KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rebounded significantly on Wednesday, rising over 3,000 points at the start of trade, following a steep drop a day earlier during major political clashes in the capital.
The benchmark KSE-100 index recorded its largest-ever single-day decline on Tuesday, plummeting 3,506 points, or 3.57 percent, amid political uncertainty triggered by a protest march on Islamabad led by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, demanding his release from jail.
Khan’s followers retreated overnight after security forces conducted a large-scale operation in Islamabad, clearing the main thoroughfare near parliament and key government buildings.
Subsequently, the PSX surged by 3,260.99 points in the morning, trading at 97,835.15 as of 11:10 AM.
According to Shehryar Butt, portfolio manager at Dawson Securities, the stock market has been performing well lately due to improved macroeconomic indicators.
“The stock exchange came under pressure yesterday due to the political noise in the country,” he told Arab News. “The market stood on 99,700 points before it came down. Today, it is back on track since the political protest is over.”
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Sunday that political protests had inflicted daily economic losses of Rs190 billion ($684 million), compounding the challenges faced by the nation’s struggling $350 billion economy.
Amid the unrest, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is leading a 68-member delegation in Pakistan to discuss enhanced economic cooperation.
Both nations on Tuesday signed 15 memoranda of understanding aimed at boosting trade and investment ties, which the government hopes will help stabilize Pakistan’s economy.
The government has also accused Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of attempting to sabotage Lukashenko’s visit and impede the country’s path to economic recovery.
PTI lawmakers have said, however, they planned the protest before information about the Belarusian delegation’s visit was made public, dismissing the government’s allegation.

ISLAMABAD: The federal capital of Islamabad returned to normalcy on Wednesday morning after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan suspended protests to demand his release from jail after a sweeping midnight raid by security forces, the PTI said. 

Thousands of protesters had gathered at the D-Chowk square in Islamabad on Tuesday after a convoy, led by Khan's wife Bushra Khan, and Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province where the PTI is in power, broke through several lines of security all the way to the edge of the city's highly fortified red zone, home to key government and diplomatic buildings.  

A raid that started around midnight plunged the area into darkness as tear gas was unleashed on supporters, who dispersed. 

“We are announcing the cancellation of our peaceful protest for the time being in view of the government’s brutality and plans to turn the capital into a slaughterhouse for unarmed citizens,” the PTI said in a statement, saying Khan would now announce the “future action plan” for supporters. 

The party confirmed eight people were confirmed dead in the late-night clashes but “hundreds” more were feared to have been killed. The government says three paramilitary troops and one policeman had died since the PTI launched its protest on Sunday.  

Addressing the media after the raid, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi voiced optimism that normalcy would return to Islamabad.

“You saw them fleeing— thousands, not just one or two or three,” he said, referring to the protesters. “For us, the most important thing is to restore all the roads in Islamabad that were blocked. Reopen mobile phone and Internet services. By tomorrow, you will find the roads operational.”

On Wednesday morning, residents woke up to city workers cleaning up debris as authorities removed the shipping containers that had blocked roads around the capital since Sunday. The heavily fortified red zone was empty of protesters but several of their vehicles were left behind, including the charred remains of a truck from which Bushra had been leading the protests.

An Arab News survey of major parts of Islamabad showed traffic on the roads, and shops and businesses open. Shipping containers that had been blocking roads inside the city since last week and had been used to disconnect the city from major motorways and highways had been removed. 

“Containers have been removed. Clean-up is ongoing. Security is back to routine,” said Dr. Abdulla Tabassam, a spokesperson for the Islamabad district administration.

Local resident Naubat Ali expressed relief that the situation was returning to normalcy in Islamabad.

“The situation this morning shows that the roads are completely cleared, and people are now moving freely," he told Reuters. "Residents appear to be satisfied.”

Pakistan's benchmark share index jumped more than 3% in early trade on Wednesday, recovering losses made on Tuesday when the index closed 3.6% down over the news of political clashes.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the PTI had suffered a “major political failure,” saying their leaders had come to free Khan from jail but ended up with getting many of his supporters arrested.

“This has become a major political failure for them,” he added. “They have suffered significant losses and will not be able to recover from this.”

Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022, has been in prison since last year. He faces a slew of charges from terrorism to corruption that he says are politically motivated to keep him in jail and away from politics. The charges kept Khan away from Feb. 8 general elections that his party says were rigged, an accusation denied by the election commission.