fiscal burden.

Growing demand for home-based care, assistive technologies, specialised healthcare, financial products and wellness services could support the development of a domestic silver economy while creating employment and business opportunities for younger workers.

Kakakhel said Pakistan could train nurses, home-based workers and other professional care providers while encouraging young people to establish care-related businesses and enterprises. Such capacity would help meet rising domestic demand as the population ages.

Dr Kemal Aydin, gerontologist and President of the Ibn Sina Institute and the World Ageing Organization, told Wealth Pakistan that the care economy could also create international employment opportunities for Pakistan.

He said ageing societies in Europe and elsewhere increasingly required trained caregivers and health professionals, giving Pakistan an opportunity to develop skills in nursing, physiotherapy, psychology, social work, nutrition, home healthcare and specialised elderly-care management.

A properly trained workforce, he said, could serve Pakistan’s growing domestic care requirements while also responding to international demand for skilled elderly-care professionals.

Aydin also advocated greater use of hospital-at-home and community-based care, under which older patients who do not require prolonged hospitalisation could receive professional support while remaining within familiar family and community settings.

He said Pakistan should strengthen geriatric education and consider developing centres linked to universities and teaching hospitals that combine healthcare, professional training, research and community-care services.

Pakistan’s ageing transition therefore presents both a health-system challenge and an economic-policy opportunity. The projected increase in the elderly population will raise demand for healthcare, long-term care and income security, while early investment in geriatric training, community-based services and a professional care workforce could create new jobs and businesses.

Experts say preparing now could allow Pakistan to build a care economy capable of supporting a rapidly growing elderly population while turning demographic change into opportunities for employment, skills development and new economic activity.

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The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is set to revamp its existing disaster management arrangements and introduce a tested emergency notification and incident-command mechanism, according to an official document available with Wealth Pakistan.

The development comes as the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination has recommended strengthening PIMS's safety and emergency-response arrangements.

According to the document, PIMS has constituted a committee to review the existing disaster management plan (DMP) and develop arrangements under specified terms of reference.

A key proposed measure is establishing a tested emergency notification and incident-command protocol under which fire detection would trigger simultaneous internal alarms, mobilisation of designated responders, and direct notification to CES/Rescue 1122.

The proposed mechanism is intended to reduce dependence on informal communication through multiple administrative layers and ensure that the relevant emergency response is activated without delay.

PIMS has also forwarded the corrective measures to senior officials for implementation. The plan forms part of a broader institutional effort to improve preparedness and strengthen coordinated responses to emergencies across the hospital's various facilities.

The institute is also considering comprehensive fire & life safety and electrical audits, particularly in high-risk clinical areas, including NICUs, nurseries, ICUs and operating theatres.

PIMS has also constituted internal fire audit committees for several major facilities, including the Islamabad Hospital and Cardiac Centre, Children's Hospital, MCH/JICA Extension, BCC & FBCSC and CMT/SON/CON.

The document says that there are plans for monthly fire-safety training and evacuation drills for staff, with fire-training instructors tasked with imparting firefighting and fire-safety training.

These measures aim to create a more structured, tested and coordinated emergency-response framework at PIMS, with particular emphasis on early notification, rapid mobilisation and coordination with external emergency responders.

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The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) plans to construct a multipurpose sports complex/courts along with two padel courts in Faisalabad under a PSDP-funded project costing Rs25.347 million.

According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the project titled “Construction of Multipurpose Sports Complex/Courts and Two Padel Courts at Faisalabad” was approved during FY2025-26.

The project forms part of efforts to strengthen sports infrastructure by providing additional facilities for athletes and sports activities in Faisalabad.

The PSB has already initiated the procurement process and published the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) in newspapers on January 6, 2026.

The tender was subsequently uploaded on the e-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System (EPADS) on January 22, 2026, and on the websites of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and the Pakistan Sports Board.

Through a subsequent corrigendum, the deadline for bid submission and opening was extended to February 2, 2026.

