ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s anti-government protesters on Thursday blocked major roads and highways in different parts of the country in a bid to force Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign, demanding fresh elections in the country.
The demonstrators led by opposition leader and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, launched street agitation as part of their “Plan B” to topple the government after failing to push Khan out through a two-week long protest sit-in in Islamabad.
“This protest will continue not for a day but for a month if our leadership instructs,” said JUI-F secretary general, Maulana Nasir Mehmood, while addressing a group of protesters who blocked the country’s main Karakoram Highway — an important trade route between Pakistan and China that also connects the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province with its picturesque northern areas.
The JUI-F protesters also blocked other key routes in KP and a main connecting Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
The party’s Balochistan chapter further announced to block the highway connecting Pakistan to neighboring Iran.
Firebrand religious cleric, Rahman, on Wednesday announced to call off his two-week long anti-government sit-in in Islamabad and told his party workers to spread their protest to other parts of the country.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators reached Islamabad on October 31 where they camped for about two weeks, demanding the prime minister’s resignation and fresh polls in the country over the allegations of electoral fraud last year and mismanagement of Pakistan’s economy. The government denies both charges.
Rehman is a veteran politician who enjoys support in religious circles across the country and has a representation in the country’s parliament. As for the closure of the roads, his party has yet to share a detailed plan as to when and where a road would be closed and how long would the new phase of the protest continue.
The JUI-F and other opposition parties have been trying to capitalize on the anger and frustration of the masses against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration that came to power last year, promising ten million new jobs for the youth, five million low-cost houses and economic reforms to benefit the middle class.
But the economy has nosedived with double-digit inflation and rampant unemployment due to the closure of industry, as the government signed a $6 billion bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stave off a balance-of-payments crisis.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan has stabilized the deteriorating economy … and Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ‘Plan B’ will fail like his ‘Plan A,’” Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, told media.
Anti-government protesters block roads in Pakistan in fresh wave of agitation
Anti-government protesters block roads in Pakistan in fresh wave of agitation
- Firebrand cleric leading the protests called for cross-country agitation
- Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to step down as thousands of protesters camped in Islamabad for two weeks
Pakistan stocks close at record high over current account surplus, falling bond yields
- KSE-100 index gains 1,646.79 points or 0.97% to close at new high of 171,960.64 points
- Pakistan’s central bank posted a current account surplus of $100 million in November
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks closed at an all-time high of 171,960.4 points on Thursday, with financial analysts attributing the surge to increasing investor confidence stemming from a current account surplus reported in November and a drop in government bond yields.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,646.79 points or 0.97% to close at an all-time high of 171,960.64 points on Thursday. The previous day, Pakistani stocks surged to 170,313.85 points at close of business.
Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer at Arif Habib Commodities, said the optimistic mood at the stock exchange was fueled by the $100 million current account surplus reported by the central bank in November.
“Speculations ahead of year-end close and fall in government bond yields up to 70 basis points after the SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) policy easing played the catalyst role in bullish activity at PSX,” Mehanti told Arab News.
The surplus was a welcome development for Islamabad as Pakistan’s central bank reported a $291 million deficit in October.
Topline Securities, a Pakistani brokerage firm, said in its daily market review that strong buying by local funds followed a drop in Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) yields, which boosted investor confidence.
PIB yields are the returns on bonds or government-backed securities that pay fixed semi-annual interest, with rates influenced by market demand and SBP auctions.
“Strength in ENGRO (Engro Corporation), FFC (Fauji Fertilizer Company), UBL (United Bank Limited), LUCK (Lucky Cement) and BAHL (Bank AL Habib) underpinned positive momentum, collectively contributing 1,504 points to the index,” the brokerage firm wrote on X.
“This upside was partly offset by declines in PIOC (Pakistan International Oil Company), DHPL (D.H. Corporation Limited) and MLCF (Millat Tractor Limited), which together subtracted 176 points.”
The sustained rise in equities comes amid improving liquidity conditions and continued investor participation, with market participants focusing on corporate earnings, sector-specific developments and broader macroeconomic signals.
Earlier on Monday, Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points to 10.5%, a move that surprised analysts and followed four consecutive policy meetings where rates were held unchanged.
The cut came despite an International Monetary Fund staff report earlier this month cautioning against premature monetary easing.
Inflation eased to 6.1% in November, remaining within the SBP’s target band, though analysts have warned that price pressures could resurface later in the fiscal year as base effects fade and food and transport costs remain volatile.
