Pakistan

Pakistan has called for the immediate restoration of normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, warning at the United Nations that ongoing disruptions are affecting global trade, energy supplies and vulnerable populations.

Bushra Bibi, the spouse of Imran Khan, was moved from prison to a hospital, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said on Friday.

An Australian court granted bail on Friday to former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, charged with murdering unarmed prisoners captured in Afghanistan following a sweeping war crimes probe. The towering soldier became a household name across Australia when he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2011, a medal reserved for only the most courageous wartime exploits. But a landmark military report in 2020 revealed grave allegations against Australian troops sent to fight Taliban forces, accusing elite units of torture, summary executions and “body count” competitions. This month Roberts-Smith was charged with five counts of “war crime — murder”, with police alleging he was complicit in a string of unlawful killings between 2009 and 2012. After ten days behind bars he was granted bail, with Judge Greg Grogin telling a Sydney court that the former soldier faced the prospect of “years and years” in jail before his case went to trial. In court via video link, Roberts-Smith appeared impassive as he was shown on screen in a gr...

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Friday signed an agreement to extend a $3 billion deposit from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). Saudi Arabia, earlier this week, pledged an additional $3 billion in deposits for Pakistan and extended its existing $5bn facility for a further three years. “The agreement, signed between the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), provides for the extension in the maturity of a USD 3 billion deposit placed by SFD with the State Bank of Pakistan,” said a post on X by the Ministry of Finance. The ministry said that the agreement was signed between SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed and Chief Executive Officer of the SFD Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad. Minister for Finance and Muhammad Aurangzeb witnessed the signing of an important financial agreement in Washington, DC, in the presence of Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States. The development took place on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings. The ministry added that the extension of the...

KARACHI: Setting aside a conviction in a sexual assault case, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has deplored that the underage victim was subjected to trauma by both the police and his own father. A two-judge SHC bench, headed by Justice Omar Sial, observed that the victim’s father and the investigating officer had weakened the prosecution’s case to the extent that reasonable doubt was created. The court further noted that the investigation was not conducted with the sensitivity required in a case involving a juvenile. The bench also remarked that the prosecution had been callous in attempting to prove the charge of sodomy during the trial while lawyers for the parties displayed insensitivity during the recording of the victim’s statement. It emphasised that the primary duty to regulate proceedings lay with the trial court, which should have exercised greater care given the involvement of a minor, particularly as the medical evidence did not support the prosecution’s allegations. In October last year, a sessions cou...

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim shake hands in Doha; and (right) Field Marshal Asim Munir meets Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran.—Reuters/AFP • Claims Iran has accepted ‘almost everything’ in talks • Nuclear issue remains key sticking point; US presses for complete dismantlement • Pakistan-led diplomacy, CDF’s Tehran visit gain global attention • FO says Pakistan maintaining ‘open channels’ with both sides • Massive security deployment planned in Islamabad, Rawalpindi WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he may travel to Islamabad if a final agreement with Iran is signed there, while claiming that Tehran has accepted “almost everything” currently under negotiation. Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn before departing for Nevada and Arizona, Trump expressed optimism about Pakistan-led diplomatic efforts to end hostilities and secure a settlement before the current ceasefire expires. “If a deal is signed in Islamabad, I may go,...

• Recommends tax reduction for sake of affordability; Qamar likens income tax on phones to sales tax • Senate committee questions high SMS alert charges ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Thursday expressed concern over the high tax burden on mobile phones, directing the Tax Policy Office (TPO) in the Ministry of Finance to submit a detailed report on the existing taxation structure for both imported and locally manufactured devices. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by MNA Naveed Qamar, observed that income tax on mobile phones was effectively being treated as a sales tax and directed the authorities to review the practice. The committee also asked for a detailed written note outlining the rationale, revenue implications and policy objectives behind the current tax regime. FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial briefed the committee on the mobile taxation. After a presentation, the committee recommended a reduction in mobile phone taxes. Tax officials assured the committee that ...

