Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00and the idea is, I think it is a high time that this
00:00:04region must find an independent
00:00:07architecture to bring peace and security in this
00:00:11region from far from areas. The time has
00:00:14proved, it is probably difficult if not
00:00:17impossible. So let me
00:00:20emphasize that we will
00:00:24obviously we must not be, you
00:00:26know, ignoring what's happening. In the world,
00:00:30the times are very challenging,
00:00:33the situations need full attention of
00:00:37all the countries in the region, particularly our region. And we have seen
00:00:40the energy supply chain disruption. We have seen the
00:00:44prices. The common man is suffering. Again, the government
00:00:47whatever could do for the two wheelers, three wheelers, subsidy,
00:00:51remove all the taxes, give a refund through through
00:00:53tokens, almost 10 over 10 million people are
00:00:57benefiting. So if you take average size of a
00:01:00family five, so 50 million individuals
00:01:03in Pakistan are
00:01:05media. Important message benefiting. Ladies and
00:01:07gentlemen,
00:01:10let me also emphasize that account terrorism must not be used as a
00:01:13pretext to suppress, as you said, the legitimate
00:01:16struggle. And despite our continuing sacrifices, let
00:01:23capability, we are in me make it very clear that there
00:01:25should be no doubt that our unflinching resolve to
00:01:29fight terrorism will ever get weakened
00:01:33as a nation. Excuse me, our people,
00:01:36armed forces, police, and intelligence services continue to
00:01:39confront this menace with extraordinary courage very
00:01:43frequently, almost on on daily
00:01:45basis. We will continue, Inshallah.
00:01:49This is all because the citizens deserve safety and
00:01:53our country deserves peace.
00:01:56Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan believes in a peaceful
00:02:00neighborhood. We desire a region where trade
00:02:03flows from Central Asian states to the Arabian
00:02:06Sea, where roads, railway and energy
00:02:10links connect our people and bring cross borders
00:02:13prosperity. But our pursuit of peace cannot
00:02:17helped in terms of culmination in terms of come at the expense of our people's security.
00:02:21Good neighborliness is a two-way obligation.
00:02:25It cannot mean absorbing attack
00:02:27Straight talk with Ben Salim. after attack in silence. Today I say to the
00:02:31authorities in Kabul, please honor your
00:02:35commitments. Ensure that Afghan soil is not used
00:02:40is the highest ever in the history of against any other country, particularly Pakistan. Act
00:02:42against those who threaten your neighbors.
00:02:46Take verifiable, irreversible, and concrete
00:02:49steps against terrorists emanating from your
00:02:52soil. This is not a new message. This is the
00:02:55same message I gave them in person during my
00:02:58visit to on 19th of April
00:03:022025. I also call upon the international
00:03:06community to support Pakistan's continuing resolve to
00:03:09fight this
00:03:11reserves, which is helping the stability of threat. We have paid an enormous
00:03:13price. Our efforts must be met with
00:03:18and how much for each of cooperation and a shared determination to deny terrorists the means and
00:03:22space to operate. Ladies and
00:03:25gentlemen, a peaceful, prosperous future for
00:03:29all of our
00:03:32from the shackles of terrorism is
00:03:35within reach if states have the requisite political
00:03:39resolve. Let me tell you, we will stand against
00:03:43terrorism to the last
00:03:47effort, Inshallah,
00:03:49and we will stand for peace, and we have demonstrated that we
00:03:52can, we are, and we will stand for peace, not
00:03:56only for Pakistan, but the entire region and may
00:03:59be on. We will do both to the
00:04:03ultimate end. So I thank you for your patient
00:04:06hearing. I'm most grateful for inviting me for
00:04:10today's event. I have been very honest and frank to
00:04:14have expressed, you know, that when you go to such events, you get
00:04:17a also input from your own
00:04:21off because of institutions. But I do more. Most of
00:04:24the time I just go extempore in order to express my
00:04:27honest sentiments. Thank you very much.
00:04:32Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar was addressing a seminar in Islamabad regarding Khyber
00:04:36Pakhtunkhwa. He said that Pakistan has written a saga of invaluable sacrifices
00:04:40in the war against terrorism. Pakistan's economy also suffered
00:04:43severe damage in the war against terrorism.
00:04:47Pakistan faced terrorism with courage, bravery and strength.
00:04:51The world must acknowledge our sacrifices in the war against terrorism.
00:04:54We faced cases like the Jafar Express tragedy and the martyrdom
00:04:58of laborers in Balochistan.
00:05:00Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, new strategies were developed
00:05:04to eradicate terrorism. Law enforcement agencies
00:05:08are working to eliminate terrorism.
