Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that providing relief to the common man in the upcoming budget was the government’s priority, and all-out resources will be utilized to reduce the financial difficulties of the poor and middle class.

ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Friday spoke on the telephone with the Foreign Minister of Türkiye, Hakan Fidan and discussed with him about the ongoing situation in the region.

ISLAMABAD - Parliamentarians from the treasury and the opposition in the National Assembly, staying united over the national cause, yesterday expressed their commitment to support Pakistan’s Armed Forces against the Indian aggression.

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ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister of Japan Iwaya Takeshi yesterday telephoned Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and expressed deep concern over the evolving situation between Pakistan and India.

ISLAMABAD - US Acting Ambassador Natalie Baker called on Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi for the second time within 48 hours amidst escalation between Pakistan and India.

In a robust and sweeping retaliatory action named "Operation Bunyan ul Marsoos", Pakistan launched a series of coordinated missile and cyber strikes against India late last night.

In a poignant and powerful response to recent Indian aggression, the Pakistan Army on Saturday morning launched an Al-Fateh missile strike dedicated to the memory of innocent children martyred in unprovoked Indian attacks on civilian areas.

In a major escalation of hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, Pakistan has launched a large-scale military and cyber counteroffensive in response to unprovoked missile strikes by India on multiple Pakistani airbases.

“THIS has been shared thousands of times. Could it be true?” asked a senior team member of ‘Sachee Khabar’, a fact-checking initiative we had launched, coinciding, by chance, with the 2019 Pakistan-India conflict, which unleashed a torrent of disinformation online. The query concerned a viral post from an account claiming to be a ‘mainstream’ Indian news outlet, alleging that the Indian Air Force had shot down a Pakistani F-16 and captured its pilot. The claim eerily mirrored an incident from earlier that day, involving Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, whose MIG-21 was shot down, leading to his capture by Pakistani forces. The post, we later found, was deliberately crafted to exploit the emotional weight of that event, misleading audiences at a volatile moment. It gained such overwhelming traction on X that even an experienced fact-checker almost fell for it. Fortunately, we were able to debunk it, but the incident underscores how easily falsehoods can outrun facts, especially when they prey on nat...

• Writes to CJP, faults IT dept for not publishing verdict on SC’s website • Says ECP acted like contesting party against PTI in reserved seats case ISLAMABAD: The ongoing rift within the Supreme Court deepened on Friday as Justice Ayesha A. Malik formally complained to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi about the non-publication of her dissenting order in the reserved seats case. Justice Malik, along with Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, had earlier dismissed a set of review petitions filed by the PML-N, PPP and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). They stated that written reasons would be released shortly. However, while the orders were issued on Thursday, they were not uploaded to the Supreme Court’s website. In a single-page complaint to the CJP, Justice Malik expressed concern that her dissenting order, issued at 3:11pm on Thursday, had not been uploaded until Friday morning despite repeated instructions to the Supreme Court’s IT department. Justice Malik said she had been informed that the de...

VEHARI - District Police Officer (DPO) Vehari, Muhammad Afzal, visited Mailsi Circle, holding open courts in Zaheerabad Shaheed and Chak No.

THE April 22 Pahalgam incident has evoked a hysterical reaction from India, which has attacked Pakistani and Azad Kashmir cities killing innocent civilians, including children, and damaging the Neelum-Jhelum hydel works. Within five minutes of the Pahalgam attack, Indian media started pointing fingers at Pakistan alleging it had enabled the terrorist attack. Two weeks later, India attacked without providing a shred of evidence of Pakistan’s alleged involvement. The purpose of this article is to urge Indian policymakers to avoid prolonging their actions as the political, social and economic costs for their own country are substantial, and instead, examine their policy stance dispassionately. India ranks fifth among global economies and has an impressive record of rapid economic growth, which has lifted several hundred million out of poverty. It is one of the world’s leading exporters of IT and IT-enabled services, and aspires to become a developed economy by 2047, with the size of its economy projected to rang...