The procurement process has since moved into the technical evaluation stage. The PSB uploaded the Technical Evaluation Report on EPADS on June 2, 2026.

The development and procurement process being undertaken by the Board for the sports facilities has now been brought up for discussion.

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The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has deployed 25 Mobile Registration Vans (MRVs) to register eligible citizens on the doorstep in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

According to a document available with Wealth Pakistan, the MRVs have been deployed to improve coverage of vulnerable populations across the country. Sixteen MRVs have been deployed in Balochistan, five in Sindh, three in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one in Islamabad.

The BISP transformed beneficiary registration into a continuous process in February 2023 through the Dynamic NSER system, replacing periodic nationwide surveys with ongoing data updates through 647 Dynamic Registration Centres (DRCs) established at tehsil level.

The National Socio-Economic Registry database currently contains socio-economic data of over 38.7 million households nationwide, serving as a key mechanism for identifying and targeting beneficiaries under the BISP’s social protection programmes.

The mobile registration initiative is designed to strengthen outreach by bringing registration services closer to citizens and ensuring that eligible households in remote regions can update their information and access programme facilities.

The number of new beneficiaries registered under BISP since 2024 has also been compiled, with detailed figures provided in official annexures.

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China’s “Greater BRICS” initiatives have opened new avenues that Pakistan could explore for cooperation in technology, industrial development, investment, skills and emerging markets, with experts calling for relevant opportunities to be linked with CPEC 2.0.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presented five initiatives at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, covering open-source and inclusive artificial intelligence, trade and investment facilitation, digital industries, intelligent manufacturing, and science and technology talent development.

The proposals include a BRICS AI open-source community, cooperation among special economic zones, a digital ecosystem cloud platform, support for smart factories, an engineer cultivation alliance and a youth exchange programme for technological innovation.

Experts say these mechanisms could reinforce CPEC 2.0 by supporting technology transfer, industrial production, export diversification and workforce development in Pakistan.

Although Pakistan is not a BRICS member, experts say its strategic partnership with China provides scope to explore participation by Pakistani universities, technology companies, industrial institutions and special economic zones in relevant cooperation mechanisms and wider Global South networks.

Experts note that Pakistan can maximize the benefits of the Greater BRICS initiatives only be translating engagement into practical technology partnerships, competitive industrial production, skilled employment, diversified exports and stronger integration with Global South markets.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Haris Bilal Malik, Research Fellow at the China-Pakistan Study Centre of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, said the initiatives covered areas in which Pakistan urgently needed to upgrade its economy: technology, industrial productivity, investment, skills and export diversification.

Malik identified technology, industrialisation and market diversification as the three most immediate opportunities.

He said Pakistan should seek early engagement with the proposed AI community, digital ecosystem and technology-training programmes, with the aim of connecting its universities, start-ups and IT companies with wider international technology networks.

The proposed engineer cultivation alliance and youth exchanges were particularly relevant to Pakistan because of its large young population, he said. Participation, however, should be linked with skills demanded by emerging industries rather than being limited to general academic exchanges.

On industrial cooperation, Malik said the proposed special economic zone partnership and smart-manufacturing programmes could reinforce CPEC 2.0, which places greater emphasis on industrial development.

“Pakistan should seek to connect its special economic zones with Chinese companies and wider BRICS supply chains, with the objective of technology transfer, local production and exports — not simply attracting investment,” he said.

Malik said Greater BRICS cooperation could also support Pakistan’s efforts to diversify exports towards emerging markets.

He noted that Pakistan’s exports to China reached $2.136 billion during the first seven months of 2026, representing year-on-year growth of 45.9%.

The second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement provided a foundation for further expansion, he said. China granted immediate tariff elimination to 313 priority product lines under the agreement, creating additional market-access opportunities for Pakistani exporters.

However, Malik stressed that market access alone would not be enough to increase exports.

