Ex-PM Khan party calls off Islamabad protest, wishes for a successful SCO summit
Ex-PM Khan party calls off Islamabad protest, wishes for a successful SCO summit/node/2575302/pakistan
Ex-PM Khan party calls off Islamabad protest, wishes for a successful SCO summit
Army personnel stand guard at the Red Zone near a venue on the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad on October 14, 2024. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has called off its protest in Islamabad today, Tuesday, over a ban on meetings with its jailed leader, a senior PTI member said, as Pakistan welcomes foreign dignitaries arriving in the capital for a regional summit.
Pakistan is hosting a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Heads of Government in Islamabad on Oct. 15-16, at which participants are expected to discuss issues relating to trade, economic cooperation, security and regional stability.
Khan’s PTI last week announced a protest on the D-Chowk square in the federal capital after the Punjab provincial administration restricted meetings with inmates at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the ex-premier is imprisoned on multiple charges, in view of a threat alert issued by authorities in the lead-up to the summit.
But in a statement issued in wee hours of Tuesday, Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, a former federal minister and Khan aide, said the party had postponed its protest in Islamabad after being urged by political allies and embassies of friendly countries to do so in view of the SCO summit in Islamabad.
“We have called off this protest for the betterment of Pakistan, for the betterment of Imran Khan, for the betterment of PTI,” Bukhari said. “We wish all the countries here a very successful summit.”
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang are among senior regional government officials attending the two-day conference on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the weeks leading up to the summit, Pakistan’s authorities cracked down hard on dissent, banning an ethnic nationalist movement and introducing new laws that restricted protest in the capital. They also arrested hundreds of Khan supporters who attempted to march in Islamabad earlier this month.
Islamabad also authorized the deployment of troops on the streets for the duration of the summit.
“When summits happen or conventions happen, protests happening at the same time in the country are very normal across the world,” Bukhari said.
“Let it be the US, let it be the UK and Pakistan shouldn’t be treated any differently. Our intention was never to harm the ongoing summit.”
PTI’s last protest led to clashes between its workers and law enforcement personnel, leading to dozens of arrests and injuries to a large number of cops one of whom died after being subjected to alleged torture by the protesters.
Khan, jailed since August last year, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.
Since his removal, Khan and his party have waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on Tuesday to discuss Islamabad’s surging tensions with New Delhi, the foreign ministry said, as the threat of a military confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors looms large.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have boiled since Apr. 22, when gunmen killed 26 tourists at a popular tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir. The attack triggered outrage in India along with calls for action against Pakistan, whom it says is involved, accusations Islamabad has denied. India has long accused Pakistan of backing militancy in Kashmir, a region both nations claim and have fought two wars over. Islamabad says it only provides diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris in their struggle for self-determination.
With India vowing to go after those responsible for the incident, top Pakistani leaders have reached out to senior officials in China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt and other countries since last Tuesday amid fears any action from India may lead to a wider conflict in the region.
“The two leaders discussed recent regional situation and matters of mutual concern,” the foreign ministry said about Dar’s conversation with Al-Nayhan. “DPM/FM apprised H.H. of Pakistan’s National Security Committee’s decisions in response to India’s unfounded allegations, inflammatory rhetoric, and unilateral actions.”
India and Pakistan have both announced a flurry of punitive measures to downgrade ties since the attack, with India suspending a key water-sharing treaty and Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian planes.
Pakistan’s foreign office said Al-Nayhan stressed the importance of upholding regional stability, promoting dialogue, exercising restraint and peaceful resolution of disputes.
“Reaffirming the strong fraternal ties between Pakistan and the UAE, both leaders committed to maintaining close coordination & consultations in light of evolving regional situation,” the statement added.
The statement concluded by saying that both sides expressed their resolve to further enhance bilateral cooperation and advancing shared objectives of peace, stability and sustainable development.
A day earlier, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called for measures to reduce tensions between the two neighbors.
“China welcomes all measures that will help cool down the current situation and supports carrying out fair and just investigations at an early date,” Jiakun said at a press briefing on Monday.
“As the neighbor of both India and Pakistan, China hopes that India and Pakistan will exercise restraint, work in the same direction, handle relevant differences properly through dialogue and consultation, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the region.”
The last time India conducted an aerial strike against Pakistan was in 2019, when it retaliated for a suicide bombing in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir in which at least 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed. Pakistan had denied complicity in that assault and the Indian strikes were followed by Pakistan’s downing of an Indian fighter jet and capturing of an Indian pilot, bringing the two neighbors to the brink of an all-out war.
Indian and Pakistani border forces traded fire for a fifth night in a row at the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir territory, the Indian Army said on Tuesday.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s average inflation is expected to remain in the 5.5-7.5% range in the fiscal year ending June 2025, the country’s central bank said in its half-yearly economic report this week, stating that its real GDP growth is expected to hover between 2.5-3.5%.