00:05:11for.
00:06:17is joining me now is Pakistani Finance Minister
00:06:20Muhammad Aurangzeb. Great to have you with us, Minister. I just
00:06:24wonder if you could just tell us first off, I mean, we've seen Pakistan
00:06:28quite successfully tapping global debt markets, but do you see this
00:06:32continuing given the backdrop of higher global bond
00:06:35yields? Yes, so thank you. In the first instance, this is
00:06:39part of our medium-term debt strategy. As
00:06:42we achieved macro stability, from my perspective, is just basic
00:06:45hygiene. Inflation in the right place, effect reserves in
00:06:49the right place, policy rate at the right place. So the first rate that
00:06:53we did was actually in April of this year,
00:06:56which was a private placement of 750 million dollars. And then
00:07:00we accessed the Panda bond market, which was credit
00:07:04enhanced. And you, it was a long time coming from
00:07:08Pakistan because is the second largest, second deepest capital market in the
00:07:11world. And... so it was a very successful issue. Do you think
00:07:15it'll continue being successful given higher global yields? Yeah, so
00:07:19so as you know, about three weeks back, we did a three
00:07:23billion dollar Euro bond. The
00:07:26overall appetite of that was actually the order book was twice of
00:07:29that, and we were very pleased with the length and breadth. Of course, there were
00:07:33Asian investors, there were Middle East investors, but bulk of it was
00:07:37sort of European and US investors. And it's after heaters, after
00:07:40a gap of four years that Pakistan accessed international capital markets.
00:07:44Now, going forward, we are not in a rush
00:07:47in this fiscal year, but as part of our medium-
00:07:51term strategy, we have given mandates for Islamic Sukuks. We have
00:07:54given mandates for also for
00:07:57the first time dollar, dollar-
00:08:00settled, but rupee- denominated bonds. A lot of
00:08:04reverse inquiries coming through on that as well. And then
00:08:07going forward, we are going to issue RFPs for the
00:08:11remaining Panda bond because NAFA approval is for billion dollars. We printed
00:08:14250. And for the first time, we are also going to
00:08:18see if we can go for
00:08:20tokenization of our existing
00:08:24Eurobonds. So, not in a rush, does this mean this comes potentially next year
00:08:28or what sort of timeline are you looking at
00:08:31these? From our perspective, it's going to be determined
00:08:34by pricing, tenor, and market
00:08:37conditions.
00:08:40So, the way I was sort of explaining to
00:08:44you a bit earlier as well that um, you know,
00:08:47this year, you know, it's not a question of that we absolutely need
00:08:51to cover our external financing gap, but over the next two
00:08:55to three years, what we do want to do is to see if some
00:08:59of our short-term external debt can be
00:09:02refinanced into longer tenors, longer maturities, so Pakistan
00:09:06is a country that does not have to go into this rollover
00:09:08risk on on sort of short-term debt because quite
00:09:12frankly, A, it is not it is not
00:09:16helpful to us from the rating agency's perspective as well, they do
00:09:20not give us any credit for that. So we want to keep the overall
00:09:24quantum of our external debt, which is
00:09:27close to about 100 million dollars, but think
00:09:30about it as mostly as replacement
00:09:32trades, as diversification and
00:09:36as elongating the maturity. I was just about to ask, so how
00:09:39effectively is this going to help Pakistan? Reduce the
00:09:43reliance on bilateral loans? Well, we
00:09:45are extremely grateful to our
00:09:48bilateral partners who have helped us through thick and thin
00:09:52with IMF programs, with bilateral support, etc. But the way
00:09:56I look at it, we have to move towards sustainability, and
00:09:59therefore, road to market. And
00:10:02this is also in conjunction of where we are in terms of sovereign
00:10:06ratings because we have just, as
00:10:09I was saying earlier, we have had three rating upgrades since April of last
00:10:13year. So we have now got into a solid B. If we go back
00:10:1640 years, the best that the country has ever had is B
00:10:19plus. So if we all, we are very committed to
00:10:23stay the trajectory, then..." If not during this fiscal year, early next
00:10:27fiscal year, we should get to B plus, but we are aiming
00:10:30slightly higher this time around to see how we break into the
00:10:34double B category as as a sovereign, as a country. And
00:10:37therefore, the debt sustainability and the external debt, and with the right
00:10:41maturities, is going to be very critical enabler to
00:10:45help us with the rating agencies to break into WB. Amid this period,
00:10:49though, you're still in need of financing. Where else are you
00:10:52looking for? What is the latest on the US exchange
00:10:55stabilization facility's 10 billion dollars worth? Where are
00:10:58discussions on that? Yeah, with respect to the US, we are looking at in in
00:11:02the context of larger larger canvas. So the
00:11:06discussions that we are having that we move, you mentioned the
00:11:10bilateral partners, but overall are now thought process with the
00:11:13Prime Minister leading the cabinet, the administration to
00:11:17move from aid to trade and investment. So
00:11:20active discussions with USDR in terms of
00:11:23tariff discussions and getting to a framework agreement
00:11:26there with us Exim Bank with
00:11:29DFC
00:11:31to help support in trade investment flows into Pakistan in
00:11:35terms of agriculture, in terms of IT, minerals, and
00:11:37mining. Within that context, this stabilization
00:11:41facility, as you know, well, I mean, this is not a loan, this is not a credit facility, this is liquidity
00:11:44support. And with or
00:11:48without it, we will continue to move forward in terms of market
00:11:51access. So you have reached some form of agreement on
00:11:55No, no, still still active discussions across all
00:11:59areas, including this. Is Washington attaching any
00:12:02conditions for the facilities? What are you hearing from
00:12:05them? No, I think with respect to
00:12:08our leadership discussion with the
00:12:11with the Trump administration, we are in a very good place.