Pakistan would need predictable regulations, efficient customs procedures, reliable energy supplies, improved logistics, stronger investment protection and a more secure business environment to attract production-oriented investment and translate market access into sustained exports, he said.

Nabila Jaffer, Senior Research Analyst and Head of the China Programme at the Institute of Regional Studies Islamabad, said Greater BRICS sought to give stronger representation to the interests and development priorities of the Global South.

She said the initiatives could provide Pakistan with opportunities to deepen engagement with BRICS countries and pursue cooperation in sectors corresponding to its development requirements.

“With youth making up 60% of its population, alongside its ongoing modernisation efforts through CPEC, Pakistan has the potential to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, innovation, supply-chain integration, smart industries and talent exchanges,” she said.

Jaffer said Pakistan should clearly identify the economic, technological and strategic strengths it could contribute and communicate them effectively to China and other BRICS members.

Relevant government institutions, research organisations, universities and industry bodies should establish sustained engagement with emerging cooperation mechanisms, she added.

She also called for a coordinated strategy presenting Pakistan as a significant Global South economy with a large market, young population, untapped resources and access to regional trade routes.

Pakistan should connect Greater BRICS engagement with CPEC 2.0 and position its industrial clusters, special economic zones and Gwadar as platforms for investment, production and regional connectivity, she said.

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Pakistan’s cotton arrivals increased 19.17% year-on-year to 2.389 million bales by September 15, 2026, with both Punjab and Sindh recording higher arrivals compared with the corresponding period last year.

Arrivals reached 2,388,682 bales, compared with 2,004,384 bales by the same date last year, according to the Pakistan Cotton Ginners’ Association (PCGA) consolidated statement available with Wealth Pakistan.

The statement, dated September 18, said the data was collected in collaboration with the PCGA and Karachi Cotton Association.

Nationally, 2,207,183 bales had been pressed, while total sales reached 2,127,893 bales. Textile mills purchased 2,035,093 bales, up from 1,652,204 bales during the corresponding period last year, while exporters and traders bought 92,800 bales.

Punjab recorded 860,942 bales, up 170,688 bales, or 24.73%, from 690,254 bales last year. The province pressed 788,261 bales and sold 748,177 bales, including 745,377 bales to textile mills and 2,800 bales to exporters and traders.

Sindh remained ahead in absolute arrivals at 1,527,740 bales, an increase of 213,610 bales, or 16.25%, from 1,314,130 bales a year earlier. The province pressed 1,418,922 bales and sold 1,379,716 bales, including 1,289,716 bales to textile mills and 90,000 bales to exporters and traders.

Sanghar remained the country's leading cotton-arrival district, receiving 888,607 bales, up 109,657 bales, or 14.08%, from 778,950 bales last year.

In Punjab, Bahawalnagar recorded the highest arrivals at 166,400 bales, up 91.87%, while Dera Ghazi Khan received 146,415 bales, an increase of 55.64%. Bahawalpur arrivals nearly doubled, rising 96.11% to 125,253 bales.

Strong percentage increases were also recorded in several other districts. Lodhran arrivals rose 166.21% to 15,174 bales, Layyah 106.20% to 76,778 bales, Khairpur 104.58% to 85,473 bales, and Dadu 150% to 4,000 bales.

The statement puts total unsold stock at 260,789 bales, down from 325,780 bales last year. The current season's fortnightly flow stood at 692,231 bales, compared with 668,752 bales last year.

A total of 412 ginning factories were operating, comprising 205 in Punjab and 207 in Sindh.

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The US bond market  faces renewed pressure as investors brace for a possible Federal Reserve interest-rate hike while federal debt exceeding $40 trillion and heavy Treasury financing requirements keep longer-term borrowing costs elevated.

The pressure has intensified ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s September 15-16 meeting, as expectations for monetary tightening harden following hotter inflation readings and resurgent energy-price pressures. Major Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, now expect the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points at the meeting.

