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KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank said on Thursday recent credit rating upgrades underscored the country’s improving macroeconomic outlook, as Governor Jameel Ahmad used an Independence Day address to stress economic resilience and reforms.

The remarks came a day after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Pakistan’s sovereign rating, citing stronger foreign exchange reserves, a current account surplus and fiscal consolidation. Analysts said the move could ease access to global capital markets and attract investment as Pakistan looks to consolidate gains under its $7 billion IMF program approved in September 2024.

“International credit rating agencies have upgraded Pakistan’s ratings in recognition of recent measures which will help unlock foreign investment opportunities,” Ahmad said at the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) flag-hoisting ceremony in Karachi.

Ahmad noted the dramatic improvement in inflation, which had soared to 38 percent in May 2023 before easing to 11.8 percent by May 2024 and reaching a record low of 3.2 percent in June 2025.

“Our monetary policy remains geared toward maintaining the hard-earned gains in price stability, while ensuring inflation remains within 5–7 percent,” he said, adding that this would help “unlock broader economic and business opportunities.”

The SBP has reduced its policy rate in seven steps from 22 percent to 11 percent since June 2024 in line with the improved outlook.

External accounts have also strengthened, with reserves nearly tripling to $14.5 billion by the end of FY25 from $4.4 billion two years earlier. Ahmad said the turnaround was achieved through a $2.1 billion current account surplus – the first in 14 years – and record remittances of $38.3 billion from overseas Pakistanis, without adding to external debt.

The governor also highlighted SBP’s digital push, including spinning off the Raast instant payment system into a separate subsidiary, easing account opening procedures and modernizing payment infrastructure to widen financial inclusion. He said such steps would particularly benefit women and small businesses.

Pakistan’s economic rebound follows two years of crisis, when the country averted default through IMF disbursements, painful reforms, and strict fiscal consolidation. The IMF has urged Pakistan to maintain exchange rate flexibility, broaden its tax base and strengthen the energy sector to lock in recent stability.

KHAPLU, Pakistan: A Chinese mountaineer died while descending the world’s second-highest peak, with Pakistani rescuers waiting on Thursday for weather conditions to improve to recover her body.

Guan Jing was descending from the summit of K2 on Tuesday night when she was hit by falling rocks, Deputy Commissioner for Shigar district Arif Ahmad told AFP.

“An army aviation team is ready for the recovery of the body and is waiting for better weather conditions,” he said.

According to the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which monitors local climbing expeditions, Guan is the fourth casualty of the country’s summer climbing season.

Guan was among 30 climbers who reached the summit of K2 on Monday before beginning her fatal descent.

“The incident occurred on the Abruzzi Spur route between Camp I and Advanced Base Camp — a section notorious for frequent rockfalls,” the Alpine Club said.

At 8,611 meters (28,251 feet), K2 on the Pakistan-China border sits 238 meters shy of world-topping Himalayan giant Everest but is considered more technically challenging.

Home to five of the world’s 14 mountains above 8,000 meters, Pakistan typically welcomes an influx of summer climbers from early June until late August.

This season, four deaths have been reported, including two on K2, one on Nanga Parbat and one on the lesser-known Laila Peak in the Karakoram range where German Olympic biathlete Laura Dahlmeier died after being hit by falling rocks last month.