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Pakistan Navy seizes drugs worth $1 million at Arabian Sea in counter-narcotics operation

Pakistan Navy seizes drugs worth $1 million at Arabian Sea in counter-narcotics operation
In this handout photo, released by Pakistan Navy on January 1, 2025, Pakistani security personnel gesture with suspects detained with ‘large cache of narcotics’ during a counter-narcotics operation at the Arabian Sea. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Navy)
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Updated 22 min 2 sec ago
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Pakistan Navy seizes drugs worth $1 million at Arabian Sea in counter-narcotics operation

Pakistan Navy seizes drugs worth $1 million at Arabian Sea in counter-narcotics operation
  • “Large cache of narcotics” were being transported via sea to international destinations, says Pakistan Navy
  • Pakistan’s navy frequently carries out anti-narcotics seizure operations in the country’s territorial waters
Updated 22 min 2 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan Navy ship seized drugs worth $1 million during a counter-narcotics operation at the Arabian Sea, the navy’s media wing said on Wednesday, vowing to disrupt illegal marine activities to maintain law and order.
Pakistan Navy, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, frequently carries out such narcotics seizure operations in the country’s territorial waters. 
PNS MOAWIN, supported by Pakistan Navy’s air assets, successfully intercepted a Dhow during an operation at the North Arabian sea, the navy said. It conducted boarding operations and seized the narcotics, adding that the contraband was stowed in a hidden compartment of the vessel.
“Pakistan Navy Ship MOAWIN seized a large cache of narcotics during a counter-narcotics operation in North Arabian Sea,” it said. “The seized narcotics are estimated to be worth approximately USD 1 million in international market.”




This combination of photos, released by Pakistan Navy on January 1, 2025, shows Pakistani security personnel intercepting a Dhow during a counter-narcotics operation at the Arabian Sea. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Navy)

Without mentioning the quantity of the drugs seized, the navy said that the narcotics were being transported via sea to international destinations.
“The successful execution of this anti-narcotics operation demonstrates Pakistan Navy’s vigilance, professionalism and resolve to deter and disrupt all illegal activities, ensuring good order at sea,” the navy said.
In October, Pakistan’s navy seized 1.3 tons of narcotics valued at approximately $26 million during a targeted operation. In June, it seized 389 kilograms of highly valuable drugs during an anti-narcotics operation in the Arabian Sea. 
Last year in May, the navy also seized over 4,000 kilograms of hashish worth over $65 million with the help of the country’s Anti-Narcotics Force.

Topics: Pakistan Navy ANTI-NARCOTICS

Pakistan’s stock market gained 87% during 2024 with transport, pharmaceuticals top-performing sectors — report

Pakistan’s stock market gained 87% during 2024 with transport, pharmaceuticals top-performing sectors — report
Updated 01 January 2025
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Pakistan’s stock market gained 87% during 2024 with transport, pharmaceuticals top-performing sectors — report

