ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ijara Capital Partners Ltd. has launched a private equity fund to raise five billion rupees ($29 million) to invest in real estate projects as Prime Minister Imran Khan encourages a construction boom, Bloomberg reported.
The South Asian nation is seeing a flurry of activity in its real estate sector after Khan selected the construction industry as a catalyst to boost economic growth. The nation is offering subsidies for low-cost houses and banks have been asked to increase their credit exposure for the industry to 5% of their loan portfolios. The country saw multiple REIT offerings for the first time last year.
The fund will be raised and deployed in multiple projects within six months, Farrukh Ansari, chief executive officer at Ijara Capital, said in an interview to Bloomberg. It will offer an internal rate of return between 25% and 30%.
“Real estate is a very attractive sector in terms of returns,” Ansari said. “There are not a lot of investment instruments to invest in transparently in Pakistan.”
The fund called Tameer Fund has seen interest from foreign investors, said Ansari. The amount raised will be used to fund land acquisitions and project development, he said
Pakistan’s Ijara launches private equity fund to raise $29 million for real estate
https://arab.news/px432
Pakistan’s Ijara launches private equity fund to raise $29 million for real estate
- The fund will be raised and deployed in multiple projects within six months
- It will offer an internal rate of return between 25% and 30%, he said
Pakistan’s central bank to hold monetary policy meeting on Jan. 27
- Interest rates, inflation will be key topics on agenda for central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting
- Pakistan marked its fifth consecutive policy rate cut by 200 basis points to 13 percent in December last year
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said it will hold its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Jan. 27, with discussions to focus on interest rates and inflation amid expectations that the committee will opt for a sixth consecutive policy rate cut.
Pakistan’s central bank reduced its key policy rate by 200 basis points to 13 percent on Dec.16, marking the fifth consecutive cut since June as part of efforts to revive the sluggish economy and ease inflation.
With a cumulative 900 basis points cut in 2024, the move was one of the most aggressive rate reductions among emerging market central banks during the current easing cycle.
“To make the process of monetary policy formulation predictable and transparent, the SBP announces a half-yearly schedule of MPC meetings on a rolling basis,” the central bank said in a statement on its website.
The bank divulged details of the next four MPC meetings to be held on Jan. 27, March 10, May 5 and June 16 respectively. It highlighted that the meeting later in January would be followed by a press conference by SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed.
On Jan. 14, Karachi-based topline securities conducted a poll in which 61 percent of participants expected the SBP to announce a rate cut of 100 basis points.
“Participants are expecting a rate cut due to high real rates of 950bps in January 2025, compared to the historic average of 200-300bps, despite 900bps cut in total interest rates in last five consecutive meetings since Jun 2024,” Topline Securities said.
“We also hold the view that the SBP will announce a rate cut of 100bps, taking the total cut to 1000bps,” it said. “This will be the sixth consecutive cut of this cycle.”
In December last year, the MPC assessed that its approach of gradual policy rate cuts was effectively managing inflationary and external account pressures while supporting sustainable economic growth.
The central bank had also noted that it expected inflation to average “substantially below” its earlier forecast range of 11.5 percent to 13.5 percent in 2025.
Pakistan is navigating a difficult economic recovery, supported by a $7 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) secured in September 2024.
The central bank has stated that “considerable efforts and additional measures” will be needed to meet the country’s annual revenue target, which is a key requirement of the IMF agreement.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has, meanwhile, repeatedly called for long-term financial reforms and for the country to enhance exports to ensure sustainable economic growth.
7,208 Pakistanis freed from Saudi prisons between 2019-2024— foreign minister
- Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered release of 2,107 Pakistani prisoners during his 2019 Pakistan visit
- Approximately 23,456 Pakistani nationals are imprisoned in various countries worldwide, says foreign minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday disclosed that a total number of 7,208 Pakistani prisoners have been released from prisons in Saudi Arabia from 2019-2024.
During his visit to Pakistan in 2019, the Saudi crown prince ordered the release of 2,107 Pakistanis jailed in Saudi Arabia for various crimes in response to a request from the then Pakistan government.
Dar shared the data of Pakistanis freed from Saudi jails in a written response to Senator Dr. Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur, who inquired about the progress on the release of those prisoners.
Dar, who also serves as Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, shared that 2,907 Pakistani prisoners under the consular jurisdiction of the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh were released from 2019-2024. Out of the remaining 7,208 prisoners, 4,301 Pakistanis under the consular jurisdiction of the Consulate General Jeddah were released from Saudi prisons from 2019-2024.
“It is, however, hard to bifurcate/differentiate the number of the prisoners who have been able to avail this clemency under this announcement due to continuous inflow as well as outflow of the prisoners,” the minister said.
Taimur then inquired as to how many Pakistanis were presently imprisoned in foreign jails, based on information provided by Pakistan’s diplomatic missions.
“According to the current data, approximately 23,456 Pakistani nationals are imprisoned in various countries worldwide,” Dar responded.
“The largest concentrations are in the Gulf region, particularly in Saudi Arabia (12,156) and UAE (5292).”
Dar said Pakistan’s foreign ministry is developing a “comprehensive consular policy” through stakeholder consultations to provide protection to its nationals imprisoned abroad.
He said that while this policy is being formulated, Pakistan continues to protect its citizens abroad through international frameworks already in place, such as consular protection mentioned in Article 36 (c) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963.
“Under this framework, our consular officers: visit Pakistani nationals in prison or 7 detention, converse and correspond with detained nationals and arrange legal representation for them,” the minister said.
