KARACHI: Pakistan witnessed a substantial increase in foreign investment through the stock market in the last three weeks after international corporations and overseas Pakistanis brought $19.9 million into the country, reflecting improved investor confidence in the wake of the Feb. 8 polls, as confirmed by financial experts on Friday.
After months of uncertainty surrounding the general elections, Pakistan held the polls last month, though their conduct and outcome led to widespread speculations of vote fraud. The split mandate in the electoral contest was followed by political negotiations that led to a power-sharing agreement between Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Despite the allegations of rigging and ensuing political protests, the elections brought clarity to Pakistan’s capital market, which was reflected in the bullish sentiments including the rise in foreign equity investment.
Foreign corporations invested around $18.5 million in the equity market, while overseas Pakistanis bought shares worth $1.4 million after Feb. 8. In the last three weeks, the net investment amounted to $19.9 million, according to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), an institution that provides clearing and settlement services to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
“The surge in the foreign portfolio investment reflects the clarity in the market after holding of general elections,” Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, a financial advisory firm, told Arab News.
In February 2024 alone, the foreign investment amounted to $25.7 million as compared to the $8.5 million recorded in the corresponding month last year.
During July to February 2024, net foreign investment stood at about $59.6 million in equity market as compared to $16.3 million recorded during the same period in 2023.
Schehzad said the market would further consolidate after the formation of the next government.
Discussing the development, Ali Nawaz, CEO of Chase Securities, described the rise in foreign investment in the country’s equity market as “promising.”
“This can be attributed to factors like improved economic stability, successful International Monetary Fund loan agreement, and potentially positive policy changes anticipated under the new government,” he told Arab News.
“Once a stable government is formed, clearer economic direction and potential reforms will further incentivize foreign investors, making Pakistan’s stock market even more attractive,” he added.
The country’s equity market has witnessed a strong rebound during the latter half of the previous month, after the vote fraud allegations.
The stock market closed weekend trading session at 65,325 points after easing of political uncertainty. The formation of a coalition government at the center is expected to keep the investor sentiment positive.
“Stocks closed higher amid reports of inflation falling to 23 percent for February 2024 and the National Assembly session held to form the new government,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Corporation, commented.
Mehanti said the American assurance to support Pakistan in its effort to break free from the vicious cycle of debt and international financing also played a key role in keeping the bullish sentiments alive at PSX.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson of the US State Department, noted on Thursday Pakistan’s economic stability was crucial to the long-term strength of its government.
“Pakistan’s new government must immediately prioritize the economic situation because the policies over the next several months will be crucial to maintaining economic stability for Pakistanis,” he said while responding to a question about the political situation of the country.
Foreign investment in Pakistan’s stock market surges to $19.9 million since Feb. 8 polls
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Foreign investment in Pakistan’s stock market surges to $19.9 million since Feb. 8 polls
- Financial experts describe the development as a result of growing investor confidence in the country
- The stock market benchmark closes at 65,325 points after National Assembly held its first two sessions
Pakistan says ‘ready to assist’ as Bangladesh deaths from dengue cross 400
- Around 78,595 patients have been admitted to hospital nationwide in Bangladesh, official figures show
- Dengue is endemic to Pakistan, which experiences year-round transmission with seasonal peaks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday extended assistance to Bangladesh as it battles its worst outbreak of dengue in years, with more than 400 deaths as rising temperatures and a longer monsoon season drive a surge in infections, leaving hospitals struggling to cope.
Around 78,595 patients have been admitted to hospitals nationwide in Bangladesh, the latest official figures show. By mid-November, 4,173 patients were being treated, with 1,835 of them in Dhaka, the capital, and 2,338 elsewhere.
Dengue is an illness that spreads through vectors, carried by the bite of an infected mosquito. There is currently no cure or vaccine for dengue fever, which in its most severe form can lead to fatalities. People affected by dengue go through intense flu-like symptoms including high fever, intense headache, muscle and joint pain, and nausea and vomiting, typically persisting for approximately a week.
“Deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives due to the dengue outbreak in Bangladesh,” Sharif said in a message on X. “Pakistan stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Bangladesh at this difficult time and we stand ready to assist in whatever way we can.”
Dense populations in cities exacerbate the spread of the disease, usually more common in the monsoon season from June to September though it has spilled beyond that window this year.
A rise in temperatures and longer monsoons, both linked to climate change, have caused a spike in mosquito breeding, driving the rapid spread of the virus in Bangladesh.
Last year was the deadliest on record in the current crisis, with 1,705 deaths and more than 321,000 infections reported.
The growing frequency and severity of outbreaks strains Bangladesh’s already overwhelmed health care system, as hospitals battle to treat thousands of patients.
Bangladesh health officials have urged precautions against mosquito bites, such as mosquito repellents and bed nets, while experts want tougher measures to eliminate the stagnant waters where mosquitoes breed.