Pakistan’s economy has improved in recent months, supported by declining inflation, which caused the central bank to reduce its policy rate to 12% after a series of cuts totaling 1,000 basis points since June 2024.
In a report titled “The State of Pakistan’s Economy, Half Year Report FY25” released on Monday, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) noted that inflationary pressures have receded notably, with headline inflation reaching a multi-decade low of 0.7% by March 2025.
“In view of steeper-than-anticipated disinflation, combined with an adequately tight monetary policy stance, continued fiscal consolidation and an ease in global commodity prices, the SBP projects average inflation for FY25 to fall in the range of 5.5–7.5 percent,” the SBP said in a press release.
Pakistan’s inflation rate rose to a record high of 38% in May 2023 on account of surging food and fuel costs. This was caused by Islamabad’s move to withdraw energy and fuel subsidies under a deal agreed with the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a financial bailout package.
The report said Pakistan’s current account balance is projected to remain in the range of -0.5 to 0.5 percent of the GDP. The central bank said it expects a “strong momentum” in foreign remittances and exports to continue outpacing the increase in imports.
“This is expected to cushion against lower financial inflows and help strengthen external buffers,” the report said. “The SBP’s projection for real GDP growth remains unchanged in the range of 2.5–3.5 percent.”
The report highlighted downside risks in the form of additional fiscal consolidation and less-than-expected wheat harvests. It pointed out risks to the medium-term outlook, largely stemming from global trade disruptions and related commodity price volatility in light of Washington’s tariffs, changing geo-political situations, adjustments in administered energy prices and spillover of movements in international currencies on the local currency.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will hold a two-day inaugural Digital Foreign Direct Investment (DFDI) Forum 2025 starting today, Tuesday, as it aims to showcase its digital economy potential, attract foreign funding and promote technology exchanges.
The DFDI will be hosted in Pakistan’s capital from April 29-30 and is being organized by the Pakistani IT and Telecommunication ministry in collaboration with the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO). Over 400 delegates and more than 200 IT and telecom companies will attend the event from over 30 countries.
The forum will aim to bring together global policymakers to discuss frameworks that enhance digital infrastructure, adoption and exports across the 16 DCO member states. It will showcase the readiness of DCO member states, with Pakistan as the host, for digital investment by leveraging their skilled talent, supportive policies, and high-growth sectors such as fintech, AI and cybersecurity.
“We will be welcoming around 100 plus international delegates,” Pakistan’s IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja told reporters at a briefing about the event on Monday. “We will be having over 10 ministers and vice ministers of IT and other allied ministries from different countries.”
The minister said more than 30 investors, both national and international, will participate in the event. She noted that Pakistan’s IT industry has been growing at a “reasonably fast pace,” adding that the country has seen an export growth between 24 percent to 27 percent annually.
“And we’re trying to actually increase the base further up, trying to hit the target of $4 billion hopefully this year,” she said. “Last year it was $3.2 billion.”
As of 2025, Internet penetration in Pakistan was estimated at 58.4 percent, as per the IT ministry, with 142 million Internet users in a population of over 240 million. Mobile penetration is at 79.4 percent, including 72.99 million smartphone users.
Pakistan also has an over $3 billion IT export market, with IT exports reaching $1.86 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2024-25, up 28.04 percent year-on-year. Its exports grew 26 percent in the first half of the current fiscal year, reaching $300 million monthly.
But the forum is being held as digital media in Pakistan has been muffled with measures by telecom authorities to slow down Internet speeds and restrict VPN use while social media platform X has been blocked for over a year. Earlier this year, parliament approved a law to regulate social media content that rights activists and experts widely say is aimed at curbing press freedom and controlling the digital landscape. The government denies this.
Last year, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said Pakistan’s economy could lose up to $300 million due to Internet disruptions caused by the imposition of a national firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms. The government denies the use of the firewall for censorship.
Khawaja, however, said the government genuinely feels that the freedom Pakistani citizens generally have with regard to Internet usage is “quite high.”
“Actually except for X that you mentioned, there is no platform that is not accessible to anyone,” she said. “There are no, per se, restrictions on the usage.”
Pakistan will assume the DCO’s presidency in 2026, Khawaja said.
Pakistan’s solar revolution leaves its middle class behind
Affluent Pakistanis buy cheap Chinese solar panels to counter rising electricity tariffs
Most solar panels aren’t connected to sell excess capacity to grid so benefits aren’t widely shared
Updated 29 April 2025
Reuters
KARACHI: Amid the forty-degree heat that paralyzed the coastal city of Karachi in April, Saad Saleem blasted his air-conditioning with near-abandon.
