KARACHI: Pakistan’s former cricket captain Shahid Khan Afridi has said his T20 squad, the Multan Sultans, was capable of lifting this year’s Pakistan Super League trophy but Peshawar Zalmi was the “strongest” side in the ongoing tournament in Abu Dhabi.
Peshawar Zalmi will play its fourth Pakistan Super League final today, Thursday, after a thumping eight-wicket victory over Islamabad United in the playoffs on Tuesday. Zalmi won the PSL champions title in 2017 and was the runner-up in the 2018 and 2019 editions. United has won the tournament twice.
Afridi could not join his team during the PSL playoffs in Abu Dhabi this month due to a back injury.
“I believe if Multan Sultans continues with its [current] form, it can win,” Afridi told Arab News in an interview on Tuesday. “But the combination of Peshawar is excellent when we see their bowling and batting. So in my view, the strongest team [in this tournament] is Peshawar.”
“It’s a matter of happiness that my team [Multan] has qualified for the finals, and I extend congratulations to the entire squad, especially [captain Muhammad] Rizwan,” he said.
Afridi said Multan did not have a good start in this year’s series but significantly improved its performance, which helped it qualify for the final. He said the team’s pacer Shahnawaz Dahani, who hails from a remote town in Pakistan’s Sindh province, was an excellent addition to the squad, saying his performance reflected there was immense hidden talent in the rural areas of the province.
“I am happy that a player has come from Larkana,” the all-rounder said. “We see few players [from rural Sindh]. Most of the players come from big cities. So, the presence of such talent means there is ample flair for cricket out there, but we need to provide requisite facilities to the [rural] areas [to explore the latent talent].”
Afridi also congratulated the Pakistan Cricket Board, PSL franchise owners and players for the successful completion of the T20 tournament, which had to be posted in March due to COVID-19 cases among players and officials, but was resumed this month in the UAE.
“It’s very difficult to reschedule any tournament after it has been postponed once,” he said. “The PSL is a big tournament, and I would like to give credit to the PCB, owners of all franchises and players since they came out of a difficult situation and the tournament is being concluded in such an excellent way. So, the credit goes to all.”
Shahid Afridi hopes for Multan victory but says Peshawar ‘strongest’ PSL team
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Shahid Afridi hopes for Multan victory but says Peshawar ‘strongest’ PSL team
- Zalmi won the PSL champions title in 2017 and was the runner-up in the 2018 and 2019 editions
- Afridi says Multan had a rocky start but improved performance, team pacer Shahnawaz Dahani excellent addition to squad
Pakistan’s benchmark share index rises as much as 1.5%
- Pakistan’s benchmark share index has surged 73.4% over the past year, up 12.9% year-to-date
- Market reacting to Saudi business delegation’s arrival, IMF statement on mission visit, says analyst
KARACHI: Pakistan’s benchmark share index rose 1.5% during intraday trade on Monday, to an intraday high of 72,986 points.
The index has surged 73.4% over the past year and is up 12.9% year-to-date.
A Saudi delegation arrived in Pakistan on Sunday for talks on trade and investment opportunities, particularly in the exploration and production sectors.
Adnan Sheikh, assistant vice president at Pak Kuwait Investment Company, said the market was up following news of the delegation’s arrival along with an IMF statement regarding a mission visit.
“The PSX is still very cheap with price to earnings ratio of under 5x compared to average of 8x,” Sheikh added.
Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a new longer term program.
An International Monetary Fund mission is expected to visit Pakistan this month to discuss a program, the lender said on Sunday ahead of Islamabad beginning its annual budget-making process for the next financial year.
The IMF did not specify the dates of the visit, nor the size or duration of the program.
Earlier, in an interview with Reuters, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the country hoped to agree the outlines of a new IMF loan in May.
Pakistan is expected to seek at least $6 billion and request additional financing from the Fund under the Resilience and Sustainability Trust.
Saudi officials arrive in Karachi to carry out immigration procedures under Makkah Route Initiative
- Makkah Route Initiative allows for completion of immigration procedures at pilgrims’ country of departure
- A total of 65,000 pilgrims in Karachi, Islamabad are expected to utilize Makkah Route Initiative during this year’s Hajj
ISLAMABAD: Saudi officials arrived in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday to carry out immigration procedures under the Makkah Route Initiative for Hajj pilgrims, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said.
Pakistani officials confirmed in April Saudi Arabia’s decision to approve the Makkah Route Initiative’s expansion to the airport in Karachi, the country’s most populous city. Launched in 2019, the program was initially extended only to the airport in Islamabad.
The Makkah Route Initiative allows for the completion of immigration procedures at the pilgrims’ country of departure, making it possible to bypass long immigration and customs checks on reaching Saudi Arabia. The facility significantly reduces waiting times and makes the entry process smoother and faster.
“A group of 44 Saudi immigration officials has arrived in Karachi as part of the Road to Makkah Project,” PCAA said in a statement. “The immigration team will carry out Saudi immigration procedures for Hajj pilgrims at Karachi airport who are traveling under the Road to Makkah Project.”
