KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday described the first primary market auction of the country’s one-year Ijarah Sukuk as a “resounding success” that attracted over Rs481 billion ($1.7 billion) of bids, calling it a useful addition to the product suite offered by the equity market which would further expand and solidify the investor base.
Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate that represents ownership in a tangible asset or a pool of assets. It is similar to a bond but is structured in a way that complies with Islamic law, which prohibits interest-based transactions.
Last week, the government tapped into the Islamic bond market for retail investors by auctioning off Rs30 billion ($105.8 million) of Ijarah Sukuk at PSX in what was widely viewed as a groundbreaking development to strengthen the national economy.
The ceremony was also attended Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar.
“The auction which took place on December 8, 2023, via the Exchange, heralds a new beginning for raising the GDS [Government Debt Security],” the PSX said in a statement. “Against the target of the Rs30 billion Sukuk, bids accepted amounted to Rs36.068 billion whereas the total bids received amounted to Rs481.307 billion.”
It said that as many as 172 investors participated in the bidding process in which 132 succeeded.
“We are truly proud of this remarkable achievement which was on the back burner for a long time,” the PSX statement quoted the finance minister as saying. “We have now succeeded in implementing the Government Debt Securities issue through the Stock Exchange with the first primary market auction of this GoP Ijarah Sukuk held on December 8, 2023. This will substantially benefit the [government] by diversifying the investor base, as well as providing new investment opportunities to investors.”
Chairman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Akif Saeed also maintained government securities constituted an important tool for the development of the capital market, adding the launch of GDS at PSX was just the beginning.
He urged the equity market, brokers, insurance companies, and asset managers to concentrate their efforts on marketing in order to attract new investors to the capital market.
PSX managing director Farrukh H. Khan said the primary market auction had generated interest from a large number of investors.
“This defines a watershed moment for the capital markets and indeed for Pakistan’s economy,” he added while expressing his gratitude to the government and the SECP.
PSX says first Islamic bond auction exceeded expectations, attracting over $1.7 billion of bids
https://arab.news/zx43q
PSX says first Islamic bond auction exceeded expectations, attracting over $1.7 billion of bids
- The auction was held at the equity market last week and was attended by the interim PM of the country
- It was viewed as a groundbreaking development that could strengthen the national economy of Pakistan
Delegation-level talks begin in Istanbul between Pakistan’s Sharif, Turkiye’s Erdogan
- Sharif is visiting Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkiye on five-day regional diplomacy visit
- All four nations supported Pakistan in recent military confrontation with archrival India
ISLAMABAD: Delegation-level talks between Pakistan and Turkiye began on Sunday evening in Istanbul, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Tayyip Erdogan, the Pakistani premier’s office said.
Sharif reached Istanbul on Sunday as the first stop in a five-day regional diplomacy tour that will also see him visit Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan. Ankara supported Islamabad in a military standoff with India earlier this month when the two nuclear-armed neighbors traded missile, drone and artillery strikes for days, killing around 70 people on both sides. A ceasefire was reached on May 10.
The conflict, the worst between the neighbors in decades, was triggered by a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denies involvement.
“During the meeting, bilateral relations, regional and international issues, including the fight against terrorism, will be discussed,” Erdogan’s head of communications, Fahrettin Altun, said on X about the Turkish president’s meeting with Sharif.
Erdogan received Sharif at the presidential palace ahead of the talks and will later also host a dinner for the visiting premier.
The PM’s office in Islamabad said Sharif would hold wide-ranging discussions with the leaders of Turkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan during the regional tour on “an entire range of issues covering bilateral relations and matters of regional and international importance.”
“He will thank friendly countries for the support they have given to Pakistan during the recent crisis with India,” the PMO statement added.
Erdogan spoke by phone with Sharif on May 7 to convey his solidarity after India first hit Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with missiles. Leaders from the two nations had several contacts subsequently and Turkiye publicly took Islamabad’s side. It is widely believed that Turkiye played an important role, besides the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia, in convincing India and Pakistan to back off and agree to a ceasefire. The two nations have historically strong ties.
Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part. They both acquired nuclear weapons in 1998.
