{"id":103676,"date":"2026-03-10T16:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T11:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/?p=103676"},"modified":"2026-03-10T16:14:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T11:14:21","slug":"middle-east-tensions-increase-economic-risks-and-uncertainty-for-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/news\/middle-east-tensions-increase-economic-risks-and-uncertainty-for-pakistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle East Tensions Increase Economic Risks and Uncertainty for Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"556\" data-end=\"755\">Middle East tensions are creating new economic risks and uncertainty for Pakistan. Government officials shared this concern during a virtual review meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"757\" data-end=\"986\">Officials explained that the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran could affect Pakistan\u2019s economy. Rising fuel prices are one of the main concerns, as they may push inflation higher in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"988\" data-end=\"1181\">According to the briefing, some economic indicators in Pakistan have started to improve. However, officials said uncertainty remains due to global developments linked with Middle East tensions.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1183\" data-end=\"1374\">Pakistan informed the IMF that core inflation reached <strong data-start=\"1237\" data-end=\"1269\">7.6 percent in February 2026<\/strong>. Authorities warned that inflation may rise further because of increasing food, fuel, and energy prices.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1376\" data-end=\"1542\">Economic growth for the current fiscal year is expected to reach <strong data-start=\"1441\" data-end=\"1461\">around 4 percent<\/strong>. This is slightly lower than the government\u2019s earlier target of <strong data-start=\"1526\" data-end=\"1541\">4.2 percent<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1544\" data-end=\"1690\">Officials also discussed Pakistan\u2019s foreign exchange reserves during the meeting. The IMF has set a target of <strong data-start=\"1654\" data-end=\"1689\">$18 billion in reserves by June<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1692\" data-end=\"1767\">At present, the State Bank of Pakistan holds <strong data-start=\"1737\" data-end=\"1754\">$16.3 billion<\/strong> in reserves.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1769\" data-end=\"1942\">Remittances are expected to remain stable despite Middle East tensions. Officials estimate that overseas Pakistanis may send <strong data-start=\"1894\" data-end=\"1916\">around $43 billion<\/strong> in remittances this year.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1944\" data-end=\"2030\">Meanwhile, the <strong data-start=\"1959\" data-end=\"1986\">current account deficit<\/strong> is projected to remain near <strong data-start=\"2015\" data-end=\"2029\">$2 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2032\" data-end=\"2132\">During the talks, the government also shared several proposed tax changes that require IMF approval.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2134\" data-end=\"2158\">These proposals include:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2160\" data-end=\"2386\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1rh5bhs\" data-start=\"2160\" data-end=\"2231\">\n<p data-start=\"2162\" data-end=\"2231\">Possible <strong data-start=\"2171\" data-end=\"2208\">5 percent reduction in income tax<\/strong> for salaried workers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1xesd4k\" data-start=\"2232\" data-end=\"2300\">\n<p data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2300\"><strong data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2258\">Removal of super tax<\/strong> on corporations and wealthy individuals<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"okfepg\" data-start=\"2301\" data-end=\"2336\">\n<p data-start=\"2303\" data-end=\"2336\"><strong data-start=\"2303\" data-end=\"2334\">Lower property income taxes<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1ev9r85\" data-start=\"2337\" data-end=\"2386\">\n<p data-start=\"2339\" data-end=\"2386\">Ending the <strong data-start=\"2350\" data-end=\"2386\">1 percent advance tax on exports<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2388\" data-end=\"2483\">Officials said these measures may be included in the upcoming federal budget if the IMF agrees.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2485\" data-end=\"2614\">The government added that economic decisions will depend on IMF discussions and global conditions linked to Middle East tensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Middle East tensions are creating new economic risks and uncertainty for Pakistan. Government officials shared this concern during a virtual review meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Officials explained that the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran could affect Pakistan\u2019s economy. Rising fuel prices are one of the main concerns, as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":103677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[6878,37560,36833,16983,12683,37561,35173],"class_list":["post-103676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-pakistan-economy","tag-imf-pakistan-review","tag-middle-east-tensions","tag-pakistan-budget-proposals","tag-pakistan-foreign-reserves","tag-pakistan-inflation-2026","tag-pakistan-remittances"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103676"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103678,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103676\/revisions\/103678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}