Dengue fever is endemic to Pakistan, which experiences year-round transmission with seasonal peaks.
With inputs from Reuters
Imran Khan’s party doubles down on Islamabad protest as administration bans public gatherings
- District magistrates bans gathering of more than five people for next two months
- Ban comes as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is planning protest in Islamabad on Nov. 24
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday urged followers to go ahead with a planned protest march to the federal capital as a two-month ban on public gatherings was imposed in Islamabad by the district magistrate.
The PTI announced last week it would lead a ‘long march’ to the capital on Nov. 24 over alleged rigging in Feb. 8 general elections and to call for the release of political prisoners, including Khan, and in support of the independence of the judiciary.
In a notification dated Nov. 18, the district magistrate imposed a two-month-long ban on the gathering of more than five people in Islamabad, effective immediately.
“The long march will start from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan & KP [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] provinces, Azad Kashmir & Gilgit Baltistan under the provincial leadership of each province, etc., making its way toward the federal capital Islamabad,” the PTI said in a statement, hours after the district magistrate announced the ban.
The party’s recent rallies and marches have been thwarted by similar bans on public gatherings imposed under Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal Code which allows the government to prohibit various forms of political assembly, gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, demonstrations, and other activities for a specified period.
Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and has faced dozens of cases since he was removed as prime minister in 2022 after which he launched a protest movement against a coalition of his rivals led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and backed by the all-powerful military, which denies interfering in politics.
Khan says cases against him, which disqualified him from contesting the February elections, are politically motivated. His party has held several protest rallies in recent months to build public pressure for its leader’s release.
With regards to the latest protest, the PTI’s first demand is a rollback of recent constitutional amendments like the 26th amendment that the PTI says is an attempt to curtail the independence of the senior judiciary. It is also calling for the release of party leaders and supporters and a return of what it describes as a “stolen mandate” after Feb. 8 general elections.
Pakistan’s government denies being unfair in its treatment of Khan and his party and the election commission rejects allegations the elections were rigged. The government also says recent amendments related to the judiciary are meant to smooth out its functioning and tackle a backlog of cases.
“The purpose of this peaceful demonstration by PTI, is to stage a peaceful protest demanding, the restoration of the judiciary, the return of mandate stolen ... and the release of political prisoners under custody without trial,” the PTI statement said.
Earlier on Monday, the district magistrate, without naming the PTI, said processions being planned in the capital “can disrupt public place and tranquility and keeping in view the current law & order and security environment, it is necessary to control such types of illegal activities which present a threat to public peace, tranquility and maintenance of law & order.”
He added that the demonstrations would cause “public annoyance or injury, endanger human life and safety, pose a threat to public property, and may lead to a riot or an affray including sectarian riot within the revenue/territorial limits of district Islamabad.”
In light of this, all gatherings of more than five people are banned in the capital, the notification said:
“This order shall come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force for a period of TWO MONTHS.”
Seven policemen abducted by armed gunmen in northwest Pakistan amid militancy surge
- Police data shows 75 police officials have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this year
- Pakistan blames surge in militancy on neighboring Afghanistan whose Taliban rulers deny the accusations
PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen abducted seven policemen from a check post on Monday in Pakistan’s northwestern district of Bannu, police said, as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province battles a rise in militant attacks on cops and other government officials.
Pakistan’s northwest has seen a rise in militant attacks in recent months, which Islamabad says are mostly carried out by Afghan nationals and their facilitators and by Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups who cross over into Pakistan using safe haven in Afghanistan.
The Taliban government in Kabul says Pakistan’s security challenges are a domestic issue and cannot be blamed on the neighbor.
Police data shows 75 policemen have been killed and 113 injured in militant attacks and targeted assassinations in 2024 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.
“Armed men abducted seven police personnel from the Rocha checkpoint in the jurisdiction of Utmanzai Police Station in Bannu district,” District Police Officer (DPO) Zia Uddin told Arab News, saying up to 40 gunmen first surrounded the checkpoint in the mountainous area of Sub-Division Wazir on Monday evening.
“The armed men abducted seven police personnel from the Rocha checkpoint in the jurisdiction of Utmanzai Police Station in Bannu district.”
The militants also took away all weapons and equipment at the checkpoint.
“Four police personnel escaped as they were not present at the location at the time,” the DPO added.
The Pakistani government and security officials have said repeatedly that such attacks have risen in recent months, many of them claimed by the TTP and launched from Afghan soil.
The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban movement, but pledges loyalty to the Islamist group that now rules Afghanistan after US-led international forces withdrew in 2021.
Islamabad says TTP uses Afghanistan as a base and says the ruling Taliban administration has provided safe havens to the group close to the border. The Taliban deny this.
