ISLAMABAD: Newly appointed Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, met with outgoing Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa in his chamber on Wednesday.
Chief Justice Qazi Faiz Isa extended his congratulations to Justice Afridi on his nomination. Their first meeting took place before the day’s court proceedings, followed by a second meeting after the hearings concluded.
Justice Afridi also visited the chamber of Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. Along with the congratulations from his fellow judges, Justice Afridi was warmly greeted by his chamber staff.
The newly appointed Chief Justice graciously accepted all the well-wishes as he prepares to assume his new responsibilities.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the stock market soared past the significant 87,000-point mark, reaching a new record high, driven by optimism surrounding Pakistan’s economic outlook, supported by strong data and positive projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for fiscal year 2024-25.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index surged to 87,128.04 points during early trading, up from the previous day’s close of 86,466 points.
A bullish trend was observed, with heavy buying in blue-chip stocks across sectors such as automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and refineries.
Samiullah Tariq, an analyst at Arif Habib Limited, noted that investor sentiment was influenced by falling yields on fixed-income government securities, signaling potential future interest rate cuts. Recently, the one-year Treasury Bill (T-Bill) and three-year Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) rates have been hovering around 13% and 12%, respectively, driven by increased demand for fixed-income securities, leading to capital gains.
“Strong corporate earnings are also driving the market,” Tariq added. The first quarter of FY2024 is unfolding with forecasts of robust payouts and dividends, attracting investors to key sectors.
The market’s upward momentum has also been supported by the passage of the 26th Amendment, with major index players expected to deliver attractive returns during the earnings season. This comes amid hopes for stability following improvements in economic data.
The constitutional amendment, passed after weeks of intense government lobbying, limited the judiciary’s powers in appointing the Chief Justice. The amendment was approved during an extraordinary parliamentary session held on a public holiday, which extended overnight into early Monday morning.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
