Business & Economy Correspondent

Mehreen Abbasi

Mehreen Abbasi covers Pakistan's economy for KhabarWire: the IMF programme, budgets and FBR collection, State Bank rate decisions, energy prices and the Pakistan Stock Exchange, citing official data releases wherever they exist.

Covers: The IMF programme, federal budgets and taxation, State Bank decisions, fuel and energy prices, and markets.
Specialist areas: IMF programme · Fiscal policy · Monetary policy · Energy prices · Markets
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Latest from Mehreen Abbasi

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A dark metal bull statue stands outside the Islamabad Stock Exchange building, a tall office block that once housed one of the predecessor exchanges merged into the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

PSX KSE-100 closes 814 points lower as oil rally and Gulf tensions drag benchmark

Pakistan's KSE-100 closed at 165,151.64 on 21 October 2026, down 814.44 points or 0.49 percent, as Brent crude hit a five-month high on Houthi attacks and Gulf vessel strikes.

A wide curved modernist office building of pale concrete and horizontal window bands, seen across an open plaza under a bright sky.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

IMF's Azour tells Pakistan to make taxes fairer, as salaried pay rises to Rs629bn

IMF director Jihad Azour urged a fairer, broader tax system at an Islamabad workshop, where FBR data showed salaried contributions at Rs629bn and realty collections down 38%.

A pale grey Wuling Bingo electric hatchback parked on a city street beside a bicycle and a shopfront.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan PM approves Auto Policy 2026-31 draft with 1% EV sales tax

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the Auto Policy 2026-31 draft on 20 October, proposing a 1% sales tax on battery EVs and a levy on larger petrol cars.

A large steam turbine and connected pipework inside the turbine hall of a thermal power station, with red safety railings in the foreground.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan's 2027 power purchase price projected at Rs27.31 per unit

CPPA-G's base case puts the 2027 power purchase price at Rs27.31 per unit and procurement at Rs3.55 trillion; NEPRA will hear objections on 3 November.

A hazy view of a PSO petrol and CNG station near Hyderabad, with a fuel canopy, parked buses and trucks, and a motorcyclist crossing an open forecourt.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan cuts petrol to Rs381.14 and diesel to Rs389.27 for 20 October

Pakistan cut petrol by Rs5.16 a litre to Rs381.14 and high-speed diesel by Rs7.69 to Rs389.27 for 20 October, the latest revision under daily pricing.

A large golden bull statue with lowered head and horns stands on a low stone plinth in front of a red stone and glass office building, with a green construction net and metal fence behind it.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan trims FY26 GDP growth to 3.65% as fourth quarter slows to 2%

Pakistan revised FY26 GDP growth down to 3.65% and reported 2% growth in April–June, as industry contracted and import data was revised up by $14.8bn.

A floodlit government building in Islamabad at night, with a wide paved forecourt, rows of windows and a low central entrance.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan PM warns FBR officers against resisting tax reforms

PM Shehbaz Sharif warned FBR officers that resistance to tax reforms will not be tolerated, as the government restructures the tax body and expands faceless assessment.

The International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington, DC, photographed in 2017 as a wide, low-rise stone building under a clear sky.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

SBP Governor tells investors reserves rebuilt to $21.5bn without new debt

SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad told foreign investors in Bangkok that reserves recovered from under $3bn to $21.5bn and forward liabilities fell from $5.7bn to below $1bn.

A concrete anti-smuggling barrier stretching into the distance along a dirt track at the Iran-Pakistan border in arid terrain.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan shut to trade after FIA closes immigration gate on Saturday

Cross-border trade at Taftan halted on Saturday after Pakistan's FIA shut the immigration gate and the commerce ministry withdrew the EIF waiver for Iran, stranding 2,000 trucks.

The Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, photographed from the side in July 2023 under a clear sky.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan withstood Iran war energy shock, Aurangzeb tells AFP in Bangkok

Finance Minister Aurangzeb told AFP in Bangkok on Saturday that Pakistan withstood the first-order Iran war energy shock but Gulf infrastructure attacks are worrying.

A mud volcano and arid ridges of Pakistan's western Chagai district in Balochistan, photographed from the International Space Station about 258 miles above central Asia.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan readies $8tr mineral pitch as Islamabad sets PMIF26 for mid-November

Pakistan's Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum (PMIF26) is set for 12-13 November in Islamabad, with Reko Diq first production now slated for end-2028.

The State Bank of Pakistan's head office on I.I. Chundrigar Road in Karachi, a multi-storey building seen from the street in daylight.

Pakistan / Business & Finance

Pakistan's current account deficit widens to $874m in July–September

SBP data show Pakistan's current account deficit widened to $874m in July–September, while the overall balance of payments swung to a $4.39bn deficit in September.