Islamabad: Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb Monday said that stability has come in the country due to the best economic policies.

Addressing the event in Islamabad, he stated that Pakistan is now following a policy of implementation, ‘We have to widen our tax base for this purpose and solve difficult energy problems. This is the second important part of the reform agenda and third is the reform of public institutions’.

Muhammad Aurangzeb added that the government's job is not to run business, we will complete the privatization agenda quickly, and hope that by the end of June or July we will be in the last phase of this work.

The federal minister continued to say: “We are going into the 24th International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. To make sure that this is our last program, we must have a clear view of the road to market. Firstly growth in exports and secondly Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is essential and in this, you will help us and access to international capital markets is also very important for this. If we get it done, we won't need to go to another funding program”.

He further said that the private sector has to run this country, the government is determined in this matter, we will work in this regard, the private sector should sit in the front and the ministers should sit in the back.

The foreign exchange reserves are gradually increasing in the country, we are trying to promote foreign investment, Pakistan's currency has been stable for 10 months, added Auarngzeb.

Peshawar: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to buy 0.3 million metric tons of wheat worth Rs29 billion from the farmers.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Minister Zahir Shah Toro said that the wheat procurement campaign will be started from May 7. Wheat procurement app has been introduced, payment will be made to farmers through the bank within 24 hours.

Zahir Shah Toro stated that he would ensure transparency in the wheat procurement campaign.

Earlier on April 27, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had announced to purchase 300 thousand metric tons of local wheat.

On the other hand, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari says that the Punjab government will also buy wheat from farmers, but it has not yet been decided how much wheat will be bought.

It is pertinent to note that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed an inquiry committee after taking notice of the issue of wheat being imported in large quantities, the report of which will be submitted today.

Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has witnessed a bullish trend on the first day of the business week, with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 634 points in early trading.

According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index rose 634 points or 0.88 percent to 72,536 at around 9:46am, which had closed at 71,902 yesterday.

It is pertinent to mention that on the last business day of last week (May 3), the benchmark SE-100 index had recovered to the psychological limit of 71,000 after increasing by 1,244 points in the stock exchange.

Tahir Abbas, Head of Research, Arif Habib Limited observed that after the three percent correction in the last three days, there is a bullish trend in the market.

He said that investors are optimistic about the new program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the upcoming budget being investor-friendly.

It may be recalled that on April 29, the 100-index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange reached an all-time high of 73,000 points, after which the index fell to 70,657 on May 2 after a gradual decline over the next few days.

Earlier on April 26, the PSX witnessed a strong rally and the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at a record high of 72,742 points after gaining 771 points.

On April 24, the benchmark SE-100 index surged 692 points to cross the psychological level of 72,000 for the first time in history.

On April 22, the 100-index gained 523 points or 0.74% to touch a high of 71,433 points.