June | Pakistan

The Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) will hold a meeting on June 2 to discuss digital currency regulations, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. The PCC was officially launched in March to “regulate and integrate blockchain technology and digital assets” into the country’s financial landscape. According to a press release by the finance ministry, the meeting will be chaired by the Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, serving as a “strategic forum to deliberate on the evolving regulatory and legal framework surrounding digital currency and the broader crypto landscape in Pakistan”. PCC Chief Executive Officer Bilal Bin Saqib will also participate in the meeting, along with other PCC members, the press release said. It also said, “Key items on the agenda include the development of a robust regulatory framework to govern digital and virtual assets in Pakistan, in alignment with global standards and technological advancements. “A focal point of discussion will be the groundwork for the establishment of the Pakist...

KARACHI: Chairman WAPDA, Engineer Lt. Gen. Sajjad Ghani (Retd.) visited the main construction sites to check the K-IV Water Project, ARY News reported. During his visit, Chairman WAPDA, Engineer Lt. Gen. Sajjad Ghani (Retd.), briefed that the first phase of the project is likely to be operational by June 2026, aiming to supply 260 million […]

Federal Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal has categorically denied reports of a change in the federal budget presentation date, confirming that the budget for fiscal year 2025–26 will be unveiled on June 10 as scheduled.

Islamabad - A high-level political delegation headed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will arrive in New York on June 2 on an official visit aimed at projecting Pakistan’s narrative against India in a recent military clash between both countries in the aftermath of Pahalgam attack.

The high-level delegation tasked with presenting Pakistan’s position on the ongoing dispute with India has scheduled to meet on June 2, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said on Wednesday. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to send a diplomatic delegation to important world capitals in the aftermath of the recent military escalation with India. He entrusted the PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to lead the delegation. The delegation comprises Senator Rehman, former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr Musadik Malik, Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Faisal Subzwari, Tehmina Janjua, Senator Bushra Anjum Butt and Jalil Abbas Jilani. Speaking on DawnNewsTV programme ‘Doosra Rukh’, Senator Rehman said that the diplomatic committee had decided to visit various countries before Eidul Azha. “The committee, headed by Bilawal, will begin its tour of various countries on June 2, starting from New York,” she said. She added, “The committee will first go to New York, then Washington...

The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee (RHC) on Tuesday announced that it has not sighted the Zilhaj moon, meaning Pakistan would observe Eidul Azha on June 7. The committee’s meeting took place on a roof in Islamabad’s Kohsar Block, where the religious affairs ministry has its office. Addressing a press conference, RHC Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad said, “No testimony of sighting the moon of the month of Zilhaj was received from any part of Pakistan […]. Therefore, it was decided with consensus that Zilhaj 1, 1446AH would be on May 29, Thursday and Eidul Azha would be observed on June 7, Saturday.” He noted that the weather remained cloudy in most parts of the country and clear in some. Maulana Azad presided over the meeting of the RHC earlier in the evening, with officials and experts from other departments also gathered to sight the moon. Simultaneous zonal meetings of the RHC also took place at their respective headquarters in the provincial capitals to send testimonies. Dr Mohammad Hasan Ali, director ...

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday announced a public auction of six Bahria Town properties in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on June 12. The development adds on to NAB’s previous actions against property tycoon Malik Riaz, who owns Bahria Town and is an absconder in the £190 million Al Qadir Trust Case. In a notification today, NAB listed six properties of the project owned by tycoon Malik Riaz, including five in Rawalpindi and one in Islamabad. The properties were being auctioned to recover the defaulted amount of a plea bargain under Section 33E of the NAB Ordinance 1999, it added. NAB media director Birj Lal Dosani confirmed the details to Dawn.com, stating that the amount was being recovered in connection with corruption charges under a plea bargain. Earlier this year, the watchdog warned the public against investing in Bahria Town’s Dubai project and began extradition efforts for Riaz and his son. In February, NAB [filed] a reference against Riaz, ex-Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, M...

The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been extended to June 19, 2025.

The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for expressions of interest in purchasing Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to June 13, the privatisation ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The government’s failed first attempt to privatise PIA cost the national exchequer $4.3 million, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed on February 26. In March, Privatisation and Investment Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said that the government would complete all the steps to privatise PIA by May, while the pri­vatisation commission approved a transaction structure for the second attempt to privatise the national carrier based on a divestment of 51 to 100 per cent of its shares of capital. The earlier deadline was June 3, with the bidding process expected to take place between October and December. According to a statement from the ministry, the deadline for submission on expressions of interest till 4pm on June 19. Last month, a PIA spokesperson said that the carrier’s bo­­ard of dire...

A sessions court on Saturday adjourned proceedings in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Rs10 billion defamation lawsuit against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan until June 2.

