ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s parliamentary parties have condemned the country’s envoy to the Human Rights Council for abstaining from voting on a resolution against the killing of civilians and other human rights violations in Syria.
“Pakistan has committed a blunder by not supporting the resolution, and it must be investigated as to why our envoy abstained from voting,” Sen. Taj Haider of the Pakistan Peoples Party told Arab News.
The government should explain its position in Parliament as it is a matter of grave public concern, he said.
“By abstaining from the vote, we indirectly sent a message to the international community that Pakistan stands with the oppressor in Syria instead of the innocent people,” he added.
The resolution was adopted on March 5 by a vote of 29 in favor and four against. Fourteen countries, including Pakistan, abstained.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Friday, Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the envoy’s abstention “is a matter of shame.”
He was responding to questions from Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a partner in the coalition government.
JUI-F National Assembly member Naeema Kishwar said her party demands that the government investigate the matter and present a detailed report in Parliament.
“We want Parliament to hold the envoy accountable for the blunder,” she told Arab News. “It’s a matter of shame for us that we didn’t vote in favor of a resolution that condemned violence against the Syrian people.”
She added: “We also want Parliament to pass a consensus resolution condemning atrocities against innocent Syrians.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf National Assembly member Dr. Shireen Mazari told Arab News: “Syria has become a battlefield where different Muslim countries have different positions, but we should be very clear in our stance that we condemn violence against innocent people in all its forms.”
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan National Assembly member Ali Raza Abidi told Arab News that the matter “should be investigated if the diplomat stayed back because of any pressure or arrangement.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan supports a peaceful political solution to the Syrian crisis.
“We’re concerned at the humanitarian situation, and urge all sides to enable the provision of humanitarian and medical assistance to innocent men, women and children, and to take urgent measures for their safety and security,” he told Arab News.
Faisal refused to say if the ministry will investigate the envoy for abstaining from the vote. But Asif assured the National Assembly that he would provide an explanation for the abstention on Monday.
Pakistani parties condemn envoy’s abstention from UN vote on Syria
Pakistani parties condemn envoy’s abstention from UN vote on Syria
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