The Fed has kept its target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50-3.75% since the beginning of the year. At its July meeting, however, three policymakers dissented in favour of a 25-basis-point increase, signalling growing concern within the central bank over persistent inflation.

Those concerns have been reinforced by the latest inflation data. The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% in August after rising 0.1% in July, while headline inflation stood at 3.4% year-on-year. Core prices, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% during the month and 2.4% from a year earlier.

Bond markets have responded sharply. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield moved above 5% on Tuesday, reaching its highest level since 2007 as rising oil prices, inflation concerns and expectations for tighter monetary policy intensified pressure on government bonds.

The pressure extends beyond expectations about the Fed’s short-term policy rate. Longer-dated Treasury yields also reflect investor concerns over inflation, fiscal deficits and the growing supply of government debt.

The rise in yields is occurring against an increasingly challenging fiscal backdrop. US total public debt crossed $40 trillion for the first time in August, adding to concerns over the volume of government securities investors that will have to absorb. The combination of large fiscal deficits, heavy government and corporate issuance and the $40 trillion debt milestone has contributed to pressure at the longer end of the Treasury market.

Treasury financing requirements also remain substantial. The US Treasury expects to borrow $739 billion in privately held net marketable debt during the July-September quarter, followed by another $628 billion during October-December.

Mustafa O. Pasha, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at Lakson Investments, said the pressure on US Treasuries reflected the interaction of monetary and fiscal risks rather than interest-rate expectations alone.

“The market is having to absorb the prospect of tighter monetary policy at the same time as very large fiscal deficits and debt issuance keep adding to Treasury supply. When inflation uncertainty remains elevated, investors naturally demand greater compensation for holding longer-duration government securities, which translates into higher long-term yields,” he said.

Pasha said the implications extended well beyond the United States because Treasury securities serve as the benchmark for global risk-free interest rates.

“When US Treasury yields move higher, the repricing travels across global financial markets. Emerging-market sovereigns and companies generally have to offer a premium over those rates, so an increase in the underlying US benchmark can raise financing costs even if their own domestic fundamentals have not changed materially,” he added.

Treasury has already taken steps to support market liquidity at longer maturities. From September 9, it increased the maximum size of liquidity-support buybacks for securities in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation.

The measure is intended to improve liquidity in longer-dated securities rather than alter the underlying fiscal position. The persistence of elevated yields indicates that investors are weighing broader concerns surrounding inflation, government borrowing and the future supply of Treasury debt.

For Pakistan and other emerging economies, the increase in US yields matters because Treasury securities provide the benchmark over which sovereign-risk premiums are added when governments borrow internationally.

Dr S. M. Naeem Nawaz, economics professor at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and former Fiscal Director at the Finance Division, said persistently higher US yields could complicate efforts by emerging economies to return to commercial international borrowing.

“For Pakistan, the relevant issue is not simply what happens to the Federal Reserve’s policy rate. The 10-year US Treasury yield is an important international benchmark, and when that benchmark rises, countries such as Pakistan face a higher starting point for external commercial borrowing before their sovereign-risk premium is even added,” he said.

Nawaz said this made the timing and structure of any return to international capital markets increasingly important.

The immediate focus is on the Federal Reserve’s September 16 policy announcement and updated economic projections. The meeting will include a fresh Summary of Economic Projections, giving investors new guidance on policymakers’ expectations for inflation, economic growth and the future path of interest rates.

But the pressure on the bond market extends beyond a single Fed decision. With inflation remaining above target, federal debt exceeding $40 trillion and Treasury financing requirements running into hundreds of billions of dollars each quarter, investors are increasingly weighing both the direction of monetary policy and the compensation required to hold an expanding supply of long-duration US government debt.

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A fresh warning from G20 finance leaders over rising global borrowing costs has put Pakistan’s refinancing risks in focus, as higher international yields threaten to raise the cost of future external borrowing despite an improving reserve position and continued IMF support.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned at the latest G20 finance leaders’ meeting that rising bond yields and public debt in advanced economies could undermine debt stability in developing countries.

