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Mark Frerichs, an American engineer released from Afghanistan in a prisoner swap on Monday, should have a healthy, safe return to the United States, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement, adding that he had spoken to Frerichs' family.

"Our priority now is to make sure Mark receives a healthy and safe return and is given the space and time he needs to transition back into society," Biden said. "We have much more work to do in many other cases, but Mark’s release demonstrates our enduring commitment." (Reuters)

Pakistan will "absolutely not" default on debt obligations despite catastrophic floods, the finance minister said on Sunday, signalling there would be no major deviation from reforms designed to stabilise a struggling economy.

Floods have affected 33 million Pakistanis, inflicted billions of dollars in damage, and killed over 1,500 people - creating concern that Pakistan will not meet debts.

"The path to stability was narrow, given the challenging environment, and it has become narrower still," Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told Reuters at his office.

"But if we continue to take prudent decisions - and we will - then we're not going to default. Absolutely not."

Pakistan was able to bring an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme back on track after months of delay, thanks to tough policy decisions. But the positive sentiment was short- lived before the catastrophic rainfall hit.

Despite the disaster, Ismail said that most stabilisation policies and targets were still on track, including increasing dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

Central bank reserves stand at $8.6 billion, despite the influx of $1.12 billion in IMF funding in late August, which are only enough for about a month of imports. The end-year target was to increase the buffer up to 2.2 months.

He said Pakistan will still be able to increase reserves by up to $4 billion, even if the floods hurt the current account balance by $4 billion in more imports, such as cotton, and a negative impact on exports.

However, he estimated the current account deficit will not increase by more than $2 billion following the floods.

"Yes, there has been substantial loss to the very poorest people and their lives will never be made whole again. But in terms of servicing our external and local debt, and being micro- macro-economically stable, those things are under control."

DECEMBER PAYMENT TO BE MET

He said global markets were "jittery" about Pakistan, given the economy had suffered at least $18 billion in losses after the floods, which could go as high as $30 billion.

"Yes, our credit default risk has gone up, our bond prices have fallen. But...I think within 15 to 20 days, the market will normalise, and I think will understand that Pakistan is committed to being prudent."

Pakistan's next big payment - $1 billion in international bonds - is due in December, and Ismail said that payment would "absolutely" be met.

The IMF said on Sunday that it will work with the international community to support Pakistan’s relief and reconstruction efforts and the endeavour to ensure sustainability and stability.

Ismail said external financing sources were secured, including over $4 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and World Bank.

This includes $1.5 billion next month from ADB under the Countercyclical Support Facility - a budget support instrument.

The minister also said about $5 billion in investments from Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia would materialise in the current financial year.

The three announced interest in investing in Pakistan earlier this year, but no timelines or exact plans have been reported yet.

He said $1 billion in UAE investment will "definitely materialise" in the next couple of months in the form of purchases in the Pakistan stock market.

Some $3 billion in Qatari investment pledges will all come within the financial year to June 2023, he added.

"They're looking at the three airports in Pakistan, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad ... long-term leases. They're also looking at buying two plants that run on LNG (liquefied natural gas)... those I think will probably happen this calendar year," he said.

He said if the $3 billion figure was not reached as the financial year closed, the remaining amount would go into the stock market.

He also said Saudi Arabia's crown prince had assured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Riyadh would invest $1 billion before December. 

Pakistan's central bank announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia's development authority had also extended a deposit of $3 billion, to mature in December, by one year.

He said a legal instrument was going to be signed soon with a "friendly country" to activate a $1 billion deferred payment facility for oil. (Reuters)

Afghanistan's Taliban on Monday freed American engineer Mark Frerichs in exchange for an Afghan tribal leader linked to the Taliban who the United States had imprisoned for drug smuggling since 2005, officials said.

Frerichs, an engineer abducted in 2020 while working in Afghanistan, was exchanged at the airport in Kabul for Bashir Noorzai, acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told a news conference in the Afghan capital.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to solve problems by negotiation with all including the United States," Muttaqi said, referring to the Taliban.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Frerichs' release was "the culmination of years of tireless work by dedicated public servants across our government and other partner governments".

Biden's administration has been under pressure from the families of Americans detained by hostile foreign governments and has vowed to step up efforts for their release.

"Bringing the negotiations that led to Mark’s freedom to a successful resolution required difficult decisions, which I did not take lightly," Biden said in a statement, without confirming the release of Noorzai.

A senior U.S. administration official, who declined to be named, said Biden had granted clemency to Noorzai, who had spent 17 years in U.S. custody for heroin smuggling, a charge he denied.

Frerichs is an engineer and U.S. Navy veteran from Lombard, Illinois, who worked in Afghanistan for a decade on development projects. He was kidnapped in February 2020.

Frerichs arrived in Doha on a plane from Kabul at around 1:30 p.m. (6.30 a.m. EST) and is in good health, according to a source familiar with his situation. It was not immediately clear when he would arrive back in the United States.

Noorzai was detained by the United States on suspicion of smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States and Europe. A court in New York sentenced him to life in prison in 2009.

The United States hadpushed for the release of Frerichs, including after the hardline Islamist Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S.-led foreign forces were withdrawing. The administration official said it had been a "top priority" for Biden.

U.S. officials had said his case would influence their view on the legitimacy of a Taliban-led government. No foreign government has formally recognised the Taliban, in part due to the group's restriction of most secondary school-aged girls from education.

Noorzai briefly addressed the news conference at a Kabul hotel alongside Muttaqi and the Taliban's acting deputy prime ministers. "I am proud to be in the capital of my country among my brothers," Noorzai said.

The tribal leader had longstanding ties to the Taliban.

Noorzai's lawyer had denied that his client was a drug dealer and argued that the charges should be dismissed because U.S. government officials duped him into believing he would not be arrested. (Reuters)

E.ON (EONGn.DE) has informed the German government of a leak at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant which has not compromised security but could complicate the government's winter energy plan, the environment ministry said on Monday.

Isar 2, in the southern state of Bavaria, had been scheduled to go offline at the end of the year under Germany's plan to phase out nuclear power.

But the war in Ukraine and the subsequent plunge in energy imports from Russia prompted a policy change, with Berlin now planning to keep two of Germany's three remaining reactors, including Isar 2, on standby into next year.

The ministry said that a week-long repair period is needed in October at the Isar 2 plant, which is run by E.ON subsidiary PreussenElektra, during which operations would stop completely.

A spokesperson for E.ON said it was confident that a framework allowing Isar 2 to add to Germany's power supply security beyond Dec. 31 could be agreed with the government.

"Due to the necessary lead times, however, it is now necessary for the ongoing political discussions to quickly lead to a clear result and for all those involved to create planning security as quickly as possible," the spokesperson added.

Germany's environment ministry said that together with the economy ministry it was "examining the new situation and its implications for the design and implementation of the standby reserve" of the Isar 2 development. 

The EEX transparency site, where operators have to place mandatory messages on plant outages to the wholesale power market, did not show an entry on Isar 2 for October.

E.ON's spokesperson said it would inform the market of any development as and when required by German law. (Reuters)