KARACHI: The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) achieved a record-breaking profit of Rs 85.9 billion in the year 2025, ARY News reported.Following this massive profit, the state-owned bank announced a staggering 350% dividend (Rs 35 per share) for its shareholders.The NBP disclosed that its profit before tax reached Rs 178.9 billion, representing a 216% increase compared to the previous year.The bank’s total earnings jumped to Rs 311.7 billion, marking a growth of 31.9%. Meanwhile, its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained strong at 26.21%.NBP further reported that its Islamic banking assets rose to a whopping Rs 651.9 billion, following a staggering growth of 95.5%.Additionally, the bank contributed Rs 93 billion in taxes to the national exchequer for the year 2025.Earlier, The federal government has announced the Zakat Nisab for the year 1447 A.H. (2026), setting the minimum balance required for mandatory Zakat deduction from bank accounts.According to an official notification, the Nisab for Zakat has been fixed at Rs503,529 for savings bank accounts, profit-and-loss sharing accounts, and other similar accounts.Under the new threshold, no Zakat will be deducted at source if the balance in an account is below Rs503,529 on the first day of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak, 1447 A.H.This year’s Nisab is significantly higher than last year’s threshold of Rs179,689, reflecting a sharp increase of Rs323,840.The rise is attributed to soaring gold and silver prices in Pakistan, in line with upward trends in the international market amid global political and economic uncertainty.The first day of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak has been notified as the official “deduction date,” which is expected to fall on February 19, 2026, subject to the sighting of the moon. On this day, banks will remain closed for public dealing and will carry out Zakat deductions instead.The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety has directed all Zakat Collection and Controlling Agencies (ZCCAs) to deduct Zakat accordingly.The agencies have also been instructed to submit Form CZ-08 (A&B) to the ministry immediately after depositing the collected amount into the Central Zakat Account (CZ-08) maintained at the State Bank of Pakistan.According to the notification, Zakat will be deducted from accounts holding Rs503,529 or more unless the account holder has submitted a valid declaration for exemption.