ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will cut taxes on imports of raw materials to spur manufacturing and overall economic growth, Bloomberg quoted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trade adviser as saying on Monday.
Customs duties on input items needed by pharmaceutical, chemical, engineering and food processing industries will be reduced by 3 percent to 10 percent, Abdul Razzak Dawood, Khan’s adviser on commerce, said in an interview to Bloomberg.
“That will help lower the import of finished goods, encourage local production and put the nation in a position to boost exports,” he said. “Pakistan had ridiculously high duties. The objective is to put Pakistan on par with other countries on trade taxes.”
Bloomberg said the proposal would be part of the federal government’s annual budget for the year starting July 1, by when it targets to achieve a growth rate of 4.8 percent. The nation forecast growth to be 3.9 percent this year after a rare contraction last year. The new budget is scheduled to be presented in the lower house of the parliament on June 11.
“Paring import taxes will be a huge policy shift for Pakistan, given more than 40 percent of its total tax revenue is generated from levies on inbound shipments,” Bloomberg said. “Khan’s government is seeking to end the nation’s reliance in recent years on foreign loans and bailouts, and instead boost industrial productivity and the share of exports in the economy.”
To that end, the administration will extend concessional long-term financing for exports and working capital financing to businesses in the next fiscal year, Dawood told the American publication.
The nation’s exports haven’t grown significantly in the past decade, averaging $23 billion annually. For the next financial year, the government hopes it will be higher than $25 billion.
Pakistan to cut taxes on imports of raw materials to boost growth
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Pakistan to cut taxes on imports of raw materials to boost growth
- Customs duties on input items needed by pharmaceutical, chemical, engineering, food processing industries to be reduced by 3 percent to 10 percent
- Proposal to be part of federal government’s annual budget for year starting July 1 by when it targets to achieve growth rate of 4.8 percent
Daesh media chief for ISKP in Pakistan’s custody — state media
- Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of ISKP, used to head its Al Azzam media outlet, says state media
- Azzam was arrested in May while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have taken into custody Sultan Aziz Azzam, the head of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP’s media outlet, state media reported on Thursday citing intelligence sources.
The state-run Pakistan TV Digital reported that Azzam was a senior member of ISKP and hailed from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. As per the state media report, he is also a graduate of the University of Nangarhar where he studied Islamic jurisprudence.
Pakistan TV Digital reported Azzam joined ISKP in 2016 and later became a prominent member of its leadership council.
“He was arrested in May 2025 while attempting to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” Pakistan TV Digital reported, citing intelligence sources.
“He is believed to have overseen media operations and headed ISKP’s Al Azzam media outlet.”
In November 2021, Washington listed Azzam as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT). The move bars American citizens from engaging in transactions with persons designated as SDGTs.
According to a report on the UN Security Council’s website, Azzam has played an “instrumental role” in spreading Daesh’s violent ideology, glorifying and justifying “terrorist acts.”
“Building on his former experience as an Afghan journalist, his activity as ISIL-K’s spokesperson has increased ISIL-K’s visibility and influence among its followers,” the report states.
The report further states Azzam claimed responsibility on behalf of Daesh for the suicide attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members and injured 150 more.
The development takes place amid tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad alleging militants use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Tensions surged in October when Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce border clashes, claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers of the other side.
Pakistan has urged the Afghan Taliban-led government to take “decisive action” against militants it says operate from its soil. Afghanistan says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security challenges.
