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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will launch tomorrow, Tuesday, simplified digital tax returns for salaried individuals, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office, amid Islamabad’s efforts to expand the national tax base.

The statement came after a meeting Sharif presided over to review progress on tax reforms which are part of his government agenda to stabilize the South Asian economy.

Officials informed the prime minister that digital, concize and user-friendly tax returns will also be available for taxpayers of other classes from July 30, along with Urdu-language returns for the salaried class.

“A third-party validation should be ensured for the transparency of all FBR reforms,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by his office. “Public awareness campaign should be launched regarding the ease of filing tax returns so that more and more people file returns under the new system.”

In June, Pakistan set a record-high tax collection target of Rs14.13 trillion ($47.4 billion) as it unveiled federal budget for fiscal year 2025-26. The target represents a 9 percent increase compared to the outgoing fiscal year’s target.

Sharif said increasing the tax base and reducing the burden on the poor were his government’s top priorities, praising the FBR for the implementation of an artificial intelligence-based tax assessment system.

“The prime minister directed provision of special facilities to small and medium-sized businesses to join the digital invoicing system,” his office said.

Pakistan’s policy reforms, also required under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF), have helped restore macroeconomic stability and rebuild investor confidence in the government, despite persistent external challenges, according to IMF country representative Mahir Binici.

He, however, cautioned that “elevated trade tensions, geopolitical fragmentation, and weakening global cooperation continue to generate exceptional uncertainty and weigh on the global economic outlook,” underlining the urgent need for prudent and forward-looking policy actions.

“Structural reforms remain central to Pakistan’s long-term economic sustainability, particularly reforms that strengthen tax equity, improve the business climate, and encourage private-sector-led investment,” Binici said during a guest lecture at an Islamabad-based think tank last week.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, has arrived in China to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Monday, amid prevailing regional tensions.

The meeting comes amid simmering regional tensions, particularly between India and Pakistan, following New Delhi’s refusal to sign a recent SCO joint statement over its omission of a deadly April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The SCO, a trans-regional bloc comprising China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Central Asian states, is expected to deliberate on pressing regional and global security, connectivity, and economic issues at the CFM meeting in Tianjin on July 15-16.

Upon arrival in Beijing, Dar was received by Ambassador Yu Hong, a member of the Chinese’s foreign ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Khalil-ur-Rehman Hashmi, along with other Chinese foreign ministry officials.

“DPM/FM will lead Pakistan’s delegation to the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin tomorrow, call on the President of China along with other SCO Foreign Ministers, and hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from SCO member states,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.

The CFM is the third highest forum in the SCO format that focuses on the issues of international relations as well as foreign and security policies of China-backed SCO.

Last month, Beijing’s bid for enhanced regional leadership suffered a setback when India rejected signing a joint statement put before defense ministers of the SCO, seen by some Western analysts as a regional grouping by China and Russia to counter United States influence in Asia, with New Delhi saying it was “pro-Pakistan” in not mentioning April’s attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the gunmen behind the April 22 killing of 26 people. Islamabad denies the charge. In May, India and Pakistan exchanged fighter jet, missile, drone and artillery strikes for four days over the Kashmir attack, killing around 70 people on both sides before agreeing to US-brokered ceasefire.

Separately, India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing that the two countries must resolve friction along their border, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalize their relationship, Reuters reported on Monday.

Jaishankar arrived in Beijing on his first trip to China since 2020, when a deadly border clash between their troops led to a four-year military standoff and damaged ties until a thaw began in October, when they agreed to step back.

“It is now incumbent on us to address other aspects related to the border, including de-escalation,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying.

Jaishankar met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng earlier in the day, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. Han told Jaishankar that India and China should steadily advance practical cooperation and respect each other’s concerns.