Electricity tariffs have surged, but the affluent entrepreneur has been unbothered since he spent $7,500 installing solar panels on his bungalow’s roof as part of a solar boom in Pakistan.
Saleem bought his modules two years ago, as the International Monetary Fund and economically beleaguered Pakistan were hammering out a preliminary bailout program. Under the deal, Pakistan sharply raised power and gas tariffs to support struggling suppliers in the heavily indebted sector.
Pakistanis now pay more than a quarter more on average for electricity, setting off a scramble to install solar modules.
Solar made up over 14 percent of Pakistan’s power supply last year, up from 4 percent in 2021 and displacing coal as the third-largest energy source, according to UK energy think-tank Ember. That is nearly double the share in China, the world’s top supplier of solar panels and a global leader in green technologies, and one of the highest rates in Asia, according to Reuters’ analysis of Ember data.
But the explosion in solar uptake has left out many in Pakistan’s struggling urban middle class, who have been forced to cut back on electricity in face of soaring bills, according to interviews with more than two dozen people, including energy officials, consumers and power-sector analysts. Most of the nation’s solar panels aren’t connected to sell excess capacity to the grid, so the benefits of cheap and reliable power aren’t widely shared.The flight of affluent Pakistanis with solar access from the national grid has dealt a further blow to those relying on pricey conventional sources of power. Electricity companies that lost their most lucrative clients have been forced to additionally hike prices on their shrinking pool of customers to cover operating costs, according to Arzachel, a Karachi-based energy consultancy.
Syed Fahim Ali, 30, uses a wiper to clean the solar panels installed on the roof top of his home, in Karachi, Pakistan April 5, 2025. (Reuters)
Some observers also blame financial stress in the energy sector on deals Pakistan made with China for Beijing to finance billions of dollars’ worth of power-generation contracts, many of which involve coal-fired plants. Pakistan is behind on many of the payments and has been in talks with China about extending the time it has to repay the debt.
Countries like South Africa also face widening energy gaps after affluent residents adopted solar power. But analysts are watching Pakistan particularly closely due to the pace at which the nation of 250 million has taken to sun-based energy.
“This could serve as a cautionary tale as to how regulation and policy needs to keep up with technological change and rapidly evolving economics,” said Haneea Isaad, an Islamabad-based energy finance specialist at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
In an interview with Reuters, Pakistan power minister Awais Leghari acknowledged the energy gap but noted that tariffs have come down significantly since June 2024, when the IMF approved reductions.
He also pointed to heavy uptake of solar by rural Pakistanis, many of whom previously had limited access to the grid. Many non-urban Pakistanis have installed small solar setups to meet their power needs, which are typically far lower than those of their city-dwelling counterparts.
“Pakistan has actually gone through a solar revolution,” he said. “The grid is going to get cleaner by the day, and this is something that we’ve achieved as a nation that we are proud of.”
The IMF did not return requests for comment.
ENERGY DIVIDE
Just a few miles away from Saleem’s upscale neighborhood, Nadia Khan has restructured her life to cut electricity costs.
The air-conditioning in the homemaker’s apartment is rarely used and she’s stopped ironing most of the clothes worn by her family of five, citing the price of power.
Khan’s family is not alone in cutting back: Only 1 percent of paying consumers used over 400 units of power in 2024, per Karachi-based consultancy Renewables First, down from 10 percent before the pandemic.
Like others among Pakistan’s masses of apartment dwellers without space to install solar modules, Khan has been shut out of the revolution.
The roofs of many apartment buildings are designated for water storage and other sanitation purposes, while owners of rental buildings have little incentive to invest in solar connections for their tenants.
“We get some sunlight indoors but I can’t seem to think of a way to go solar,” she said. “Why must people living in apartments suffer?“
Meanwhile, land-owning Pakistanis have benefited from the glut of Chinese-made low-cost solar modules shut out of the West by high tariffs.
A worker unloads solar panels from a vehicle at a market, in Karachi, Pakistan March 26, 2025. (Reuters)
China exported 16.6 gigawatts of solar capacity to Pakistan last year, according to Ember, about five times as much as in 2022. The average cost per watt of solar-module capacity exported also fell 54 percent in the same period.
However, most solar setups aren’t configured to send spare power back to the grid, limiting their benefit to the wider public. Renewables expert Syed Faizan Ali Shah, who advises the government on solar adoption, has said that less than 10 percent of solar consumers sell excess power to the grid.
Experts and government officials blame high costs and sanctioning delays. Connecting a solar module to the grid usually takes between three and nine months, said Renewables First energy expert Ahtasam Ahmad, prompting many to not bother.
Converting power generated from a solar panel for transmission to the grid also requires equipment like inverters, which typically cost between $1,400 and $1,800, or roughly half the median household income in Pakistan.
