PTVNEWS — broadcast
20261012 063000 UTC
341 transcript segments
Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking
Data courtesy of The GDELT Project (https://www.gdeltproject.org/), from the Internet Archive TV News Archive.
Machine transcription. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a verbatim quotation record.

[00:00:00] and the idea is, I think it is a high time that this
[00:00:04] region must find an independent
[00:00:07] architecture to bring peace and security in this
[00:00:11] region from far from areas. The time has
[00:00:14] proved, it is probably difficult if not
[00:00:17] impossible. So let me
[00:00:20] emphasize that we will
[00:00:24] obviously we must not be, you
[00:00:26] know, ignoring what's happening. In the world,
[00:00:30] the times are very challenging,
[00:00:33] the situations need full attention of
[00:00:37] all the countries in the region, particularly our region. And we have seen
[00:00:40] the energy supply chain disruption. We have seen the
[00:00:44] prices. The common man is suffering. Again, the government
[00:00:47] whatever could do for the two wheelers, three wheelers, subsidy,
[00:00:51] remove all the taxes, give a refund through through
[00:00:53] tokens, almost 10 over 10 million people are
[00:00:57] benefiting. So if you take average size of a
[00:01:00] family five, so 50 million individuals
[00:01:03] in Pakistan are
[00:01:05] media. Important message benefiting. Ladies and
[00:01:07] gentlemen,
[00:01:10] let me also emphasize that account terrorism must not be used as a
[00:01:13] pretext to suppress, as you said, the legitimate
[00:01:16] struggle. And despite our continuing sacrifices, let
[00:01:23] capability, we are in me make it very clear that there
[00:01:25] should be no doubt that our unflinching resolve to
[00:01:29] fight terrorism will ever get weakened
[00:01:33] as a nation. Excuse me, our people,
[00:01:36] armed forces, police, and intelligence services continue to
[00:01:39] confront this menace with extraordinary courage very
[00:01:43] frequently, almost on on daily
[00:01:45] basis. We will continue, Inshallah.
[00:01:49] This is all because the citizens deserve safety and
[00:01:53] our country deserves peace.
[00:01:56] Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan believes in a peaceful
[00:02:00] neighborhood. We desire a region where trade
[00:02:03] flows from Central Asian states to the Arabian
[00:02:06] Sea, where roads, railway and energy
[00:02:10] links connect our people and bring cross borders
[00:02:13] prosperity. But our pursuit of peace cannot
[00:02:17] helped in terms of culmination in terms of come at the expense of our people's security.
[00:02:21] Good neighborliness is a two-way obligation.
[00:02:25] It cannot mean absorbing attack
[00:02:27] Straight talk with Ben Salim. after attack in silence. Today I say to the
[00:02:31] authorities in Kabul, please honor your
[00:02:35] commitments. Ensure that Afghan soil is not used
[00:02:40] is the highest ever in the history of against any other country, particularly Pakistan. Act
[00:02:42] against those who threaten your neighbors.
[00:02:46] Take verifiable, irreversible, and concrete
[00:02:49] steps against terrorists emanating from your
[00:02:52] soil. This is not a new message. This is the
[00:02:55] same message I gave them in person during my
[00:02:58] visit to on 19th of April
[00:03:02] 2025. I also call upon the international
[00:03:06] community to support Pakistan's continuing resolve to
[00:03:09] fight this
[00:03:11] reserves, which is helping the stability of threat. We have paid an enormous
[00:03:13] price. Our efforts must be met with
[00:03:18] and how much for each of cooperation and a shared determination to deny terrorists the means and
[00:03:22] space to operate. Ladies and
[00:03:25] gentlemen, a peaceful, prosperous future for
[00:03:29] all of our
[00:03:32] from the shackles of terrorism is
[00:03:35] within reach if states have the requisite political
[00:03:39] resolve. Let me tell you, we will stand against
[00:03:43] terrorism to the last
[00:03:47] effort, Inshallah,
[00:03:49] and we will stand for peace, and we have demonstrated that we
[00:03:52] can, we are, and we will stand for peace, not
[00:03:56] only for Pakistan, but the entire region and may
[00:03:59] be on. We will do both to the
[00:04:03] ultimate end. So I thank you for your patient
[00:04:06] hearing. I'm most grateful for inviting me for
[00:04:10] today's event. I have been very honest and frank to
[00:04:14] have expressed, you know, that when you go to such events, you get
[00:04:17] a also input from your own
[00:04:21] off because of institutions. But I do more. Most of
[00:04:24] the time I just go extempore in order to express my
[00:04:27] honest sentiments. Thank you very much.
