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Fitch upgrades Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘B-’ on improving deficits and reforms

Fitch upgrades Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘B-’ on improving deficits and reforms
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The photograph taken on May 27, 2025, shows the offices of Fitch Ratings building in London, Britain. (REUTERS/File)
Fitch upgrades Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘B-’ on improving deficits and reforms
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The Fitch Ratings logo and a rising stock graph are seen in this illustration taken on January 29, 2025. (REUTERS/File)
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Updated 15 April 2025

Fitch upgrades Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘B-’ on improving deficits and reforms

Fitch upgrades Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘B-’ on improving deficits and reforms
  • Upgrade reflects confidence that the country would implement structural reforms, says Fitch
  • Shehbaz Sharif says improved rating sign of world’s growing confidence in Pakistan’s economy
Updated 15 April 2025
Ismail Dilawar

KARACHI: Global ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday upgraded Pakistan’s foreign currency credit rating to ‘B-’ from ‘CCC+’ citing increased confidence in the country’s progress on narrowing its budget deficits, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailing it as a sign of the world’s growing confidence in Pakistan’s economy. 

The upgrade reflects confidence that the country would implement structural reforms, supporting its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program performance and funding availability, Fitch said.

The agency said though ongoing global trade tensions could create external pressures on Pakistan, its low dependence on exports and market financing should mitigate risks.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomes the improvement in Pakistan’s economic rating by global credit rating company Fitch,” a statement by the premier’s office said. 

“The improvement in the rating of Pakistan’s economy by international institutions is a manifestation of economic development and the confidence of the world community in Pakistan’s economy,” he added. 

Sharif said his government is working “tirelessly” to further improve Pakistan’s economy. 

Pakistan’s economy had been teetering on the brink of a sovereign default ever since inflation rose to a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 and reserves started declining rapidly. 

However, Pakistan’s economy was provided breathing space thanks in part to a $7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In March, the IMF reached a new deal with Pakistan which could unlock $1.3 billion in cash. 

Sharif’s government has vowed to implement the financial reforms, which include increasing the country’s tax base and privatizing loss-making entities to ensure sustainable growth.

Topics: fitch rating Pakistan economy

‘Business must cooperate’: Russia seeks to double $1.8 billion trade with Pakistan

‘Business must cooperate’: Russia seeks to double $1.8 billion trade with Pakistan
Updated 21 sec ago
ISMAIL DILAWAR 

‘Business must cooperate’: Russia seeks to double $1.8 billion trade with Pakistan

‘Business must cooperate’: Russia seeks to double $1.8 billion trade with Pakistan
  • Bilateral trade jumped over 100 percent last year as Pakistan bought discounted Russian crude
  • New steel mill, IT, agriculture, energy and SCO ties mark expanding cooperation
Updated 21 sec ago
ISMAIL DILAWAR 

KARACHI: Russia seeks to double the volume of its bilateral trade with Pakistan, Russian Consul-General Andrey V. Federov said this week, amid a thaw in Moscow-Islamabad ties.

Russia and Pakistan, once Cold War rivals, have strengthened ties in recent years, with Islamabad purchasing discounted Russian crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas in 2023 and Moscow now planning to build a new steel mill in Karachi.

The two countries traded goods and services worth $236 million from July 2024 till May 2025, compared with $1.04 billion in the same period last year, according to Pakistani central bank data. The volume of their trade rose more than 100 percent to $1.81 billion from July 2023 till June 2024, when Pakistan was facing dollar shortages and imported discounted crude oil from Russia, marking a shift from its traditional reliance on Middle Eastern suppliers.

In an interview with Arab News, Federov said this volume can be boosted as the two countries have started implementing the decisions of the 9th meeting of Russia-Pakistan Intergovernmental Commission, held in December, in which they agreed on a protocol for cooperation in the fields of trade, finance, energy, industry and agriculture, transport and infrastructure, business and finance, and science and technology.

“In last five years it (bilateral trade) was duplicated. Now we have one billion US dollars [of trade volume],” the Russian consul-general said, adding that the Russia-Pakistan trade turnover had showed 50 percent growth in the last five years. “My idea [is] that we can duplicate it once again during my staying here in Karachi.”

Federov didn’t say when his term is going to end.

Moscow could provide machinery, fertilizers, oil and gas, and some lentils and grains as part of agricultural exchange with Pakistan, according to the diplomat. Islamabad could in return supply sports goods, surgical instruments, textiles, pharmacy and kinnows that are “very, very famous” in Russia.