Nine ‘Indian-sponsored’ militants killed in Pakistan’s northwest — army
- Both India and Pakistan have traded accusations of supporting militancy on each other’s soil, a charge that each denies
- Pakistan has blamed India for being behind recent terror attacks in the country, including suicide bombing of school bus
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army said on Sunday it had killed nine “Indian-sponsored” militants in three separate operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Tensions remain high after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on May 10 following the most dramatic escalation of hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades earlier this month.
Since the military confrontation cooled off with the truce, Pakistan has blamed India for being behind several terror attacks in the country, including when three children were among at least five people killed when a suicide bomber struck an army school bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province earlier this week. India denies it backs militancy in Pakistan.
In a statement released on Sunday evening, the army said it had carried out three operations in KP’s Dera Ismail, Tank and Khyber districts.
“An intelligence-based operation was conducted by the security forces in Dera Ismail Khan District … and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored khwarij [militants] were sent to hell,” the statement said.
It added that two militants were separately killed in Tank and three in Khyber.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other kharji found in the area, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country,” the statement added.
Both India and Pakistan have traded accusations of supporting militancy on each other’s soil, a charge that each denies. The latest escalation, in which the two countries traded missiles and drones, was sparked when India accused Pakistan of supporting a militant assault on tourists in the Indian-administered portion of the contested region of Kashmir. Islamabad denies any involvement.
Pakistan has mostly blamed India of supporting a separatist insurgency in Balochistan, a southwestern province that borders Iran and Afghanistan. It also accuses it of backing the Pakistani Taliban who regularly carry out attacks in the country’s northwestern and other regions.
India denies the allegations.
Pakistani top minister hints at increasing defense budget weeks after military standoff with India
- Budgeted defense expenditure stood at Rs2,122 billion for FY25 while actual expenditure till March 2025 was Rs1,424 billion
- Pakistan’s historically large defense budget is attributed to a complex interplay of factors, including perceived threat from India
KARACHI: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal hinted this week there could be an increase in Pakistan’s defense allocation in the budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, due to be announced next month, weeks after a military standoff with India that alarmed the world.
Pakistan and India attacked each other with missiles, drones and artillery earlier this month after tensions surged over an attack in April on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad has denied the charge.
“We want to try and put the least burden on the common man but right now I believe it is our national duty that in this budget we give our armed forces the resources they need to strengthen our defense capabilities so that our defense can be safe even in the future,” Iqbal said in remarks to reporters when asked about reports of an increase in the defense allocation for the new fiscal year.
The conflict with New Delhi escalated on May 7 after India first hit Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with missiles, and Pakistan retaliated, saying it had downed six Indian fighter jets.
Fighting between the two nations continuing for four days, with missile and drone strikes on each other’s military facilities and airfields as well as increased gunfire exchanges on the de facto LoC border. A ceasefire was reached on May 10.
“This has been established that our neighbor is a dangerous enemy, who once again attempted to attack us in the dark of night, but we punished them by fully responding to this offense and it [India] will definitely think a hundred times before committing such an aggression next time,” Iqbal added.
“However, our duty is to stay alert and prepared all the time so that if someone commits such a mistake in future, then it could be responded to more effectively.”
Two days after the ceasefire, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan New Delhi would target “terrorist hideouts” across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad’s “nuclear blackmail.”
“In the coming days, we will measure every step of Pakistan... what kind of attitude Pakistan will adopt,” Modi said, adding that India had only “paused” strikes.
In a report published on Saturday, Tola Associates, a major tax advisory and consultancy firm, proposed raising the defense budget to Rs2.8 trillion, a 32 percent increase compared to the last fiscal year, owing to a “war-like situation” with India.
“The budgeted defense expenditure stood at Rs2,122 billion for FY25 while the actual expenditure till March 2025 was Rs1,424 billion. [However], due to the ongoing war situation with the neighboring country, defense spending may increase by up to 50 percent in the Q4FY25,” the report said.
“Given the current regional tensions and the need to ensure Pakistan’s defense preparedness, we estimate total defense spending to reach Rs2.4 trillion by June 2025.”
