LAHORE: Rafiq Tarar, a former Pakistani judge who served as the country's President from 1997 to 2001, died on Monday in the eastern city of Lahore after a prolonged illness at the age of 92.
Tarar's grandson, Azam Tarar, announced on Twitter that his grandfather had died.
Pakistan's President Arif Ali, Prime Minister Imran Khan and prominent politicians expressed their grief, along with the country's military chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Tarar was elected the country's president after the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif backed him in the presidential election in 1997. Tarar was a close friend of Sharif, who won the parliamentary elections in 1997.
Sharif was ousted from power by a former military dictator Pervez Musharraf in 1999 in a bloodless coup. However, Musharraf allowed Tarar to continue working as President until 2001 when he forced Tarar to resign and replaced him.
Musharraf is currently living in self-imposed exiled in Dubai after being forced to resign in 2008 when politicians backing him lost parliamentary elections. Sharif, who was ordered out in 2017 by a court over charges of corruption, has been living in exile in London.
Former Pakistani president Rafiq Tarar dies at 92
https://arab.news/vzf25
Former Pakistani president Rafiq Tarar dies at 92
- Tarar was elected the country's president in 1997
- He was a close friend of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif
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.
