ISLAMABAD: In a joint venture, Kuwait Investment Authority, the Pakistan government, Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited (PKIC) and R.J. Fleming & Co. Ltd. (Dubai) have entered into an agreement to set up and manage a private equity fund in Pakistan, PKIC said in a statement.
PKIC is the largest AAA rated development financial institution engaged in investment and development banking activities in Pakistan.
Pakistan and Kuwait have strong diplomatic ties and agreed to upgrade their bilateral relations in all sectors last year. Kuwait’s foreign minister Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al-Sabah visited Islamabad in March 2021 and expressed his country’s resolve to expand cooperation in “diverse fields.”
“With PKIC’s strong local footprint and experience, and R.J. Fleming’s international expertise and networks this [private equity fund] is will be a landmark partnership in the Pakistan private equity market,” PKIC said.
The fund will help proven Pakistani business entrepreneurs access growth capital to scale in the local and regional markets, provide best practice governance and upgrade business management skills enabling local or international options for listing or sale.
R.J. Fleming & Co. (DIFC) is the advisory firm owned and associated with R.J. Fleming & Co. Ltd. in London, which was founded by Roderick J. Fleming, Chairman of Robert Fleming & Co, one of Britain’s oldest Merchant Banks.
“With recent international institutional participation in the early-stage market in Pakistan and very large conglomerates already served well, there is a gap and opportunity to work with medium to large scale companies and with proven reputable business leaders to help achieve their true growth potential,” the statement said.
Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company and R.J. Fleming to set up private equity fund in Pakistan
https://arab.news/cjg6h
Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company and R.J. Fleming to set up private equity fund in Pakistan
- Fund will help proven Pakistani business entrepreneurs access growth capital to scale in local and regional markets
- Will provide best practice governance, upgrade business management skills enabling options for listing or sale
Medical team inspects ex-PM Imran Khan's eye condition at Rawalpindi prison — official
- Khan has suffered severe vision loss in his right eye due to central retinal vein occlusion, a court-appointed lawyer said this week
- The ex-premier's party has rejected his medical examination 'behind closed doors, without the presence of personal physicians or family'
ISLAMABAD: A team of doctors on Sunday inspected jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's eye condition at Rawalpindi's Adiala prison, the jail superintendent said, after his lawyer reported a significant loss of sight in his right eye.
The development followed a report submitted to the Supreme Court by a lawyer appointed as amicus curiae who was asked to visit Khan at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail earlier this month. The report said the 73-year-old had suffered severe vision loss in his right eye due to central retinal vein occlusion, leaving him with only 15 percent sight in the affected eye.
The findings triggered a sit-in by an opposition alliance, including members of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, demanding his immediate transfer to Islamabad’s Al-Shifa Hospital. Khan was also allowed to speak to his sons for about 20 minutes, according to his family, despite the former premier’s limited interactions with family and legal team in recent months due to restrictions that the PTI has challenged in court.
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, the Adiala Jail superintendent said a team of expert doctors from various hospitals had arrived at the prison with necessary medical equipment and medicines and was conducting a detailed examination of the ex-premier's eye.
"Detailed eye check-up is underway under the supervision of the Medical Board," the statement read. "Medical examination is being conducted under strict security arrangements. The report of the medical team is likely to be compiled soon."
The development comes a day after Pakistan’s government said on Saturday it has decided to transfer jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to a hospital and form a medical board for his eye treatment.
“Imran Khan has been provided the facility to speak with his sons on the phone and, in view of his health, it has also been decided to transfer him to hospital and constitute a medical board,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on X. “The government gives priority to humanitarian considerations and legal requirements.”
But Khan's PTI party rejected his medical examination "behind closed doors, without the presence of his personal physicians or even a family representative."
"A medical assessment carried out in secrecy does not restore public confidence; it deepens suspicion," Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a PTI spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday evening.
"Access to independent medical professionals and family oversight is not a privilege, it is a fundamental right of any detainee. Denying that access undermines due process and fuels legitimate fears about the credibility of the findings."
Meanwhile, the opposition alliance continued its protest sit-in at parliament for a third consecutive day on Sunday to move the ex-premier to the hospital.
The former cricket star-turned-politician has been in prison since 2023 after being convicted in a graft case. He was removed from office in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.