THE suspension of disbelief required to follow the Indian media these days must qualify as an extreme sport. One imagines viewers needing a cup of tea and a lie-down afterwards, if only to reorient with reality. Consider, for example, the breathless ‘coverage’ that has been aired by several Indian news channels regarding their military’s campaign against Pakistan. During Thursday night’s transmissions, one claimed that Islamabad had fallen, another that Peshawar had been bombed; one that Lahore was in the crosshairs of Indian tanks, and another that the Karachi port was in flames. One promised that an F-16 had been shot down, while another that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had surrendered. But it was the gaggle of ‘experts’ on a live Times Now broadcast, excitedly proclaiming that a ground invasion of Pakistan was underway, that truly captured the absurdity of it all. Truth is the first casualty of war, but it is nonetheless jarring to witness its assassination on such an industrial scale. That the fog of wa...

• Six lives lost in AJK, including 40-day-old infant; many homes, hospitals and schools damaged by Indian fire • Worried residents of India-held Kashmir flee Uri; Omar Abdullah reports hearing heavy artillery fire in occupied Jammu MUZAFFARABAD: Amid rising tensions between the two nuclear armed neighbours, intense exchanges continued along the Line of Control on Thursday night and into Friday, with the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) PM describing the Indian bombardment as “some of the heaviest shelling in recent times”. Both Pakistan and India have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, and on Friday conflicting reports emerged of blackouts and intense shelling being heard in India-held Kashmir as well. The occupied territory’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, posted on X on Friday night, saying he could hear “intermittent sounds of blasts, probably heavy artillery”, adding that there was a blackout in held Jammu as well. While he did not mention Pakistan or accuse it of carrying out the attacks, he call...

Most Indian websites, including the BJP’s official website and the Border Security Forces (BSF), have been hacked as Pakistan’s counterattack continues, according to state-run media.

KARACHI: Hours after deciding to shift the HBL Pakistan Super (PSL) to the United Arab Emirates, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) postponed the remaining tournament, in the wake of rising military tensions with neighbouring India. The move came on the same day that the Indian cricket board announced the postponement of its own Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament for at least one week. “The last 24 hours have seen a worsening of the situation on the LoC, increased incursion of 78 drones, and the firing of surface to surface missiles from India,” the PCB said in a press release issued on Friday, adding that the decision was taken “pursuant to advice received” from PM Shehbaz Sharif. “The PCB and its players stand resolutely in solidarity with the families of the martyrs and our security personnel defending the nation,” the statement read. Meanwhile, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia said they had decided to suspend the rem­ainder of the ongoing IPL 2025 with immediate effe...

• Fund approves $1bn disbursement under EFF and $1.4bn for new climate resilience facility • India abstains from vote during Executive Board meeting • PM Shehbaz lauds economic team, slams New Delhi’s false narrative WASHINGTON: Despite Indian attempts to derail Pakistan’s loan programme, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday approved two major financing arrangements for the country — a $1 billion disbursement under the ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and a new Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) aimed at supporting climate-related initiatives. The approval unlocks a total of $2.1bn for Pakistan, including the $1.4bn under the RSF programme, which spans 28 months and is designed to bolster the country’s resilience to climate-induced shocks. In March, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on this new climate financing arrangement, alongside the first review of the 37-month, $7bn EFF programme that was approved in September 2024 — Pakistan’s 24th IMF-supported programme t...

• FO slams New Delhi’s war hysteria, says Pakistan still considers Indus treaty in force • Saudi minister arrives in Islamabad with message of concern, calls for de-escalation ISLAMABAD: South Asia — home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s population — can ill-afford the irresponsible actions like the ones being carried out by India, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Friday. At the weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said: “It is most unfortunate that India’s reckless conduct has brought the two nuclear-armed states closer to a major conflict.” His remarks came ahead of a meeting between Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir and PM Shehbaz Sharif and other top state functionaries. The Saudi official had travelled to Pakistan on Friday after completing an official visit to India. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Riyadh’s emissary “expressed heartfelt condolences over the loss of precious civilian lives”. He said the kingdom was deeply concerned about the ...

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan is operating on the defensive and had no choice but to retaliate to India’s military actions.