For Pakistan, the warning is particularly relevant because the country continues to rely on bilateral rollovers, official financing and periodic access to international capital markets to manage its external obligations.

Former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan Dr Ishrat Husain told Wealth Pakistan that Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities had reached $139 billion, while several indicators of debt-servicing capacity had deteriorated.

He noted that external debt servicing had risen from 1.7% to 4% of GDP and from 18% to 44% of exports of goods and services, indicating that a growing share of the country’s economic output and export earnings was being absorbed by external repayments.

Higher global yields increase the benchmark cost of issuing Eurobonds and Sukuk, while stronger returns in advanced economies can weaken investor appetite for riskier assets. For Pakistan, this could make international market financing more expensive and increase reliance on official creditors and foreign-exchange reserves.

Pakistan has a financing cushion through its ongoing $7 billion IMF programme and an improved reserve position. In May 2026, the IMF approved access to approximately $1.32 billion, comprising about $1.1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility and $220 million under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

However, IMF support does not eliminate the underlying risks associated with Pakistan’s reliance on bilateral rollovers, official financing and periodic access to international bond markets. Any significant increase in the energy import bill could further constrain reserves available for meeting external obligations.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Maryam Ayub, Research Economist at the Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME), said higher global borrowing costs could affect Pakistan through several interconnected channels.

“Pakistan continues to rely on foreign rollovers and periodic access to international capital markets. Higher global benchmark yields increase the cost of issuing Eurobonds and Sukuk, while any increase in Pakistan’s sovereign-risk premium compounds that cost,” she said.

Ayub explained that expensive or restricted market financing could force Pakistan to depend more heavily on foreign-exchange reserves and official creditors to meet its external obligations.

That option would become more difficult if rising fuel and energy imports placed additional pressure on external liquidity, she said.

Higher returns in advanced economies could also reduce the relative attractiveness of Pakistani assets and create further pressure on the rupee.

As most of Pakistan’s external debt is denominated in foreign currencies, rupee depreciation increases its domestic-currency servicing cost even when the foreign-currency value of the debt remains unchanged, Ayub explained.

“Pakistan’s IMF programme and improved reserve position provide some protection, but they do not eliminate the underlying vulnerability,” she said.

“Sustained fiscal discipline, stronger exports and greater domestic resource mobilisation are needed to reduce reliance on increasingly expensive external financing,” she added.

Husain said Pakistan should lower its interest and refinancing costs by prioritising concessional financing and extending debt maturities.

He also called for faster growth in exports, investment, productivity and foreign-exchange earnings, alongside lower current-account deficits, to improve the country’s capacity to absorb external shocks.

The G20’s efforts to improve coordination among official creditors and strengthen its Common Framework could support countries already facing severe debt distress, Husain told Wealth Pakistan.

Pakistan’s immediate priority, however, should be to avoid reaching the stage where formal restructuring becomes necessary by managing maturities and arranging predictable financing well in advance, he said.

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The government is advancing 15 Universal Service Fund (USF) 4G access projects to extend internet connectivity to more than 3.65 million people across 21 districts, with a total contracted subsidy of over Rs14 billion.

Official project data available with Wealth Pakistan show that the ongoing connectivity programme will cover 1,893 mauzas with a combined target population of 3,656,923. The total contracted subsidy for the 15 projects stands at Rs14.007 billion, with Jazz, Ufone and Zong undertaking the network expansion in different underserved areas.

The projects span districts across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, demonstrating a commitment to expanding high-speed mobile broadband access beyond Pakistan’s major urban centres.

The Kurram project has reached 75% completion. Implemented by Jazz, it targets 40 mauzas and 251,980 people, with a contracted subsidy of Rs92.25 million.

Five projects have reached 50% completion. These include the Pishin, Chiniot, Abbottabad and Badin projects being implemented by Jazz, and the Kohat project being executed by Ufone.

