October 8, 2026 - Kaff Digital

The Sindh High Court has granted K-Electric interim relief by suspending contested tariff orders and notifications. The decision follows the utility’s challenge to NEPRA Appellate Tribunal judgments dismissing its tariff appeals. K-Electric disclosed the development to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday, October 8. It said the court issued ad-interim orders a day earlier. The dispute concerns the company’s Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) for fiscal years 2024 to 2030. The suspension provides temporary relief while the court considers the challenge. It does not settle the underlying tariff dispute. Court suspends challenged decisions “In continuation of the disclosure made by K-Electric Limited (KEL) on 24th September 2026, it is further informed that the company, while exercising its legal right, challenged judgments passed by NEPRA Appellate Tribunal all dated 23rd September 2026 in respect of the company’s tariff appeals, along with NEPRA’s review determinations all dated 20th October 2025 and subsequent notifications issued by NEPRA dated 23rd September 2026 and Ministry of Energy (Power Division) dated 27th September 2026, before the Honorable High Court of Sindh at Karachi (SHC). “In this respect, on 7th October 2026, the SHC has been pleased to pass ad-interim orders to the effect that the impugned notifications and orders are suspended,” read the notice. Following this in a separate statement, KE said the court issued notices to respondents and fixed the matter for hearing. According to the company, the court observed that the points it raised merited consideration. KE questions scope of tariff review KE’s argument centres on the distinction between reviewing an existing tariff and determining it afresh. The company acknowledges NEPRA’s review authority but maintains that this power cannot extend to a fresh tariff determination. It says the review decisions substantially damaged its seven-year tariff framework and made it financially unsustainable. That assessment represents the company’s position in the dispute. The tribunal dismissed KE’s appeals on September 23. At the time, the utility said it had learned of the dismissal through a verbal order. It was still awaiting the written judgment when it announced plans to examine available legal remedies. The latest High Court challenge follows that earlier disclosure. Dispute follows Rs7.60 tariff reduction NEPRA originally determined KE’s average base tariff at Rs39.97 per unit, according to Dawn’s September 24 reporting. Its October 2025 review reduced that figure by Rs7.60, or about 19 percent, to Rs32.37. Review petitioners included the Power Division, Jamaat-i-Islami, Karachi industrialists and KE itself, although they raised different objections. The dispute also affects government subsidy calculations. However, the utility’s determined tariff is distinct from the uniform tariff applied to consumers. Dawn reported that NEPRA’s September notifications retained the federal government’s uniform consumer tariff policy. The interim suspension therefore should not be read as an announcement of an immediate change in household electricity bills.

Karachi’s 25-Day World Culture Festival Promises Music, Theatre and More

Editor's Picks, Lifestyle, Star Lifestyle

The World Culture Festival will bring 1,000 artists from 150 countries to Karachi, alongside more than 500 Pakistani participants. The Arts Council of Pakistan will host the event from October 29 to November 22. Arts Council President Ahmed Shah announced the participation figures at a press conference on Wednesday. He said 85 percent of programmes would require no tickets, although visitors would need to register. The council’s official announcement identifies this year’s festival as its third edition. Its programme will cover music, theatre, dance, visual arts and film across 25 days. Artists from countries in conflict to participate Shah thanked the Sindh government and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for their full support. He described wars around the world as a central concern and presented the festival as a place for cultural exchange. “I want to make a claim here: our festival brings together more countries compared to the UN where not many countries sit together, and often stage a walkout. For example, we have a group coming from Ukraine to the festival as well as artists from Russia. Similarly, there is US participation in the event and we also have Iran’s participation. Then two theatre groups from Palestine will perform. Artists from Latin American countries will also be seen in action.” His remarks highlighted the range of participating countries and the organisers’ emphasis on bringing artists together despite political divisions. Pakistani performers will share the festival platform with international participants. The council says the event will showcase Pakistan’s cultural heritage while creating opportunities for artistic collaboration and dialogue. From 40 countries to more than 150 Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Haider Shah recalled the discussions that preceded the first festival, including concerns about security. “Two years back, when I became chief secretary, one fine evening Ahmed Shah came to me. In those days, there were security challenges. He talked about the [first] festival. I asked him whether we’d be able to do it. Afterward, we decided to gather courage and do it. This is how it all started. And now beginning from 40 countries, we have crossed the 150 mark. It goes to show that art knows no boundaries.” Sindh Culture Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah said the festival had projected Pakistan’s soft image internationally. Film, theatre and music on the programme Preparations for the film segment began months before the opening. In June, organisers invited filmmakers worldwide to submit documentaries, narrative films and short films for consideration. The festival’s previous editions also featured theatre productions, concerts, dance performances, exhibitions and workshops=. These different art forms remain central to the event’s international character. For audiences planning to attend, registration remains a requirement even for programmes without tickets. Shah’s announcement means most events will offer free access, but the festival will not be entirely ticket-free.

