KARACHI: Top officials from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are visiting Pakistan this week to explore the market and engage with key government stakeholders on identifying “viable opportunities” for investment,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has vowed to reduce dependence on foreign loans in the coming years and seek more direct investment.

The country in 2023 nearly defaulted on the payment of its foreign debts until it was rescued by a last-gasp $3 billion bailout loan from the IMF. Last year, Islamabad secured a new $7 billion loan deal from the international lender. 

Since then, the country’s economy has started improving, with inflation dropping to 0.7 percent year-on-year in March 2025, the lowest in sixty years and a sharp contrast to the 38 percent peak experienced in May 2023. Aggressive interest rate cuts by Pakistan’s central bank, removal of energy subsidies in line with fiscal reform, increased inflows through remittances and exports and stabilization efforts under Pakistan’s economic framework supported by global partners have all come together to support the stabilization efforts. 

At Monday’s meeting with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Linda Rudo Munyengeterwa, IFC Global Director for Public Private Privatization & Corporate Finance, reiterated the international financial institution’s commitment to “supporting the country’s macroeconomic reform, investment, and privatization initiatives.”

“The delegation conveyed that they had come to Pakistan with an open mind, intending to explore the market and engage with key government stakeholders to identify potential areas for investment,” the finance ministry said in a statement. 

“IFC’s extensive global experience across various sectors, including infrastructure, energy, transport, public finance, and privatization, was highlighted as a valuable asset that could be leveraged to support Pakistan’s development agenda.” 

The delegation emphasized their readiness to partner with Pakistan in “exploring viable opportunities for collaboration and investment,” the statement added. 

Recognizing the fiscal challenges in managing public finances and meeting the country’s expanding development needs, Aurangzeb stressed the importance of utilizing the expertise and financial resources of international institutions like the IFC through public-private partnerships. 

“He affirmed that such collaborations could facilitate the implementation of essential reforms and enhance efforts to develop efficient energy, transport, and infrastructure systems in response to the demands of a growing population,” the statement added. 

The IFC delegation also called on Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari in Islamabad on Monday and discussed “promoting private investment in the energy sector through Public Private Partnership models,” Radio Pakistan reported. 

Leghari appreciated the role of the IFC in introducing modern technology for investment in the energy sector. 

“Demand and pricing are our major problems, and we are thankful for IFC’s guidance for sustainable solutions,” Radio Pakistan reported the minister as telling the IFC delegation. 

“Appreciating the IFC’s technical expertise and global experience, the Minister said the government is committed to provide a conducive environment to investors.”

The report said the IFC expressed its willingness to support the power ministry’s digital meterization policy and offered to assist in policy formulation and reforms.

The delegation presented examples of successful models in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and India where increased investment, integration of renewable energy and open access had been promoted.

“It is important for Pakistan to learn from international experiences for the right strategy,” the report said. “The meeting agreed that cooperation will be further promoted in the future and joint efforts will be implemented in various energy projects.”

ISLAMABAD: Militants used weapons abandoned by US forces in Afghanistan during a deadly train hijacking last month in southwestern Pakistan, a report by international newspaper “The Washington Post” said on Monday. 
Pakistan has voiced its concerns over the presence of advanced US weapons in Afghanistan which Washington has sought to be returned by Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers. Islamabad has urged the United Nations to recover these weapons, warning that militant groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) were gaining access to them.
BLA militants stormed the Jaffar Express train in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province last month, holding hundreds of passengers hostage. The military said it killed 33 militants in a rescue operation that lasted over 24 hours. It said the hijacking killed 31 soldiers, staff and civilians. 
As per the report, Pakistani officials gave The Post access to dozens of weapons in May that they said were seized from captured or killed militants. After months of inquiries, The Post said the US Army and the Pentagon confirmed that 63 weapons shown to reporters had been provided by the US government to Afghan forces.
“After the March 11 train attack by Baloch militants, which claimed at least 26 lives, Pakistani officials provided serial numbers for three US rifles allegedly used by the attackers,” the report said. “At least two came from US stocks and had been provided to Afghan forces, according to records obtained by The Post through the Freedom of Information Act.”
Of the 63 weapons shown by Pakistani officials, the post said most were M16 rifles, alongside several, more-modern M4 carbine models. It said Pakistani officials also displayed a handful of PVS14 night-vision devices, which are used throughout the American armed forces but could not be independently verified as former US government property.
It said these weapons left behind by American forces found themselves in the hands of militants after being traded along Pakistan’s porous border with Afghanistan at illicit weapons bazaars. 
The Post cited a 2023 report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which estimated in 2023 that when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, over $7 billion in American military equipment was still in the country. 
The report said SIGAR concluded the US military had an uneven record of keeping track of weapons provided to the Afghans, which was exacerbated by its “abrupt and uncoordinated” withdrawal in 2021.
The report said SIGAR estimated more than a quarter-million rifles were left behind by US forces during their withdrawal from Afghanistan, enough to arm the entire US Marine Corps as well as nearly 18,000 night-vision goggles.
 “Just after the Taliban takeover, the latest night-vision devices were sold at a scrap rate,” Raz Muhammad, a Pakistani weapons trader, was quoted by The Post. 
The report quoted a Pakistan Army major, Zaheer Hassan, as saying that insurgents have paired night vision and thermal equipment with small drones to attack troops with more precision.
“The battle has become much more dangerous,” Hassan said, according to The Post. 
Pakistan’s foreign office said this month that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed during a telephonic conversation with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister on the need to resolve the issue of US Military equipment left behind in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in its western regions that border Afghanistan in recent years, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.