Pakistan’s stock market gained 87% during 2024 with transport, pharmaceuticals top-performing sectors — report
  • Analysts attribute stock market’s strong performance to sharp rate cuts, strengthening rupee and disbursement of IMF loan
  • Pakistan’s central bank slashed key policy rate by 200 basis points to 13% on Dec. 16, making it fifth straight reduction since June
Updated 01 January 2025
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded an impressive 85% gain in Pakistani rupees and 87% in US dollars during 2024, a report by the country’s top brokerage house said this week, listing pharmaceuticals, jute and transport among the top-performing sectors of the market.
Pakistan’s stock market has enjoyed gains and bullish trends since the past two months. Financial analysts have attributed the stock market’s bullish trend to drastic cuts in key policy rate, strengthening of the rupee and economic gains triggered by Islamabad signing a $7 billion loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year.
Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 200 basis points to 13% on Dec. 16, making it the fifth straight reduction since June, as the country keeps up efforts to revive a sluggish economy with inflation on the decline as per official figures.
According to a yearly market review by Topline Securities on Tuesday, the market capitalization of companies listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) increased by 61% to reach Rs14.6 trillion this year.
“Benchmark KSE 100 Index jumped 85% in PKR (87% in USD) in 2024, with only one trading session left,” the report said. “Market value (market capitalization) of listed companies at PSX also increased by 61% to reach Rs14.6trn.”
The report pointed out that pharmaceuticals, jute and transport were the best performing sectors in 2024 as their market cap increased by 198%, 182% and 130% respectively. On the other hand, chemicals, modarabas, and textile weaving sectors remained the worst performing sectors that posted declines of 54%, 33% and 2%, respectively in 2024.
Raza Jafri, the head of equity at Intermarket Securities, told Arab News that the gains enjoyed by the PSX made it one of the “best-performing equity markets in the world.”
He highlighted that the Pakistan stock market’s gains outpaced those of the Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Index and the Morgan Stanley Capital International Frontier Markets Index, which gained only around five percent in 2024.
“Macro stabilization, which reflected in sharp interest rate cuts and a stable Pakistani rupee, enabled equity market valuations in Pakistan to bounce back from record lows,” Jafri told Arab News on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Arif Habib Commodities CEO Ahsan Mehanti said the PSX outperformed other stock markets due to the central bank’s key policy rate, robust economic indicators and the successful disbursement of the new IMF program.
“Government bond yields fell by over an unprecedented 1100bps during the year inviting institutional interest in equities,” he said. “Fall in global crude oil prices reduced import bill by up to $5 billion and helped CPI inflation to fall below five percent resulting in current account surplus and rupee stability.”
According to Topline Securities, the best-performing stocks in Pakistan were GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan (GLAXO), which recorded a 385% increase; Air Link Communication (AIRLINK), which gained 268%; Sazgar Engineering (SAZEW), which gained 252 percent; Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC), which rose 246 percent; and Mari Petroleum Company (MARI), which gained 220 percent.
It added that the top performers among all listed stocks in 2024 were Ali Asghar Textile Mills (AATM), which gained 2,774%; Khalid Siraj Textile Mills (KSTM), which rose by 1,156%, Thatta Cement Company (THCCL), whose share price soared by 1,027%; and Dewan Automotive Engineering (DWAE), which surged by 1,073%.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his happiness over the Pakistani stock market’s performance in a post on social media platform X.


“Alhamdolilah! What great news to end the year on!” he wrote on Wednesday.

Topics: Pakistan Stock Exchange Pakistan economy

Pakistani province vows to enforce writ in Karachi after police’s clash with sit-in protesters

Pakistani province vows to enforce writ in Karachi after police’s clash with sit-in protesters
Updated 01 January 2025
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Pakistani province vows to enforce writ in Karachi after police’s clash with sit-in protesters

Pakistani province vows to enforce writ in Karachi after police’s clash with sit-in protesters
  • Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen party is leading sit-in protests in Karachi to protest violence in northwestern Kurram district 
  • Karachi police say eight cops wounded during Tuesday’s clashes, out of which three were injured due to protesters’ firing
Updated 01 January 2025
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: The home minister of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Wednesday warned members of a religio-political party of stern action if they did not move their sit-in protests from Karachi’s busy locations to designated spots, a day after law enforcers clashed with the demonstrators in the port city. 
Karachi police and the paramilitary Rangers force cracked down on protesters belonging to the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) party on Tuesday morning, using tear gas to disperse them from the city’s busy Numaish Chowrangi, Malir and other locations. Demonstrators pelted the law enforcers with stones in response and chanted slogans against them. 
The MWM has been leading sit-in protests at over 10 locations in Karachi since last week to protest violence in the northwestern Kurram district. With a population of around 600,000, Kurram has been plagued by tribal and sectarian violence for decades. A devastating ambush on a convoy of Shias on Nov. 21 in which gunmen killed 52 people, gave rise to sectarian clashes in the area that have since then claimed the lives of at least 136 people. 
Karachi police has charged protesters under the country’s anti-terror law, saying that over 150 protesters fired directly at police officers with the intention to kill during Tuesday’s clashes in the city’s Malir district. Two police constables, Zaeem Abbas and Ayaz Gul, were injured in the gunfire, as per the police complaint. All in all, police said eight cops were injured during the clashes out of which three were injured due to firing by protesters.  
“It is not possible for us to let the city fall victim to violence,” Sindh Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar told reporters at a news conference. “It’s not possible for us to not protect the lives and property of citizens while sitting idle,” he added. 

