ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan left on a crucial visit to China on Thursday, even as the country continued to face widespread protests by far-right Islamist groups in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling acquitting a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was on death row for blasphemy.
Analysts warned that in the absence of a head of state, the situation may escalate further, especially after Khan issued a stern warning to agitators on Wednesday not to challenge the writ of the state. “It may create chaos and provide more space for radical elements since the central decision making authority will be absent from the country,” Qamar Cheema, a political analyst and an international relations expert, told Arab News.
However, analyst Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal disagreed, reasoning that the “law and order issue is a provincial subject” and that Khan “has already appointed a state minister for interior.” “He has to continue with his schedule,” Jaspal told Arab News.
Khan’s trip, on the invitation of the Chinese leadership, is aimed at holding bilateral talks in Beijing and attending an exp in Shanghai. It was scheduled to begin on November 2, but was rescheduled due to the “inclusion of more engagements in China,” the Prime Minister’s Office told Arab News on Thursday.
During the course of his stay, the premier will meet with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang, with the two countries expected to review bilateral relations and sign several agreements in diverse fields. After his engagements in Beijing, Khan heads to Shanghai to participate in the First China International Import Expo where Pakistan is exhibiting a wide range of export products.
There, the prime minister will deliver a keynote speech at the inaugural session and meet other world leaders on the sidelines of the forum, while also interacting with members of China’s financial and corporate sector.
The country’s economy is in dire straits and any financial assistance from China may provide some much-needed relief to the current administration. Experts believe Khan will use his excursion to China to create a greater economic space for his administration which is also seeking a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“He will get a sufficient bailout from China as well which will put the economy back on track,” Cheema said, to which Jaspal added that the “Chinese may contribute in bailing out Pakistan in the current economic crisis.”
Any financial relief from China is likely to be seen as helpful by Khan’s administration since it will reduce the scale of its dependence on the IMF. Khan has already managed to ease the balance of payment pressure by securing a $6 billion bailout package from Saudi Arabia to stave off an economic crisis.
PM Khan embarks on first visit to China amid unrest
PM Khan embarks on first visit to China amid unrest
- Analysts say premier’s absence could make the situation even more volatile
- Protests by Islamist groups follow top court’s verdict to acquit woman on death row
Pakistan stocks fall amid Afghanistan tensions, recover from intraday lows
- Index drops as much as 3,081 points before paring losses after no retaliation reported from Kabul
- Banking and energy stocks drag benchmark lower as regional tensions weigh on investor sentiment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index fell on Friday amid escalating tensions with Afghanistan as Pakistan bombed government targets in Kabul and Kandahar where the Afghan Taliban leadership is based, triggering early selling pressure before the market recovered from sharp intraday losses.
The strikes marked a significant escalation in cross-border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, raising concerns about potential retaliation and broader regional instability. The development comes at a time when relations between the two sides have been strained for months over security issues along the border and militant attacks in Pakistan that it blames on Afghan-based groups. Kabul denies it harbors such outfits.
Heightened geopolitical risk tends to weigh on investor sentiment, particularly in emerging markets, as uncertainty over security and diplomatic fallout can prompt risk-off positioning and capital outflows. Traders said investors reacted swiftly to the headlines, pricing in the possibility of further escalation.
“KSE 100 Index opened on a negative note and declined to make an intraday low of -3,081 points (down by -1.82 percent), this negativity can be accredited to regional tension with Afghanistan, where Pakistan targeted key military installation of Afghanistan Taliban regime in Kabul,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its market review.
The index dropped as much as 3,081 points, or 1.82 percent, during the session before recovering part of the losses after no retaliatory strikes were reported.
It settled at 168,062 points, down 0.49 percent on the day.
Losses were led by United Bank Limited, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum Limited and MCB Bank Limited, which together shaved 658 points off the index.
National Bank of Pakistan, MCB Bank, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Bank of Punjab and Bank Alfalah led trading by value.
Traded volume and value for the day stood at 533 million shares and 25.5 billion respectively.
Separately, a brokerage house said Pakistan’s headline inflation is likely to rise to around 7.4 percent in February ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s March 9 monetary policy meeting.
“Headline inflation is estimated at ~7.4 percent for Feb’26, compared to ~1.5 percent in SPLY and ~5.8 percent in preceding month,” Insight Research said. “The increase in mainly driven by low base effect.”
