Pakistan

US President Donald Trump has included Pakistan among countries that he claims are “testing nuclear weapons”, saying that he did not want the US to be the only country that does not do so. “North Korea has been testing. Pakistan has been testing. […] But they don’t go and tell you about it,” he said in an interview on CBS News programme ‘60 Minutes’, where he was asked about his recent directives to the Pentagon to resume testing nuclear weapons. He also named Russia and China as testing nuclear weapons. In a recent social media post, Trump had instructed the US Department of War to resume testing nuclear weapons “immediately”. Confusion has surrounded Trump’s order that the US begin testing, particularly if he meant conducting the country’s first nuclear explosion since 1992. When the matter was brought up during the interview, Trump said: “Well, we have more nuclear weapons than any other country. I think we should do something about denuclearisation. And I did actually discuss that with both Russian Presid...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formally sought the support of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari confirmed on Sunday.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday termed Pakistan a “natural maritime bridge” between the East and the West as he inaugurated the second edition of Pakistan International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC) in Karachi. The event is being held from today to November 6 (Thursday) at Karachi’s Expo Centre, and will see the participation of 45 countries, including Pakistan. It has been organised under the overall responsibility of the Pakistan Navy and with the support and patronage of federal and provincial departments. Addressing PIMEC, Iqbal highlighted that Pakistan had a unique geography as the regions of South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa converged here, which positioned the country as a “natural maritime bridge between the East and the West”. However, despite these advantages, the maritime sector contributed less than 1pc to Pakistan’s GDP, compared to 4-7pc in several other maritime nations, he lamented. The planning minister pointed out that Pakistan had a coastline of over 1,000...

The Pakistan Navy expects its first Chinese-designed submarine to enter active service next year, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf told Chinese state media. A deal under which Islamabad will take delivery of eight Hangor-class submarines by 2028 is “progressing smoothly,” Admiral Ashraf told the Global Times in an interview published on Sunday, adding that the successful launch of the second and third submarines in China earlier this year was a major milestone for naval collaboration between the two countries. Admiral Ashraf further said that the project was not only significant for the advancement of the Pakistan Navy’s submarine force capabilities, but would also contribute toward self-reliance through transfer of technology and skill development at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, according to the report. He said that the Type 054A/P frigates marked another major achievement in China-Pakistan naval cooperation. The publication reported that such multirole frigates were already in service w...

• Fawad claims over a dozen lawmakers agree with him on need to ‘open channel with govt’; concedes he ‘doesn’t represent PTI’ • Qaiser says party ‘willing to talk to anyone’ if fair polls assured • Ismail says no ‘minus-Imran formula’ LAHORE/ISLAM­ABAD: Even as its founder remains locked up, and the party continues to lose ground, some former PTI members seem to have taken it upon themselves to end the isolation faced by their erstwhile party, proposing talks with the government and other parties to bring down political temperatures and pave the way for Imran Khan’s release. Only a day ago, a number of ex-PTI leaders, including former information minister Fawad Chaudhry and ex-Sindh governor Imran Ismail, had called on party vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi at a Lahore hospital, ostensibly to seek his blessing for their campaign — an offer Mr Qureshi did not endorse, as per his lawyer. On Sunday, Mr Chaudhry doubled down on his quest to revive the fortunes of the PTI, even as senior party leaders like Asad ...

• Urges govt to ensure market-determined, flexible exchange rate • Calls for deeper reforms to cut energy, input costs ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has asked Pakistan to improve its skewed preferential trade agreements with 10 bilateral partners, ensure a market-determined and flexible exchange rate and push deeper reforms to lower energy and other input costs to turbocharge over three decades of declining exports for sustainable economic growth. In a policy advice to the government, the bank observed that nearly all countries that have achieved rapid and durable growth have done so by tapping into global markets, but Pakistan has struggled to follow this path. “Exports have declined from 16 per cent of GDP in the 1990s to just around 10pc in 2024, with the export basket still concentrated in low-value textile and agricultural products,” it said, adding that economic upturns had been fuelled instead by debt and remittance-financed consumption, rather than export dynamism. The Washington-based lending agency has ...

Fawad Chaudhry claimed on Sunday that four jailed PTI leaders had written a letter to party founder Imran Khan around three months ago, sharing their stance that the political temperature in the country should be brought down. Fawad is one of the three ex-PTI leaders who say they have been engaging with the party’s incarcerated leadership to put an end to the politics of confrontation as part of their political outreach initiative. They also visited PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after he was taken to a hospital in Lahore from prison, on Thursday to convince him to join their campaign. But, Qureshi is said to have rebuffed their move. However, Fawad claimed on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan’ today that Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Yasmin Rashid and Mehmoodur Rasheed — all of whom were jailed following action by authorities over May 9, 2023 riots — had written a letter to Imran around three months a ago and shared their stance. He also claimed that he had been meeting Qureshi, Ejaz and Rasheed on multiple occa...

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said her team’s breakthrough Women’s World Cup triumph on Sunday was “just the beginning” as they beat South Africa by 52 runs to win the tournament for the first time. Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma starred with both bat and ball to propel India to the title in front of a jubilant home crowd at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium. Hosts India posted 298-7 and then bowled South Africa out for 246 in 45.3 overs with spinner Sharma taking five wickets after earlier contributing a vital run-a-ball 58 in the middle order. Opener Verma top-scored with 87 as India posted a challenging total after they were put in to bat in a final delayed two hours by rain. South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt hit a valiant 101 but her departure off Sharma raised the noise at the 45,000-capacity stadium, which had turned into a sea of blue. Sharma took down Nadine de Klerk, for 18, for the final wicket as India celebrated with the thousands of supporters inside the ground and millions outside in the cricket-ma...

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ISLAMABAD - At the invitation of the Turkish Foreign Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will undertake a one-day visit to Istanbul today (Monday) to attend the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said that oppression and vio-lence against journalists who speak the truth must end.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Sunday, reiterated that the Government of Pakistan is firmly committed to protecting press freedom and ensuring a safe environment for journalists.