The Pishin project is one of the largest in terms of geographical coverage, targeting 306 mauzas in Pishin, Killa Abdullah and Quetta. It is designed to provide connectivity to a population of 574,545 at a contracted subsidy of Rs1.32 billion.

The Chiniot project covers 117 mauzas and 333,267 people, while the Abbottabad project targets 61 mauzas and 157,473 people. In Badin, the programme covers 144 mauzas and targets 432,666 people.

The Kohat project, which includes Frontier Region Kohat, is now 50% complete and will benefit 24 mauzas and 41,404 people.

Two Ufone projects, Umar Kot and Khuzdar, have reached 25% completion. The Umar Kot project covers 142 mauzas and 243,695 people with a subsidy of Rs914.61 million. The Khuzdar project, involving the largest subsidy among the 15 schemes at approximately Rs2.945 billion, targets 144 mauzas and 75,637 people.

Work is also in progress on seven other projects covering Small Lot P-15, Gujranwala, Muzaffargarh, Mansehra, Haripur, Rajanpur and Sujawal.

The Small Lot P-15 project covers areas in Bahawalnagar, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura and Hafizabad, while the Gujranwala project also extends to Mandi Bahauddin.

Among the projects currently under implementation, Muzaffargarh has the largest target population at 498,927, covering 138 mauzas. Rajanpur will cover 215 mauzas and 301,512 people, while Sujawal will connect 144 mauzas with a target population of 246,759.

Jazz is implementing nine of the 15 projects, Ufone five and Zong one. The programme will substantially expand 4G services’ reach across underserved and less-connected communities, bringing millions more people within the country's digital connectivity network.

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Pakistan faces the risk of a double labour-market shock if the prolonged Middle East conflict prevents hundreds of thousands of new workers from migrating while forcing existing Pakistani workers to return home, according to economists.

They highlighted the need to diversify overseas employment destinations and expand job creation at home.

A study by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) estimates that the Middle East receives around 0.7-0.8 million Pakistani workers annually and accounts for about 54% of Pakistan’s total remittances. Around six million Pakistanis are currently working in the region.

The study estimates that if the conflict persists, around half a million Pakistani workers would be unable to migrate this year, while more than half a million existing workers would potentially return. Together, the two developments could add substantial pressure to Pakistan’s domestic labour supply.

The potential shock is particularly significant because overseas migration has historically provided an important outlet for Pakistan’s growing workforce. Between 2010 and 2024, around eight million Pakistani workers were placed in the Middle East, equivalent to nearly one-third of the 25.9 million new entrants to the labour market during the period.

Talking to Wealth Pakistan, PIDE Professor of Economics Dr Nasir Iqbal said the potential return of workers, combined with a reduction in new migration, would put short-term pressure on Pakistan’s labour market.

“The current wave of deportations and blocked migration should be read as a normal adjustment given the regional conflict, not a structural collapse of the Gulf corridor,” he said.

“Absorbing half a million returning workers alongside another half a million unable to migrate will strain the domestic labour market in the short run and informal employment will likely rise and wages in low-skill segments will face downward pressure, since the formal economy cannot create jobs at that pace or speed,” Iqbal added.

He said some increase in underemployment could be unavoidable without active labour-market interventions, although the disruption did not necessarily have to develop into a prolonged unemployment crisis.

Associate Professor at the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Dr Attiqur Rehman said Pakistani workers could face greater employment difficulties if the Gulf crisis persisted and new migration slowed significantly.

However, he cautioned against assuming that the Gulf labour market was already undergoing a major contraction.

“It has been six or seven months since this conflict began, and the expectation was that it might have a significant impact on employment there, particularly for Pakistani workers. But that has not happened,” Rehman said.

He attributed the relatively limited employment impact partly to policy responses by Gulf governments, saying measures taken during periods of pressure had helped keep economic activity functioning.