65-year-old man leading gang of ‘rickshaw dacoits’ arrested in Pakistan’s Karachi
- Police say Rahim Bux’s gang lured traders into rickshaws or followed them on three-wheelers and robbed them at gunpoint
- Bux was released from prison in 2018 after serving a 20-year sentence for a $25,000 bank heist in 1998
KARACHI: Police in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh said on Monday they had arrested a 65-year-old man accused of leading a gang of dacoits who were using rickshaws to rob traders in the provincial capital of Karachi.
Karachi is Pakistan’s largest and richest city, home to the central bank and stock exchange, a major port, and some of the most violent areas of the country. Many of its sprawling slums are split along ethnic lines, and overrun by armed groups that have carved the city into spheres of influence. Driveby shootings and muggings are a daily occurrence in the teeming metropolis of over 20 million people, despite a military-backed crackdown launched in 2013 that brought down crime rates for a few years.
Speaking to Arab News on Monday, police official Mumtaz Khan Marwat said Rahim Bux, released from prison in 2018 after serving a 20-year sentence for a Rs7 million ($25,000) bank heist in 1998, had formed the “Rickshaw Gang” after completing his jail term. The operation in which Bux was arrested in 1998 resulted in the deaths of two policemen and his accomplices and injured Bux, who then spent two decades in prison.
“Bux formed his gang of four after his release from jail and started looting citizens. We arrested all gang members last night [Sunday] after a tip-off,” Marwat, who heads the Shah Latif Town police station, said.
The gang would target traders leaving cattle markets with large sums of cash, luring victims into their rickshaws or following them on the three-wheelers and then robbing them at gunpoint.
“Bux, the team leader, would wait at a destination to supervise the robberies and then flee in the same rickshaw with his men,” Ihsanullah Khan, another police official who is interrogating the suspects, told Arab News.
“Bux is a hardened criminal with several cases against him in the Karachi and Larkana divisions.”
Nearly 100 people have been killed during armed muggings in Karachi this year, according to police figures.
Over 50,000 power looms shut in Pakistan in two years, leaving thousands jobless
- Industrial stakeholder says the closure owes to soaring power tariffs, raising the cost of doing business
- Punjab administration’s economic adviser vows to look into the issue to find viable solution to problem
ISLAMABAD: Tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs as over 50,000 power looms shut down in Pakistan’s Faisalabad district over two years due to soaring electricity prices, an industry stakeholder said over the weekend, with officials pledging to explore viable solutions.
Power looms are mechanized devices that automate the weaving process. Faisalabad, located in Pakistan’s populous Punjab province, is the hub of the country’s textile industry, housing 125,000 power looms in its industrial zone.
The sector produces nearly 91% of Pakistan’s grey cloth, which also sells well in international market.
“In the last two years, over 200,000 workers have been rendered jobless in Faisalabad after the closure of some 50,000 power looms,” Saeed Ahmad, deputy secretary of the All Pakistan Cotton Power Looms Association, told Arab News. “The remaining industry is also on the verge of closure due to inefficient government policies.”
Ahmad said the hike in electricity prices over the last two years was the major factor behind the closures, as the per-unit cost of power had risen from Rs19 to Rs55, along with additional taxes.
“This is a small industry, and people cannot afford to pay millions in electricity bills each month,” he said, adding that the additional cost of doing business, such as higher interest rates, had also reached double digits.
Ahmad noted that while some power loom owners had switched to solar energy to run their industrial units, the option was prohibitively expensive for most.
“If you have to run the power loom, you cannot disconnect from the national grid because the solar station won’t work on cloudy days,” he explained.
Ahmad urged the government to lower electricity prices and provide loans to the industry to keep it operational.
“The power loom industry has been contributing to the national economy through textile exports, but the government is not willing to provide incentives to keep it afloat,” he said.
Speaking to Arab News, Javed Iqbal Malik, senior economic adviser to Punjab’s Industries, Commerce, Investment and Skills Development Department, acknowledged that the cost of doing business has increased due to a spike in electricity tariffs.
“I am not aware of the exact scale of the closure of power looms in Faisalabad, but one thing is for sure that the cost of doing business has increased and many businesses, including manufacturing, have become uneconomical, he said.
“We will look into the issue and discuss it with the industry to find out some viable solutions as this industry is vital for textile exports and economy,” he added.
Khurram Shahzad, a senior economist, said Pakistan’s economy had faced significant hardships in the last two years as the country narrowly avoided sovereign debt default, which also impacted the manufacturing sector.
“The manufacturing sector, including the power looms industry, has been affected by three factors: the interest rate, energy costs and taxes, all of which hit record highs in the last two years,” he told Arab News.
Shahzad noted that while the interest rate had declined in recent months, it remained in double digits.
He added that the government was promising to lower electricity tariffs to ease the cost of doing business.
“Taxes on the formal sector are expected to be reduced in the coming months with the stabilization of the economy, and this will help the manufacturing sector grow,” he said.