• Duration nearly three times more than what was announced earlier • Minister cites LNG import disruption, Middle East crisis as key factors • Shortfall estimated at 3,400MW • Demand spikes from 9,000MW to 20,000MW in days • Nuclear plant maintenance postponed to boost supply ISLAMABAD: Power Minister Awais Leghari on Thursday confirmed six to seven hours of load management — almost three times higher than the government’s public commitment — citing a sudden surge in demand, non-availability of imported gas and lower water discharges for irrigation. Speaking at a news conference, the minister said power shortfalls had been caused by disruptions to LNG imports due to the Middle East crisis and by lower provincial irrigation water requirements, both of which he said were beyond the government’s control. However, he insisted that the government was making every possible effort to minimise both outages and potential tariff increases arising from the use of expensive alternative fuels. In this regard, he said the ...

A 10-day ceasefire deal agreed between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday while US President Donald Trump said he was trying to set up the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries. The ceasefire was announced by Trump on Thursday. Israel has been carrying out deadly attacks in Lebanon against the backdrop of a now-paused US-Israeli war on Iran. The war spilled into Lebanon on March 2, with an attack by Hezbollah against Israel. Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since and forced more than 1.2 million ​to flee, Lebanese authorities say. Israel says Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March ​2. Trump announced the agreement between the two sides on a ceasefire in a Truth Social post, saying that he had “excellent conversations” with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countri...

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that if a deal with Iran to end the war was reached and signed in Islamabad, he might go there, claiming that Iran had agreed to almost everything. He also said that the US and Iran were “very close” to signing a peace deal. Trump struck an optimistic tone about Iran as he spoke with reporters on the White House lawn on his way to a trip to Nevada and Arizona. Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has been engaged in feverish diplomacy, seeking to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table after the Islamabad Talks over the weekend yielded no result. Now, there are reports that the negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Islamabad. The talks were held as a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran remained in effect. The ceasefire paused hostilities that began with the US-Israeli strikes on February 28. During the conversation at the White House, Trump was asked if he would go to Pakistan to seal the deal himself, t...

After wrapping up visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday arrived in Turkiye’s Antalya on the third leg of his tri-nation tour, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO later said that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, paid a courtesy call on PM Shehbaz, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi were also present at the meeting. “During their cordial conversation, Foreign Minister Fidan extended a warm welcome to PM Shehbaz and thanked him for his participation in the upcoming Antalya Diplomacy Forum. He said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was looking forward to his meeting with the PM on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum,” the PMO said. It added that PM Shehbaz thanked FM Fidan for the warm welcome and traditional hospitality. “He said it was a pleasure for him to visit Turkiye, his second home. He was looking forward to the opportunity to participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum and sa...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir held a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during his official visit to Iran, according to media reports.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Türkiye on Thursday following the completion of his visit to Qatar, as he begins a new leg of his regional engagements.

HARIPUR: At least eight people, including children, were killed and 11 others were injured after a Sui Northern Gas supply line located near a factory burst and caught fire in the Hattar Industrial Estate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Haripur district, officials said. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Dr Munawwar Afridi from Haripur district headquarters hospital (DHQ), who is also associated with the rural health centre (RHC) in the Kot Najibullah union council, told Dawn that three of the bodies were brought to the DHQ and five others to the RHC. Haripur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Waseem Ahmed told Dawn it appeared that the deaths were mainly caused by suffocation. He separately told the media that three to four nearby houses located within a radius of 200 kilometres of the factory had been affected by the fire. Muhammad Amir, an official of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL), told Dawn that the affected supply line had a diameter of 16 inches and supplied gas to industrial estates up to Ab...

US President Donald Trump on Thursday indicated he could visit Islamabad if a nuclear agreement with Iran is finalised there, describing ongoing negotiations as “very positive.

ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice of Pakistan, in his capacity as the Chairman, National Judicial (Policy Making) Committee (NJPMC), Thursday chaired a high-level consultative meeting at the Supreme Court of Pakistan to deliberate on measures aimed at enhancing efficiency, strengthening coordination, and ensuring the timely.

LAHORE - A new phase in railway transport has been set in motion in Punjab following the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the provincial government and Pakistan Railways, aimed at upgrading services and expanding connectivity across the province.

Islamabad - In a resolute display of preparedness and precision-strike capability, Pakistan Navy successfully conducted a Live Weapon Firing of an indigenously developed Ship-Launched Anti-Ship Missile, accurately engaging its target with high speed at extended range.

ISLAMABAD - A new UK programme will strengthen Pakistan’s ability to generate credible geological data and unlock growth in the mining and minerals sector across the country.

ISLAMABAD - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said it has received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, boosting foreign exchange reserves and providing support to the country’s external position.