Police personnel fire tear gas shells to disperse protesters during a demonstration in Karachi on December 31, 2024, to condemn sectarian clashes in Pakistan’s Kurram district. (AFP)

He said the government was ready for talks with protesters but also warned that it would enforce its writ in the city. 
“Against any illegal actions, the government will stand firm, the police will do its job, the Rangers will do their job and law enforcement agencies will carry out their responsibilities,” the minister said. 
He said the Sindh government had extended protesters the offer to move their protests to designated spots across the city. 
“We will stand with you, but this is not the way for our main Saddar area to be closed, for Shahra-e-Faisal to be closed, for the Ancholi area to be closed, for the Malir area to be closed, and to turn the city into a battlefield,” he said, referring to Karachi’s areas where the MWM is holding protests.
 “You cannot do this. We will not compromise on this under any circumstances.”

Police personnel (front) disperse protesters (back) during a demonstration in Karachi on December 31, 2024, to condemn sectarian clashes in Pakistan’s Kurram district. (AFP)

Reiterating his offer of negotiations, Lanjar said Karachi’s additional Inspector-general of police and the city’s commissioner will hold talks with MWM since Sindh’s senior ministers had already met representatives of the party. 
Meanwhile, senior MWM leader Allama Baqir Hussain Zaidi announced that the party’s protests in Karachi will continue. 
“The ongoing sit-ins will continue wherever they are being held and alternative routes will remain open,” Zaidi said in a video message. “The community is urged to participate in the sit-ins in an organized manner and to consider it both a personal and religious obligation to join tomorrow evening’s protest gathering.”
He announced that the group will hold a protest rally on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. at Numaish Chowrangi, stressing that it will be a peaceful one. 
A grand jirga — a traditional council of political and tribal elders — has been attempting to mediate between the rival factions in Kurram to enforce peace.

Topics: parachinar kurram district Kurram tribal district

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Pakistan, India exchange list of nuclear facilities

Pakistan, India exchange list of nuclear facilities
Updated 51 min 5 sec ago
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Pakistan, India exchange list of nuclear facilities

Pakistan, India exchange list of nuclear facilities
  • India and Pakistan are signatories to an agreement that bars them from attacking each other’s nuclear facilities 
  • Pakistan hands over list of nuclear facilities to Indian High Commission representative in Islamabad, says state media 
Updated 51 min 5 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan exchanged lists of their nuclear assets on Wednesday as part of a bilateral pact that prohibits them from attacking each other’s nuclear facilities, state-run media reported. 
The ‘Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities’ between the two countries was signed in December 1988. It requires that both sides inform each other of their nuclear installations and facilities on Jan. 1 each year. The two countries have been exchanging the lists since 1992.
“Accordingly, the list of nuclear installations and facilities in Pakistan was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 
Accordingly, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs handed over the list of India’s nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two of three wars after independence from British rule in 1947 over the disputed former princely state of Kashmir. The first war was fought in 1947, the second in 1965, and a third, largely over what became Bangladesh, in 1971.
Both countries claim the disputed territory in full but control only parts of it. Tensions between the two countries escalated last month when India’s top court upheld a 2019 decision by New Delhi to scrap Indian-administered Kashmir’s special status. 
India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, with Pakistan carrying out its first test in 1988.

