“SBP reserves increased by US$ 49 million to US$ 11,146.8 million during the week ending on 14-Mar-2025,” the central bank said Thursday in its weekly announcement on the situation of liquid foreign reserves.

In the meantime, commercial banks’ net foreign reserves grew to $4,869 million, as shown in the breakdown of foreign reserves for the reviewed period.

The nation’s total liquid foreign reserves as of the week ending March 07, 2025, were $15,928.9 million.

Of these, the central bank’s foreign reserves totalled $11,097.9 million, while commercial banks kept $4,831 million in net reserves.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at a record high of 118,770 points after rising 796 points.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has grown significantly during the last six months, hitting previously unheard-of heights.

September 2024: With a week-over-week rise of 3.36%, the index closed at 82,074 points, indicating a strong positive trend.

December 2024: On December 12, 2024, the KSE-100 Index closed at 114,180.5 points, breaking through the 114,000-point barrier for the first time.

January 2025: After reaching a record high of 72,743 points on January 26, 2025, the index experienced a minor downturn, falling 2.16% over two sessions to close at 71,103 points on January 28, 2025.

The market recovered in February 2025, and the KSE-100 Index ended the day at 113,342.44 points.

Condemning Israel’s violent assaults in Gaza that resulted in 400 Palestinian fatalities, Pakistan urged the UN Security Council on Tuesday to call for an end to the genocidal conflict in the region and the enforcement of the ceasefire agreement established on January 15.

“Israel’s aggression, attacks, and the massacre of Palestinians must cease,” stated Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, during the urgent session of the 15-member Council convened to address the renewal of Israeli assaults in Gaza.

The meeting was initiated by Algeria and Somalia, with support from Pakistan and additional Council members; it was initially intended to address humanitarian assistance for besieged Gaza and Israel’s embargo amid stagnant ceasefire negotiations.

In his remarks, Ambassador Akram said that the war in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian Territory is at another “tragic milestone”.

“This conflict and the response of the Security Council and the international community to the atrocities committed will significantly influence the future world order that we and subsequent generations will inherit,” he remarked, highlighting the death toll and its effects on civilians.

More than 50,000 individuals have perished in Gaza, with 150,000 sustaining injuries, two-thirds of whom are women and children. He emphasized the assaults on hospitals, schools, mosques, and civilian infrastructure.

“All principles and articles of international law and humanitarian law have been egregiously violated without consequence, contravening the resolutions of the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” he stated.

Ambassador Akram cautioned that if the international community fails to respond justly to the events occurring in the region, “our world order may regress into the barbarism from which the UN Charter was intended to save us.”

The Pakistani envoy stated that the prospect of peace fostered by the truce and the Arab peace plan is evidently unwelcome to the hardline authorities currently governing Israel, as they perceive their survival in the perpetuation of conflict.

“However, does this serve the interests of the hostages?” Does this serve the interests of the Israeli populace? Does this serve the interests of the Palestinians? Is this conducive to global order? The answer appears to be evident.

The initial strategy to undermine the ceasefire agreement, he stated, was the implementation of a humanitarian blockade, aimed at extracting concessions beyond the ceasefire terms by obstructing trucks, severing electricity and water supplies, limiting NGO operations, and restricting Muslim access to the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque during the sacred month of Ramadan.

“These constitute tactics employed by the oppressor,” stated Ambassador Akram. “And now, they have escalated to blatantly violate the ceasefire and resume attacks against the helpless Palestinians in Gaza who were just returning to rebuild their homes.”

The Pakistani envoy called for full implementation of all phases of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, including permanent and comprehensive cessation of Israeli hostilities, return of displaced persons to their homes, withdrawal of Israeli forces, opening all crossings, adequate humanitarian access to all parts of the Gaza Strip, and a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza and humanitarian assistance resumed.

Amnesty International asserts that Israel’s determination to obstruct humanitarian aid to Gaza constitutes a war crime and represents collective punishment of the civilian populace. It’s a continuation of the policy to impose on Palestinians conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. This is genocide.”

The Pakistani envoy stated that Israeli assault in the West Bank must cease.

“We must ensure the revival of a credible and irreversible political process towards a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital. “This represents the sole feasible route to lasting peace,” Ambassador Akram stated.