KARACHI: Pakistan’s Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, held high-level meetings with Nigeria’s defense minister and senior military leadership during an official visit to the African nation, with both sides agreeing to strengthen security cooperation, particularly in the field of counterterrorism, the Pakistani military said on Saturday.
Nigeria faces a range of counterterrorism challenges, primarily from Boko Haram and its affiliates, which have waged a years-long insurgency in the country’s northeast, marked by attacks, abductions and mass displacements.
Pakistan, meanwhile, has seen a resurgence in militant violence in its western provinces from groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Baloch Liberation Army, with officials in Islamabad blaming them for cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, a charge Kabul denies.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Mirza met with Nigeria’s defense minister as well as the chiefs of the army, navy and air force. The meetings focused on “challenges faced by both countries, especially in the domain of counterterrorism,” as well as broader defense cooperation and regional security.
“During the separately-held meetings, both sides engaged in discussions on challenges faced by both countries especially in the domain of Counter Terrorism (CT) and areas of mutual interest, including security, defense cooperation, and the evolving international / regional landscape,” the ISPR said.
“Both sides reaffirmed the resolve to further enhance defense and military collaboration between both militaries,” it added.
Pakistan and Nigeria have maintained bilateral relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1961. Both countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, sharing common interests in international forums.
Over the years, more than 2,000 Nigerian military personnel have received training in Pakistan, reflecting the scale of the defense collaboration between the two nations.
In recent years, Pakistan has also intensified its diplomatic and economic engagement with African nations under its “Engage Africa” policy, leading to the opening of new diplomatic missions across the continent to increase trade.
Pakistan and Nigeria discuss enhanced counterterrorism and defense cooperation
https://arab.news/2matw
Pakistan and Nigeria discuss enhanced counterterrorism and defense cooperation
- Both sides reaffirm resolve to boost security ties during General Sahir Shamshad Mirza’s visit
- Pakistan and Nigeria are members of Commonwealth and Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts
- Pakistani financial analyst attributes surge to falling inflation, investors expecting further policy rate cuts
- Pakistan’s finance ministry said Thursday that inflation had slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks continued their bullish run on Thursday, breaching the 176,000 points barrier for the first time after trading ended, with analysts attributing the surge to investors expecting further cuts in the policy rate.
The KSE-100 benchmark gained 2,301.17 points at close of business on Thursday, marking an increase of 1.32 percent to settle at 176,355.49 points.
Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent last month, breaking a four-meeting hold in a move that surprised markets. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December, while prices fell on a monthly basis as per data from the finance ministry.
“Upbeat data for consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5.6pc in December 2025 [with] investors expecting a further State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts on falling inflation data,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., told Arab News.
The stock market witnessed a trading volume of 1,402.650 million shares, with a traded value of Rs48.424 billion ($173 million), compared with 957.239 million shares valued at Rs44.231 billion ($158 million) during the previous session.
Topline Securities, a leading brokerage firm in Pakistan, credited the surge to strong buying at the first session.
“This positivity can be accredited to buying by local institutions on the start of the new calendar year,” it said.
Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad highlighted that the bullish trend at the stock market reflected “strong investor confidence.”
“With lower inflation, affordable fuel, stronger reserves, rising digitization and a buoyant capital market, Pakistan’s economic outlook is clearly improving--supporting greater confidence, better investment sentiment and more positive momentum for 2026,” he said on social media platform X.