[00:04:32] Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar was addressing a seminar in Islamabad regarding Khyber
[00:04:36] Pakhtunkhwa. He said that Pakistan has written a saga of invaluable sacrifices
[00:04:40] in the war against terrorism. Pakistan's economy also suffered
[00:04:43] severe damage in the war against terrorism.
[00:04:47] Pakistan faced terrorism with courage, bravery and strength.
[00:04:51] The world must acknowledge our sacrifices in the war against terrorism.
[00:04:54] We faced cases like the Jafar Express tragedy and the martyrdom
[00:04:58] of laborers in Balochistan.
[00:05:00] Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, new strategies were developed
[00:05:04] to eradicate terrorism. Law enforcement agencies
[00:05:08] are working to eliminate terrorism.
[00:05:11] for.
[00:06:17] is joining me now is Pakistani Finance Minister
[00:06:20] Muhammad Aurangzeb. Great to have you with us, Minister. I just
[00:06:24] wonder if you could just tell us first off, I mean, we've seen Pakistan
[00:06:28] quite successfully tapping global debt markets, but do you see this
[00:06:32] continuing given the backdrop of higher global bond
[00:06:35] yields? Yes, so thank you. In the first instance, this is
[00:06:39] part of our medium-term debt strategy. As
[00:06:42] we achieved macro stability, from my perspective, is just basic
[00:06:45] hygiene. Inflation in the right place, effect reserves in
[00:06:49] the right place, policy rate at the right place. So the first rate that
[00:06:53] we did was actually in April of this year,
[00:06:56] which was a private placement of 750 million dollars. And then
[00:07:00] we accessed the Panda bond market, which was credit
[00:07:04] enhanced. And you, it was a long time coming from
[00:07:08] Pakistan because is the second largest, second deepest capital market in the
[00:07:11] world. And... so it was a very successful issue. Do you think
[00:07:15] it'll continue being successful given higher global yields? Yeah, so
[00:07:19] so as you know, about three weeks back, we did a three
[00:07:23] billion dollar Euro bond. The
[00:07:26] overall appetite of that was actually the order book was twice of
[00:07:29] that, and we were very pleased with the length and breadth. Of course, there were
[00:07:33] Asian investors, there were Middle East investors, but bulk of it was
[00:07:37] sort of European and US investors. And it's after heaters, after
[00:07:40] a gap of four years that Pakistan accessed international capital markets.
[00:07:44] Now, going forward, we are not in a rush
[00:07:47] in this fiscal year, but as part of our medium-
[00:07:51] term strategy, we have given mandates for Islamic Sukuks. We have
[00:07:54] given mandates for also for
[00:07:57] the first time dollar, dollar-
[00:08:00] settled, but rupee- denominated bonds. A lot of
[00:08:04] reverse inquiries coming through on that as well. And then
[00:08:07] going forward, we are going to issue RFPs for the
[00:08:11] remaining Panda bond because NAFA approval is for billion dollars. We printed
[00:08:14] 250. And for the first time, we are also going to
[00:08:18] see if we can go for
[00:08:20] tokenization of our existing
[00:08:24] Eurobonds. So, not in a rush, does this mean this comes potentially next year
[00:08:28] or what sort of timeline are you looking at
[00:08:31] these? From our perspective, it's going to be determined
[00:08:34] by pricing, tenor, and market
[00:08:37] conditions.
