Pakistan

Pakistan has received a disbursement of $1.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday that it had received $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the global money lending agency approved the review of Pakistan’s loan programmes. In a statement on social media platform X, the central bank said that the Fund’s Executive Board had completed the second review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in a meeting held in Washington earlier this week. “Accordingly, the SBP has received SDR 914 million (equivalent to about $ 1.2 billion) under the EFF and RSF in value [on] Dec 10, 2025 from the IMF,” the central bank said. “The amount would be reflected in SBP’s foreign exchange reserves for the week ending on Dec 12,” it added. Earlier this week, the Fund had approved the fresh disbursement of $1.2bn to Pakistan under its dual-track bailout — the 37-month EFF and the climate-focused RSF. With this tranche, total disbursements to Pakistan under the EFF and RSF now stan...

Pakistan told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday that terrorism emanating from Afghan soil posed the “gravest threat” to the country’s national security and sovereignty. Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad made the remarks while addressing a debate in New York on the situation in Afghanistan. In his statement, he highlighted Islamabad’s concerns about security, humanitarian, and socio-economic challenges emerging from neighbouring Afghanistan. Briefing the UNSC on Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021, the ambassador said Pakistan had maintained consistent engagement with the Afghan Taliban, conducting high-level visits, facilitating humanitarian relief, supporting the transportation of goods, and announcing trade and transit concessions. Despite these efforts, he said, threats persisted, creating mounting security challenges for Pakistan and the wider region. “Afghanistan is once again a saf...

Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday launched the last nationwide polio campaign of 2025 aiming to vaccinate over 45 million children against the crippling disease, noting that the number of cases in the country had reduced in comparison to last year. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. So far, the country has recorded 30 polio cases, with the highest number of cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 19. Launching the last polio campaign of the year — set to run from December 15 to December 2 — at a ceremony in Islamabad, the minister noted the decline in cases in comparison to 2024, saying, “We have succeeded in reducing polio cases in the country.” He recalled that Pakistan had recorded 74 cases in 2024; however, this year the country only saw 30 cases. The minister said that the virus was “present in more than half of the country,” including Peshawar, Karachi, and Lahore. He stated that the government remained “determined to eliminate the ...

Renewed fighting raged at the border of Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday, with combat heard near centuries-old temples, ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned phone call to the two nations’ leaders. At least 15 people, including Thai soldiers and Cambodian civilians, have been killed in the reignited border conflict, officials said. More than half a million people, mostly in Thailand, have fled border areas near where jets, tanks and drones have waged battle. The Southeast Asian nations dispute the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier, where both sides claim a smattering of historic temples. This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed, following intervention by Trump. The US president said he expected to speak on Thursday with the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia to demand a halt to their renewed clashes. “I think I’m scheduled to speak to them tomorrow,” Trump told reporters at the White Hou...

Nobel laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado emerged from hiding to make her first public appearance in almost a year, waving to supporters from the balcony of her Oslo hotel early on Thursday. Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power, did not arrive in Norway in time for Wednesday’s prize ceremony. Her daughter collected the prestigious award on her behalf, and delivered a blistering acceptance speech in her stead. The Venezuelan democracy campaigner made it to the Norwegian capital hours later, and went straight to see her family, Nobel Prize Committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said. From the balcony of the Grand Hotel, Machado later greeted a crowd of jubilant supporters, who sang and shouted “libertad” (freedom), according to AFP journalists. Machado, who has been living in hiding in Venezuela, was last seen in public on January 9, when she protested Maduro’s inauguration for his third term. In her Nobel acceptance speech, the ...

ISLAMABAD - The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), in connection with the observance of International Anti-Corruption Day, organized an anti-corruption awareness walk in Islamabad today, spearheaded by NAB Rawalpindi/Islamabad.

LAHORE - Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chair­man Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said that some politi­cal forces are targeting institutions through social media and the aim of such behaviour is to weaken institu­tions, which is harmful to the country.

PM Shehbaz Sharif says country can’t progress without eliminating terrorism, extremism, sectarianism n Urges Ulema to promote harmony, brotherhood n Field Marshal Asim Munir says Pakistan doesn’t strike enemy from hiding rather it eliminates them openly n Terrorism is not Pakistan’s problem but India’s:.