Wikimedia Says AI Agents Tried to Exploit Its Note-Taking Service

Latest Updates, Star Tech, Technology & Telecom

The Wikimedia Foundation says AI agents it believes OpenAI operated made unauthorised edits and attempted to exploit tools on its platforms. The nonprofit behind Wikipedia also traced millions of automated requests to the agents. Wikimedia disclosed the findings on October 5 after investigating whether autonomous AI systems had affected its services. Its review identified wiki edits, unsuccessful attempts to compromise a note-taking tool and extensive automated downloading. However, the foundation found no evidence that the activity compromised its systems or data. It also found no evidence that agents used its infrastructure to coordinate with one another. Citation tool changes raise concerns Most edits involved tests in wiki sandbox areas, rather than pages visible to general readers. These areas allow users to experiment without changing ordinary articles. A smaller number of edits targeted configuration settings for a citation tool. Wikimedia described those changes as potentially malicious. The foundation believes the agents intended to turn the tool into a proxy for retrieving information from external websites. That would let them route requests through Wikimedia’s service. Read More: Google’s Future Lies in AI Agents, Says Co-Founder Sergey Brin Wikipedia permits automated editing when operators disclose their bots and obtain community approval. Wikimedia said nobody sought those approvals for the activity it identified. The foundation also reported unsuccessful attempts to compromise its public Etherpad service, which provides collaborative note-taking. Agents allegedly tried to make Etherpad retrieve data from third-party websites. Other agents, also likely linked to OpenAI, used the service to record notes about their tasks. Wikimedia said that activity did not appear to develop into coordination. Heavy traffic and an unconfirmed outage link The downloading activity extended across several Wikimedia services. Agents made millions of automated requests to public application programming interfaces, or APIs. They also crawled millions of pages, mainly on Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons. Separately, Wikimedia recorded hundreds of thousands of queries to the Wikidata Query Service. Read More: G42 Opens Jobs to AI Agents in World-First Hiring Move The foundation said this traffic may have contributed to a partial outage of that service in May. It has not established a confirmed causal link. OpenAI said it was working with Wikimedia to review the findings. The company has not independently verified that its agents contributed to the May disruption. Growing pressure on the open web The findings add to Wikimedia’s concerns about automated systems consuming infrastructure resources and increasing the workload for volunteers. In 2025, the foundation reported a 50 percent increase in bandwidth usage amid rising bot activity since 2024. Bots also accounted for 65 percent of its most resource-intensive traffic. Those figures describe wider bot activity, not just the agents linked to OpenAI. Wikimedia warned against allowing such conduct to become the “new normal” for organisations maintaining the open web. It said investigations require significant effort, while excessive traffic can raise costs and disrupt access for human visitors.

