KARACHI: Political turmoil in Pakistan has clouded the economic outlook of the South Asian country, with the stock market recording erosion of more than 1,200 points and financial experts predicting a “difficult year” ahead.
Last week, international credit rating agency Moody’s termed an ongoing no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan as “credit negative” for the country.
On Monday, the Pakistani stock market’s benchmark KSE 100 index declined by 2.7 percent, or 1,250 points, to close at 43,902 points as investors resorted to selling amid higher uncertainty following Sunday’s political developments. These included the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, who belongs to Khan’s party, blocking a vote on the no-confidence motion from taking place, and the president subsequently dissolving the lower house of parliament on the PM’s advice, triggering political and constitutional crisis in the country.
“Stocks fell across the board on investor concerns for political crises,” Ahsan Mehanti, Chief Executive Officer of Arif Habib Corporation, told Arab News. “Rupee instability, slump in global crude oil prices and investor concerns for political noise, current account deficit and higher import bills played a catalyst role in record bearish close.”
Analysts say the political crisis may also lead to a delay in economic reforms and, most importantly, in talks with the International Monetary fund for the completion of a $6 billion loan program whose seventh review is ongoing.
“Markets negatively respond to uncertainty and the current political crisis has substantially increased uncertainty for the next several months,” said Haroon Sharif, former Chairman Board of Investment. “As Moody’s has pointed out, this situation will lead to a slowdown in reforms.”
“That means a potential delay in IMF tranche, higher premium on bond and sukuk issues and further pressure on current account,” Sharif said. “For the medium term, I see a slowdown in CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) industrial cooperation, some withdrawal of diaspora investments and a hold on future investments. So, it’s going to be a difficult year ahead from an investment perspective.”
Pakistan is undergoing its seventh review under the IMF’s program and has so far received $3 billion out of the stipulated $6 billion. Moody’s said last week discussions between Pakistan and the IMF appeared to have stalled since early March, with the IMF expressing concerns over a government relief package in response to rising inflation.
Pakistani senior economists have also expressed concern over the political situation, saying the uncertainty was worrying investors.
“The current state of affairs in Pakistan has made local and foreign investors stay away from active business routines,” senior economist Dr. Ashfaque Hassan Khan said. “The impact of political crisis are visible and are reflected in the sharp depreciation of Pak rupee which is trading at all time low.”
Pakistan has faced significant pressure on its foreign-exchange reserves in recent months, amid elevated global commodity prices and a recovery in domestic demand. The Russia-Ukraine military conflict, which has driven up global commodity prices, has amplified pressure on its external position.
Official forex reserves of Pakistan have decreased by $2.915 billion to $12 billion, mainly due to payments made to external creditors including China. The South Asian country is also expecting $2.3 billion to be returned by China after Beijing agreed to rollover a syndicated facility.
The Pakistan Finance ministry last week said Pakistan’s economic performance was strong and still on a trajectory compatible with an economic growth target of around five percent in the current fiscal year.
However, the ministry also warned that recent geopolitical tensions, in particular the Ukraine crisis, were the most important external risk factor, while domestic political conditions were also building domestic risks.
Pakistan equities plunge by over 1,200 points as political turmoil clouds economic outlook
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Pakistan equities plunge by over 1,200 points as political turmoil clouds economic outlook
- Analysts say crisis may lead to delay in economic reforms, talks with IMF for completion of $6 billion loan program
- Pakistan has faced pressure on forex reserves in recent months amid elevated global commodity prices
Pakistan fast bowler Amir to miss first T20I against Ireland after visa delay
- Mohammad Amir gets travel visa, expected to join squad from Friday, confirms PCB
- Pakistan will play three T20Is against Ireland and four against England this month
ISLAMABAD: Left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir has received his travel visa but won’t make it in time to play the first T20I match against Ireland on Friday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed.
Amir did not travel to Ireland with Pakistan’s squad this week due to visa delay issues. Pakistan will play a three-match T20I series against the Irish side from May 10-14 in Dublin before departing for the UK where they will play against England in a four-match T20I series.
