KARACHI: Pakistan’s economy grew by 0.92 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25, despite a contraction in the industrial sector, according to data approved by the National Accounts Committee, and released by its Statistics Bureau on Monday.
The South Asian country is navigating a challenging economic recovery path and has been buttressed by a $7 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September.
The growth was driven by positive performances in the agriculture and services sectors, which grew by 1.15 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of the fiscal year which ends in June 2025.
Pakistan’s economy grew by 2.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of the previous 2023-24 fiscal year.
However, the industrial sector contracted by 1.03 percent, mainly due to a decline in mining and quarrying activities during July-September, read the report.
The committee compiling the national accounts approved the introduction of quarterly estimates of expenditure of the economy.
On the basis of latest figures of the national accounts aggregates for the last fiscal year, the overall size of the economy stood at 105.6 trillion Pakistani rupees ($379.31 billion).
Annual per capita income in rupees was recorded at 472,263 Pakistani rupees ($1,696.35).
The committee also approved an updated annual growth rate for the last fiscal year 2023-24, which stood at 2.50 percent, slightly lower than the previously estimated 2.52 percent.
Pakistan’s economy grows 0.92 percent in Q1 of ongoing fiscal year
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Pakistan’s economy grows 0.92 percent in Q1 of ongoing fiscal year
- The country is navigating a challenging economic recovery path and has been buttressed by a $7 billion facility from the IMF
- The growth was driven by positive performances in agriculture and services sectors, which grew by 1.15 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively
Deputy PM Ishaq Dar denies diplomatic isolation claims, highlights Pakistan’s global presence
- Dar says government’s approach was to increase Pakistan’s diplomatic footprint in the region
- A flurry of visits by foreign dignitaries to strengthen business ties marked the last year in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday dismissed claims that Pakistan was diplomatically isolated, emphasizing that the country remained fully engaged on all international platforms last year.
Dar had promised to prioritize economic diplomacy to bolster Pakistan’s international standing and attract much-needed foreign investment after taking office last year. He highlighted the government’s active external engagements, marked by a flurry of visits from foreign dignitaries as Pakistan sought sustainable growth and investment in key economic sectors.
Efforts have focused on strengthening business and investment ties with regional allies, including Russia, Central Asian states and Gulf nations, as the country navigates economic recovery after a prolonged crisis.
“Faced with the unprecedented challenges at the national, regional and global levels, our consistent and successful approach was to improve our diplomatic footprint, especially in the region,” the deputy prime minister said while addressing a news conference.
“You witnessed that in the past year, the perception or reality [of diplomatic isolation] has vanished by the grace of God,” he added. “Today, Pakistan is fully activated [diplomatically].”
He also mentioned Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Pakistan last year, noting that all global issues were discussed during his meetings with Pakistani officials.
Dar spoke about the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who visited the country last year to strengthen bilateral ties with Pakistan amid surging tensions in the Middle East.
He recalled that Pakistan had been represented by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia last year, praising him for speaking openly against Israel for its war in Gaza.
Dar said Sharif’s visits to the Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were aimed at promoting investment, adding that Pakistan expected about $29 billion in business and commerce from these countries.
The deputy prime minister noted that Pakistan was also active on the humanitarian front, pointing out it had sent 14 relief consignments to Gaza, nine to Lebanon and four to Syria in 2024.
Pakistan military pardons 19 convicted for May 9 riots ‘on humanitarian grounds’
- Last month, a military court sentenced 85 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years
- May 9 riots followed ex-PM Khan’s brief arrests and involved the targeting of military properties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Thursday announced it had accepted the mercy petitions of 19 convicts involved in the May 9, 2023, violence, granting remission of their punishments “purely on humanitarian grounds,” according to an official statement.
Last month, a military court sentenced 85 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to ten years for their roles in the riots, during which supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan were accused of attacking military facilities.
The violence, sparked by Khan’s brief arrest in a corruption case, saw hundreds storming military and government installations, including the torching of a top commander’s house.
The trials, held under the Pakistan Army Act, included convictions of two former military officers, Brig. (retired) Javed Akram and Captain (retired) Viqas Ahmed Mohsin, as well as Khan’s nephew, Hassan Khan Niazi.
The military had initiated trials for over 100 individuals following the violence.
“A total of 67 convicts have given their mercy petitions,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in its statement. “48 petitions have been processed to Courts of Appeal, while petitions of 19 convicts have been accepted purely on humanitarian grounds, in accordance with the law.”
“Mercy petitions of the remaining will be decided in due course of time, following the legal process,” it added.
