Pakistan seeks greater collaboration with US in blockchain, artificial intelligence

ISLAMABAD: Bulls took charge of the local bourse today, Thursday, as the Pakistan Stock Exchange surged to new heights, fueled by optimism surrounding upcoming budget announcements and the release of a $1 billion tranche by the IMF, analysts said.

Pakistan on Wednesday received the second tranche of special drawing rights worth 760 million ($1,023 million) from the IMF under an extended fund facility (EFF) program. The IMF last week approved a fresh $1.4 billion loan to Pakistan under its climate resilience fund and also approved the first review of its $7 billion program, freeing about $1 billion in cash.

Pakistan’s federal budget for the next fiscal year, starting July, will be finalized within the next four weeks, with scheduled budget talks with the IMF to take place from May 14-23, according to the finance ministry.

The benchmark index witnessed a remarkable intraday rally, climbing as much as 1,453 points before closing with an impressive gain of 1,425 points at 119,961, marking a 1.20% increase and setting a new all-time high.

“Refinery stocks ended the day in the green amid sector-specific developments,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in a daily market review. 

“The government is working to finalize a binding legal framework between oil marketing companies and refineries, with key clauses like take-or-pay aimed at resolving ongoing disputes over product upliftment and HSD imports — a move expected to bring greater clarity and stability to the supply chain.” 

Market participation also picked up, with total traded volume reaching 695 million shares and a traded value of Rs39.01 billion. Pakistan Refinery Limited topped the volume chart with 50.8 million shares traded.

Samiullah Tariq, head of research and development at Pak Kuwait Investment Company Ltd, said the market was positive due to recent inflows from the IMF, noting the “expectations of further inflows on the back of the IMF Board approval.”

Thursday’s bullish momentum also comes as the market continues to recover from upheaval brought by the most intense military row between Pakistan and India in years last week. The two nuclear-armed nations agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire on Saturday. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday the militaries of India and Pakistan had agreed to extend last week’s ceasefire till Sunday, May 18, while President Donald Trump said both nations were “very happy” with the truce brokered by his administration last week.

Pakistan and India agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after four days of the worst fighting since 1999 between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, who attacked each other with missiles, drones, fighter jets, and artillery fire. Tensions began when India alleged Pakistan was involved in an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists last month. Islamabad denied involvement and called for an international probe into the incident. 

Tensions came to a head last Wednesday when India fired missiles into Pakistan, claiming it had struck “terrorist camps.” Pakistan said civilians had been killed and vowed retribution, saying it had downed five Indian jets. The worst of the fighting happened on Saturday when India attacked Pakistani air bases and Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes on military facilities and storage units. As the conflict spiraled alarmingly, US President Trump announced Washington had brokered a ceasefire on Saturday. 

The fragile ceasefire has been holding so far with only reports of a few violations on the first day. 

“Now it [ceasefire] has been extended till [May] 18, so obviously, now ultimately, things will go to the dialogue,” Dar said in televised comments to parliament. “For now, these are military-to-military communications, so obviously, then political dialogue will take place. The resolution of all issues lies there.”

Dar said the two nations needed to re-engage in a composite dialogue, which was a structured process initiated in 1997 to address a wide range of bilateral concerns, including peace and security, Kashmir, water, and economic cooperation. 

As tensions surged between India and Pakistan last month, both announced a raft of punitive measures against each other, including New Delhi unilaterally suspending the 1960 Indus Waters treaty, which governs the sharing of river waters.

India’s foreign minister said on Thursday the treaty with Pakistan would remain suspended until Islamabad ends “cross-border terrorism.”

“For us, this is a no-go area,” Dar told lawmakers. “We had announced it on April 24 as well that it [treaty suspension] will be treated as an act of war.”

India and Pakistan, both bitter rivals who possess nuclear weapons, have fought three wars since 1947 after gaining independence from British colonial India. The root cause of their conflict is the disputed Himalayan Kashmir region, which they both claim in full but administer only parts of. 

Speaking to troops at a base in Qatar during a Middle East tour, Trump said on Thursday hostilities between Pakistan and India were settled.

“And Pakistan was very happy with that [ceasefire] and India was very happy with that and I think they’re on the way,” Trump said. 

“We got that settled where everybody was very happy. I’ll tell you that it looked like it was really going to be escalating out of control.”