Pakistan | Pakistan

India’s Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan confirmed on Saturday that his country’s fighter jets were shot down by Pakistan during the four-day conflict earlier in the month. Indian fighter jets were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force on the night of May 6-7 in response to the Indian Air Force’s late-night missile strikes at six Pakistani sites, including Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, Abbas Mosque in Kotli, Umalkura Mosque in Muridke, the village of Kotki Lohara in Sialkot district, and Shakargarh. Pakistan took down six Indian jets, including three advanced French Rafale planes. According to a Dawn report, the recent clash between India and Pakistan marks a significant development in the regional air power constellation. Three Rafales, one Su-30MKI, one Mirage 2000 and one MiG-29 were downed within a 40-minute span. Not one Pakistani jet crossed the border or engaged in close combat. While speaking to Bloomberg at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Ge...

Pakistan’s pre-Hajj flight operation is set to conclude today (Saturday), marking the final phase of transporting pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2025.

Hours after Pakistan decided to enhance ties with Afghanistan yesterday, the Afghan foreign ministry welcomed the decision and announced upgrading the status of its chargé d’affaires in Islamabad to ambassador. Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to upgrade their diplomatic relations by exchanging envoys earlier this month — a key step towards normalising ties after years of strained relations due to terrorism concerns repeatedly voiced by Islamabad. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan welcomes the decision of the Government of Pakistan to upgrade the level of its diplomatic mission in Kabul to that of an ambassador,” the Afghan foreign ministry said on its X account late on Friday. “In reciprocity, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will elevate the status of its mission in Islamabad from chargé d’affaires to ambassador,” the ministry added. Zakir Jalaly, an Afghan foreign ministry official, wrote on X that the current chargé d’affaires in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb, will ...

Pakistan has voiced deep concern over the increasing incidents of Islamophobia in India, urging New Delhi to ensure the protection and rights of all its citizens, regardless of their religion.

LAHORE: Sahibzada Farhan looked keen on making up for lost time. Almost six months since he last represented Pakistan, the flamboyant opener sparkled with a career-best 74 as hosts trounced a hapless Bangladesh by 57 runs in the second Twenty20 International at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday to seal the three-match series with a game to spare. With Sahibzada in full flow — having returned to the national team fold after an impressive show in the Pakistan Super League — and Hasan Nawaz making a quickfire 51 not out, Pakistan amassed 201-6 after electing to bat. The bowlers then came to the fore as Bangladesh lost their way after a bright start; spinner Abrar Ahmed being the destroyer-in-chief with 3-19 as Pakistan bundled them out for 144 with only Tanzim Hasan Sakib (50) offering some late resistance. It was Pakistan’s first series victory since they beat Zimbabwe in December last year. Sahibzada’s poor return in that series had seen him fall out of national reckoning, but on his return, he set the tone for Pa...

ISLAMABAD - In a first open confession, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy has admitted that Pakistan shot down five Indian Air Force (IAF) jets during the airpower combat be-tween the two countries.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday upgraded its diplomatic representation in Afghanistan from a Chargé d’Affaires to an ambassador-level envoy, signalling improvement in bilateral ties and an intent to pur-sue deeper cooperation on regional security and economic integration.

Pakistan, China vow to make joint strides for regional peace.

Pakistan’s formal negotations with the United States on recirpocal tariffs started on Friday with a phone call between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, a press release from the finance ministry said. The increase in trade tariffs on Pakistani products announced by US President Donald Trump, which were paused, could have a devastating impact on Pakistan’s important exports and served as a wake-up call for diversification, according to a state-owned think tank. The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics warned that these tariffs would have a “devastating impact” on the country’s export sector, translating into an annual loss of $1.1-1.4 billion. According to the finance ministry, Aurangzeb and Greer “exchanged their view point through a constructive engagement, with the understanding that technical level detailed discussions would follow in the coming few weeks”. “Both sides expressed confidence in advancing these negotiations for successful conclusion at the ...

India has once again dismissed former US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating between India and Pakistan during recent border tensions.

Pakistan and China have reiterated their firm resolve to make joint strides for regional peace and stability.

Pakistan and India are close to reducing the troop build-up along their border to levels before conflict erupted between the nuclear-armed neighbours this month, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee told Reuters on Friday, although he warned the crisis had increased the risk of escalation in the future. The developments follow a recent military confrontation between India and Pakistan over New Delhi’s allegations against Islamabad, without evidence, about a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. New Delhi, based on the allegations, launched a series of air strikes in Pakistan in early May, killing civilians. Islamabad retaliated by downing five Indian jets. After intercepting drones sent by India and tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Gen Mirza said the two militaries had started the process of drawing down troop levels. “We have almost come back to the pre-22nd April...

Pakistan has decided to upgrade its diplomatic presence in Kabul by appointing an ambassador, replacing the current chargé d’affaires, in a move aimed at restoring full bilateral relations with Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday, rejecting the weaponisation of water, warned that Pakistan would not allow India to cross the red line by holding the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance and endangering millions of lives for narrow political gains. Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960, which governs the usage of the Indus river system, shortly after 26 civilians in India-held Kashmir were killed in what India called an act of terror. Pakistan has denied involvement in the incident, but accord remains “in abeyance” by India despite the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreeing to a ceasefire this month following the worst fighting between them in decades. After the April 22 attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered officials to expedite planning and execution of projects on the Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers, three bodies of water in the Indus system that are designated primarily for Pakistan’s use, six people told Reuters. The three-day International Conference...

Pakistan and India are in the process of reducing troop levels along their shared border, returning to the military posture that existed before the latest escalation in hostilities earlier this month, according to Pakistan’s top military official.

Pakistan became a co-signatory to China’s newly set up Hong Kong-based International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) on Friday, a statement by the Foreign Office said. China signed a convention setting up an international organisation for mediation in Hong Kong that Beijing hopes will be on par with the International Court of Justice and bolster the city’s international credentials, Reuters reported. Pakistan, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and Serbia were among the countries attending the signing ceremony, while representatives from 20 international bodies, including the United Nations, were also expected to join, public broadcaster RTHK said. “Deputy Prime Minister [and] Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, today signed, on behalf of Pakistan, the convention on the establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation in Hong Kong,” the statement by the FO read. Speaking on the occasion, Dar appreciated the Chinese leadership for its wisdom in developing and consistently leading efforts in es...

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh has said Pakistan's booming IT sector, driven by its tech-savvy youth, is creating an unmatched complementarity with the United States.

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad has said that Pakistan and India are nearing a return to their troop deployment levels prior to the latest hostilities that erupted between the two nuclear-armed nations earlier this month.

Justice Munib Akhtar, the second most senior judge of the Supreme Court, was sworn in as the Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan during a formal ceremony held in Islamabad.

LAHORE: A pumped-up Pakistan side will look to go all out against Bangladesh in the second T20 International in Lahore on Friday to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series. Pakistan during the past year or so have experienced an alarming decline in their T20 International contests, winning only nine while losing nineteen. Currently languishing at eighth in the ICC T20 International team rankings, the Green-shirts under new captain Salman Ali Agha no doubt will seek to make progress against Bangladesh who are ninth. The home side in the series opener on Wednesday comfortably defeated Bangladesh by 37 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium thanks to impressive batting by Salman (56), Shadab Khan (48, 4-26) and Hasan Nawaz (44). Returning fast bowler Hasan Ali (5-30) produced his best-ever show in the game. Pakistan are expected to remain unchanged for the second T20 while Bangladesh are most likely to make a couple of changes as they will look to keep the series alive. Both teams did not practise on Thursday, ...