Pakistan

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday held a meeting with a World Bank delegation to discuss the launch of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) project and the ongoing flood relief housing efforts as well as other initiatives in the province. The meeting, which took place at the CM House in Karachi, included WB managing director Anna Bejarred, country director Naji Bin Hussein and other officials from the Bank, a statement by the CM House read. Both the Sindh government and WB sides agreed on the effective initiation of the WASH project aimed at improving access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene practices across the province, according to the statement. “The initiative targeted 3,200 flood-affected villages, providing essential facilities to enhance public health and living conditions,” it added. CM Murad highlighted that the WASH project was being launched with a total budget of $270 million, benefiting approximately 1.5m people, with breakdown includes $75m from the World Bank, $13...

Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff, hosted a dinner in recognition of Pakistan’s political leadership, the steadfast resolve of the Armed Forces, and the resilient spirit of the Pakistani people as demonstrated during Marka-e-Haq and the successful execution of Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday said that Pakistan will raise its defence budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2025-26 keeping in view the recent escalation with India and New Delhi suspending a key river water-sharing treaty with Islamabad. Earlier this month, the minister had announced that the federal budget would be presented on June 2, however, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said yesterday that the budget would be presented on June 10, while the Pakistan Economic Survey would be released a day earlier. Meeting a delegation at the Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) in Lahore, led by IEP Secretary General Engr Ameer Zameer, the planning minister told reporters that the budget had not been delayed due to any pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but because of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to friendly nations and the Eidul Azha holidays. “We had very good negotiations with the IMF,” Iqbal said. “As you’ve seen, they acknowledged our government’...

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.

An international Sikh organization, MARR, has lodged a formal complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), urging an investigation into an alleged drone attack targeting the sacred site of Nankana Sahib.

Monsoon rains hit the coast of India’s southernmost state of Kerala on Saturday, eight days earlier than usual, marking the earliest arrival in 16 years and providing the promise of a bumper harvest and relief from a gruelling heatwave. The monsoon, the lifeblood of the country’s $4 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70 per cent of the rain that India needs to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs. Nearly half of India’s farmland, without any irrigation cover, depends on the annual June-September rains to grow a number of crops. Summer rains usually begin to lash Kerala around June 1 before spreading nationwide by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane. The onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala on May 24 is its earliest onset since May 23, 2009, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. The monsoon has covered Kerala and parts of neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as parts of the northeastern state of Mizoram, ...

The Government of Pakistan has decided to take stringent action against citizens deported from foreign countries.

The fares for metro bus services in Islamabad are set to rise, with a new uniform fare of Rs100 per passenger taking effect from May 26, 2025.

Four tourists from Gujrat who went missing in Gilgit-Baltistan on May 16 were finally located on Saturday morning at the bank of Indus River near Istak village in Skardu’s Roundu valley. Family sources said Wasif Shahzad, 36, and Umar Ehsan, 20, both cousins from Kot Gakka near Mangowal; Salman Nasrullah Sandhu, 23, of Jassoki village; and Usman Dar, 23, of Saroki had arrived in Gilgit on May 13. Gilgit range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Raja Mirza Hassan said that according to police records, the four friends had started their travel from Hunza to Skardu on May 15. On the way they had stayed in a hotel near Karakoram at Danyor in Gilgit. The four friends had resumed their journey to Skardu on May 16 and since then their mobile phones could not be reached. Skardu Deputy Commissioner Arif Ahmad today confirmed that the location of the missing tourists’ vehicle has been traced near Satak Nala. The vehicle had fallen into a deep gorge on the bank of the river below the Baltistan Highway after an accident. Resc...

The National Accountability Bureau recovered and disbursed over Rs88 billion during the first quarter of 2025, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. This was announced during the 24th “DGs Conference” of the bureau, a three-day event that concluded at NAB headquarters in Islamabad. According to a press release, these recoveries included direct recoveries worth over Rs2bn and indirect recoveries amounting to Rs86bn. The recoveries were made from public and private lands associated with cases of illegal transfer and occupation, Radio Pakistan said, adding that the disbursed amounts were returned to the relevant affected entities. Regarding indirect recoveries, NAB Balochistan retrieved state land measuring 340 acres of Chiltan Park and 250 acres of forest department which translate into Ra6.45bn. NAB Lahore recovered Rs70.87bn in three mega cases including Employees Cooperative Housing Society, State Life Insurance Employees Cooperative Housing Society and Sarwar Omega Villas. NAB Multan recovered Rs13...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit Turkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan from 25-30 May.