PESHAWAR: Treasury members in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Wednesday flayed the military spokesperson’s what they called humiliating remarks against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founder Imran Khan and provincial Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, triggering uproar in the house. During a sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker Suriyya Bibi, the assembly witnessed ruckus and adjournment when the opposition PML-N’s woman lawmaker, Sobia Shahid, displayed a picture of Army Chief and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. The chair ordered security personnel to remove the picture. She censured Ms Shahid, saying the CDF represents the military and not her party. “You should talk about your own performance as the lawmaker instead of displaying the CDF’s picture,” she observed before adjourning the sitting due to commotion. Earlier, members of the ruling PTI complained that the country faced serious challenges like the poor law and order situation, financial stress and political instability. They insisted that...

ISLAMABAD - The United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Interna­tional Development Baroness Jenny Chapman called on Dep­uty Prime Minister and For­eign Minister Senator Moham­mad Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Wednesday.

• Highlight ‘urgent’ crisis following India’s revocation of disputed region’s special status; call for self-determination vote as per UN’s 1948 resolution • Hamish Falconer insists lasting resolution rests solely with India and Pakistan LONDON: British lawmakers on Wednesday urged their government to support self-determination for the disputed region of Ja­m­­mu and Kashmir, and called on it to press India on human rights. However, a minister reaffirmed the UK’s long-standing policy on the decades-old dispute during a parliamentary debate by saying “we believe in diplomacy”, with a renewed push for bilateral talks between India and Pakistan. The debate “Kashmir: Self-determination”, in Westminster Hall, saw several members of parliament calling for a more active British role, citing concerns from their large British-Kashmiri constituencies. The session was led by Labour MP Imran Hussain, who described the situation as an urgent human rights issue. For the people of [India-held] Kashmir, this is not a distant ...

• PTI slams water cannon ‘assault’ on Imran’s sisters and party workers, warns against his transfer to another jail • Privilege motion moved in NA after Khattak injured in melee • Opposition plans ‘national conference’ on Dec 20-21; says party founder inseparable from nation, politics • PM’s aide says all doors to talks with PTI now closed as party passed ‘point of no return’ • Gohar wants ‘common sense’ to prevail, questions move to isolate major party RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: Politi­cal temperatures rose further on Wedne­sday, as Rawalpindi police sought a legal opinion on the question of registering an FIR against PTI leaders and supporters over a protest outside Adiala jail, even as the party moved a privilege motion in the National Assembly over alleged use of force against its workers, and voiced alarm at reports of Imran Khan’s possible transfer to another prison. The PTI also joined other opposition parties in warning that efforts to “minus” the incarcerated former premier and clamp down on peaceful prot...

IT IS strategically possible for Dhaka to join a regional bloc with Paki­stan at some point — one that does not include India — unlike other South Asian states, a top Ban­gladeshi official said on Wednesday. The state-owned Bang­ladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency quoted Dha­ka’s Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain as saying: “It is possible for us (Bang­ladesh) strategically … (but) it is not possible for Nepal or Bhutan to form a grouping with Pakistan excluding India”. His remarks are being interpreted as a response to a statement by Pakis­tan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the recent ‘Islamabad Conclave’, where he had said a trilateral initiative involving Bangladesh, China and Pakistan had begun and may expand to include countries within and beyond the region. According to the Bang­ladeshi outlet, Mr Hossain said Mr Dar “has said something, and perhaps at some point this could see some progress”. In August, Foreign Minister Dar visited Bangladesh for the first time in 13 years. PM Shehbaz Sharif and Bangl...

The United States has approved the sale of advanced technology and support for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets, valued at $686 million, according to a letter the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent to Congress on December 8. The package includes Link–16 systems, cryptographic equipment, avionics updates, training, and comprehensive logistical support. The DSCA letter makes clear the rationale for the sale, stating that it “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency operations.” The proposed sale is also aimed at modernising Pakistan’s F-16 fleet and addressing operational safety concerns. The letter notes that it will “maintain Pakistan’s capability to meet current and future threats by updating and refurbishing its Block–52 and Mid Life Upgrade F–16 fleet.” These updates will provide more “seamless integ...

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Says progress hinges on terror elimination; CDF Munir urges Ulema to help foster unity

PM's aide says things have reached a point of no return

Demands access to PTI founder; condemns police action against party leaders, workers and Imran's family members

Says PPP cannot be accused of being a beneficiary of Form 47