The Saudi immigration officials were welcomed by the acting counsel general of Saudi Arabia in Karachi, the director of Hajj in Pakistan, representatives of the Airport Security Force, Pakistan Customs, Anti-Narcotics Force, Border Health Services, and the Federal Investigation Agency.
Pakistan’s religious affairs secretary told a media briefing in April that a total of 65,000 Hajj pilgrims would utilize the Makkah Route Initiative at Karachi and Islamabad airports this year. The official said 41,000 of the 65,000 pilgrims will make use of the facility under the government’s Hajj scheme, while the remaining 24,000 will rely on private tour operators.
A total of 29,500 pilgrims will use the facility from Islamabad while 35,500 will be able to avail it from the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
Saudi Arabia last year restored Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and abolished the upper age limit of 65. More than 81,000 Pakistani pilgrims performed Hajj under the government scheme in 2023, while the rest used private tour operators.
Pakistan will launch Hajj 2024 operations from May 9 in eight airports across the country till June 9. This year’s pilgrimage is expected to take place from June 14-19.
Pakistan wants ‘larger, longer’ IMF bailout, PIA privatization by early July — FinMin
- Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program that helped stave off sovereign default
- Finance minister says hopeful PIA and other privatization deals would get through “finishing line” by early July
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday Islamabad was seeking a “larger and longer” bailout program from the International Monetary Fund, whose mission would arrive in Islamabad within the next ten days to start discussing a new loan deal.
Pakistan last month completed a short-term $3 billion program, which helped stave off sovereign default, but the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer term program.
Pakistan’s financial year runs from July to June and its budget for fiscal year 2025, the first by Sharif’s new government, has to be presented before June 30.
The IMF has not specified the dates of its Islamabad visit, nor the size or duration of any new program.
“We have requested the IMF … that we want to go into a larger and a longer program with the fund and they have acceded that request, and we are expecting the mission to arrive here within a week to 10 days, where we will start discussing the contours of the next program,” Aurangzeb said while addressing a conference in Islamabad.
He said Pakistan needed a new IMF program to bring “permanence” to macroeconomic stability and continue to carry out “structural reforms.”
The IMF has said accelerating reforms was more important than the size of a new program, which would be guided by a package of reforms and balance of payments needs.
Under the last $3 billion bailout, Pakistan implemented several IMF-mandated reforms, such as budget adjustments, increasing interest rates, and higher energy prices.
Among expected reforms under a new program are strengthening public finances through gradual fiscal consolidation, broadening the existing tax base and improving tax administration, and debt sustainability, all while protecting the vulnerable.
Pakistan also needs to restore the viability of the energy sector and prevent further accumulation of circular debt arising from subsidies and unpaid bills. Other reforms will include cutting inflation, stimulating private sector growth and adopting a market-driven exchange rate to help balance external accounts and rebuild foreign reserves.
PIA PRIVATIZATION
“We have to broaden our tax base,” the finance minister said, outlining reforms under new IMF deal. “Our tax to GDP [ratio] is languishing at about 9 percent ... we have to start moving it toward 14- 15 percent.”
“We have to start resolving the complex energy equation … And the third one is the SOE [state-owned enterprises] reform,” Aurangzeb said. “Our prime minister has been very clear that the government has no business being in business … We need to and we will accelerate the privatization agenda.”
He said he hoped that PIA, the national carrier, and other privatization deals would get through the “finishing line” by early July.
Last week, Pakistan pushed back the deadline for companies to express interest in buying PIA to May 18, a day before the expressions had originally been due. The privatization commission says 10 companies have already expressed an interest.
Pakistan’s government has previously said it was putting on the block a stake of between 51 percent and 100 percent in the loss-making airline.
The disposal of the flag carrier is a step that past elected governments have steered away from as it is likely to be highly unpopular, but progress on privatization is key to helping cash-strapped Pakistan pursue further funding talks with the IMF.
At OIC contact group meeting, Pakistan calls on India to restore Kashmir’s special status
- Delegations from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other member states attend OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir meeting in Banjul
- Member states call for early and peaceful resolution to Kashmir dispute along the lines of OIC’s agenda UN resolutions, says foreign ministry
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stressed on India to release prisoners, lift curbs on political parties and restore the special status of the internationally disputed Jammu and Kashmir territory, the foreign ministry said on Monday, during the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) summit in The Gambia.
These views were expressed by Dar as he led Pakistan’s delegation to a meeting of the OIC’s Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday in Banjul. The meeting reviewed the political and security environment in Jammu and Kashmir, and took stock of the “grim human rights situation” in the territory, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said. The meeting was attended by member states of the contact group such as Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Niger, Azerbaijan and officials of the OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission.
Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan, both of which claim all of the region but administer only parts of it. On Aug. 5 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew Indian-administered Kashmir’s autonomy in a move that was seen by analysts as a strategy to tighten his grip over the territory. The decision provoked outrage in Pakistan and the downgrading of diplomatic ties and suspension of bilateral trade between the two countries.
