ISLAMABAD : Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa began a three-day visit to China on Sunday, Pakistan’s military said, days after a Pakistani minister stirred unease about Chinese Silk Road projects in the South Asian nation.
Bajwa is the most senior Pakistani figure to visit staunch ally China since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan took office in August, and his trip comes a week after China’s top diplomat visited Islamabad.
Pakistan has deepened ties with China in recent years as relations with the United States have frayed.
Bajwa may be hoping in Beijing to smooth out any Chinese alarm at comments last week by Pakistan’s commerce minister, Abdul Razak Dawood, who suggested suspending for a year projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistan leg of China’s Belt and Road Initiative that includes recreating the old Silk Road trading route.
“During the visit, COAS will interact with various Chinese leaders including his counterpart,” Major General Asif Ghafoor, the military spokesman, tweeted late on Sunday.
Beijing has pledged to invest about $60 billion in Pakistan for infrastructure for the Belt and Road project.
Dawood, in an interview with the Financial Times, also suggested the CPEC contracts had been unfairly negotiated by the previous government and were too favorable to the Chinese. Later he said the comments were taken out of context, but did not dispute their veracity.
The critical comments were published just after China’s top diplomat, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, visited Pakistan and the two sides reaffirmed the mutual benefits of the Beijing-funded projects.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s government said it wanted CPEC to include more projects with a focus on socio-economic development, something which would align more with the populist agenda of Khan’s new administration.
Pakistan’s army chief visits Beijing after ‘Silk Road’ tension
Pakistan’s army chief visits Beijing after ‘Silk Road’ tension
- “During the visit, COAS will interact with various Chinese leaders including his counterpart,” Major General Asif Ghafoor, the military spokesman, tweeted late on Sunday
- Beijing has pledged to invest about $60 billion in Pakistan for infrastructure for the Belt and Road project
Pakistan stock market crosses record 174,000 points during intraday trading
- Pakistan Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad says stock market’s equity investor base has increased by over 120,000 in last 18 months
- Official says stock market’s record levels reflect growing investor confidence supported by continued macro stability and key reforms
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) crossed a record 174,000 points on Monday, Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad said, marking a strong start to the business week.
According to the data available on the PSX’s official website, the KSE-100 benchmark reported 174,411.72 points during the intraday trading on Monday morning.
“Another milestone for Pakistan’s equity market,” Schehzad wrote on social media platform X. “The KSE-100 Index has crossed 174,400 points, marking yet another record high.”
Pointing out the stock market’s achievements this year, Schehzad said the PSX has delivered 50 percent plus returns in US dollar terms to investors since January this year, “making it one of the best markets in Asia.”
He noted that investors’ participation in the PSX is rising fast, adding that the equity investor base has increased by over 120,000 to cross the 450,000 figure in the last 18 months, marking a 37 percent increase.
“These record levels reflect growing investor confidence, supported by continued macro stability, key reforms, and improving prospects for more sustainable, higher future growth,” he said.
Pakistan’s stocks have surged in recent years, marking a strong performance this year as Islamabad moves to consolidate its financial recovery after years of economic turbulence, which saw it on the verge of a sovereign default in June 2023.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have surged past the $21 billion mark, as per the central bank’s latest data.
In recent years, the South Asian country has also implemented tough structural reforms under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programs, aimed at reducing fiscal deficits and restoring investor confidence.