SUNK COSTS
Pakistan conglomerate Interloop has installed hundreds of solar modules next to its cowsheds in Punjab province that help provide the electricity keeping its 9,300 livestock cool and their milk chilled.
The investment in solar has been a lucrative one for Interloop, which typically breaks even on solar installation costs after three to four years. Basic operating costs are about three quarters less than payments to the grid, said Interloop energy manager Faizan Ul Haq.
The money Interloop saves also reflects a gaping hole in the accounts of Pakistan’s power companies.
View of solar panels with cows in the background at an Interloop owned dairy farm, in Sheikhupura, Pakistan April 8, 2025. (Reuters)
Even though industrial groups and wealthier Pakistanis now consume less grid power, suppliers’ costs haven’t changed proportionately. Fixed expenses like fuel contracts and upgrades to transmission architecture accounted for about 70 percent of supplier expenditure in the year to June 2024, according to an Arzachel estimate.
To cover costs, suppliers have raised prices on their remaining customers, who have already faced repeated increases as a result of the IMF deal.
Fixed costs of 200 billion rupees were shifted to non-solar consumers in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, meaning they paid 6.3 percent more per kilowatt-hour than they otherwise would have, according to Arzachel data.
Solar panel imports have increased since, meaning grid demand is likely to continue dropping, forcing remaining customers to pay more.
“Pakistan’s experience demonstrates a crucial lesson: when governments fail to adapt quickly enough, people take charge,” said Ahmad of Renewables First.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan kicked off its Hajj flight operations on Tuesday morning with the first batch of 442 pilgrims departing from Islamabad for Madinah under the Makkah Route Initiative, the country’s national airline said in a statement.
Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme during Pakistan’s 33-day-long Hajj flight operations. Pilgrims will travel to Makkah and Madinah via 342 flights in total, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31.
“The first Hajj flight for this year, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-713 carrying 442 pilgrims, departed under the Route to Makkah scheme from Islamabad International Airport today (Tuesday) at 4:45 am,” a PIA spokesperson said.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf (left) and Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki (right) arrive at the New Islamabad International Airport to bid farewell to Hajj pilgrims in Islamabad on April 29, 2025. (Photo courtesy: MORA/Handout)
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki bid farewell to the pilgrims at the airport.
The Makkah Route Initiative is designed to streamline immigration processes by enabling pilgrims to complete official travel formalities at their departure airports. Initially tested in Islamabad in 2019, the program was later expanded to Karachi, benefitting tens of thousands of Pakistani travelers. This saves pilgrims several hours upon arrival in the Kingdom, as they can simply enter the country without having to go through immigration again.
Around 50,500 Pakistani pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia under the initiative this year. The scheme was launched in 2019 by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and has been implemented in five countries: Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.
A total of 28,400 pilgrims will leave for Saudi Arabia through 100 flights from the Islamabad airport, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said. Seven special immigration counters have been set up at the Islamabad airport to facilitate pilgrims under the Makkah Route Initiative.
The remaining 22,500 pilgrims will avail the scheme at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
Officials brief Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf (2R) and Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki (3R) on the immigration process as they arrive at the New Islamabad International Airport to bid farewell to Hajj pilgrims in Islamabad on April 29, 2025. (Photo courtesy: MORA/Handout)
Yousaf advised Pakistani pilgrims to strictly adhere to Saudi Arabia’s laws and respect the local culture during the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
“As Hajj pilgrims, you are traveling to the sacred land as the guests of Allah and ambassadors of Pakistan, and you are urged to respect the laws and culture of Saudi Arabia,” the minister said in a televised address, as he bid farewell to the pilgrims.
Yousaf said he would “soon” travel to Saudi Arabia to review Hajj arrangements.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf speaks to pilgrims ahead of their departure for Madinah for Hajj 2025, at the New Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad on April 29, 2025. (Photo courtesy: MORA/Handout)
“I will take every possible measure to resolve the issues faced by Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and will personally be among them to provide facilities,” he added.
Yousaf said the government was striving to extend the Makkah Route Initiative facilities to more Pakistani cities in the future.
“I am thankful to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, for the excellent arrangements,” he added.
Yousaf said each pilgrim was provided a mobile SIM card that contains an application, which can be used to guide pilgrims with directions in case they lose their way in Mina.
Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki with other officials gesture for a group photo at the New Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad on April 29, 2025, as they bid farewell to pilgrims for Hajj 2025. (Photo courtesy: MORA/Handout)
Meanwhile, the second Hajj flight of the day departed from Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, carrying 150 pilgrims to Madinah at 8:00 am via AirSial airline’s flight PF-7700.
Six flights are scheduled to depart from Pakistan for the Kingdom on Tuesday: two from Lahore and one each from Islamabad, Karachi, Quetta and Multan.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to travel to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme and over 23,620 Pakistanis expected to perform Hajj through private tour operators.