The Punjab government is set to launch an aggressive crackdown on habitual criminals with the introduction of “The Punjab Control of Goondas Act 2025,” a new legislation aimed at curbing organized crime and public disorder across the province.

PPP Secretary General Humayun Khan has supported the inclusion of all stakeholders, including the PTI, in the diplomatic delegation set to represent the country in important world capitals following the rise in hostilities with India. Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to send a “high-level diplomatic delegation to important world capitals to expose Indian propaganda” in the aftermath of the recent military escalation with India. Speaking on DawnNewsTV programme ‘Doosra Rukh’ on Friday night, when asked if PTI should also be included in the delegation, Khan said: “All stakeholders are welcome to get this country out of this crisis.” “We need to be on one page and fight the country’s case. Prime Minister [Shehbaz] sahib has made the right choice by choosing Bilawal [Bhutto-Zardari] sahib to continue fighting Pakistan’s case in international forums,” Khan added. The military confrontation between New Delhi and Islamabad came as tensions over last month’s Pahalgam attack continued to build up, as I...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday said that the passports of the Pakistanis, who were returning to the country after being deported, will be cancelled and also face the registration of an first information report (FIR) against them. Saudi Arabia deported a total of 5,033 Pakistani beggars whereas another 369 individuals have been apprehended for begging in five other countries in the last 16 months. Last month, the interior minister had said that the government would block the passports of Pakistanis deported, and tighten the process of issuing new travel documents. Around 106 Pakistanis were also deported from European countries arrived in Islamabad last month. According to state-run PTV News, an important meeting, led by the interior minister, was held in Islamabad where it was decided that deportees who were coming back will have their passports cancelled and an FIR will also be registered against them. The names of the deportees will also be put on the passport control list for five years, PTV Ne...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met with Pakistani marathon runner and journalist Mona Khan and her coach Muhammad Yousaf at the CM Office in Lahore to honour their achievement in the 2025 London Marathon.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed a petition filed by former accountability adviser Shahzad Akbar challenging the acquittal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, and Salman Shehbaz in a money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The Pakistan China Institute has released a landmark report titled “Historic Change in South Asia in 16 Hours,” declaring that Pakistan has restored the balance of defensive power in the region by decisively countering Indian aggression.

In a major move to curb illegal migration and restore the country’s international reputation, Pakistan has decided to cancel the passports of individuals deported from other countries and initiate legal action against them.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday said it would continue discussions over the next fiscal year’s federal budget in the upcoming days as its mission concluded. Pakistan and the Fund had opened high-level policy talks in Islamabad on May 19 to discuss the FY2025-26 budget. As deliberations with the IMF remained inconclusive, the government has postponed the budget announcement till June 10. In a statement issued today, the IMF’s Pakistan mission chief Nathan Porter termed the recent discussions “constructive” and said: “We will continue discussions towards agreeing over the authorities’ FY26 budget over the coming days.” “Discussions focused on actions to enhance revenue — including by bolstering compliance and expanding the tax base — and prioritise expenditure,” Porter added. “We held constructive discussions with the authorities on their FY2026 budget proposals and broader economic policy, and reform agenda supported by the 2024 Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the 2025 Resilience and Sustain...

Hong Kong has said it will open its universities to more international students, highlighting those affected by the US government’s move this week to block Harvard from enrolling foreign nationals. The sharp escalation in US President Donald Trump’s longstanding feud with the prestigious university came as tensions simmer between Washington and Beijing over trade and other issues. The Trump administration’s decision on Thursday — which was temporarily halted by a US judge after Harvard sued — has thrown the future of thousands of foreign students and the lucrative income stream they provide into doubt. On Friday, Hong Kong Education Secretary Christine Choi called on universities in the Chinese city to welcome “outstanding students from all over the world”. “For international students affected by the United States’ student admission policy, the Education Bureau (EDB) has appealed to all universities in Hong Kong to provide facilitation measures for eligible students,” Choi said in a statement, noting the ban ...