The military shared a list of the individuals whose petitions had been approved, adding that they would be released after completing procedural formalities.
The trials and convictions raised concerns that Khan himself could face prosecution under the Pakistan Army Act, with charges including treason and inciting mutiny in the military.
The former premier, jailed for over a year, has denied these allegations and multiple other charges, describing them as politically motivated attempts to sideline him from power.
Khan, however, faces accusations of orchestrating the May 9 riots, a claim he has consistently rejected. He remains imprisoned in a high-security facility in Rawalpindi.
“The remission of punishments is a testament to the strength of the due process and fairness, which ensures that justice is served while also taking into account the principles of compassion and mercy,” the ISPR said.
It also noted the military had released 20 convicts last year in April on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with law.
Pakistan telecom regulator partners with DeafTawk to improve accessibility at offices
- The initiative will help promote an inclusive society in Pakistan, home to over 10 million deaf people
- DeafTawk, a social enterprise founded in 2018, has app linking deaf users with qualified interpreters
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DeafTawk, a social enterprise supporting deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, to provide sign language interpretation services at PTA offices, state-owned media reported on Thursday.
DeafTawk, founded in Pakistan, operates a globally available mobile application offering real-time sign-language solutions. The app connects deaf users with qualified interpreters to facilitate communication in various scenarios, such as medical consultations, education, transportation, and family interactions.
Users can download the app, subscribe, and access round-the-clock services, with group calls also supported. The service is currently available in Pakistan, Denmark, Singapore, and Puerto Rico.
“Through this partnership, DeafTawk will provide ‘DeafTawk Plus,’ enabling online sign language interpretation for deaf visitors at PTA offices,” Radio Pakistan said. “PTA will also integrate AI-powered text-to-sign and speech-to-sign tools into its digital platforms, with annual accessibility audits to ensure continuous improvement.”
“This groundbreaking initiative addresses communication challenges faced by over ten million deaf individuals in Pakistan, promoting an equitable and inclusive society,” it added.
DeafTawk was launched in 2018 by Wamiq Hassan, Pakistan’s first deaf software engineer and one of the app’s developers, who told Arab News in a 2022 interview he wanted to uplift the deaf community and make this world inclusive for all with the help of mobile technology.
Reflecting on his experience, Hassan emphasized the critical need for such solutions in a country where communication barriers for the hearing impaired remain prevalent.
“From my personal experience I know that deaf people face extreme communication barriers in Pakistan and there must be a solution to it,” he said. “So, we are trying to bridge this gap through this app.”
Afghan refugees suffer ‘like prisoners’ in Pakistan crackdown
- Millions of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan over the four decades, fleeing successive conflicts
- Pakistani officials have blamed these refugees for launching militant attacks, stoking political unrest
ISLAMABAD: The space in which refugee Shaharzad has to live has shrunk to the small courtyard of a guesthouse in Pakistan’s capital, reminiscent of her life under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
She fears being swept up in a wave of anti-Afghan sentiment, including reports of harassment, extortion and arrests by Pakistan authorities who have cracked down on mainly undocumented families living there.
“For Afghans, the situation here is terrible and the behaviour of the Pakistani police is like that of the Taliban,” said Shaharzad, who lives in constant fear of being deported with her children.
Her son was recently detained while walking in a park, when “the police asked him for money instead of documents,” she said.
The government cited spiking militant attacks claimed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, for a campaign last summer that evicted some 750,000 Afghans, mostly undocumented.
In recent months, however, Islamabad and the police have also started alleging Afghan involvement in opposition unrest over the imprisonment of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Afghans who are waiting to be relocated to Western nations say they are being caught up in the political tensions.
“After coming here, we feel like we are out of the frying pan and into the fire,” said Afghan Mustafa, who is waiting with his family for visas to the United States.
The 31-year-old said his family cannot go out freely to buy groceries and medicine for fear of arrest.
“If they know you are an Afghan, whether you have the visa or not, they will arrest you or will extort you,” he said.
More than three years after the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul, the United States and European countries have yet to reopen their embassies there, forcing Afghans to complete their applications from within Pakistan.
Shaharzad was told to travel to Pakistan by a European nation that said it would process her onward visa from the capital Islamabad.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called on Western nations in July to expedite the relocation of more than 44,000 Afghans living in Pakistan and awaiting relocation to the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and Britain.
Millions of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan over the past four decades, fleeing successive conflicts including the Soviet invasion, a civil war and the post-9/11 US-led occupation.
Some 600,000 Afghans have fled to Pakistan since the Taliban government took over again in August 2021 and implemented their austere version of Islamic law.
