Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Coordinated by the Centre, the provincial governments will now be taking the lead in administering subsidised fuel quotas to motorcyclists, farmers and transporters, involving a fiscal impact of around Rs65-70 billion per month. On Thursday night, while announcing an unprecedented hike in the prices of petroleum products, the federal government had also announced targeted relief measures for motorcyclists, small farmers and transporters. To ensure national uniformity, the provincial chief ministers and their teams were in elaborate discussions on the nitty-gritty with the Centre over the past week. Based on that, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced Rs70,000, Rs80,000 and Rs100,000 per month to food transport vehicles, large trucks and public service buses, respectively. In addition, support of Rs1,500 per acre was also announced for small farmers, given the central priority to minimise food inflation. The announcements were based on elaborate datasets from the provincial governments and t...

United States President Donald Trump asked lawmakers on Friday to approve a massive $1.5 trillion defence budget for 2027, as the country faces rising costs from its war on Iran and mounting global security commitments. The proposal would lift Pentagon spending by more than 40 per cent in a single year — the sharpest increase since World War II — as Washington seeks to sustain military operations and rebuild depleted weapons stockpiles. The request highlights the growing financial pressure of a conflict now in its fifth week, and sets up a political battle in Congress over how to fund a dramatic expansion of military spending. US media — citing closed-door congressional briefings — have reported that the Iran war could be costing as much as $2 billion per day, underscoring the scale of the burden even before longer-term reconstruction and resupply costs are factored in. To offset part of the increase, the administration is proposing around $73bn in cuts to non-defence spending — roughly 10pc — targeting a ran...

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Friday said that the prices of petroleum products had increased due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, adding that the government “has nothing to do with it”. His remarks come a day after an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55pc in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD), respectively, to cushion the impact of global oil price shocks amid the US-Israel war on Iran. The decision was heavily criticised by the government’s opponents. In a televised address, Sanaullah said that there was no example of such an increase in global petroleum prices in the past. “This rise is also hitting Pakistan, that’s why we increased petrol and diesel prices yesterday,” he said. He said that before announcing the hike in prices, the government undertook major austerity measures. “The government spent Rs129 billion and didn’t allow the burden to pass on to the public for the past three weeks,” he said. However, this could not go on forever, he sa...

The Sindh and Punjab governments announced a host of relief measures on Friday, a day after the Centre announced an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55pc in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD), respectively, to cushion the impact of global oil price shocks amid the US-Israel war on Iran. The Sindh government also announced support for small-scale farmers and transporters. Meanwhile, the Punjab government said it was making public transport free, introducing a targeted monthly subsidy for transporters, a diesel subsidy for wheat-growing farmers and a subsidy for motorcyclists. At the same time, public transport in the federal capital was also made free for the next 30 days, starting from Saturday. Sindh announces fuel subsidy for motorcyclists In a press conference in Karachi, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah announced the Sindh government will provide motorcyclists Rs2,000 as part of a fuel subsidy under a scheme unveiled by the federal government a day earlier. At the outset of the p...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has granted major relief to railway passengers by directing Pakistan Railways to freeze fares despite rising diesel costs.

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, on Friday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking the urgent fixation of their appeals to set aside the conviction in the Toshakhana I case and to suspend the sentence in the £190 million corruption case, citing “inordinate delays” and “dilatory tactics” by the prosecution. On March 31, the IHC adjourned the hearing of the suspension of sentence applications filed by Imran and Bushra in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case after the defence counsel sought time to obtain fresh instructions from his clients. In a series of petitions filed under Section 561-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the couple has also requested that the court direct the jail authorities to facilitate unhindered meetings with their legal team for necessary consultations. The petitioners, in their appeal filed today, sought the early fixation of appeals of the couple against conviction for final adjudication. These appeals challenged the judgment de...

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday withdrew the increase in toll taxes, freezing all adjustments for the current fiscal year, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the Pakistan Railways not to increase fares for any class. The decision regarding toll taxes was taken in a high-level review meeting of the National Highway Authority (NHA), chaired by Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan, to align national infrastructure goals with immediate public relief. “Acting on the special directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the minister used the session to officially rescind the 25 per cent quarterly increase in toll taxes, freezing all adjustments for the 2025-26 fiscal year,” it said. According to state-run APP, the minister directed the NHA to withdraw its notification issued on April 1 and halt the increase that was scheduled to take effect from April 5. A notification by the NHA to this effect was also shared by the communications ministry on the social media platform X. On March 24, APP had...

China called on Friday for Palestinians’ rights to be protected after Israel approved a bill to allow the execution of Palestinians convicted on terror charges for deadly attacks. Under the new law, passed by Israel’s parliament on Monday, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank convicted by military courts of carrying out deadly attacks classified as “terrorism” will face the death penalty as a default sentence. “The legal rights of the Palestinian people should be respected and protected,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said when asked about the bill at a press briefing on Friday. “We also hope relevant parties will cease actions that escalate tensions and exacerbate conflict,” she said, without mentioning Israel by name. “China believes that any law should fulfil legal principles such as equality and justice and should not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion or nationality or political views,” Mao added. A host of countries have criticised the bill, which was supported by Israeli...