“He [Dar] also stressed that India must release all the political prisoners, lift curbs on the outlawed political parties, revoke the illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 and the subsequent steps aimed at demographic change and political engineering, and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” MoFA said.
Dar informed the group that India was “systematically denying the Kashmiri people their fundamental rights and freedoms,” adding that Indian authorities had created “an environment of fear and intimidation” in the disputed territory.
The delegations from member countries stressed the importance of the resolution of the Kashmir dispute along the lines of the OIC’s agenda, the foreign ministry said. They expressed support for the legitimate struggle of Kashmiris for the realization of their right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the ministry said.
“They called for an early and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” MoFA said.
The OIC has 57 member countries, making it the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations. The OIC contact group on Jammu and Kashmir was established in 1994 to support the struggle of the people of Indian-administered Kashmir, including their right to self-determination, to voice the organization’s position, and coordinate joint actions on the dispute.
Dar is in Banjul to attend an OIC summit being held against a backdrop of widespread anger over Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The Jewish state has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians and caused massive destruction of hospitals, schools and residential neighborhoods in the densely populated area since Oct. 7.
The Pakistani deputy prime minister arrived in Gambia on Wednesday to present his country’s perspective on a wide range of issues, including the war in Gaza and the rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan ‘high priority’ economic opportunity for us, Saudi top minister says in Islamabad
- 50-member Saudi delegation with representatives of 30 Saudi companies in Pakistan for investment conference
- 125 Pakistani companies negotiating with Saudi companies who were visiting Pakistan, petroleum minister says
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is a “high-priority economic investment and business opportunity” for Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak said on Monday, as a two-day Pak-Saudi investment conference kicked off in Islamabad with a focus on business-to-business engagements.
A 50-member delegation led by Al-Mubarak arrived in Pakistan on Sunday, comprising some 30 Saudi companies from the fields of IT, telecoms, energy, aviation, construction, mining exploration, agriculture and human resource development.
“To the Saudi government and Saudi companies, Pakistan is considered a high-priority economic investment and business opportunity,” Al-Mubarak said as he addressed the investment summit.
“We believe in the great potential of Pakistan’s economy, demographics and talent as well as location and natural resources.”
Al-Mubarak said this was his second visit to Pakistan in two weeks and many influential leaders from globally renowned Saudi companies were part of his delegation.
“Today, we want to connect you [Pakistan] all to Saudi companies who desire to continue building their international presence, for Saudi Arabia’s ambitions do not stop at our borders and we would like to see Pakistan as one of our leading international partners,” the Saudi official added.
“So, this gathering provides a wonderful opportunity for them [Saudi companies] to develop a deeper understanding of the great opportunities available for investment in Pakistan and to learn about related regulations, requirements, and incentives.”
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik said 125 Pakistani companies were negotiating with the Saudi companies who were visiting Pakistan.
“First, there were government-to-government agreements during the visit of the Saudi foreign minister [last month] and now there will be business-to-business agreements,” he said.
“To facilitate the visiting Saudi companies, the Pakistani commerce ministry has affiliated one focal person with each Saudi company.”
Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan said Pakistani and Saudi companies were discussing joint ventures and collaboration in diverse sectors.
“This delegation includes high officials of more than 32 Saudi companies … Saudi businessmen will invest in Pakistan in different stages,” Khan said at the press conference.
“Pakistani companies are present here, in the energy sector, in the food sector, in the construction sector, in the renewable section, in the ports and shipping section, and the IT services and general services.”
He said the visit by the Saudi delegation was “just the beginning” and now a Pakistani delegation would visit the Kingdom “to move forward toward the implementation phase.”
INVESTMENT PUSH
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working in recent weeks to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to expedite an investment package of $5 billion.
The Saudi business delegation’s visit comes on the heels of one by Sharif to Riyadh from Apr. 27-30 to attend a special two-day meeting of the World Economic Forum.
On the sidelines of the WEF conference, the Pakistani PM met and discussed bilateral investment and economic partnerships with the crown prince and the Saudi ministers of finance, industries, investment, energy, climate, and economy and planning, the adviser of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council and the presidents of the Saudi central bank and Islamic Development Bank.
This was Sharif’s second meeting with the crown prince in a month. Before that, he also met him when he traveled to the Kingdom on April 6-8. The Saudi foreign minister was also in Pakistan last month, a trip during which Pakistan pitched projects worth at least $20 billion to Riyadh.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense, and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country. During the first half of the current financial year, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was recorded at $2.482 billion, with Pakistan’s exports of $262.58 million and Saudi exports of $2.219 billion.
Saudi Arabia has often come to Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up forex reserves.
As things stand, Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new bailout deal, for which it needs to signal that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing which has been a key demand in previous loan packages.
Last year Pakistan set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council, a body consisting of Pakistani civilian and military leaders and specially tasked to promote investment in Pakistan. The council is so far focusing on investments in the energy, agriculture, mining, information technology and aviation sectors and specifically targeting Gulf nations.