According to UNHCR, Pakistan currently hosts some 1.5 million Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers, alongside more than 1.5 million Afghans of different legal statuses.
A campaign to deport undocumented Afghans was launched as political ties between the neighboring governments frayed and Pakistan’s economic and security woes worsened.
A wave of political protests in the capital in support of jailed former premier Khan last month saw a new spike of about 30 arrests of Afghans, according to officials.
Khan’s heartland is in the ethnic Pashtun belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Afghan Pashtuns.
Muhammad Khan, an Afghan community leader in Islamabad, said the protests were used as a cover to intimidate Afghans.
Clashing with the official account, he claimed close to 200 Afghans were arrested over several days, including during raids on guesthouses.
“Afghan refugees are the sacrificial lambs for Pakistan’s domestic problems and the tensions between the governments in Islamabad and Kabul,” Khan said, denying the involvement of Afghans in Pakistani political activities.
Pakistan’s interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Imaan Mazari, a human rights lawyer who defends arrested Afghans in Islamabad courts, said the protests have led to a spike in “racial profiling (of Afghans) in Islamabad and Rawalpindi,” just south of the capital.
The police have been given “a completely free license to pick up whoever they want, extort them (and) exploit them.”
The provincial Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who led the recent protests, said hostility toward Afghans has spread to Pakistani Pashtuns.
In a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, he accused the police of the “arbitrary rounding up” of “Pashtun laborers in Islamabad” and warned that “such actions risk fostering a sense of alienation and exclusion among communities.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it was “deeply concerned by the alleged ethnic profiling of ordinary Pashtun citizens” and called on Islamabad police to refrain from actions “that create divisions among various communities living in the country.”
The Afghan embassy in Islamabad has denied any involvement by Afghans in political activities in Pakistan.
“This policy (of blaming the Afghans) brings no benefit to Pakistan and will only deepen the mistrust between the two neighboring countries,” it said in a statement.
For Afghans in limbo as they wait to be relocated, life has become similar to what they left behind in Afghanistan.
“We have become like prisoners, we go out very rarely and only when we really have to,” Mustafa said.
Pakistani religio-political faction ends Karachi sit-in after peace agreement reached in Kurram
- Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen had camped at over 10 locations in Karachi since last week to protest Kurram violence
- The conflict started on November 21 when 52 people were killed in an ambush targeting a local convoy of residents
KARACHI: A Pakistani religio-political party announced on Wednesday an end to its sit-in protests in the southern port city of Karachi after warring tribes in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district signed a peace agreement to end prolonged violence that started in November.
The Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM) had been leading demonstrations at over 10 locations in Karachi since last week to protest the violence in Kurram, which has long been plagued by tribal and sectarian clashes.
The unrest escalated after a deadly ambush on a convoy on November 21 killed 52 people, mostly Shias, triggering clashes that have since claimed at least 136 lives in the district, home to a population of around 600,000.
“I announce the conclusion of the sit-ins and protests held in Pakistan and around the world in support of the oppressed people of Kurram district,” Senator Allama Raja Nasir, the leader of MWM, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “From Karachi to Khyber, the elderly, youth and women who braved harsh cold weather to hold sit-ins in solidarity with their compatriots are remarkable and unparalleled individuals who awakened the government and security institutions from their slumber.”
He described the peace agreement as a positive development, adding that his party would continue to raise its voice and strive for the permanent resolution of Kurram’s issues until the agreement was fully implemented.
The sit-ins in Karachi had disrupted life in the port city, drawing sharp warnings from the Sindh administration that threatened stern action if demonstrators did not move their protests to designated spots.
Tensions boiled over earlier this week when law enforcement officials clashed with protesters in Karachi.
Meanwhile, in Kurram, warring factions signed the peace agreement on Wednesday following weeks of mediation by a grand jirga — a council of tribal and political elders formed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government.
Under the agreement, both sides pledged to dismantle bunkers, surrender heavy weapons to the government, and refrain from using arms against each other.
“Both sides have agreed on the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons,” KP government spokesperson Muhammad Ali Saif said in a statement. “We congratulate the people of Kurram on the signing of the peace agreement, which will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in Kurram.”
Saif added the agreement would ensure a return to normalcy in the district.
According to the agreement, violations will trigger government action with the cooperation of a peace committee against the offending area.
Kurram, situated along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, has a history of violent tribal conflicts and militant attacks. A major conflict between Sunni and Shia tribes erupted in 2007 and continued for years before a jirga-mediated truce was reached in 2011.