“Fast bowler Mohammad Amir will miss the first T20I due to delays in the issuance of his visa,” the PCB said in a statement on Thursday. “He is expected to join the side on Friday.”
Amir, 32, came out of international retirement last month for the home series against New Zealand, drawn 2-2. The pacer is eyeing a spot in the 15-man squad for next month’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.
The three-match series in Dublin is also World Cup preparation as both teams are in the same group alongside India, US and Canada.
Amir will bolster Pakistan’s pace battery which comprises the likes of Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf.
Squads:
Ireland: Paul Stirling (captain), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir (unavailable for first T20I), Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan.
Pakistan to introduce new SOPs for security of Chinese nationals— interior minister
- Pakistan has recently witnessed surge in militant attacks on Chinese nationals
- A suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan in March killed five Chinese engineers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government will craft new standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the security of Chinese nationals working and living in the country, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday.
Pakistan has seen a rise in attacks on Chinese nationals in the country in recent months. A suicide bomber in March rammed his vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project in northwestern Pakistan. Five Chinese engineers were killed in the attack.
Pakistan has said it has since then taken steps to enhance the security of Chinese nationals in the country.
“Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi says new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) related to the security of Chinese nationals will be crafted and it will be implemented in letter and spirit,” the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Naqvi was speaking to Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong in Islamabad, the state media said, adding that he vowed to bring the perpetrators of the March attack to justice.
“Mohsin Naqvi said no conspiracy can sabotage the decades-old Pak-China friendship,” Radio Pakistan said.
Zaidong expressed satisfaction with the measures taken by Pakistani authorities for the security of Chinese nationals.
The Dasu attack was the third major one in a little over a week on China’s interests in the South Asian nation, where Beijing has invested over $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of its wider Belt and Road initiative.
Chinese interests in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province have also been under attack primarily by militants who seek to push Beijing out of the mineral-rich territory.
Pakistan Navy hands over rescued Iranian fishermen to Tehran on humanitarian grounds
- Pakistan Navy ship Yarmook rescued eight Iranian fishermen in March after their ship caught fire in open sea
- Successful operation example of Pakistan Navy’s ability to deal with all kinds of situations, says army’s media wing
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy on Thursday handed over eight Iranian fishermen it had rescued in an earlier operation to Iranian officials on humanitarian grounds, the military’s media wing said in a statement.
The rescue operation was conducted in March when a Pakistan Navy ship, Yarmook, heard a distress call from a fire-stricken boat in the open sea. Yarmook swiftly acted, the Pakistani military’s media wing said, adding that a successful rescue operation was carried out that saw all eight fishermen rescued and the fire extinguished.
“Pakistan Navy has handed over eight rescued Iranian fishermen to Iran’s diplomatic authorities,” the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
“The prompt and successful rescue operation is a practical example of Pakistan Navy’s ability to deal with all kinds of situations at sea.”
In February, the Pakistan Navy rescued nine Indian seamen who were stranded in a disabled tug en route to Sharjah.
The vessel, Ocean Tug SAS-5 registered at St. Kitts & Nevis, had been disabled for days near the Indian coast after a failure of its electric generators at a position 167 nautical miles southeast of the Pakistani port city of Karachi, according to Pakistan Navy.
Pakistan says will share concerns about terror groups threatening its security in ongoing US talks
- Pakistan and United States are holding Pakistan-US Counterterrorism Dialogue in Washington
- Pakistan has said suicide attack that killed five Chinese workers in March was planned in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Foreign Office said on Thursday Islamabad would share its concerns regarding terror groups that threatened its security with Washington as the two countries hold counterterrorism talks in the United States this week.
The three-day talks, which commenced on Wednesday and will conclude on May 10, are part of the Pakistan-US Counterterrorism Dialogue. The Pakistani delegation is led by the Additional Secretary United Nations division at the foreign ministry, Syed Haider Shah.