00:12:15I've had a number of meetings with Secretary, last
00:12:19time was in Washington. Had very constructive discussions with
00:12:22Secretary Besant. So we're very grateful for all the support that we are
00:12:25getting. It's moving in the right direction. And
00:12:29we are hopeful that this will help consolidate that trade investment flow from
00:12:33the US into Pakistan. What about when it comes to the
00:12:36bounce in the US dollar recently? How manageable is that
00:12:40for Pakistan? Because we have been seeing in the past two years, the rupee has been relatively
00:12:43stable. Do you think that can continue? Yeah, I
00:12:46think the rupee has been stable because in the
00:12:50context of the overall macro stability,
00:12:53because this time, the FX Reserve,
00:12:56you have to look at that, the couple of weeks back we touched
00:12:5921.4 billion dollars, which
00:13:05the country. And this is now about three months of
00:13:08import cover, which is a good international benchmark. And you put it in the
00:13:12context of a couple of three years back when we were down to two weeks
00:13:16of import cover. So we have come a long way from that perspective,
00:13:19number one. Number two, these
00:13:22reserves are not built on debt stock. This is
00:13:25the central bank actually doing market
00:13:28interventions. So it's not only the quantum of the FX
00:13:32reserves, but also the quality of FX
00:13:36the currency. And while, as you can
00:13:39appreciate, the FX and the policy rate is very much
00:13:43the the the purview of the central bank. But all
00:13:47I can say is that we expect the currency to remain stable as
00:13:51we move forward. Do you see there being a risk to growth? We
00:13:55have already been seeing previously the IMF raising the outlook for
00:13:58this year because of the vulnerabilities from the energy
00:14:01shock. How on target are you? What is the target for this year? Yeah, so
00:14:04so the GDP growth, once again, just like the FX
00:14:07situation, three and a half years back, the the economy actually
00:14:11contracted. We were minus 0.3%
00:14:15in GDP growth. The year before was 2.6%.
00:14:18Last fiscal year is 3.7%. This
00:14:21year we are quite sanguine that we will be north of
00:14:25percent. Uh, so having said
00:14:27that, the lingering conflict, we are keeping a very
00:14:31close eye on that between the governor and myself, both
00:14:35from inflation perspective and the GDP growth perspective
00:14:39as well, because even in the last fiscal year, a certain
00:14:43percentage of GDP growth was shaved
00:14:46the the conflict in the Middle East. So we are
00:14:49all hopeful that, you know,
00:14:52this situation will resolve itself. Target for this year is north of
00:14:564%. Okay, what about tax revenues? Do you see that being on
00:15:00target as well? Might you have to announce perhaps additional
00:15:03measures if the conflict boils
00:15:06on? Well, as you know, on the 7th of
00:15:10October, the we are in an IMF
00:15:14program. So the the mission was in
00:15:17Pakistan. They reviewed our quantitative benchmarks, our structural benchmarks.
00:15:21Part of those quantitative benchmarks are how do they see the revenue
00:15:24profile? All I can say is the first quarter of
00:15:28this fiscal year, which is June, July till September, we have
00:15:32met our revenue targets in terms of tax revenues. We are
00:15:35now in double digits in terms of
00:15:37to GDP. So I would say at this point in time, so far so
00:15:41good. So far so good for oil stocks as well into the end of the
00:15:44year. How is Pakistan looking at the
00:15:48energy shortfall? Yeah, I think that's a that's a very good
00:15:51question in the context of what we're dealing with at this point in time. I
00:15:55would say the first order has been
00:15:59negotiated very well since
00:16:02March this year when this conflict started in
00:16:06terms of procurement of model.