[00:08:40] So, the way I was sort of explaining to
[00:08:44] you a bit earlier as well that um, you know,
[00:08:47] this year, you know, it's not a question of that we absolutely need
[00:08:51] to cover our external financing gap, but over the next two
[00:08:55] to three years, what we do want to do is to see if some
[00:08:59] of our short-term external debt can be
[00:09:02] refinanced into longer tenors, longer maturities, so Pakistan
[00:09:06] is a country that does not have to go into this rollover
[00:09:08] risk on on sort of short-term debt because quite
[00:09:12] frankly, A, it is not it is not
[00:09:16] helpful to us from the rating agency's perspective as well, they do
[00:09:20] not give us any credit for that. So we want to keep the overall
[00:09:24] quantum of our external debt, which is
[00:09:27] close to about 100 million dollars, but think
[00:09:30] about it as mostly as replacement
[00:09:32] trades, as diversification and
[00:09:36] as elongating the maturity. I was just about to ask, so how
[00:09:39] effectively is this going to help Pakistan? Reduce the
[00:09:43] reliance on bilateral loans? Well, we
[00:09:45] are extremely grateful to our
[00:09:48] bilateral partners who have helped us through thick and thin
[00:09:52] with IMF programs, with bilateral support, etc. But the way
[00:09:56] I look at it, we have to move towards sustainability, and
[00:09:59] therefore, road to market. And
[00:10:02] this is also in conjunction of where we are in terms of sovereign
[00:10:06] ratings because we have just, as
[00:10:09] I was saying earlier, we have had three rating upgrades since April of last
[00:10:13] year. So we have now got into a solid B. If we go back
[00:10:16] 40 years, the best that the country has ever had is B
[00:10:19] plus. So if we all, we are very committed to
[00:10:23] stay the trajectory, then..." If not during this fiscal year, early next
[00:10:27] fiscal year, we should get to B plus, but we are aiming
[00:10:30] slightly higher this time around to see how we break into the
[00:10:34] double B category as as a sovereign, as a country. And
[00:10:37] therefore, the debt sustainability and the external debt, and with the right
[00:10:41] maturities, is going to be very critical enabler to
[00:10:45] help us with the rating agencies to break into WB. Amid this period,
[00:10:49] though, you're still in need of financing. Where else are you
[00:10:52] looking for? What is the latest on the US exchange
[00:10:55] stabilization facility's 10 billion dollars worth? Where are
[00:10:58] discussions on that? Yeah, with respect to the US, we are looking at in in
[00:11:02] the context of larger larger canvas. So the
[00:11:06] discussions that we are having that we move, you mentioned the
[00:11:10] bilateral partners, but overall are now thought process with the
[00:11:13] Prime Minister leading the cabinet, the administration to
[00:11:17] move from aid to trade and investment. So
[00:11:20] active discussions with USDR in terms of
[00:11:23] tariff discussions and getting to a framework agreement
[00:11:26] there with us Exim Bank with
[00:11:29] DFC
[00:11:31] to help support in trade investment flows into Pakistan in
[00:11:35] terms of agriculture, in terms of IT, minerals, and
[00:11:37] mining. Within that context, this stabilization
[00:11:41] facility, as you know, well, I mean, this is not a loan, this is not a credit facility, this is liquidity
[00:11:44] support. And with or
[00:11:48] without it, we will continue to move forward in terms of market
[00:11:51] access. So you have reached some form of agreement on
[00:11:55] No, no, still still active discussions across all
[00:11:59] areas, including this. Is Washington attaching any
[00:12:02] conditions for the facilities? What are you hearing from
[00:12:05] them? No, I think with respect to
[00:12:08] our leadership discussion with the
[00:12:11] with the Trump administration, we are in a very good place.
