ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government will announce the “first ever” National Security Policy of the country on Monday, local media reported.
PM Khan has summoned a meeting of the high-powered National Security Committee which will be attended by senior military officials, including Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the country’s spy master Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, the Dawn newspaper reported, citing Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain.
The civilian and military leadership will discuss internal and external security issues at the key meeting.
“It will be the first ever National Security Policy to be approved at the meeting and later it will be made public,” Hussain was quoted as saying.
He said the policy would cover all internal and external security aspects, including the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan.
Earlier this month, a parliamentary committee on national security met under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser for a briefing on the newly drafted National Security Policy, the office of the Pakistani national security adviser said in a statement.
The details of the policy were presented to the committee by National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr. Moeed Yusuf.
This was the first time in the history of Pakistan, according to the government, that a national security policy document that outlined “the challenges and opportunities facing Pakistan in the coming years” and which provided “policy guidelines for mitigation and actualizing opportunities through a whole-of-government approach” had been presented before parliament.
“Moeed explained that the National Security Policy is designed to leverage the symbiotic relationship between human security, economic security and military security with the prosperity and safety of citizens as its principal focus,” the statement read.
“It [the policy] endeavors to put economic security at the core of policy priorities to expand the national resource pie for greater investments in human and military security.”
The process of consultations with relevant stakeholders for the formulation of the policy was initiated in 2014 after the establishment of the National Security Division, it added.
Government to unveil Pakistan’s new national security policy today after high-profile huddle
https://arab.news/83pfc
Government to unveil Pakistan’s new national security policy today after high-profile huddle
- Policy will cover all internal and external security affairs, including Afghanistan
- The process of consultations to formulate the policy was initiated in 2014
Pakistan stock market sheds over 2,000 points amid regional tensions
- KSE-100 index lost 2,025.53 points, or 1.1 percent, to close at 182,384.14
- The development comes amid public unrest in Iran, possibility of a US strike
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell sharply and lost more than 2,000 points during the intraday trade on Monday, with analysts blaming the slump on geopolitical uncertainty linked to heightened tensions in the region.
The benchmark KSE-100 index lost 2,025.53 points, or 1.1 percent, to close at 182,384.14 points, down from 184,409.67 points at the weekend close, according to PSX data.
The development came amid public unrest in Iran over worsening economic conditions, with the death toll reaching nearly 550 and the government arresting more than 10,600 people in a crackdown.
US President Donald Trump said late Sunday his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran but cautioned he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues arrests.
“[Pakistan] stocks slumped on geopolitical uncertainty,” Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer at Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News. “Weak global equities, political noise, and security unrest played a catalyst role in selling activity at PSX.”
Meanwhile, Pakistani market research firm Topline Securities said activity slowed noticeably as buying interest from local funds eased after last week’s strong rally.
“With the market having advanced nearly 3 percent on a WoW (week on week) basis, investors chose to lock in gains, resulting in broad-based profit-taking during the session,” it said on X.
“The pullback appears to be a healthy consolidation after the recent sharp up-move, rather than a shift in the market’s underlying sentiment.”
It said that a total of 1,055 million shares were traded at the market on Monday, with Fauji Foods Limited (FFL) topping the volume chart with 65.6 million shares.
Pakistan’s stock market has gained momentum in recent months as broad institutional buying boosted investor confidence amid ongoing economic reforms under international lending programs.
Around 135,000 new investors have joined the PSX over the last 18 months. Last week, Pakistani stocks climbed to a fresh all-time high with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 186,000-point mark for the first time ever.