Army claims killing Afghan militant accused of involvement in ‘terrorism’ inside Pakistan
- Islamabad blames surge in militancy on fighters operating from Afghanistan, Kabul denies allegations
- Pakistani Taliban frequently target Pakistani forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan provinces
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have gunned down an Afghan national in the southwestern Balochistan province bordering Afghanistan, the military said on Tuesday, accusing him of involvement in “terrorism.”
Islamabad has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter.
A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said the Afghan national was identified as Muhammad Khan Ahmedkhel, a resident of Afghanistan’s Paktika province.
“On Jan. 11, 2025, an Afghan national involved in terrorism inside Pakistan was killed in the Sambaza area of Zhob district of Balochistan,” the statement said. “His body was handed over to the Interim Afghan Government officials on Jan. 20 after necessary procedural formalities.”
The army said the incident provided “irrefutable evidence of Afghan nationals’ involvement” in militant activities in Pakistan, urging Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to crackdown on fighters using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. The statement did not give any evidence or details of terror activities Ahmedkhel was involved in.
The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), frequently target Pakistani forces in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as well as in Balochistan.
Child abuse in spotlight in Pakistan again as police probe killing of minor boy
- Body of Mohammad Sarim, 7, was found in an underground water tank 11 days after he was reported missing
- Nearly 10 child abuse cases a day are reported in Pakistan, according to Sahil which works on child protection
KARACHI: The case of a seven-year-old boy who was missing for over 10 days before his body was discovered in a water tank in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi has put the spotlight once more on child abuse in Pakistan, with a medical report seen by Arab News on Tuesday saying he was subjected to sexual violence before his death.
Nearly 10 cases of child abuse a day are reported in Pakistan, according to Sahil, an organization that works on child protection, with girls disproportionately affected.
In the latest case, Mohammed Sarim went missing on Jan. 7 after leaving home to attend religious lessons at a madrassah inside the apartment complex where he lived. He never returned home, and his body was found in an underground water tank at the same complex on Jan. 18.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Anil Haider told Arab News investigations were being carried out in the case in light of the autopsy report.
“They have written about sexual violence in the report,” he said, saying no arrests had been made so far though police were investigating suspects based on interviews with Sarim’s family members.
“The family did not nominate anyone, but we interrogated whoever they told us to include in the investigation,” Haider added, saying DNA samples of the suspects had been sent for testing to a forensics lab.
According to the medical report seen by Arab News, the boy died at least four days before the body was found, with the hair on his scalp missing in patches and the skin on several parts of his body having been peeled off.
“On the basis of the examination, it is opined that findings are suggestive of anal sexual violence,” the report said, adding that the boy had suffered 12 different injuries and wounds on various parts of the body, which were all “ante-mortem,” or caused prior to death, except for one.
Child abuse is a widespread issue in Pakistan, with perpetrators often turning out to be family members, teachers, or trusted people.
In 2020, Pakistan’s parliament passed a new law against child abuse, two years after the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl that shocked the country. The national child abuse law introduced a penalty of life imprisonment for child abuse. The law requires police to register a case within two hours of a child’s parents reporting them missing. It also includes measures to speed up the process, including the establishment of a dedicated helpline and a new agency to issue alerts for a missing child.
The new law followed the death of Zainab Ansari, whose body was found in a garbage dumpster in Kasur district near the eastern city of Lahore in 2018, sparking large protests and accusations of negligence by authorities.
Ansari’s case triggered debate in Pakistan over whether to teach children how to guard against sex abuse, a taboo subject in the Muslim majority nation.
Pakistani province bordering Afghanistan to send talks’ delegation to Kabul within two weeks — CM
- Islamabad says it has consistently taken up the issue of cross-border militancy with Kabul
- Afghan Taliban say do not allow Afghan soil to be used by militants against other nations
ISLAMABAD: The chief minister of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said this week he would send a delegation to neighboring Afghanistan within two weeks for discussions on ongoing tensions, including cross-border militancy.
Already strained relations between the neighbors have deteriorated in recent months amid a spike in militant attacks in Pakistan that it blames on insurgents harboring in Afghanistan. Kabul’s Afghan rulers deny state complicity and say they do not allow Afghan soil to be used by militant groups against other nations.
Last year, KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur said he would hold direct talks with Kabul and send an emissary to Afghanistan to arrange a meeting to resolve outstanding issues. At the time, the central government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a main rival of Gandapur’s PTI party that rules KP, said the offer amounted to a “direct attack on the federation” as no province could open talks with a foreign country, which was the jurisdiction of the government at the center.
“Now I will have to play my role. We held a provincial meeting and now I am sending a delegation to Afghanistan soon,” Gandapur told reporters on Monday. “Within two weeks a delegation that I am forming will go to Afghanistan and talk to them [Afghan government].”
A second delegation comprising main tribes from KP province would also visit Afghanistan subsequently, the chief minister added.
“A delegation comprising all tribes will also go and talk to them. I have full faith that they [Afghan authorities] will cooperate with our jirga.”
Islamabad says it has consistently taken up the issue of cross-border attacks with the Taliban administration. The issue has also led to clashes between the border forces of the two countries on multiple occasions in recent months.
In December, the Afghan Taliban said bombardment by Pakistani military aircraft in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province had killed at least 46 people, most of whom were children and women. Just days later, the Afghan defense ministry said Taliban forces targeted “several points” in neighboring Pakistan, further straining tense ties.
Relations between the two countries have also soured since Pakistan launched a deportation drive in November 2023 against illegal aliens residing in the country. Though Pakistan insists the campaign does not only target Afghans but all those residing in Pakistan unlawfully, it has disproportionately hit Afghans, with at least 800,000 repatriated so far.
