Secretariat to buy bullet-proof car
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) secretariat has decided to buy a bullet-proof vehicle at a cost of Rs95 million to provide security to Chinese nationals, as it said the Cabinet Division could not meet its pressing needs, resulting in the cancellation of important official engagements.
The new Toyota Land Cruiser 3,500cc vehicle will be in addition to a pool of such vehicles and at least two helicopters that various government departments have either bought or are in the process of buying for the protection of Chinese nationals who are vulnerable to attacks. Due to high risks, Chinese nationals are not allowed to travel in non-bullet-proof vehicles.
The bullet-proof vehicle is being bought only for the security of Chinese nationals, whose protection is the primary responsibility of the government of Pakistan, said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.
The government will buy the vehicle through direct contracting with a dealer of the local assembler by invoking rule 42-c (vii) of the Public Procurement Rules.
State Bank names 10 primary dealers for fy2027
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has appointed 10 financial institutions as Primary Dealers (PDs) and two as Special Purpose Primary Dealers (SPDs) for fiscal year 2026-27, as banks continue to finance the government’s borrowing through the domestic debt market.
United Bank (UBL), National Bank (NBP) and Bank Alfalah emerged as the top three performing primary dealers during FY2025-26, according to a central bank notification on Thursday.
The appointments come as the government remains heavily reliant on domestic borrowing to meet its fiscal needs, making primary dealers critical players in the auction, distribution and trading of government securities.
Sindh, K-P get solar-powered water systems
The United Nations Office for Project Services has transferred $7.6 million worth of water and sanitation infrastructure to the Public Health Engineering Departments of Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, equipping the provinces with solar-powered systems designed to lower long-term operational costs.
Funded by the US Department of State, the project delivered six drinking water supply schemes, more than 40 kilometres of distribution pipelines and over 1,300 water collection points across Umerkot district in Sindh and Tank district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The assets now serve nearly 300,000 people. A fully equipped water-testing laboratory was also handed over to support continuous quality monitoring for 164,000 residents, while six school toilet blocks provide sanitation access to 6,440 students.
KPT handles 20,000-teu mega vessel
Karachi Port Trust is handling one of the world’s largest container vessels, MSC Erica, reaffirming its capability to handle ultra-large container ships. The 398.5-metre-long mega vessel arrived at South Asia Pakistan Terminals Limited (SAPTL), Karachi Port, on July 12, 2026, and more than 3,000 containers are expected to be handled during its call, according to a statement. MSC Erica has an overall length of 398.5 metres, a beam of 59 metres, and a carrying capacity of 20,000 TEUs, with a gross tonnage of 194,308 tonnes and a draught of 12.0 metres.
Pakistan among countries hit with Donald’s new 10pc US forced labour tariff
The Trump administration on Friday imposed new tariffs of 10 percent and 12.5 percent on goods from 60 trading partners, including Pakistan, the European Union and China, over allegations of lax enforcement of forced labour bans, just as a temporary 10 percent global tariff expired.
The move is the White House’s latest effort to restore President Donald Trump’s campaign vision of a near-global tariff after the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down his “reciprocal” duties of 10 percent to 50 percent imposed last year under a national emergencies law to try to shrink the U.S. trade deficit.
The new tariffs, announced on Thursday in a Federal Register notice, cover 99.4 percent of U.S. imports, but include numerous product exemptions, such as oil and gas, fertiliser and certain food items.
FBR links fy2027 revenue outlook
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has declared that the accuracy of tax projections for 2026-27 would depend on the stability of historical tax-economic relationships and the reliability of macroeconomic forecasts during new fiscal year.
On the issue of tax estimates for 2026-27, the FBR’s report said that periodic updating of coefficients and incorporation of scenario analysis can further strengthen the 12 predictive performance of the model and safeguard against structural breaks or unexpected economic disruptions.
The calculated autonomous growth rates were then applied to the projected base year collections for FY2025–26 to estimate incremental revenue for FY2026–27. The additional revenue derived from this process was added to the base year collections to arrive at the final projections.
LCCI seeks resolution of petroleum dealers’ problems
President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Faheem Ur Rehman Saigol has urged the federal government to immediately engage with petroleum dealers and address their concerns through meaningful consultation following their announcement of an indefinite nationwide strike.
He, in statement on Wednesday, said that any disruption in fuel supplies would not only affect transportation and logistics but would also have far-reaching consequences for trade, industry, agriculture and daily economic activity across the country. The LCCI president said that petroleum products serve as the backbone of economic activity and any interruption in their supply chain could create serious challenges for businesses already struggling with multiple economic pressures.
Faheem said that the announcement of a nationwide strike by thousands of petroleum outlets should be viewed as a matter requiring immediate attention.