New records at PSX: What is driving the stock market?

Yet another great development towards a phenomenal economic growth of Pakistan as Pakistan Stock Exchange registered its highest closing in almost four years with KSE100 Index crosses the 48,000 points mark on Tuesday.

Economic growth of about 4 percent and reduction in COVID-19 cases across the country have contributed to the confidence of the investors.

After opening on a positive note, the market remained in the green throughout the session, seeing an intraday high of 48,237.61 points and a low of 47,896.34 points. It settled at 48,191.26 points at the close of the day.

Govt’s economic policies

National and International investors’ growing interest in Pakistan’s Green Bond shows their confidence in PM Imran-led-government’s economic policies. All the successes and goals have been achieved due to the judicious policies and decisions of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

PM Imran Khan’s export-based economic model has helped the government achieve certain goals to strengthen the economy which was also acknowledged at the national and international levels.

The positive signs in Pakistan’s economy were seen during the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year 2020-21 (FY20-21), with remittances growing 26.5%, foreign direct investment (FDI) rising 9.1%, tax collection going up 4.5%, and the primary balance turned into a surplus worth Rs258 billion.

Containing COVID-19 a good omen

Pakistan’s success in containing coronavirus is a good omen. In April, when cases began rising, the government’s response was effective, despite severe criticism. The government worked in concert with the army, imposing provincial lockdowns and establishing a National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) to oversee a national response.

However, COVID-19 cases are on the rise again and, as is common practice in Pakistan, the military is stepping in to fill a leadership void and shows no sign of retreating. The NCOC is stacked with military figures, and recently-retired military officers have a growing influence in Khan’s administration.

The government took some difficult decisions during the last ten days of Ramadan and Eid days but they yielded positive results as the positivity ratio had come down from 10-11 percent to 4 percent and now the whole of nation approach was being adopted to ensure the effectiveness of the vaccination drive with successfully launching a locally developed coronavirus vaccine PakVac in collaboration with China’s Cansino Bio. These are the positive steps of PM Imran’s government and should be appreciated.

What’s wrong with the opposition?

The opposition parties which had come together under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to oust the PTI government are now engaged in an internal fight over petty issues and also criticize PM Imran.

Sadly, they also misread the relationship between the PTI and the establishment as well as they also fly dirt on national intuitions. The dominos did not collapse the way the opposition leaders assumed they would.

The effectiveness and credibility of political parties have a primary and severe impact on the development, nature and success of the nation and the country. The nation seeks a clear direction, reassurance, and unity among public representatives so that they work together to responsibly and purposefully tackle the challenges.

Pakistan can achieve greater political and societal harmony and democratic governance if the political leaders find mutually shared solutions to public issues by avoiding victimize their political opponents. Now it is time the opposition must realize the ground realities and should unity the development by appreciating the positive outcome of the government.