[00:12:15] I've had a number of meetings with Secretary, last
[00:12:19] time was in Washington. Had very constructive discussions with
[00:12:22] Secretary Besant. So we're very grateful for all the support that we are
[00:12:25] getting. It's moving in the right direction. And
[00:12:29] we are hopeful that this will help consolidate that trade investment flow from
[00:12:33] the US into Pakistan. What about when it comes to the
[00:12:36] bounce in the US dollar recently? How manageable is that
[00:12:40] for Pakistan? Because we have been seeing in the past two years, the rupee has been relatively
[00:12:43] stable. Do you think that can continue? Yeah, I
[00:12:46] think the rupee has been stable because in the
[00:12:50] context of the overall macro stability,
[00:12:53] because this time, the FX Reserve,
[00:12:56] you have to look at that, the couple of weeks back we touched
[00:12:59] 21.4 billion dollars, which
[00:13:05] the country. And this is now about three months of
[00:13:08] import cover, which is a good international benchmark. And you put it in the
[00:13:12] context of a couple of three years back when we were down to two weeks
[00:13:16] of import cover. So we have come a long way from that perspective,
[00:13:19] number one. Number two, these
[00:13:22] reserves are not built on debt stock. This is
[00:13:25] the central bank actually doing market
[00:13:28] interventions. So it's not only the quantum of the FX
[00:13:32] reserves, but also the quality of FX
[00:13:36] the currency. And while, as you can
[00:13:39] appreciate, the FX and the policy rate is very much
[00:13:43] the the the purview of the central bank. But all
[00:13:47] I can say is that we expect the currency to remain stable as
[00:13:51] we move forward. Do you see there being a risk to growth? We
[00:13:55] have already been seeing previously the IMF raising the outlook for
[00:13:58] this year because of the vulnerabilities from the energy
[00:14:01] shock. How on target are you? What is the target for this year? Yeah, so
[00:14:04] so the GDP growth, once again, just like the FX
[00:14:07] situation, three and a half years back, the the economy actually
[00:14:11] contracted. We were minus 0.3%
[00:14:15] in GDP growth. The year before was 2.6%.
[00:14:18] Last fiscal year is 3.7%. This
[00:14:21] year we are quite sanguine that we will be north of
[00:14:25] percent. Uh, so having said
[00:14:27] that, the lingering conflict, we are keeping a very
[00:14:31] close eye on that between the governor and myself, both
[00:14:35] from inflation perspective and the GDP growth perspective
[00:14:39] as well, because even in the last fiscal year, a certain
[00:14:43] percentage of GDP growth was shaved
[00:14:46] the the conflict in the Middle East. So we are
[00:14:49] all hopeful that, you know,
[00:14:52] this situation will resolve itself. Target for this year is north of
[00:14:56] 4%. Okay, what about tax revenues? Do you see that being on
[00:15:00] target as well? Might you have to announce perhaps additional
[00:15:03] measures if the conflict boils
[00:15:06] on? Well, as you know, on the 7th of
[00:15:10] October, the we are in an IMF
[00:15:14] program. So the the mission was in
[00:15:17] Pakistan. They reviewed our quantitative benchmarks, our structural benchmarks.
[00:15:21] Part of those quantitative benchmarks are how do they see the revenue
[00:15:24] profile? All I can say is the first quarter of
[00:15:28] this fiscal year, which is June, July till September, we have
[00:15:32] met our revenue targets in terms of tax revenues. We are
[00:15:35] now in double digits in terms of
[00:15:37] to GDP. So I would say at this point in time, so far so
[00:15:41] good. So far so good for oil stocks as well into the end of the
[00:15:44] year. How is Pakistan looking at the
[00:15:48] energy shortfall? Yeah, I think that's a that's a very good
[00:15:51] question in the context of what we're dealing with at this point in time. I
[00:15:55] would say the first order has been
[00:15:59] negotiated very well since
[00:16:02] March this year when this conflict started in
[00:16:06] terms of procurement of model.
