Re: Pakistan at 60 a Well-Written News Article (merged)
More bad news for democrats 
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aJ9oFfb6c5js&refer=india
** Pakistan’s Stocks Jump Most in a Year: World’s Biggest Mover **
By Farhan Sharif
Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) – Pakistan stocks surged the most in a year after the Supreme Court ruled that President Pervez Musharraf will be able to seek a second five-year term in an Oct. 6 election. Oil & Gas Development Co., the nation’s largest company by market value, led the advance.
The Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index rose 384.06, or 2.9 percent, to close at 13,737.74, its highest since Aug. 3. That’s the biggest gain since August 2006 and the largest fluctuation among markets included in global benchmarks.
The rally was to be expected after the court decision,'' said Abdul Azeem, an analyst at Invest Capital & Securities Ltd., in Karachi. There is a perception in the market that Musharraf’s re-election will be good for the economy.‘’
Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Musharraf eligible to seek re-election, clearing the way for a key U.S. ally to extend his eight-year-old rule. Petitions challenging Musharraf’s plan to seek a second term while keeping his post of army chief were dismissed on Sept. 28., according to a ruling read out in the court by Rana Bhagwandas, the nation’s second most senior judge.
A total of 236 lawmakers from the All Parties Democratic Movement will resign from the national parliament and the four provincial assemblies tomorrow to protest Musharraf standing, Siddique-ul-Farooq, a spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, a member of the alliance, said by telephone late yesterday.
`Comfortable Majority’
Musharraf has a ``comfortable majority’’ among lawmakers to win a new term, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, said yesterday, according to a government statement in Islamabad. Pakistan’s national and provincial assemblies choose the president.
Oil & Gas Development Co. Ltd., the nation’s biggest energy explorer, rose 3.04 percent to 118.50 rupees. National Bank of Pakistan, the nation’s biggest lender by assets, rose 5 percent to 256.20 rupees. MCB Bank Ltd., Pakistan’s biggest lender by market value, rose 5 percent to 349.65 rupees.
Pakistan Petroleum Ltd., the nation’s biggest natural gas producer, rose 2.3 percent to 272.10 rupees. United Bank Ltd., Pakistan’s third-largest lender, rose 5 percent to 188.45 rupees. Pakistan Telecommunication Co., the nation’s biggest telephone service provider, rose 2.9 percent to 54 rupees. Pakistan Oilfields Ltd., the nation’s third-largest energy explorer, rose 4.4 percent to 322.95 rupees.
To contact the reporter on this story: Farhan Sharif in Karachi at [email protected] .
Last Updated: October 1, 2007 05:33 EDT