According to Rehman, some Pakistanis had faced travel restrictions and visa-related obstacles, but the overall impact on employment had so far remained limited.

The current situation, therefore, does not necessarily represent a collapse of the Gulf employment corridor. Economists said it nevertheless exposed the risks associated with Pakistan’s heavy dependence on a limited number of overseas labour markets.

Rehman said Pakistan should identify alternative destinations where demographic changes and ageing populations were creating demand for foreign workers.

“We should not depend on a single destination; rather, we should have multiple options where our young people can go if needed,” he said.

Iqbal said Pakistan should also prepare for employment opportunities that could emerge in Gulf Cooperation Council economies once the conflict subsides.

“The more important question is forward-looking: GCC economies will need substantial labour for post-conflict reconstruction and continued diversification once the conflict eases,” he said.

Pakistan should therefore align its labour-export strategy with the skills Gulf economies are expected to require rather than simply seeking to restore previous migration volumes, he added.

Iqbal called for fast-tracked skills matching and certification programmes for returning workers, reintegration and social-protection measures, and deeper coordination with Gulf labour ministries to position Pakistani workers for future reconstruction-related employment.

Rehman stressed that diversification of overseas employment destinations would address only part of the challenge.

“No matter how many people go abroad, Pakistan will not develop in a sustainable way unless we create opportunities here at home,” he said.

He called for greater access to finance for young Pakistanis seeking to establish businesses, small industries and technology-based enterprises, including freelancing operations capable of earning income from international markets.

Rehman warned that Pakistan currently had limited capacity to accommodate a sudden influx of returning workers.

“At present, our situation is that if even 100,000 people return from the Gulf, we do not have the capacity to absorb them,” he said.

The economic implications would extend beyond employment. The PIDE study estimates that a prolonged conflict could reduce Pakistan’s remittance inflows by around $3 billion to $4 billion annually, potentially adding pressure to the external account.

For Pakistan, economists say, the challenge is therefore not simply protecting existing Gulf employment. It is to diversify overseas labour markets, prepare workers for future demand in Gulf economies and expand domestic employment opportunities so that disruptions to migration do not translate into a broader labour-market shock.

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Hyderabad Electric Supply Company’s (HESCO’s) Electricity Distribution Efficiency Improvement Project has recorded actual disbursement of $10.09 million, equivalent to Rs2.817 billion, as of August 2026, marking further financial progress in the power distribution improvement programme.

The project’s cumulative expenditure has reached $10.06 million, or Rs2.810 billion, according to the latest expenditure and disbursement statement available with Wealth Pakistan.

The document reports financial progress at 22.05% in dollar terms and 38.49% in rupee terms.

The project has received a cumulative allocation of Rs6.238 billion since the financial year 2023-24, with annual allocations rising significantly after the initial year as implementation moved forward.

For the ongoing financial year 2026-27, the project has been allocated Rs1.556 billion. Disbursement so far stands at $0.53 million, equivalent to Rs147.62 million, while expenditure has reached $0.51 million, or Rs141.92 million.

The largest annual allocation shown in the document was recorded in 2024-25 at Rs2.392 billion. During that year, $4.88 million, equivalent to Rs1.358 billion, was disbursed. Expenditure was also recorded at $4.88 million.

In 2025-26, the project received an allocation of Rs1.890 billion. Foreign disbursement during the year stood at $3.67 million, equivalent to Rs1.028 billion.

The expenditure statement records spending of $3.99 million, or Rs1.118 billion, for 2025-26.

The project’s financial activity began with an allocation of Rs400 million in 2023-24. Disbursement during that year amounted to $1 million, or Rs282.96 million, while expenditure stood at $0.68 million, equivalent to Rs191.68 million.

Together, the four financial years show total disbursement of $10.09 million, or Rs2.817 billion, against the combined allocation of Rs6.238 billion.

Total expenditure over the same period stands at $10.06 million, equivalent to Rs2.810 billion.

