Stocks reached a new all-time high above 86,500 points on Wednesday as earnings season has reignited investor interest in index-heavy stocks, with positive sentiments stemming from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and optimism for political stability.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index surged 673 points to touch 86,513 in intraday trade as of 10:41am, up from yesterday’s close of 85,840 points.

The two-day meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the SCO kicked off in Islamabad on Tuesday amid hopes of a possible positive developments before it ends today.

Reacting to the early bull-run, Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, stated, “Successfully organising a major global event like SCO summit, bringing together regional leaders, especially the arrival of Indian external affairs minister, must have further strengthened investor confidence.”

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday in the first such visit in almost a decade for the SCO meeting. It has been nearly a decade since a foreign minister from Pakistan’s arch-rival India has visited amid frosty relations between the two nuclear powers.

Stocks rebounded on Tuesday, closing 579 points higher, boosted by positive earnings outlook and optimism surrounding the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad.

Saad Ali, Director of Research at Intermarket Securities, informed private news channel that investor sentiment strengthened after headway on the highly-contested government-proposed bill, and the perceived low likelihood of PTI protests in Islamabad.

“The market has also digested and priced in the negative impact of termination/modification of PPAs of old IPPs,” Ali added.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation, in conversation with private news channel, said that stocks rallied as investors considered reduced political uncertainty and economic gains from the SCO summit.

“A decline in bond yields and the government’s discussions about privatising state-owned enterprises contributed to the bullish activity in PSX,” Mehanti added.

The meeting of the SCO, a Eurasian security and political group formed in 2001 by Russia and China, is the highest-profile event hosted by the South Asian nation in years

The United States (US) has said that it respects every nation’s sovereign right to form alliances and associations of its own choosing.

Responding to a question about the ongoing Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Islamabad, State Department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US encourages every country to ensure that its participation in multilateral fora upholds and respects international law and reaffirms the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of all nations.

Pakistan is hosting a two-day meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO in the federal capital that will conclude this evening.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will preside over the high-level meeting, for which the South Asian nation has made stringent arrangements to ensure the event proceeds smoothly.

The prime ministers and high-ranking officials from the SCO member states, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the First Vice President of Iran will attend today’s moot.

To another question about Pakistan’s demand to the UN Security Council to investigate theft and illicit sale of nuclear materials in India, the spokesperson said: “We are aware of Pakistan’s request to the UN Security Council.”

“We are committed to tracking, developing and implementing effective policy responses to proliferation threats and we will continue to work with our partners to shape the international security environment,” the spokesperson added.

Pakistan on October 11 called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to thoroughly investigate the “recurring” incidents of theft and illicit sale of nuclear and other radioactive materials in neighbouring India.

The move came after a recent Indian media report said that police had arrested three smugglers in the western Gopalganj district of Bihar with a rare Californium stone which is highly radioactive and fetches a high price in the international market.

“The Security Council should be deeply concerned at the recurring incidents of theft and illicit sale of nuclear and other radioactive materials in our Eastern neighbour,” permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram told a committee established by the 15-member Council pursuant to its resolution 1540 that requires UN member states to take specific steps to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

 

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced on Saturday that he will not engage in discussions with Pakistan during his forthcoming visit to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave.

“It (visit) will be for a multilateral event. I’m not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I’m going there to be a good member of the SCO,” he said at the sidelines of an event in the national capital.

“But, you know, since I’m a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” he added.

“At the moment SAARC is not moving forward, we haven’t had a meeting of SAARC for a very simple reason – there is one member of SAARC who is practising cross-border terrorism at least against one more member of SAARC, maybe more… Terrorism is something which is unacceptable and despite a global view of it if one of our neighbours continues to do it – there cannot be business as usual in SAARC. That’s the reason why the SAARC meeting has not happened in recent years – but it doesn’t mean that the regional activities have stopped. In fact, in the last 5-6 years, we have seen far more regional integration in the Indian subcontinent,” he added.

On Friday, India announced that Jaishankar will travel to Pakistan to participate in the SCO conclave in mid-October.

This marks the first visit by an Indian external affairs minister to Pakistan in nearly nine years, despite ongoing tensions between the two nations over cross-border terrorism.

Pakistan is set to host the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15 and 16. The last Indian external affairs minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj, who attended an Afghanistan conference in Islamabad in December 2015.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will visit Pakistan to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit later this month, the Indian foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.

“The external affairs minister will lead a delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO Summit which will be held on October 15 and 16,” Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing.

The visit will be the first by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly a decade.

Earlier, the Foreign Office (FO) had confirmed that Prime Minister Modi has been invited to the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting, which Pakistan is hosting on Oct 15-16, under its rotating chairmanship.

FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had said, “An invitation has also been sent to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi,” adding that some countries had already confirmed their participation in the meeting.

Meanwhile, a comprehensive security plan for the upcoming SCO summit was appr­oved on Wednesday at a meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi.

The interior minister said additional personnel from Pakistan Army, Rangers, FC and Punjab police will be deployed to ensure foolproof security for the guests.

In May last year, then-foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had visited India to attend the two-day meeting of the SCO Cou­ncil of Foreign Ministers.

He was the first Pakistani foreign minister to visit India in almost 12 years.

At a Senate panel later that month, Bhutto-Zardari called it a “productive and positive decision” to participate in the event.

“As far as the Kashmir issue, bilateral issues between Pakistan and India, and the responsibilities of multilateralism are concerned, my conclusion after the trip is that it is a productive and positive decision to participate in the event,” he had said.

Similarly, former adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz visited Amritsar in Dec­­ember 2016 for the Heart of Asia conference. Add­itionally, when India hosted the SCO Council of Heads of State on July 4, 2023, in a virtual format, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif participated, demonstrating Pakistan’s willingness to engage despite the strained bilateral relations with India.

India’s participation in the SCO, even otherwise, is a delicate balancing act, weighing its need for regional security cooperation against its wariness of China’s growing influence within the organisation. By engaging selectively in SCO’s economic strategies, India is pursuing a nuanced approach that aims to counterbalance Chinese dominance while fostering constructive ties with Central Asian nations.

India’s hesitation to attend meetings in Pakistan is a well-established stance, dating back to its boycott of the 19th Saarc Summit in November 2016, which was to be hosted by Pakistan. The boycott led to a stalemate, leaving the regional body in limbo, as the Saarc charter mandates that all member states must be present for a summit to take place. In contrast, the SCO has no such restriction, allowing for more flexibility in its meeting arrangements.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15 and 16, a government spokesperson said on Friday. The visit will mark the first high-level visit from India to Pakistan in about five years.

“EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan for the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on 15th and 16th October,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press conference on Friday.

Pakistan had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the SCO Summit.

This will be first visit by Indian External Affairs Minister to Pakistan since 2015. Former external affairs minister late Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad in 2015 to attend a security conference on Afghanistan.

SCO is a multilateral body that includes Russia and China as members, with Pakistan hosting this year’s summit.

Jaishankar’s Pakistan visit comes  a month after he called out the neighbouring country over cross-border terrorism at the United Nations General Assembly. “Many countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control, but some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences. A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan,” the minister said on September 28.

“We heard some bizarre assertions from it at this very forum yesterday. So let me make India’s position perfectly clear. Pakistan’s cross border terrorism policy will never succeed, and it can have no expectation of impunity. On the contrary, actions will certainly have consequences.” Jaishankar said referring to Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif‘s address at the UNGA a day before.