Pakistan’s historically large defense budget is attributed to a complex interplay of factors, primarily driven by regional security concerns and internal challenges. These include the perceived security threat from India as well as internal instability and security threats like terrorism. Additionally, debt servicing and the allocation of resources toward military interests have also played a role in shaping the budget.
Moroccan, Egyptian stalls shine at Islamabad food fundraiser featuring 80 diplomatic missions
- Islamabad Foreign Women’s Association in collaboration with Serana Hotels holds international food festival for third consecutive year
- IFWA is a non-political, non-profit organization established in 1995 by the wives of ambassadors posted in the Pakistani federal capital
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Foreign Women’s Association (IFWA) organized a food festival in the Pakistani capital on Sunday featuring cuisines from at least 28 countries and raising over Rs.2.5 million ($8,929) to support education and health care initiatives for poor Pakistani women and children.
The festival, organized for the third consecutive year, was a joint project of IFWA and Serena Hotels, with 80 diplomatic missions participating. IFWA is a non-political, non-profit organization established in 1995 by the wives of ambassadors posted in Islamabad, with the aim of supporting underprivileged and disadvantaged Pakistani women and children.
Dianne Hawkins, IFWA president and the wife of the Australian High Commissioner, told Arab News around Rs2.5 million had been raised at Sunday’s event.
“It is our major fundraising event of the year to support the charities that IFWA supports here [in Pakistan], which are mostly focused on benefiting vulnerable communities of Pakistani society, especially women and children,” Hawkins said, adding that most of the charities IFWA supported were in the education and health sectors.
Aziz Bolani, the CEO Serena Hotels, said that along with supporting underprivileged communities, the event also helped promote international cuisines and cultures through food stalls that represented countries from all around the world.
“There are real needs in Pakistan, and this is a form of diplomacy, a soft approach that brings people together,” he told Arab News.
Among the most popular stalls were those set up by the embassies of Morocco and Egypt.
“Today, we are serving Moroccan chicken, Moroccan salads, and one of the main traditional dishes of Morocco, that is typically served every Friday, couscous with vegetables,” Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Karmoune told Arab News.
Homemade Moroccan breads and sweets as well as traditional tea was also available.
Georg Steiner, the ambassador of Switzerland to Pakistan, said he hoped the festival would introduce more Pakistanis to Swiss food.
“We brought along some Swiss food like Rösti [potato dish], Zürich style veal, and also some excellent cakes,” he told Arab News.
He said he had tasted food at many stalls and his favorites were those serving Vietnamese, Czech, and Pakistani dishes.
“I think Pakistani food is always wonderful, be it biryani or something else,” the Swiss envoy added.
Pakistani PM to meet Erdogan today in first leg of regional diplomacy tour
- Sharif will visit Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkiye on five-day visit
- All four nations supported Pakistan in recent military standoff with India
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday started a five-day regional diplomacy tour with a trip to Turkiye where he will hold talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Erdogan’s office said.
Sharif will go onwards from Turkiye to Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, four nations that openly supported Pakistan in a military standoff with India earlier this month when the two nuclear-armed neighbors traded missile, drone and artillery strikes for days, killing around 70 people on both sides. A ceasefire was reached on May 10.
The conflict, the worst between the neighbors in decades, was triggered by a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denies involvement.
“During the meeting, bilateral relations, regional and international issues, including the fight against terrorism, will be discussed,” Erdogan’s head of communications, Fahrettin Altun, said on X.
The PM’s office in Islamabad released footage of Sharif departing on the tour and said he would hold wide-ranging discussions with the leaders of Turkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan on “an entire range of issues covering bilateral relations and matters of regional and international importance.”
“He will thank friendly countries for the support they have given to Pakistan during the recent crisis with India,” the PMO statement added.
Erdogan spoke by phone with Sharif on May 7 to convey his solidarity after India first hit Pakistan and Azad Kashmir with missiles. Leaders from the two nations had several contacts subsequently and Turkiye publicly took Islamabad’s side. It is widely believed that Turkiye played an important role, besides the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia, in convincing India and Pakistan to back off and agree to a ceasefire. The two nations have historically strong ties.
Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part. They both acquired nuclear weapons in 1998.