Topics: Pakistan India Pakistan India Ties Wagah Border

Pakistan’s annual inflation slowed to 4.1% in December

Pakistan’s annual inflation slowed to 4.1% in December
Updated 01 January 2025
Reuters
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Pakistan’s annual inflation slowed to 4.1% in December

Pakistan’s annual inflation slowed to 4.1% in December
  • Annual inflation already slowed to 4.9% in November, largely due to high base a year earlier
  • Inflation slowed due to stable currency, lower global commodity prices, says financial analyst
Updated 01 January 2025
Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan’s consumer inflation rate slowed to 4.1% year on year in December, the statistics bureau said on Wednesday, the lowest in more than 6-1/2 years.
The South Asian country is navigating a challenging economic recovery path buttressed by a $7 billion facility from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted in September.
Consumer prices in December rose 0.1% from the month before, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
In its monthly report released last week, the finance ministry said that the annual inflation rate was expected to hold in the range of 4-5% in the final month of the year.
Annual inflation had already slowed to 4.9% in November, largely due to a high base a year earlier, coming in below the government’s forecast and significantly lower than a multi-decade high of around 40 percent in May 2023.
“Inflation has come down on the back of stable currency, lower global commodity prices and improved supply chain,” said Samiullah Tariq, head of research and development at Pak Kuwait Investment Company.
Pakistan’s central bank previously targeted 5-7% inflation in the medium term but its head has said the level is now in sight within the next 12 months.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) cut its key policy rate by 200 basis points to 13% in December, the fifth straight reduction since June, to bring cumulative rate cuts for 2024 to 900 basis points and making it one of the most aggressive emerging market central banks in the current easing cycle.
Inflation during the first half of the current fiscal year to end-June 2025 has averaged 7.22% compared to 28.79% in the year-earlier period.

Topics: Pakistan inflation Pakistan economy

Pakistan hikes petrol and diesel prices by up to Rs2.96 per liter

Pakistan hikes petrol and diesel prices by up to Rs2.96 per liter
Updated 01 January 2025
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Pakistan hikes petrol and diesel prices by up to Rs2.96 per liter

Pakistan hikes petrol and diesel prices by up to Rs2.96 per liter
  • Government fixes fuel prices every fortnight to account for market fluctuations, dollar-rupee parity
  • After the latest revision, petrol will now sell for Rs252.66 while diesel will cost Rs258.34 per liter
Updated 01 January 2025
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The government has increased the price of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs0.56 and Rs2.96 per liter, respectively, according to the finance ministry on Tuesday.

Fuel prices are fixed on a fortnightly basis by in Pakistan, which adjusts them after evaluating changes in the global energy market and considering rupee-dollar parity. This allows the government to pass on the net effect to consumers to finance the country’s fuel imports.

“The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has worked out the consumer prices of petroleum products in view of the fluctuations in the international market in the last fortnight,” the finance ministry said in a notification.

“It has accordingly revised the prices of the petroleum products for the next fortnight starting from Jan. 1, 2025,” it added.

After the latest revision, a liter of petrol will cost Rs252.66, while high-speed diesel will sell for Rs258.34 per liter.

Petrol is mostly used in Pakistan for private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers. At the same time, any increase in the price of diesel is considered highly inflationary, as it is mostly used to power heavy transport vehicles and particularly increases the prices of vegetables and other eatables.

On Dec. 15, Pakistan reduced the price of high-speed diesel by Rs3 per liter but kept the price of petrol unchanged.

Earlier, on Dec. 1, the price of petrol was increased by Rs3.72 per liter due to varying petroleum product prices in the international market.

Fuel prices in energy-starved Pakistan are instrumental in contributing to inflation. The South Asian country saw inflation hit a record high of 38 percent in May 2023.

Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 4.9 percent in November, cooling from 7.2 percent in October.

Topics: petrol prices Pakistan

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