[00:16:08] Now, this we are now sort of six months into the conflict, so there's
[00:16:12] been no shortage, there's been no queues at the gas stations,
[00:16:16] there's been no law and order situation, which unfortunately we have seen in some of the other
[00:16:20] countries. So
[00:16:23] October, we are good. November, we are planning. It's both
[00:16:26] in terms of the crude and the the gas
[00:16:29] in terms of LNG. Now,
[00:16:32] obviously, as we go forward, if this conflict lingers, we'll
[00:16:35] have to make participation choices. But one thing I just want to say is
[00:16:39] we are, while we are very focused on petroleum, the food
[00:16:42] security is as important as the energy security. And we
[00:16:46] are very fortunate to have a situation in Pakistan where
[00:16:50] our fertilizer situation, whether it's urea or DAP
[00:16:52] etc. Because of our existing
[00:16:56] stocks, but also in terms of our local
[00:17:00] a good place from that perspective as well. First order
[00:17:03] impact has been negotiated well. The second order
[00:17:07] impact in terms of its impact, and we have also gone for targeted
[00:17:11] subsidies for vulnerable segments etc. But we are keeping a very
[00:17:14] close eye on inflation and GDP. To your point about first order when it comes
[00:17:18] to how Pakistan has been able to secure
[00:17:21] shipments, what has it been using as leverage with Iran to
[00:17:25] secure shipments, cargos? Can you help us understand that?
[00:17:29] Well, I think overall, I would say
[00:17:31] I want to complement our leadership, right? In
[00:17:35] the first instance, we all very hopeful when the Islamabad MOU
[00:17:39] happened, right? That again, as a country, very
[00:17:43] fortunate to have, um, very
[00:17:45] good relationship with the Trump administration and the trust and credibility of the Iranian
[00:17:49] leadership, and a combination of that
[00:17:55] the Islamabad MOU. It continues to help us
[00:17:58] in terms of our procurement capability as well.
[00:18:01] Minister, thank you for your time today. It's been great to chat with you.
[00:18:05] Really appreciate it. Pakistan. Finance Minister Muhammad
[00:18:08] Aurangzeb.
[00:18:12] Federal Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb
[00:18:15] gave an exclusive interview to Bloomberg TV. For economic stability,
[00:18:19] he said that inflation, foreign exchange reserves, and policy rates
[00:18:22] have been kept stable. The debt strategy aims to increase access
[00:18:25] for global investors. For economic stability, it is necessary
[00:18:29] to keep inflation, reserves, and policy rates at appropriate levels. Pakistan
[00:18:33] privately issued $750 million in bonds in April this
[00:18:37] year.
[00:19:07] Latest news, stay with us for more news and
[00:19:10] updates.
[00:24:31] are being subjected to severe mental anguish through forced disappearances of their
[00:24:34] loved ones. To crush the Kashmiris'
[00:24:37] struggle for self-determination, the Indian government is using
[00:24:41] the rape of women as a weapon of war.
[00:24:45] Now the time has come for the international
[00:24:48] community.
[00:25:20] who have, in every era, shed the blood of Muslims
[00:25:24] under the guise of religion. For
[00:25:27] some time now, this evil of Khawarij
[00:25:30] is active again. Innocent children, students,
[00:25:34] and innocent people's lives and property
[00:25:37] are not safe from this brutal group. They have guns
[00:25:41] in their hands and the Kalima on their tongues.
[00:25:44] They are not followers of religion, but rather
[00:25:48] proponents of an external
[00:25:50] flag, who are spreading mischief in the name of Islam.
[00:25:54] Protect yourselves and your generations from the misleading
[00:25:58] ideologies of this group hidden in religious
[00:26:00] garb.
[00:30:08] The biggest challenge for the region and the world is terrorism. Pakistan has
[00:30:11] written a saga of invaluable sacrifices in the war against
[00:30:15] terrorism. Every province must play its role in the war
[00:30:18] against terrorism. The Afghan regime must stop using its territory for
[00:30:22] terrorism. Afghan authorities have not fulfilled their promises
[00:30:25] on terrorism. The presence of the banned TTP and other terrorist
[00:30:29] groups in Afghanistan is a threat to regional peace. Terrorism
[00:30:32] from Afghan soil is not acceptable under any circumstances. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar's
[00:30:36] address to the conference on the changing landscape of counter-terrorism.
[00:30:39] The people of
[00:30:44] Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are patriotic. They want to eliminate terrorism and extremism
[00:30:48] from the province. Pakistan will soon become a cradle of peace by eliminating
[00:30:52] terrorism. Pakistan hosted 4 million Afghans for
[00:30:56] 40 years. There are more than 20,000 terrorists in Afghanistan.