KARACHI: Pakistan’s stocks rallied on Monday and rose 0.6 percent to the highest close in more than two months as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave some positive signals about its ongoing review of the South Asian country’s $7 billion loan program.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained more than 1,000 points in the day trade before closing the week’s first session at 116,199.59 points, according to stock analysts.
Sana Tawfik, head of research at Arif Habib Ltd, said the stock market could reach 123,000 points by June if Pakistan sails through the first review of the IMF program.
“This is the highest since January 6,” Tawfik said, citing two main reasons for Monday’s bullish run.
“One is the IMF that issued a statement saying significant progress has been made [in talks with Pakistan] toward reaching the staff-level agreement. [Secondly], the overall sentiment is positive.”
The Washington-based lender put all speculation about its negotiations with Islamabad to an end, when its mission chief, Nathan Porter, said last week the two sides had made “significant progress” toward reaching an accord.
“The mission and the authorities will continue policy discussions virtually to finalize these discussions over the coming days,” Porter said on March 15.
The IMF team stayed in Pakistan for more than two weeks and reviewed the country’s economic reforms under its Extended Fund Facility as well as a fresh loan of about $1.5 billion to increase its climate resilience and sustainability.
“The IMF described the progress of the $7 billion loan program as ‘strong’ despite the absence of a staff-level agreement,” said Naveed Nadeem, a senior equity trader at Topline Securities Ltd., in a note to clients.
Monday’s rally was driven by Mari Energies, Pakistan State Oil, Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd. Lucky Cement and Searle Pakistan that collectively added 658 points to the benchmark index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
The equity market also gained some strength from reports of the government’s plan to resolve the longstanding issue of power sector debt, or the circular debt, according to analysts.
“This performance was influenced by the government’s initiatives to tackle Pakistan’s power sector debt,” Nadeem added.
‘Significant progress’ in IMF review triggers bull run at Pakistan stock market
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‘Significant progress’ in IMF review triggers bull run at Pakistan stock market
- The KSE-100 index gained over 1,000 points to close the week’s first session at 116,199.59 points
- The index may rise to a record 123,000 points by June, if Pakistan clears IMF review, analyst says
Pakistan urges ‘time-bound and irreversible’ path to Palestinian statehood at UN
- Pakistan warns the Security Council Israeli settlement expansion has reached its highest level in the West Bank
- It says Islamabad backs sustained ceasefire, expanded humanitarian access, protection of UNRWA’s role in Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday called for a time-bound and irreversible political process leading to the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state, urging the international community to move beyond declarations and turn long-standing commitments into concrete action.
Addressing a Security Council briefing on the Middle East, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations said repeated diplomatic initiatives had underscored that the status quo was untenable and that only a credible political horizon, grounded in international law, could deliver durable peace.
His remarks came as the Security Council reviewed the implementation of Resolution 2334, which calls on Israel to halt settlement activity in occupied Palestinian territory.
Pakistan said recent diplomatic efforts — including a high-level conference in July and the General Assembly’s endorsement of the New York Declaration reaffirming the two-state framework — had sought to preserve the possibility of a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.
It said follow-up meetings at Sharm El-Sheikh, along with US-led initiatives under President Donald Trump aimed at halting the fighting, were intended to reopen a political process toward Palestinian statehood.
“A time-bound and irreversible political process, anchored in relevant UN resolutions must lead to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and contiguous State of Palestine on the basis of pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told the council.
“It is high time to turn promises into action and speed up this process,” he added.
Ahmad said Pakistan backed Security Council Resolution 2803, which calls for efforts to sustain the ceasefire, expand aid access and restart a political track toward Palestinian statehood.
He said settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, had reached its highest levels since the United Nations began systematic monitoring, citing UN findings that more than 6,300 housing units were advanced during the reporting period.
Such actions, he said, had “no legal validity” under international law but continued to undermine the viability of the two-state solution.
Pakistan also defended the role of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), saying it remained indispensable for Palestinian refugees and must not be weakened by what it called unfounded criticism.
Ahmad condemned the storming of UNRWA’s headquarters in East Jerusalem earlier this month, calling it a violation of international law and the inviolability of UN premises, and urged full, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, along with the immediate start of reconstruction without annexation or forced displacement.