The National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned of rain, snowfall, thunder, lightning, and strong winds across most parts of the country over the next 12 to 24 hours as a westerly weather system grips the region, urging citizens to remain cautious and adopt safety measures.

The impact of the ongoing US-Iran war on ordinary Pakistani households and business is already being felt. With petrol at Rs458 per litre and diesel at over Rs520, citizens are going to be facing real challenges once more. For a country that only recently suffered inflation rates that peaked at 40 per cent, this conflict could not have come at a worse time. But the crisis can also be an opportunity for Pakistan, and given the bottom-up solar revolution the country has experienced over the last few years, the building blocks are already there for the country to be future ready. Before getting into how this can be done, one must acknowledge that the government’s decision to pass on the price increase was the right call. In a country with limited fiscal space, broad-based subsidies are a luxury Islamabad simply cannot afford. A prolonged subsidy program would hurt, not benefit, households and businesses because of the inflationary pressures that would have been created by an expanding fiscal deficit funded by cr...

In a move aimed at easing financial pressure on commuters, the government has rolled back the recent increase in toll taxes on national highways following directives from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

In a move aimed at easing the burden of rising inflation, the federal government has decided to offer free public transport services across Islamabad for a period of one month.

Negotiations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are advancing steadily, China said on Friday, following reports that the South Asian neighbours were meeting there to try to end their worst conflict since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

In response to soaring fuel prices and ongoing global economic pressures, the Punjab government has introduced a comprehensive relief package offering free public transport and financial support for farmers and motorcyclists.

Amid a sharp rise in fuel prices triggered by the ongoing energy crisis, the Sindh government has unveiled a financial relief package targeting motorcyclists, farmers, and the transport sector.

Dozens of countries sought ways to restart vital energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after US President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive attacks on Iran, sending oil prices higher again and deepening strain on consumers. After speculation proved untrue that Trump might discuss ending the war in a speech on Wednesday, the president persisted with threats on Thursday, saying in a social media post: “IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”. He also posted video of the US bombing a newly constructed bridge on Thursday between Tehran and the major northwest suburb of Karaj. The B1 bridge was scheduled to open to traffic this year. According to Iran’s state media, eight people were killed and 95 others were wounded in the US attack. “Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender,” Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a statement. In the speech on Wednesday night, Trump repeated his threats against Iran’s civilian po...

ISLAMABAD: The country’s first National Forensic Agency formally began operation on Friday, the Ministry of Interior said. The agency was established under the “The National Forensic Agency Bill, 2024”, which was passed into law in 2024. In a statement on X, the ministry said that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the headquarters on Friday, expressing hope that “the institution will assist in national security matters and curtailing crime”. The minister, during his visit, said that the agency will provide support to law enforcement agencies across Pakistan, directing the NFA to establish offices in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan. He also directed that the services provided by the agency should be “widely publicised”. Director General NFA Hasnaat Rasool briefed the interior minister on the agency’s progress, informing that the “first phase” had been completed. He informed Naqvi that the agency was providing services “in the field of digital forensics, including deepfake fo...

The federal government has decided to introduce additional measures under its fuel conservation policy, including the early closure of markets, as it seeks to manage rising energy costs and ensure adequate fuel supply.

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly has “surrendered Rs472.1 million” to the treasury as part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s austerity measures, said a statement by the NA Secretariat on Friday. The statement said that austerity measures in the lower house were being carried out under the directives of NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. “In compliance with austerity directives and in support of prudent governance, the secretariat has effected a Rs21 million reduction in the salaries of Members of the National Assembly, which has been deposited into the Prime Minister’s Austerity Fund 2026 to further contribute to national financial resources,” added the statement. The development came after PM Shehbaz announced a host of austerity measures to conserve fuel in view of the global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. As part of the contingency plan, the government introduced wide-ranging steps to reduce fuel consumption, including a four-day working week for government offices, a 50 per cent reduction in fue...

BANNU: A suicide car bomb attack at the Domel Police Station in Bannu killed at least five civilians, while 13 others were injured, including one policeman. Among the deceased are a husband, wife, daughter, and son from the same family. The explosion occurred when an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into the rear side of the police station, triggering a massive blast followed by an exchange of gunfire. The intensity of the explosion was so powerful that it was heard miles away. According to initial reports, the blast completely destroyed the sentry post of the police station, while a large portion of the building was reduced to rubble. Citizens engage in relief activities on Friday morning after the suicide bombing. — Photo by author The explosion also caused severe damage to nearby residential areas, with multiple houses collapsing and several people trapped under the debris. According to Rescue 1122, the injured were immediately shifted to nearby hospitals, where some are reported to be in critical condition...