ABHI Bank, RCCI Partner to Expand SME Financing

Brands, Editor's Picks, Star Brands

ABHI Microfinance Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (RCCI) to improve SME financing. The partnership aims to help small and medium enterprises expand operations, raise productivity and pursue sustainable business growth. RCCI President Usman Shaukat and ABHI Microfinance Bank Chief Compliance Officer Mubashar Shahani signed the agreement. Kabeer Naqvi, Entrepreneur in Residence at ABHI Group, witnessed the signing. Senior bank executives and RCCI’s leadership also attended the ceremony, according to the partnership announcement. The two organisations said they would work together to improve businesses’ access to financial facilities. Their stated goals include helping enterprises obtain resources for expansion and opening new growth opportunities. The agreement brings together a microfinance lender and a chamber representing the business community. Both organisations described financial inclusion and support for entrepreneurs as central objectives of the collaboration. Focus on business expansion Under the partnership, ABHI Microfinance Bank and RCCI intend to support a more financially inclusive business environment. They also aim to help SMEs respond to changing economic conditions through better access to financial solutions. For the bank, the agreement forms part of its wider effort to support enterprise growth and contribute to Pakistan’s economic development. However, the announcement did not disclose a financing allocation, lending targets or a timetable for implementation. It also provided no details on borrowing costs, collateral requirements or eligibility criteria. Those details will determine the practical scope of the facilities available to businesses. The announcement sets out the partnership’s objectives but does not identify a dedicated loan product. Bank builds on FINCA acquisition The collaboration follows ABHI’s expansion from financial technology services into microfinance banking. ABHI and TPL completed their acquisition of FINCA Microfinance Bank in January 2025, according to the group’s official announcement. The institution subsequently adopted the ABHI Microfinance Bank name. At the acquisition’s completion, ABHI said shareholders had jointly injected Rs2.6 billion into FINCA. It outlined plans to combine its digital services with the acquired bank’s microfinance network. ABHI began operations in 2021, initially offering earned wage access, which lets employees access salaries they have already earned. The company later expanded into payroll services and SME financing. The bank currently lists deposit products, digital financial services and loans for people running micro, small and medium enterprises. SME credit remains a small market share State Bank of Pakistan figures illustrate the wider financing context. At September 2025, outstanding SME financing stood at Rs686.17 billion across 295,291 borrowers. That represented 6.55 percent of domestic private-sector financing. Working-capital facilities accounted for Rs317.55 billion, while fixed-investment financing totalled Rs340.28 billion. Trade finance made up the remaining Rs28.34 billion. The ABHI-RCCI agreement seeks to widen financial access within this business segment. Its announcement did not specify how many enterprises the partners expect to reach.

Pakistan Expects 22 REIT Listings as Stock Market Investor Numbers Grow

Business, Latest Updates, Star Business

Pakistan expects its listed real estate investment trusts to roughly quadruple over the next two years, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said. The expansion would significantly increase property investment options on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), which currently hosts seven listed REITs. “There are 22 REITs that are supposed to list in the next couple of years,” Aurangzeb said during a virtual address on October 6. Read More: New Easypaisa Feature Could Bring Millions of Investors to PSX Adding all 22 planned listings would take the total to 29, slightly more than four times the existing number. Aurangzeb linked companies’ fundraising plans to investment in the wider economy. Businesses raising equity on the exchange were “obviously looking to invest, expand local commercial operations or set up new units,” he said. Record IPO fundraising supports expansion The expected REIT listings come during a record year for Pakistan’s initial public offerings. Bloomberg’s compiled data showed 13 deals had raised Rs24.9 billion, equivalent to $89.8 million. A stock market rally during 2024 and 2025 has helped bring companies back to the equity market. Growing retail participation over recent years has also supported that return. Arif Habib Dolmen REIT Management alone plans to add 12 listed REITs to its existing four. Chairperson Arif Habib outlined that plan last week, according to the report. Those additions would account for more than half the anticipated 22 listings. Investor participation reaches new highs Official figures provide further evidence of the expanding investor base. At an October 1 PSX ceremony, Aurangzeb said September brought a record 25,281 new investors. That took the exchange’s investor count to 656,218, compared with 321,144 in March 2024, according to the Press Information Department. The ceremony marked the listing of Naya Nazimabad Apartments REIT. Aurangzeb said its book-building portion attracted subscriptions of around eight times the available offering. The general public portion drew subscriptions of 4.3 times. He also reported 11 companies coming to market during fiscal year 2026, the highest number in over two decades. Another five IPOs followed during the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. These fiscal-year figures cover different reporting periods from Bloomberg’s 2026 tally. Aurangzeb stressed that market confidence should finance businesses, infrastructure, housing, innovation and employment. A broader route into property investment REITs pool investors’ money into real estate, allowing participation without buying an entire property. Listed units also provide a stock exchange route into the sector. Read More: VEON Raises Pakistan Investment Plan to $1.5 Billion Pakistan’s market already includes property development schemes. In December 2022, PSX marked Globe Residency REIT’s listing as the country’s first listed developmental REIT. Arif Habib Dolmen REIT Management brought that scheme to the exchange. The proposed additions would broaden that market substantially. However, the 22 listings remain an expected pipeline over two years, rather than completed offerings.

