KARACHI: Stock investors have been trading cautiously since last week when an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission arrived in Pakistan to review the country’s economic performance under its reforms-oriented, $7 billion loan program, analysts said on Thursday.
Pakistan’s stocks turned green on Thursday after losing more than 300 points in the last three sessions, with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 0.9 percent to close at 115,094.23 points. The stocks, which have gained about 3 percent since March 3 when the IMF experts landed in the country, have been fluctuating and witnessed four bull-runs and as many bearish sessions.
While the IMF and the government remain tightlipped about what they are discussing behind the closed doors, local media reports claim that the two sides are not on the same page over issues relating to Pakistan’s revenue shortfall, debt sustainability, and the resolution of the country’s power sector debt. The central bank unexpectedly maintaining the interest rate at 12 percent this week is being seen as another negative for stocks investors.
“The stock market is jittery because of the IMF review along with other factors,” Sana Tawfik, head of research at Karachi-based Arif Habib Ltd., told Arab News.
She said the market was mainly reacting to news reports about the IMF expressing concern over Pakistan’s tax shortfall of around Rs600 billion ($2.1 billion) and rejecting the government’s plans to resolve the lingering circular debt that was expected to increase to as much as Rs1 trillion by June.
The IMF wants Pakistan to increase its tax-to-GDP ratio, which is the lowest in the region, to 13 percent by taxing incomes from agriculture, real estate and retail sectors. Pakistan, however, fell short of the IMF-backed tax collection target this year.
“There is a concern in the market that this tax shortfall may upset the review,” Tawfik said, adding that the selling pressure and a lack of a proper trigger were other drags on the stock index.
Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer at Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., said the issues being discussed with the IMF would have a “direct impact” on stocks, including energy, cement and even the cost of borrowing that is directly related to economic growth.
“Generally higher interest rates are negative for the stocks and we believe the IMF certainly does play a role in the central bank’s decisions,” Mehanti told Arab News.
Pakistan’s policymakers avoid squeezing the interest rate much at a time when the IMF is reviewing the release of its first tranche under the $7 billion program.
“The market expects IMF’s proposal may be growth negative owing to higher interest rates to check inflation risks, thin LSM (large-scale manufacturing) growth in case of a cut in the PSDP (public sector development program) or refusals of circular debt plans,” the commodity analyst said.
But Amjad Waheed, chief executive officer at the NBP Fund Management Ltd., held a different view and said the recent fluctuation looked more like a case of profit-taking as investors booked handsome profits during the last couple of years, when the stock market rose as much as 84 percent.
“The IMF talks are ongoing stable and as per routine. I haven’t heard of any tough conditions that the IMF is going to set,” said Waheed, who manages billions of rupees of investor savings.
“People have earned enough and some people now booking profit is normal. The market corrects a bit because of profit-taking.”
The fund manager said some investors might be selling their stocks as their expectation for a rate cut of as much as 1,500 basis points could not materialize because of Monday’s decision by the central bank.
“As an investor I am very conscious at the moment. I am holding on to my stocks. I am holding on to my investments. I am very careful with that,” Isra Ghous Rasool, a 22-year-old stock investor from Karachi, told Arab News in a recent interview.

KARACHI: In Karachi, where traffic is relentless and sirens are a constant, 63-year-old Ghulam Nabi has spent the past 14 years behind the wheel of an Edhi Foundation ambulance, responding to emergencies in a city where every second can mean the difference between life and death.

The Edhi Foundation, one of the world’s largest charities, operates nearly 1,800 ambulances, including over 200 in Karachi, where it was founded by the late veteran philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, who passed away in July 2016. Nabi is one of the hundreds of drivers keeping the wheels of these ambulances going.

Even during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, he remains committed to his duty. Often, his iftar — the evening meal to break the fast, which most people share with their families at home — happens on the road, between dispatches.

“Whether it’s sunny, hot, stormy, rainy, Ramadan or Eid, no matter what, we have to do our duty and serve humanity,” he said in a recent conversation with Arab News.

Living in an old apartment in the city’s historic Kharadar area, he begins his day by walking to the Edhi headquarters nearly a kilometer away. From there, his shift unfolds unpredictably, sometimes requiring him to attend to road accidents, rush cardiac arrest patients to hospitals or transport the deceased to their final resting places.

“Just yesterday, it was time to break the fast. Five to ten minutes before iftar, we were informed that an accident had occurred on Mai Kolachi Road,” Nabi recalled, adding that he had to leave iftar and rush to the spot.

“On the way, someone gave us dates, and we broke our fast with them,” he added.

Nabi recalled that at one point during Ramadan, he was asked to pick up a corpse from a house where it had remained unattended for nearly a week. As he reached the place, he realized it was decomposed and in such a condition that no one wanted to go near it.

But Nabi handled it, giving it to the relatives in a casket after completing the required legal procedures.

“We had to carry the body while fasting,” he said.

‘FRONTLINE HEROES’

Muhammad Amin, who oversees the Karachi Control Room at the Edhi Foundation, holds his team, particularly Nabi, in high esteem.

“He is an excellent driver, and all the qualities required in his job are found in him,” he told Arab News. “From keeping the ambulance clean to its general upkeep, following driving protocols and handling emergencies, Ghulam Nabi excels in all these aspects.”

Amin noted Ramadan always brought unique challenges to the drivers since their workload never decreased.

“There was a fire near Chakar Hotel on the Super Highway [yesterday], where our team, which included the drivers, went,” he said. “The drivers were fasting, but they worked through the fire and performed their duties.”

“If you look at it, these drivers can truly be called our frontline heroes,” he added.

Nabi said his entry into this line of work was unexpected. He used to run a small business that suffered losses, forcing him to shut it down. As he started looking for employment opportunities, a friend referred him to Edhi in 2010.

“Since that day, I have been engaged in humanitarian work,” he said.

‘SAVING HUMANITY’

Karachi, a megacity with over 20 million people, suffers from broken roads, congested streets and widespread disregard for traffic rules. These conditions significantly increase the challenges of Nabi’s job, making him fear that he might not be able to reach people in need on time.

Despite such hardships, he said he was proud of his work and found fulfillment in transporting patients and the injured to hospitals for treatment.

“Whoever saves a life, saves all of humanity,” he said, his eyes shining.

To Nabi, his work is a continuation of the legacy of Abdul Sattar Edhi, the late humanitarian whose foundation has provided free ambulance services for decades.

“Here, we are carrying forward Edhi Sahib’s mission,” he said. “Humanitarian work will never stop.”

As dusk falls and families across Karachi gather for iftar at home, Nabi finds himself away from his loved ones.

“Our hearts also long to break our fast with our children, but our iftar is often on the road or in the ambulance, and we have to break our fast with dates or water,” he said, as he opened his fast with the evening prayer call while sitting on a roadside bench in a Karachi street.