The federal government has issued its first-quarter economic report for the current fiscal year, covering July to September 2026, and the picture is mixed: Pakistan is earning more from exports and from overseas workers, but it is also spending more on imports, so the current account gap has widened slightly.
Exports: the best month in 20 months
Total exports of goods and services reached $11.2 billion in the quarter, up 11 percent from a year earlier. Goods exports rose 8 percent to $8.5 billion, with September alone recording the highest monthly goods exports in 20 months. Services exports grew faster, up 23 percent to $2.7 billion.
Two parts of the services story stand out. Information technology and technology-related exports rose 18 percent to $1.25 billion, with September the second-highest month on record. Freelancers — Pakistanis selling their skills online to foreign clients — earned $550 million, up 46 percent, with September an all-time monthly high. For a country trying to build exports beyond textiles and rice, that digital growth is an encouraging sign.
Remittances and investment
Workers’ remittances — money sent home by Pakistanis working abroad — rose 14 percent to $10.9 billion in the quarter, led by inflows from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Foreign direct investment, which means long-term investment by foreign companies in Pakistan, rose 20 percent to $720 million. Money held in Roshan Digital Accounts, the scheme for overseas Pakistanis, grew 18 percent to $14.3 billion across more than 975,000 accounts.
State Bank reserves reached $21.5 billion, up 52 percent from a year earlier, giving the country a stronger cushion to pay for imports than it had in recent years.
The other side of the ledger
The current account deficit — the gap between what Pakistan earns from the world and what it spends — stood at $874 million for the quarter, up from $755 million a year earlier. The current account covers trade in goods and services plus income and transfers such as remittances. A deficit means more money is flowing out than coming in, and it must be covered by borrowing or investment.
Private-sector credit also grew, rising 16.6 percent to Rs11.28 trillion, with lending to small and medium businesses up 66 percent and housing finance up almost 72 percent, signs that domestic demand is picking up.
What this means
For the ordinary reader, the scorecard says Pakistan’s earning engines are working — exports, IT services, freelancers and remittances are all growing. But imports are growing too, and that is why the gap widened despite the good news. The challenge for the rest of the year is the same one Pakistan has faced for decades: turning strong remittances and promising digital exports into a broad export base that can pay for the country’s import bill without constant strain on reserves.
Sources: 24NewsHD, Nukta (Ministry of Finance first-quarter economic scorecard). Written in our own words for information only — not investment advice.