“Some of the Russian leading agriculture companies are ready to work with Pakistan,” he said. “There are a lot of things... we can exchange.”

Federov said Moscow and Islamabad were working to “create a bridge” which would stand for decades and that the bilateral trade would be sustained.

“It won’t be affected by any political issues. Business must cooperate. Sorry for using this word must, but I insist that business must cooperate,” he said.

Another area in which Moscow could help Pakistan was information technology (IT), according to the diplomat. Russia has a very good experience in information security, smart cities and e-government that make life of people much easier.

Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) could also assist Russia in data documentation as the South Asian had a “very good experience in this sphere.”

“World is not easy right now, and there are, as I said, a lot of spheres. We can share our experience and Pakistan also,” Federov said.

“We were together.”

Besides economy and trade, Russia and Pakistan saw their interests converging on the issue of last month’s Iran-Israel conflict. Together with China, the two countries co-sponsored a resolution in the United Nations, calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East after the conflict killed hundreds on both sides.

“We were together the cosponsors of the UN resolution on Iran situation,” the Russian envoy said. “Our relations are very close, and we are working hard on many international issues together.”

Putin last month interacted with the leaders of Iran, Israel and Pakistan to end the conflict.

“Maybe some, some of the countries are not satisfied with our role, and they want to take part of one side or another side,” the consul-general said, in an apparent reference to the United States (US) which sided with Israel and bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22 before announcing a ceasefire.
Federov said Moscow was “not satisfied” with Israel’s behavior in the region.

“But, also, I should say that we have good contacts also not only with Iran and Pakistan. We have good contacts with Israel,” he said. “We do not break our relations with Israel.”

Pakistan and Russia are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a Eurasian political, economic and security organization, and have had sustained high-level interactions and institutional mechanisms.

Federov said the top leadership of Pakistan and Russia had been actively interacting at different international diplomatic forums almost every year.

“Both sides realized that we cannot live without [support from] each other,” he said.

Asked about Putin’s long-pending visit to Pakistan, Federov said: “We are all working on that, but we do not know the plans of the president.”

Topics: Pakistan Russia Ties pakistan steel mills Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Russian crude oil

Pakistan PM vows to expand water storage amid Indian threat to divert river waters

Pakistan PM vows to expand water storage amid Indian threat to divert river waters
Updated 21 min 51 sec ago

Pakistan PM vows to expand water storage amid Indian threat to divert river waters

Pakistan PM vows to expand water storage amid Indian threat to divert river waters
  • New Delhi suspended the Indus Waters Treaty after a gun attack in Indian-administered Kashmir
  • Prime Minister Sharif welcomes international court ruling rejecting India’s move on river waters
Updated 21 min 51 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the government had decided to fast-track the construction of water reservoirs across Pakistan, citing growing climate risks as well as India’s decision to manipulate transboundary water flows after suspending the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty in April.

New Delhi decided to put the World Bank-backed 1960 treaty “in abeyance” after a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 people earlier this year, blaming it on Pakistan and stating it would not resume cooperation until Islamabad “irrevocably abjures its support for cross‑border terrorism.” Pakistan denied any involvement in the incident and called for an independent international investigation.

Sharif mentioned his administration’s priority to build water reservoirs during a visit to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in Islamabad, as heavy monsoon rains battered parts of the country and left more than 50 people dead. He also referred to a recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, which rejected New Delhi’s attempts to suspend the treaty this month.

“But the enemy has certain evil designs against Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan, as he warned that water could be “weaponized” by India.

“In view of this, the government has decided to fast-track non-controversial water storage projects under the water accord, which provides legal cover for provincial coordination,” he added.

Sharif emphasized the key role of the NDMA in strengthening climate preparedness and resilience, and called for public alert systems to be improved in collaboration with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

Referring to the devastating floods of 2022, he said Pakistan was among the countries most vulnerable to climate-related disasters.

The prime minister also praised the NDMA for its coordinated emergency response capacity, including recent international relief missions to Türkiye and Myanmar, and expressed hope that real-time data sharing and early warning systems managed by the National Emergencies Operations Center under the NDMA would continue to guide provincial disaster response.

