Pakistan’s stock market saw fresh volatility after news anchor Muizur Rahman announced that the Hashwani Group’s four-decade-old hospitality empire, built around Pearl Continental Hotels, has been split. Trading volume in Pakistan Services Limited (PSL), the group’s flagship company, climbed to 14.85 million shares on the Pakistan Stock Exchange following the announcement.
The dispute traces back to 1985, when the Hashwani Group acquired PSL, a publicly listed company whose shares cannot be transferred to a third party without regulatory scrutiny. On July 14, 2025, AKD Group Holdings and its subsidiary AKD Securities purchased more than 9 million voting shares of PSL at Rs 700 per share, well below the prevailing market price of Rs 782, giving AKD Group a 27.95 percent stake in the company.
The following day, stockbroker Dawood Jan Muhammad acquired a further 9.1 million voting shares at a similarly discounted rate, raising his holding to 28 percent. Combined, the two transactions moved roughly 56 percent of PSL out of the Hashwani family’s control within 48 hours, unsettling the stock market.
The Islamabad High Court subsequently intervened, issuing a stay order that suspended PSL’s planned elections, originally scheduled for January 2026, which remain pending. The court also barred the transfer or sale of the disputed 56 percent stake to any third party and blocked the new shareholders from interfering in PSL’s day-to-day operations, a significant reprieve for the Hashwani Group.
Hashwani Group chairman Sadruddin Hashwani built the business beyond PC Hotels and PSL, establishing the Marriott hotel chain in Karachi and Islamabad, which was later handed to his youngest son, Hassan Ali Hashwani, as part of a family succession plan. Following an extended legal battle, sources now say the two sides have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that divides the Hashwani Group’s holdings.
The timing of an official announcement and the market’s response remain uncertain, but the dispute already marks one of the more turbulent chapters in Pakistan’s recent corporate history.
