Economy

Women in the southern Pakistani village of Molvi Suleman Jat gather to discuss their informal community savings program, which they use instead of formal bank accounts, in February. (Photo by Betsy Joles)
The Big Story

Pakistan's financial gender gap aggravates chronic poverty

With little access to bank accounts, women rely on one another to save

10 May 2023
People gather to receive sacks of free flour at a distribution point in Peshawar, Pakistan, on March 30. The government blames smugglers for compromising its efforts to ease food shortages.
Afghanistan turmoil

Pakistan cracks down on food smuggling to Afghanistan

Islamabad targets black market between crisis-hit neighbors to ease inflation

30 April 2023
An oil tanker and bulk carrier are seen near the Russian port of Nakhodka in December.
International relations

Pakistan eyes economic relief from Russian oil imports due in May

Delicate diplomacy, refining capacity and forex payments pose challenges

27 April 2023
People stand in line to receive sacks of free flour at a distribution point in Peshawar, Pakistan, on March 30.
Inflation

Pakistan inflation hits record 35% as IMF talks drag on

Sharif government struggles with economic crisis after a year in power

13 April 2023
Supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan stand guard outside his house in Lahore on March 21, following clashes with police that prevented his arrest last week.
Politics

Pakistan election spat enters new stage as IMF cash remains elusive

Imran Khan slams decision to delay polls in defiance of court ruling

24 March 2023
A camp for flood victims in Sindh province in December 2022: Pakistan faces an arduous road ahead.
Opinion

The world has a responsibility to Pakistan's displaced millions

Last year's floods were deadliest in series of climate change-related disasters

26 February 2023
The departures area at Islamabad International Airport: The dire state of Pakistan's economy and growing concerns about security are pushing citizens to the exit.
Economy

Pakistan brain drain accelerates in latest threat to ailing economy

Experts warn of talent erosion after nearly 1m workers left in 2022

16 February 2023
Pakistan briefly sought to ban Wikipedia before intervention from the top. Activists say the move is part of a larger pattern of trying to control the internet. (Source photos by AP and Yuki Kohara)
Politics

Pakistan bans, then unblocks, Wikipedia amid digital freedom fight

Government's internet policy could have profound economic effects: experts

7 February 2023
Motorists wait at a gas station in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Jan. 24, the day after a countrywide power outage.
Economy

Pakistan faces oil drought warnings as forex woes plague industry

Official indirectly links recent major blackout to conservation measures

25 January 2023
Men reach out for subsidized flour in Karachi on Jan. 10: Pakistan's situation has only worsened.
Opinion

Pakistan will need yet more rescues unless it embraces reform

Lenders should insist that government reduce spending on elites and military

19 January 2023
The economic crisis in Pakistan likely prompted army chief Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir to directly ask wealthy Saudi Arabia and the UAE for new monetary assistance. (Nikkei montage/AP)
International relations

Pakistan army chief assumes loan diplomacy role amid forex crisis

Munir's Saudi Arabia, UAE trips likely timed to avert Islamabad debt default

11 January 2023
Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das speaks at an IMF event on Jan. 6, in this screenshot captured from the IMF's livestream.
Economy

RBI chief's South Asia prescriptions: productivity, energy security

At IMF event, Shaktikanta Das lists priorities for stable growth in troubled region

6 January 2023
A trader counts dollars at a currency exchange booth in Peshawar, Pakistan in September 2021. Insiders say unauthorized dealers are siphoning dollars from legal channels.
Economy

Pakistan's dollar profiteers prosper as banks, businesses suffer

Greenbacks smuggled in orange crates to Afghan border in pursuit of fat margins

23 December 2022
A man sells gas cylinders in Karachi in 2021: Pakistan faces a shortage of gas as winter approaches. (File photo by EPA/Jiji)
Economy

Pakistan winter gas crunch threatens to chill economy, stoke unrest

Cash-strapped country looks for answers as leaks waste precious supplies

23 November 2022
Residents walk through flood water as they head to their villages in Sehwan, Pakistan on Sept. 6: Empowered authorities on the ground could have better handled evacuations.
Opinion

Climate change not only reason for Pakistan's flooding toll

Political parties' failure to empower local authorities left millions helpless

23 November 2022
A laborer pulls a car loaded with sacks of lentils at a grain market in Ahmedabad. The government has said the country's low rank on an index of global hunger is intended to "taint India's image."
Economy

India gets mixed marks on poverty, with hunger rank behind Pakistan

New Delhi slams 'misinformation' as other study hails 140m saved from destitution

30 October 2022
The revival of the Karachi Circular Railway inner-city train service is among the projects on the agenda for Pakistan's talks with China.
Belt and Road

Pakistan, China aim to jump-start Belt and Road plans in key talks

Islamabad said to accept higher railway cost before PM Sharif's trip to Beijing

28 October 2022
Pakistan's floodwaters have been receding in some areas, but others remain inundated. Here, a girl sits on a cot in a flooded street in the Jaffarabad district of Balochistan on Oct. 4.
Natural disasters

Malaria, snakes, misery: Pakistan flood victims wait for elusive aid

Approach of winter raises fears of pneumonia, missed planting season

26 October 2022
Women displaced because of flooding wait for food handouts at a refugee camp in Sehwan, Pakistan, on Sept. 30.
Economy

ADB to give Pakistan up to $2.5bn in flood relief support

Announcement comes amid new dangers from waterborne diseases and hunger

6 October 2022
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's minister for climate change, says that global warming poses an existential threat to the country and that "this calamity has not been triggered by anything we have done."
Interview

'The country is broken': Pakistan climate minister urges justice

Rehman says floods have taken nuclear-armed nation 'back half a century'

29 September 2022
Pakistan's Ishaq Dar in 2016. 
Politics

Ishaq Dar to become Pakistan's finance minister for fourth time

Appointment comes at time of economic crisis and floods

27 September 2022
A vendor sells vegetables in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Aug. 31. The country's inflation rate hit 27.3% in the month, the highest in decades.
Economy

Pakistan's IMF loan shows few signs of stopping economic slide

'Hope is not a strategy,' economist says, calling for more drastic measures

24 September 2022
Vegetable vendors at a roadside market in Jakarta on Sept. 12. Indonesia is one emerging Asian economy that is forecast to grow faster than expected this year.
Economy

Emerging Asia growing faster than China for 1st time in 30 years

Indonesia, Philippines are bright spots but India, Pakistan faltering, says ADB

21 September 2022
Pakistanis wade through flooded fields on Sept. 4 in Balochistan: The U.N.'s World Food Program plans to bring food aid to 2 million people by mid-October but is still raising money.
Natural disasters

In flooded Pakistan, 11m people deal with severe food insecurity

Nation pays price of global warming, U.N. World Food Program official says

17 September 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, meets Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Sept. 16.
International relations

Pakistan and China hail 'brotherhood' but IMF terms spell friction

Xi-Sharif meeting overshadowed by Islamabad's need to renegotiate power deals

17 September 2022