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Pakistan can make energy storage more affordable, reliable and safer for its rapidly expanding solar market by promoting local battery-pack assembly, domestic battery-management systems and credible testing and certification facilities, experts said.

The proposed Battery Manufacturing Policy 2026–31 seeks to encourage domestic production through reduced sales tax for local manufacturers, accelerated depreciation to lower capital costs and protective duties on imported finished batteries.

Its localisation roadmap targets 70% domestic value addition during the initial implementation phase and 80% thereafter.

The policy comes as growing solar adoption increases demand for energy storage among households, businesses and industries. Batteries allow solar users to store surplus daytime electricity for use at night, during high-tariff periods or when grid supplies are disrupted.

Greater localisation could reduce reliance on imported finished systems while improving access to maintenance, repairs and replacement components.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Sapna V. Khemani, Research Associate at the Centre of Excellence–CPEC under PIDE and the Ministry of Planning and Special Initiatives, said Pakistan was “on the verge of one of the largest industrial opportunities of the energy transition”.

She projected domestic lithium-ion battery demand to rise from around 5–6 gigawatt-hours currently to 40–51GWh by 2031, creating a market valued at $6.5–9 billion.

Khemani said more than 80% of Pakistan’s battery cells, packs and critical materials were imported. The country also lacks commercial-scale cell manufacturing, national battery-testing infrastructure and an organised recycling system.

If current trends continue, the annual battery import bill will reach $2–3.15 billion by the end of the decade, she said.

Rather than immediately focusing on capital-intensive cell manufacturing, Khemani identified battery-pack assembly, battery-management systems, casings and supporting electronics as more practical areas for localisation.

Producing these components domestically could lower costs, retain greater value within Pakistan and build technical capabilities to serve the country’s growing solar-storage market, she added.

Khemani said implementing the proposed policy and securing competitively priced machinery and inputs would be crucial.

She called for appropriate Export Facilitation Scheme coverage for battery manufacturers and a technology-neutral policy capable of accommodating lithium iron phosphate, sodium-ion and other emerging battery technologies.

Pakistan also needed credible facilities to test battery capacity, durability, thermal safety and battery-management system performance, she said.

Economist and energy expert Afia Malik told Wealth Pakistan that Pakistan already had some battery-production activity, but much of it involved importing cells and assembling them into locally produced casings.

Although local pack assembly could provide an initial cost advantage for solar users, she said the industry needed to move beyond simply placing imported cells into locally manufactured boxes.

Malik identified domestic battery-management system design as an achievable next step because it involves electronics and software with lower entry barriers than cell manufacturing.

Localising BMS technology could improve the safety, efficiency and lifespan of batteries used by households, commercial and industrial solar consumers, she said.

Malik also called for a clearer distinction between duties on imported battery components and finished batteries, saying the existing structure provided local assemblers with limited cost advantages.

She urged the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority to develop internationally recognised testing and certification capacity and enforce standards against unsafe battery packs.

Government support, she said, should reward durability and performance rather than assembly volumes, while technical training could help the industry gradually develop capabilities required for more advanced battery manufacturing.

Adeel Ahmed Khan, Corporate Sales Manager at Inverex and a former manager at K-Electric, said locally manufactured battery-storage systems could help reduce costs for solar users by providing a more cost-effective alternative to reliance on grid electricity.

He said local institutional mechanisms should be developed to enforce product-quality standards, while specialised service centres should provide inspection, maintenance, repair and safe disposal throughout the battery lifecycle.

Experts said localisation therefore should not be measured simply by the number of batteries assembled in Pakistan. Developing domestic BMS technology, testing and certification facilities, repair networks and eventually recycling capacity would determine whether local production translates into lower costs and better-quality storage for consumers.

With solar installations expanding and battery demand expected to rise sharply, they said Pakistan has an opportunity to use its growing domestic market to build a battery industry that progressively moves from basic assembly towards higher local value addition and technical capability.

Credit: INP-WealthPk