Topics: Pakistan Pakistan's water reserves Indus Waters Treaty Pakistan India Ties NDMA

Brewing memories, Peshawar’s 120-year-old tea house pours history by the cup

Brewing memories, Peshawar’s 120-year-old tea house pours history by the cup
Updated 02 July 2025

Brewing memories, Peshawar’s 120-year-old tea house pours history by the cup

Brewing memories, Peshawar’s 120-year-old tea house pours history by the cup
  • Qissa Khwani Bazaar’s Qehwa Khana once served Silk Road traders and still draws locals and tourists alike
  • As Pakistan modernizes, the few surviving tea houses of Peshawar offer a link to a slower, storytelling past
Updated 02 July 2025
WASIM SAJJAD

PESHAWAR: In a narrow alley of Peshawar’s ancient Qissa Khwani Bazaar, the scent of cardamom lingers in the air, mingling with curls of steam rising from a pair of brass samovars.

Inside a dimly lit tea shop, surrounded by chipped green and yellow teapots, 68-year-old Fazl Rehman tends to his regulars — and to history.

Known locally as Qehwa Khana, this modest establishment has been serving green tea, or qehwa, to traders, travelers, and townsfolk for more than a century. Oral tradition suggests the shop is 120 to 130 years old, one of the last remaining tea houses in what was once a vital rest stop for merchants journeying between India and Central Asia.

“First, my father ran this [tea house],” Rehman said.

“He died at 120 years of age, then I started working here. Now, I have run this business for 58 years.”

A man pours tea at a 120-year-old tea house at ancient Qissa Khwani Bazaar in Peshawar, Pakistan, on June 28, 2025. (AN photo)

The Qissa Khwani Bazaar, or the “Storytellers’ Bazaar,” harks back to a time when tea houses like Rehman’s were gathering spots where storytellers would recite fables and news by lamplight to caravans camped for the night behind Peshawar’s once-gated walls.

As Rehman recalled, in those days trade caravans from India and Afghanistan would reach Peshawar just before the city gates were locked at dusk. They would camp nearby, sip qehwa into the early hours and listen to stories from traveling bards.

“With the morning prayer, the gates would open and the caravans would move on to Lahore, then Amritsar, and into India,” Rehman said.

“In the past, this hall would be covered with grass or dry pine needles. We would bring it from our village, Mohmand. We would place the grass or pine needles on the ground for people to sit on.”

An old picture of Qissa Khwani Bazaar hangs at the Qehwa Khana in Peshawar, Pakistan, on June 28, 2025. (AN photo)

Today, the storytellers are gone, but Qehwa Khana endures, its appeal now extending far beyond Peshawar.

Rehman said tourists from countries as distant as Japan, England, Holland, and Indonesia have visited his shop to experience the unique atmosphere and sample its tea, brewed in large kettles using an age-old method.

“It is prepared through a process,” explained Muhammad Amir, a 55-year-old teamaker.

“This brass samovar is used to heat water and when the water boils, we fill the teapot... then we place it here [on the stove], boil it further, and add qehwa leaves, sugar, and cardamom. And the qehwa is ready.”

A regular teapot, typically enough for two cups, costs about Rs50 ($0.18), making it not only a cultural staple, but also one of the most affordable pleasures in the city.

A picture of a foreign visitor to the Qehwa Khana hangs at the tea house in Peshawar, Pakistan, on June 28, 2025. (AN photo)

SYMBOL OF HOSPITALITY

Tea culture holds deep roots in Pakistan, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where green tea, often sweetened and spiced, is a daily ritual for many. Peshawar’s old city is especially famous for its qehwa culture, where gatherings over tea are woven into the social and political fabric of everyday life.

Qehwa also remains a symbol of hospitality, often served to guests as a sign of respect, and visitors continue to trickle into Qehwa Khana, some drawn by nostalgia, others by curiosity.

Said Maluk, a native of Kurram now living in Peshawar, brought a friend recently after shopping at the market.

“I told him [friend] we would go to the famous Qehwa Khana in Qissa Khwani… we had tea and felt relaxed. Now we will go on our way,” Maluk said.

Tea pots are stacked at the Qehwa Khana in Peshawar, Pakistan, on June 28, 2025. (AN photo)

For many, sipping qehwa in the bazaar is about more than refreshment, but a return to simpler times.

“I have been coming here since childhood,” said Nargas Khan, a 65-year-old resident of the city. “I used to ride a rickshaw and do labor work in the city. After finishing my work, I would come here and drink tea. I would buy sweets from a nearby place and eat them here.”

“Now, when I come, it reminds me of my childhood and youth. We would place our cap here, coming happily. We have spent a quality life here.”

