01🇵🇰 Pakistani
economics/PK | global
Power generation in Pakistan reached 15,112 GWh in July 2026, up 7% YoY from July 2025. Back in July 2025, power generation stood at 14,123 GWh. The generation is the “second-highest for any July month, amid the highest-ever hydel, local coal and imported coal generation,” said Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in a note on Tuesday. On a monthly basis, power generation improved by 13% from 13,431 GWh in June 2026. “Power generation exceeded the NEPRA reference, in our view, aided by lower tariffs, shift of industrial consumers to the national grid, incremental consumption package for industrial and agricultural consumers and improved economic activity,” said AHL. On the other hand, the total cost of generating electricity in Pakistan increased by 38% year over year, reaching Rs10.75 KWh in July 2026, up from Rs7.78 KWh in the same period last year. The high cost of power generation “is driven by a higher RLNG and furnace oil mix, including reliance on spot RLNG cargoes, while elevated oil prices further increased generation costs”. “Consequently, DISCOs sought a positive FCA of Rs2.52/kWh for Jul’26, the highest since June 2024,” said AHL. On a monthly basis, the power generation cost was u
Business Recorder | discovered by Business Recorder | Aug 18, 2026, 10:13 AM
🇵🇰 Pakistani
economics/PK | global
LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday announced plans to turn the ongoing sit-ins against the petroleum levy into a broader nationwide public movement, warning the government that failure to meet JI’s demands could lead to a countrywide shutdown and a march on Islamabad. “This is not a protest for a few days. We have not come here to leave,” Rehman said while addressing a sit-in outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House in Lahore. He warned that if the government refused to abolish the petroleum levy and provide relief on fuel and electricity prices, JI could mobilise people across the country and march towards the capital. He also announced that women would join the Lahore sit-in from Tuesday (today). The protests against the petroleum levy, expensive electricity, independent power producer (IPP) agreements and privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite entered their second day in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. He said thousands of people participated despite the intense heat, with protesters raising slogans demanding an end to the levy and relief from inflation. Addressing the Lahore gathering, Rehman said voices for truth and justice were now being hear
Dawn | discovered by Dawn | Aug 18, 2026, 7:50 AM
🇵🇰 Pakistani
economics/PK | global
Sunrate, the global payment and treasury management platform, officially announced the launch of its operations in Pakistan, strengthening its commitment to one of the world’s fastestgrowing digital economies. The announcement was made at On the Front Foot, Pakistan, a launch event held at The Nishat Hotel in Lahore, bringing together senior banking leaders, technology founders, e-commerce operators and digital business owners. The launch marks the next phase of Sunrate’s presence in Pakistan, where it has already been supporting businesses that earn and operate across borders. With a local team and dedicated on-the-ground support, Sunrate is bringing its global payment and treasury infrastructure closer to Pakistan’s growing community of digital exporters — helping businesses receive international payments, manage foreign exchange and operate across multiple currencies as they expand globally. Pakistan’s digital economy is becoming increasingly connected to international markets, with IT and technology businesses, freelancers, software companies, e-commerce sellers and digital agencies serving customers around the world. As more businesses generate revenue across borders, access t
Business Recorder | discovered by Business Recorder | Aug 18, 2026, 3:46 PM
🇵🇰 Pakistani
economics/PK | global
The Cabinet Committee on Energy has approved amendments to the National Electricity Plan 2023-27, aimed at strengthening integrated energy planning, expanding electricity generation and transmission, promoting renewable power in remote areas and facilitating cross-border electricity trade. The development came during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy, chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, on Tuesday in Islamabad. During the meeting, the Power Division presented amendments to the National Electricity Plan 2023-2027. These amendments pertained to integrated planning for energy, an increase in electricity generation, the supply of electricity produced from renewable sources in remote areas, cross-border electricity trade, expansion of the transmission system, tariff design, electricity conservation, system and marketing operations, identification of risks and related administrative matters, improving the capacity of fuel and technology at the local level, research and development, and digitization, read the notice. April-June 26: Discos seek positive adjustment to recover Rs23bn from consumers While approving these amendments, the Cabinet Committee directed aut
Business Recorder | discovered by Business Recorder | Aug 18, 2026, 3:02 PM
🇵🇰 Pakistani
economics/PK | global
Nearly 15,000 people risk losing their homes in Karachi, Hyderabad and Lahore to make way for Pakistan’s most ambitious railway project: Main Line-1 for which work will kick off in January. The estimate of families at risk was done by Karachi Urban Lab with satellite data which was ground truthed in neighbourhoods sitting along the track between the Karachi and Lahore corridor. If at least 25 feet of the track need to be clear on both sides, over 2,400 people will have to vacate it. These are the working class drivers, maids, salesmen, carpenters, masons, and daily wage workers who live and work here. Such a displacement is called ‘the constitutive violence of corridor-making’. This is a technology of community wiping needed for governments to build big things. And so, violence lives at the heart of the creation of economic and transport corridors and is not an outcome as many of us assume. If we track how such epic projects unfold in the cities of the Global South we can clearly see that transport corridors are political acts and not merely technical undertakings. They bear the stamp of their creators (decision-makers) who are the arbiters of who qualifies as an urban citizen and
Dawn | discovered by Dawn | Aug 18, 2026, 2:06 PM
🇵🇰 Pakistani
economics/PK | global
• Demands meetings with family and lawyers, access for ex-PM’s private doctors • TTAP leaders claim govt has failed on economic, political fronts ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has expressed grave concern over the official medical report regarding the health of Imran Khan, saying that the reported condition has caused deep concern across the country. Speaking at a press conference, he said Imran Khan’s personal doctors, family, legal team and the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) would consult among themselves and determine a clear course of action in light of the situation. The chief minister said that whenever Imran Khan’s personal physicians, Dr Asim and Dr Faisal, had accompanied him and checked his blood pressure, it had consistently been within the normal range. He said the report of elevated blood pressure in the official medical report was therefore a matter of serious concern, particularly given the previous assessments conducted by his personal doctors. He said that neither Imran Khan’s family members, lawyers nor personal physicians had been allowed to meet him since Dec 2, 2025. “In these circumstances, the emergence of an offici
Dawn | discovered by Dawn | Aug 18, 2026, 6:09 AM