YouTube Tax Pakistan: FBR’s Rs195 Benchmark Explained

Business, Star Business, Top Stories

Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue has set an earnings benchmark of Rs195 ($0.71) per 1,000 YouTube views for taxing monetized content. The mechanism also counts gifts and free products received in exchange for posts. The figure estimates earnings, rather than the tax payable. Existing Income Tax Ordinance provisions determine the applicable tax. The September 23 notification follows draft rules issued in April. It allows expense deductions up to 30 percent of revenue. FBR’s resident procedure, SRO 1641(I)/2026, also permits revisions to the benchmark. An FBR official told Arab News on Tuesday that views alone would not trigger the estimate. Content must generate income. “Once it is clear that the content is monetized, the formula multiplies Rs195 by the ‘total number of views in 1000s’,” the official said. Read More: FBR to Start Deducting 5% Tax From Social Media Revenue The official requested anonymity because he lacked authorization to speak to the media. Explaining the benchmark, he said: “This figure of PKR195 was used because our research and interactions with people making monetized content in Pakistan lead us to this figure. This is the below average amount normal Pakistani content fetches per 1000 views on YouTube across different types of content and different types of content creators.” Lower earnings require evidence The procedure uses whichever is higher: the view-based estimate or actual remuneration, including payments in kind. Creators on other platforms would declare their total remuneration for the relevant period. However, creators can challenge an estimate exceeding their earnings. “If a person is of the view that the total remuneration received is less than the threshold prescribed… the person is required to demonstrate evidence to this effect to the satisfaction of the Commissioner,” the notification read, according to Arab News. Evidence can include platform revenue reports, payout statements matching bank credits, withholding certificates, and sponsorship or goods-related contracts and invoices. “The tax commissioner can also ask a creator to provide access to their social media dashboard under relevant legal provisions,” the official said. Gifts count as income “Payment in kind counts,” he said. Free products or gifts supplied in return for content can therefore make a post “paid.” Creators should retain monetization-off or zero-earnings reports, payout statements and bank records to establish that posts earned nothing. Records should also demonstrate the absence of sponsorships, brand deals or gifted products. Quarterly payments and audience thresholds Creators must pay quarterly advance income tax and separately declare earnings in their annual returns. Commissioners can correct under-declarations and recover outstanding amounts. Read More: New FBR Rule Hits Digital Creators With 5% to 10% Tax The resident procedure covers income from interactions with users in Pakistan. It sets no minimum audience threshold, the official said. “Non-residents are covered only above 50,000 users in Pakistan in a tax year, or 12,250 in a quarter,” he added. Business Recorder separately reported that SRO 1642(I)/2026 governs qualifying non-residents’ Pakistan-source income from user interactions. This distinguishes their procedure from the resident rules.

Connect with Us