ISLAMABAD: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has congratulated Pakistan for carrying out successful general elections on Wednesday, his spokesman said.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan on Thursday declared victory on Thursday and is poised to become Pakistan’s next prime minister as his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the biggest party in parliament.
“The Secretary-General congratulates the people of Pakistan on the July 25 general elections. By exercising their constitutional right to vote, the people of Pakistan have reaffirmed their commitment to a democratic Pakistan,” Guterres was quoted as saying by Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general.
The UN chief also commended the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for organizing the polls.
He also appreciated the efforts to include more women, the disabled and other groups as voters.
“Noting positive initiatives related to training and efforts to enhance the inclusion of women, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups, as well as first-time voters, in the electoral process,” the statement reads.
It added that the UN was committed to support the ECP.
“The secretary-general looks forward to the formation of the new government and wishes it success in providing the people of Pakistan a stable, democratic, and prosperous future.”
UN secretary-general congratulates Pakistan on successful elections
UN secretary-general congratulates Pakistan on successful elections
- United Nations is committed to supporting the Electoral Commission, UN Chief said
- Secretary-general appreciated the inclusion of women, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups, as well as first-time voters, in the electoral process
Rating firm S&P says it won’t rush Iran war downgrades, sees risks for countries like Pakistan
- Agency says it is monitoring indebted energy importers as higher oil prices strain finances
- Gulf economies seen better placed to weather shock, though Bahrain flagged as vulnerable
LONDON: S&P Global said it would not make any knee-jerk sovereign rating cuts following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, but warned on Thursday that soaring oil and gas prices were putting a number of already cash-strapped countries at risk.
The firm’s top analysts said in a webinar that the conflict, which has involved US and Israeli strikes against Iran and Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, was now moving from a low- to moderate-risk scenario.
Most Gulf countries had enough fiscal buffers, however, to weather the crisis for a while, with more lowly rated Bahrain the only clear exception.
Qatar’s banking sector could also struggle if there were significant deposit outflows in reaction to the conflict, although there was no evidence of such strains at the moment, they said.
“We don’t want to jump the gun and just say things are bad,” S&P’s head global sovereign analyst, Roberto Sifon-Arevalo, said.
The longer the crisis was prolonged, though, “the more difficult it is going to be,” he added.
Sifon-Arevalo said Asia was the second-most exposed region, due to many of its countries being significant Gulf oil and gas importers.
India, Thailand and Indonesia have relatively lower reserves of oil, while the region also had already heavily indebted countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka whose finances would be further hurt by rising energy prices.
“We are closely monitoring these (countries) to see how the credit stories evolve,” Sifon-Arevalo said.
