The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) posted marginal gains on Friday as cautious investor sentiment persisted amid profit-taking and growing concerns over the latest conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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During early trading, the benchmark KSE-100 Index rose by 368.74 points, reaching 168,943.43, an increase of 0.22% from Thursday’s closing level of 168,574.69.
The optimism that earlier pushed the index to a historic high—driven by the IMF’s loan tranche release and a surge in remittances—began to fade on Thursday when heavy profit-taking dragged the market down. The benchmark index had slipped 877.17 points the previous day, settling at 168,574.69, according to PSX data.
On Friday, the ready market recorded a trading volume of 1.288 billion shares worth Rs55.231 billion, compared to 1.190 billion shares valued at Rs50.493 billion in the previous session. Out of 486 active companies, 190 advanced, 257 declined, while 39 remained unchanged.
The cautious mood followed the IMF’s release of its latest staff report, which revealed that 11 additional conditions have been placed on Pakistan under its $7 billion bailout programme—bringing the total to 64 conditions.
According to the report, Pakistan will be required to publish asset declarations of federal senior civil servants on a government website by December 2026, enabling scrutiny of income–asset discrepancies. The mandate will later extend to senior provincial officials, and banks will be given full access to these declarations.
By October 2026, Pakistan must also publish a detailed corruption risk action plan covering 10 high-risk departments. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will lead the initiative, while provincial anti-corruption bodies will be strengthened to process financial intelligence and conduct specialised investigations.
The new conditions follow findings from the IMF’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment, which identified deep-rooted weaknesses in Pakistan’s legal and administrative systems.
A key additional requirement relates to rising foreign remittance costs, projected to reach $1.5 billion in the coming years. Pakistan must conduct a comprehensive assessment of remittance fees and cross-border payment barriers, and prepare a reform plan by May 2026.
The IMF has also directed Pakistan to study systemic constraints in the local currency bond market by September 2026, followed by a strategic reform plan.
