KABUL: Nearly 60,000 Afghans have been forced to leave Pakistan since the start of April, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday, after Islamabad ramped up a campaign to deport migrants to Afghanistan.
“Between 1 and 13 April 2025, IOM recorded a sharp rise in forced returns, with nearly 60,000 individuals crossing back into Afghanistan through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border points,” the UN agency said in a statement.
“With a new wave of large-scale returns now underway from Pakistan, needs on the ground are rising rapidly — both at the border and in areas of return that are struggling to absorb large numbers of returnees,” said Mihyung Park, head of the agency’s Afghanistan mission.
Pakistan last month set an early April deadline for some 800,000 Afghans carrying Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) issued by Pakistan authorities to leave the country.
Families with their belongings in tow have crowded key border crossings of Torkham in the north and Spin Boldak in the south, recalling scenes in 2023 when tens of thousands of Afghans fled deportation threats in Pakistan.
The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many having been there for decades, after fleeing successive conflicts in their country and following the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021.
Nearly 60,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan in two weeks— UN agency
https://arab.news/2kkzf
Nearly 60,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan in two weeks— UN agency
- Pakistan last month set early April deadline for some 800,000 Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave country
- UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan who escaped to neighboring country to escape conflict
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.”