The initial round took place last year in Islamabad, where discussions centered on the counterterrorism landscape in Pakistan and the wider region.
“The counterterrorism talks between Pakistan and the United States are ongoing and the two sides will discuss issues related to security and countering violent extremism and combating terrorism financing,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters in a weekly briefing in Islamabad, saying terrorism posed a collective threat to the international community.
“It is important for Islamabad to share its concerns about terrorist groups that threaten its security with its interlocutors during these dialogues and this is a priority for Pakistan when we engage in these talks,” she added.
The FO statement comes two days after Pakistan’s military said a suicide bomb attack that killed five Chinese engineers was planned in neighboring Afghanistan, and that the bomber was also an Afghan national.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have soured in recent months as Islamabad says Kabul is not doing enough to tackle militant groups targeting Pakistan from across the border. Kabul says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue for Islamabad and has denied allowing the use of its territory to militants.
Gaza
At Thursday’s press briefing, the Pakistan foreign office also condemned Israel’s attack on a Jordanian aid corps for humanitarian assistance to occupied Gaza.
“It is not just a flagrant violation of the obligations of the occupying power but a dangerous provocation that may lead to further escalation of tensions in the region,” Baloch said, condemning the invasion and seizure of the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza by Israeli forces in what Islamabad said was defiance of international warnings and acceptable international behavior.
“With its latest actions, Israeli occupation authorities have once again demonstrated their contempt for international humanitarian law as they continue to pursue an abhorrent policy of genocide and extermination in Gaza,” Baloch added.
Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations
Amid a flurry of visits between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, including by the Saudi foreign minister and a high-powered business delegation to Islamabad and two visits by the Pakistani prime minister to Riyadh, the foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were engaged in a “robust dialogue” on cooperation in diverse domains, including in the energy sector.
“The two sides are also engaged in discussions for increased Saudi investments in Pakistan,” she added.
Baloch highlighted Pakistan’s emphasis on increased engagement, particularly with the Middle East, to attract foreign investment, saying the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) set up last year to oversee foreign financing was implementing measures to offer incentives to foreign investors in support of this effort.
Pak-Iran Gas pipeline
Baloch said the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline was a “priority” for the country and reiterated that the South Asian nation would decide on the issue based on its own interest.
“Pakistan will take decisions based on its own national interest, and the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is a priority for Pakistan,” she added.
The two countries signed an agreement to construct the pipeline from Iran’s South Fars gas field to Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh provinces in 2010, but work on Pakistan’s portion has been held up due to fears of US sanctions.
In March, Islamabad said it would seek a US sanctions waiver for the pipeline. Washington, however, has said it does not support the project and cautioned about the risk of sanctions in doing business with Tehran.
Pakistan advance to Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final for first time since 2011 after beating Canada
- Pakistan made a dramatic comeback in the last match when they faced a 2-0 deficit in the first 17 minutes
- Green Shirts will face Japan again in the final on Saturday after drawing a match with them in the tournament
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan have surged into the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2024 after making a dramatic comeback in their last match against Canada, setting the stage for a thrilling showdown with Japan on Saturday.
The Green Shirts have had a notable history in the international men’s field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. Over the years, Pakistan have secured the championship three times, occurring in 1999, 2000, and 2003.
However, their performance remained on a decline in recent years, making it the first time Pakistan have advanced to the tournament final since 2011.
“Pakistan and Japan have qualified for final of the 30th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey tournament,” the state-owned Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday. “The final match of the tournament will be played on Saturday in Ipoh, Malaysia.”
In their last match against Canada on Wednesday, Pakistan faced a 2-0 deficit in the first 17 minutes, though the players showed resilience and prowess to help the squad make a comeback and clinch a narrow 5-4 victory.
Currently leading the table after four matches with three victories and a draw, Pakistan will face Japan in the final match. The two teams drew their previous game after putting in all their effort to defeat each other.
Malaysia and New Zealand trail behind, tied with six points each, occupying the third and fourth spots respectively in the tournament standings.