Topics: Quetta tea Qissa Khwani Bazaar Qehwa Khana Silk Road

Quad ministers condemn April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir without naming Pakistan

Quad ministers condemn April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir without naming Pakistan
Updated 02 July 2025
Reuters

Quad ministers condemn April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir without naming Pakistan

Quad ministers condemn April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir without naming Pakistan
  • The four-nation bloc says the ‘perpetrators, organizers and financiers’ of the act must face justice
  • The militant attack in Kashmir killed 26 and sparked heavy fighting between India and Pakistan
Updated 02 July 2025
Reuters

WASHINGTON: The Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia called on Tuesday for the perpetrators of a militant attack that killed 26 in India-administered Kashmir to be brought to justice without delay.

The April 22 attack sparked heavy fighting between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry as India blamed it on Pakistan, which denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation.

The US State Department issued a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the grouping, who met in Washington, but stopped short of naming Pakistan or blaming Islamabad.

“The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism,” the ministers said in the statement.

They called on all members of the United Nations to cooperate actively with “all relevant authorities” in delivering justice to the “perpetrators, organizers, and financiers of this reprehensible act,” without any delay.

India is an increasingly important US partner in Washington’s effort to counter China’s rising influence in Asia while Pakistan is a US ally.

On May 7, India targeted sites across the border that New Delhi described as “terrorist infrastructure,” setting off an exchange of attacks between the two countries by fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery that killed dozens until a ceasefire on May 10.

The ceasefire was first announced by US President Donald Trump on social media after Washington held talks with both sides, but India has differed with Trump’s claims that it resulted from his intervention and threats to sever trade talks.

India’s position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their problems directly and with no outside involvement.

On Monday, India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, restated its position that trade was not a factor in the ceasefire.

“Relationships will never be free of issues,” he said, referring to the United States, adding, “What matters is the ability to deal with it and to keep that trend going in the positive direction.”

Topics: Pakistan India ceasefire Pahalgam attack Quad group

Authorities impose 30-day restriction on movement of people, vehicles in restive Pakistani district

Authorities impose 30-day restriction on movement of people, vehicles in restive Pakistani district
Updated 01 July 2025

Authorities impose 30-day restriction on movement of people, vehicles in restive Pakistani district

Authorities impose 30-day restriction on movement of people, vehicles in restive Pakistani district
  • The development comes after a suicide attack killed 13 soldiers in the North Waziristan district that borders Afghanistan
  • Pakistan has struggled to contain surge in militancy in its northwest since a truce broke down with Pakistani Taliban in 2022
Updated 01 July 2025
REHMAT MEHSUD

ISLAMABAD: Local administration has imposed a 30-day restriction on the movement of people and vehicles from dusk till dawn in Pakistan’s North Waziristan district, following the killing of 13 Pakistani soldiers in a suicide attack.

The suicide attack, claimed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the Pakistani Taliban, also injured 29 people, including civilians, in the volatile district that borders Afghanistan, local government and police officials said on June 28.

Since late 2022, Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in its northwest, where the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, law enforcers and government officials.

There was a need to restrict all kinds of movement within North Waziristan in the interest of “public safety, law and order, movement of security forces and [to] restrict the movement of outlaws,” according to the North Waziristan deputy commissioner’s office.

“I... hereby impose a ban on all kinds of movement of individuals, vehicles and all forms of traffic within the territorial jurisdiction of District North Waziristan, including all major roads, bypasses, link roads, streets, public gathering areas, bazaars, business centers, playgrounds from dusk to dawn (just after Maghreb prayers all the night till the sunrise) to prevent any untoward incidents, ensure smooth public administration,” Deputy Commissioner Yousaf Karim said in a notification.

The official requested public to comply with the order.

“Any person (s) found violating this order shall be liable for legal action,” read the notification issued on June 29. “THIS ORDER shall come into force at once and remain in force for a period of 30 days from the date of issuance unless modified or rescinded earlier.”

The North Waziristan district has long been a stronghold of the TTP. Authorities also imposed a curfew in North Waziristan, along with South Waziristan and Tank districts, in March this year.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan, with Islamabad accusing India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegation.

Militant attacks in Pakistan more than doubled from 517 in 2023 to 1,099 in 2024. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained the hardest-hit provinces, accounting for over 96 percent of attacks and fatalities.

Topics: North Waziristan Militancy

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