00:16:08Now, this we are now sort of six months into the conflict, so there's
00:16:12been no shortage, there's been no queues at the gas stations,
00:16:16there's been no law and order situation, which unfortunately we have seen in some of the other
00:16:20countries. So
00:16:23October, we are good. November, we are planning. It's both
00:16:26in terms of the crude and the the gas
00:16:29in terms of LNG. Now,
00:16:32obviously, as we go forward, if this conflict lingers, we'll
00:16:35have to make participation choices. But one thing I just want to say is
00:16:39we are, while we are very focused on petroleum, the food
00:16:42security is as important as the energy security. And we
00:16:46are very fortunate to have a situation in Pakistan where
00:16:50our fertilizer situation, whether it's urea or DAP
00:16:52etc. Because of our existing
00:16:56stocks, but also in terms of our local
00:17:00a good place from that perspective as well. First order
00:17:03impact has been negotiated well. The second order
00:17:07impact in terms of its impact, and we have also gone for targeted
00:17:11subsidies for vulnerable segments etc. But we are keeping a very
00:17:14close eye on inflation and GDP. To your point about first order when it comes
00:17:18to how Pakistan has been able to secure
00:17:21shipments, what has it been using as leverage with Iran to
00:17:25secure shipments, cargos? Can you help us understand that?
00:17:29Well, I think overall, I would say
00:17:31I want to complement our leadership, right? In
00:17:35the first instance, we all very hopeful when the Islamabad MOU
00:17:39happened, right? That again, as a country, very
00:17:43fortunate to have, um, very
00:17:45good relationship with the Trump administration and the trust and credibility of the Iranian
00:17:49leadership, and a combination of that
00:17:55the Islamabad MOU. It continues to help us
00:17:58in terms of our procurement capability as well.
00:18:01Minister, thank you for your time today. It's been great to chat with you.
00:18:05Really appreciate it. Pakistan. Finance Minister Muhammad
00:18:08Aurangzeb.
00:18:12Federal Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb
00:18:15gave an exclusive interview to Bloomberg TV. For economic stability,
00:18:19he said that inflation, foreign exchange reserves, and policy rates
00:18:22have been kept stable. The debt strategy aims to increase access
00:18:25for global investors. For economic stability, it is necessary
00:18:29to keep inflation, reserves, and policy rates at appropriate levels. Pakistan
00:18:33privately issued $750 million in bonds in April this
00:18:37year.
00:19:07Latest news, stay with us for more news and
00:19:10updates.
00:24:31are being subjected to severe mental anguish through forced disappearances of their
00:24:34loved ones. To crush the Kashmiris'
00:24:37struggle for self-determination, the Indian government is using
00:24:41the rape of women as a weapon of war.
00:24:45Now the time has come for the international
00:24:48community.
00:25:20who have, in every era, shed the blood of Muslims
00:25:24under the guise of religion. For
00:25:27some time now, this evil of Khawarij
00:25:30is active again. Innocent children, students,
00:25:34and innocent people's lives and property
00:25:37are not safe from this brutal group. They have guns
00:25:41in their hands and the Kalima on their tongues.
00:25:44They are not followers of religion, but rather
00:25:48proponents of an external
00:25:50flag, who are spreading mischief in the name of Islam.
00:25:54Protect yourselves and your generations from the misleading
00:25:58ideologies of this group hidden in religious
00:26:00garb.
00:30:08The biggest challenge for the region and the world is terrorism. Pakistan has
00:30:11written a saga of invaluable sacrifices in the war against
00:30:15terrorism. Every province must play its role in the war
00:30:18against terrorism. The Afghan regime must stop using its territory for
00:30:22terrorism. Afghan authorities have not fulfilled their promises
00:30:25on terrorism. The presence of the banned TTP and other terrorist
00:30:29groups in Afghanistan is a threat to regional peace. Terrorism
00:30:32from Afghan soil is not acceptable under any circumstances. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar's
00:30:36address to the conference on the changing landscape of counter-terrorism.
00:30:39The people of
00:30:44Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are patriotic. They want to eliminate terrorism and extremism
00:30:48from the province. Pakistan will soon become a cradle of peace by eliminating
00:30:52terrorism. Pakistan hosted 4 million Afghans for
00:30:5640 years. There are more than 20,000 terrorists in Afghanistan.