ISLAMABAD - The federal government has announced to present the annual budget for the next fiscal year 2025-26 on June 10 as the talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have yet to conclude.

Adviser to the Finance Minister, Khurram Schehzad, on Friday announced that the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 will be presented on June 10. Earlier, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal announced that the federal government will present the next fiscal year’s budget on June 2, with a 16 per cent lower development allocation of Rs921 billion, resulting in the likely closure of about 200 ongoing development projects. The adviser published a post on X today, which read, “The Federal Budget for FY 2025–26 of Pakistan will be presented on June 10, 2025. “The Pakistan Economic Survey 2024–25 will be released a day before the Federal Budget, on June 9, 2025,” he added. Last year, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented his first federal budget with a total outlay of Rs18.9 trillion, which analysts said was broadly “in line with IMF guidelines”. Aurangzeb, during the budget presentation, said that the goal was to widen the tax base to avoid burdening existing taxpayers. Pakistan’s total revenue for the cu...

Pakistan has prolonged its ban on Indian aircraft from entering its airspace until June 24, 2005, as stated in a newly issued Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) by the Pakistan Airports Authority.

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Friday announced that the airspace ban on Indian airlines was extended until June 24 amid the recent escalation with India. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. On April 24, Pakistan’s top brass had announced a series of measures, including the closure of its airspace to all India-owned or Indian-operated airlines with immediate effect, as it retaliated against New Delhi’s slew of aggressive measures against the country. According to today’s statement by the PAA, “The ban on Indian aircraft flying over Pakistani airspace has been extended until 4:59 am on June 24, 2025. All Indian registered, operated, owned or leased aircraft will remain under the ban. “N...

RAWALPINDI: Pakis­tan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Thursday the launch of direct flights from Lahore to Paris, with the first flight scheduled to take off on June 18, as part of its strategy to further expand flight operations “PIA has decided to operate a weekly flight from Lahore to Paris every Wednesday,” a spokesman for PIA said. “With the launch of this flight, three direct flights per week will become part of PIA’s operations.” The new route is part of the airline’s broader strategy to extend its network to Europe and meet growing demand from the Pakistani diaspora in France and Pakistan, the spokesman said. “This direct route to Paris addresses a long-standing demand from the Pakistani community, offering affordable fares and time savings,” the spokesman added. Earlier this year, to mark the relaunch of PIA flights from Islamabad to Paris, the airline decorated a Boeing 777 aircraft with a model of the Eiffel Tower on its tail and the slogan “I Love Paris” on the nose. The aircraft was mod...

The festive occasion of Eidul Azha is likely to be celebrated across Pakistan on June 7, 2025, according to the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco). In a statement, the commission issued a prediction regarding the sighting of the crescent moon for the month of Zilhaj 1446 AH, “based on scientific analysis, astronomical data, and modern observational techniques.” It said according to astronomical models, the birth of the new moon for Zilhaj will occur on May 27, 2025, at 8:02pm PST. The scientific analysis for May 27, 2025 (29 Ziqa’ad) in Pakistan indicates the age of the moon at sunset will be approximately 11 hours and 34 minutes, it mentioned. “Even under the most optimal weather conditions, the possibility of the moon being sighted across the country is extremely low, as there will only be a 37-minute interval between sunset and moonset,” it added. The commission said 1st Zilhaj is expected to fall on May 29. Therefore, Eidul Azha will be celebrated across Pakistan on June 7. It added ...

The federal government is set to present the budget for the fiscal year 2025–26, with an estimated outlay of around Rs20 trillion, in Parliament on June 2, official sources confirmed.

• NEC to meet on May 26 or 27 to approve development programme • 200 ongoing uplift projects likely to be closed • Ahsan says proper allocations cannot be made for key schemes ISLAMABAD: The federal government will present the next fiscal year’s budget on June 2, with a 16 per cent lower development allocation of Rs921 billion, resulting in the likely closure of about 200 ongoing development projects. This was announced at a press conference by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who disclosed that an indicative budget ceiling (IBC) of Rs921bn for the next year provided by the Ministry of Finance was over three times lower than Rs2.9 trillion demanded by the Planning Commission based on requirements of various ministries for development projects. The figure is also around 16pc lower than the current year’s revised allocation of Rs1.1tr, slashed on the instructions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from Rs1.4tr approved by the parliament as part of the federal budget 2024-25. The minister said he would conte...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has directed Pakistan to proceed with further downsizing at the Utility Stores Corporation as part of its right-sizing initiative, with a deadline set for June 30.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has issued a firm directive to complete all projects under the Lahore Development Plan by June 30, setting strict monthly timelines for progress monitoring.