ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly on Friday passed a resolution against a US House of Representatives resolution calling for a probe of alleged voting irregularities in the South Asian nation’s February general election.
The Feb. 8 vote, in which no single party won a clear majority, was marred by violence, communication blackouts and allegations by the party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan that the polls were rigged. The country’s election commission denies this.
Ruling party lawmaker Shaista Malik tabled the resolution which was adopted by the National Assembly despite objections from lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
In a televised speech, Malik said the US resolution was “completely against the facts” and Pakistan would not tolerate any such interference in its internal affairs.
“The House further regrets that the US resolution does not acknowledge the free and enthusiastic exercise of the right to vote by millions of Pakistanis in the recently held General Election,” the resolution read.
Addressing a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch separately said Pakistan “deeply regretted” the resolution, saying it stemmed from an “inadequate and erroneous understanding of the political and electoral processes of Pakistan.”
“It is also an unsolicited interference in Pakistan’s domestic affairs,” she said. “We believe that bilateral relations between countries should be based on mutual respect and sovereign equality … The unsolicited interference from the US Congress is therefore neither welcome nor accepted.”
Baloch said Pakistan wanted relations with the United States “on the basis of mutual trust and confidence and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.”
“We also hope that the US Congress would play a more constructive role in strengthening Pakistan-US bilateral relations by focusing on avenues of collaboration for mutual benefit of the relations,” the spokesperson concluded.
Khan’s party won the most seats in Feb. 8 elections but fell short of a simple majority to form a government, paving the way for Khan’s political rivals lead by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to form a coalition government.
Pakistan parliament denounces US congressional resolution calling for probe into general elections
https://arab.news/cfvqq
Pakistan parliament denounces US congressional resolution calling for probe into general elections
- National Assembly adopts resolution despite objections from Imran Khan party lawmakers
- February 8 vote was marred by violence, communication blackouts and allegations of rigging
Pakistan stocks hit record high on hopes of rate cut, improved US ties
- Benchmark index gains 2,662 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at an all-time high of 187,761 points
- Engro, UBL, Hub Power, Fauji Fertilizer, Meezan Bank and Service Industries added 1,554 points to index
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) hit a record high as it surpassed the 187,500-point mark on Monday, with analysts citing improving ties with the United States and expectations of an imminent interest rate cut.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 2,662.86 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at an all-time high of 187,761.69 points, up from the previous close of 185,098.83 points, according to PSX data.
The stock gains came a day after President Donald Trump invited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to join the so-called “Board of Peace” for Gaza, amid increasing Pakistan-US diplomatic and economic engagement since Trump’s rise to presidency.
“Falling government bond yields and improving Pakistan-US relations played a catalyst role in record close at PSX,” Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
Meanwhile, Karachi-based market research firm Topline Securities said bulls extended their rally as hopes of a rate cut by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fueled investor sentiment.
“Investor sentiment remained upbeat, largely fueled by rising expectations of an imminent interest rate cut,” it said in a post on X. “Market participants increasingly priced in a 50bps reduction in the upcoming monetary policy, which kept buying interest alive and underpinned broad-based gains.”
In December, the SBP cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent, resuming monetary easing after four meetings in a move that surprised many despite International Monetary Fund guidance to keep policy “appropriately tight” to anchor inflation expectations.
Engro Holdings Limited (ENGROH), United Bank Limited (UBL), Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC), Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC), Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL) and Service Industries Limited (SRVI) collectively added 1,554 points to the benchmark index on Monday, according to Topline Securities.
“Total market volumes stood at 1,195 million shares, while the value of shares traded amounted to Rs63.7 billion,” the research firm said. “[Bank Makramah Limited] BML led the volume chart, emerging as the most actively traded stock with 246 million shares.”
