Pakistan

North Korea’s defence minister warned on Saturday of more “offensive action”, as Washington and Seoul criticised Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile launch. North Korea’s missile launch on Friday came just over a week after US President Donald Trump — on a tour of the region — expressed interest in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Pyongyang did not respond to the offer. Pyongyang’s defence minister No Kwang Chol said Washington “has become brazen in its military moves to threaten the security” of the North, and that it was “intentionally escalating the political and military tension in the region”. “We will show more offensive action against the enemies’ threat,” he said, according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Earlier in the week, before Friday’s launch, US Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and his South Korean counterpart visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) where they “reaffirmed the strong combined defence posture and close cooperation” between their countries. On Wedn...

• Okays Rs960bn sovereign guarantee for Rs1.225tr loans from local banks • Says remittance incentives to be phased out with caution • Gas allocated to fertiliser sector; LNG cost adjustments cleared for tariffs ISLAMABAD: The Econo­mic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Fri­day approved an inter-corporate circular debt settlement plan, including tariff rationalisation for all six operational nuclear power plants in line with other power producers, thus also paving the way to wind up Power Holding Ltd (PHL), a shell company created to park old circular debt. The meeting of the ECC, pre­­sided over by Finance Mi­­nister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also approved about Rs660 billion in sovereign guarantees for Rs1.225 trillion in commercial loans from local banks for circular debt settlement and the diversion of gas for fertiliser plants. As finalised by the military-led task force on power sector reforms in line with similar previous renegotiations with private and government-ow­ned power plants earlier this...

WASHINGTON: The United States accused Iran on Friday of “plotting to assassinate” Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, in what would be the latest attempt to take the two countries’ conflict to another region. A US official said the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force initiated the plot late last year and that it was disrupted this year. “The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat,” the US official said. The US official did not provide detailed evidence or say how the plot was contained. The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment. According to the US official, the alleged plot would have taken place after April 1 last year, when Israel attacked the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, killing several top officers of the Revolutionary Guards. Israel carried out a much more extensive bombing campaign in Iran this year that killed more than 1,000 people. The United States joined by bombing key nuclear sites. Iran has been a critical supporter of Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Stri...

ISLAMABAD: The number of Afghan nationals arrested and detained in Pakistan surged by 146 per cent in a single week, a spike linked to the reopening of border crossings, according to a joint report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). A total of 7,764 Afghan nationals were arrested and detained in the week ending Nov 1, a significant increase from the previous week, the report said. Of those arrested between Oct 26 and Nov 1, Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and undocumented Afghans accounted for 77pc, while Proof of Registration (PoR) card holders represented the remaining 23 pc, it added. The report noted that 86pc of the arrests and detentions occurred in Balochistan. Across the country, the top three districts for arrests and detentions between Jan 1 and Nov 1, 2025, were Chagi, Attock and Quetta. Links the surge to reopening of border crossings; reveals Balochistan is epicentre of the crackdown The rate of returns and deportations also rose sharply in ...

• Muslim diplomats parsing US resolution carefully, expect it to ‘evolve’ • Azerbaijan will only send peacekeepers ‘if fighting stops’ WASHINGTON: President Don­ald Trump said on Thursday that he expects a US-coordinated International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to be on the ground in Gaza “very soon”. The multinational force — likely to include troops from Mus­lim countries such as Egypt, Qat­ar, Turkiye, etc — is part of Trump’s post-war governance plan for Gaza. The plan helped lead to a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 10, but the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has not abated. “It’s going to be very soon. And Gaza is working out very well,” Trump said at a White House fun­ction with Central Asian leaders. “You haven’t been hearing too much about problems, and I’ll tell you, we’ve had countries that have volunteered if there’s a problem with Hamas.” The force is supposed to train and support vetted Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, with backing from Egypt and Jordan. It also will be tas...

ISLAMABAD: The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) have raised urgent concerns over Pakistan’s escalating climate vulnerability and environmental degradation, warning that unchecked population growth and dwindling natural resources could deepen the country’s fragility. These observations and recommendations emerged during the closing plenary of the 28th Sustainable Development Conference held on Friday, where experts — including representatives from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — underscored the need for immediate action. World Bank Country Director Dr Bolormaa Amgabazar said that Pakistan faces alarmingly high vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters, compounded by escalating air and water pollution. At the same time, the country’s rapid population growth — among the highest globally — is placing immense strain on its already depleting natural resources, posing serious long-term risks to environmental and economic stability. She said that the Climate and Count...

ISLAMABAD: Backed by record interest income of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), a 30 per cent surge in petroleum levy collection and strong provincial cash surpluses, the government on Friday reported one of its rare fiscal surpluses — at 1.6pc of GDP — in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, slightly below last year’s 1.7pc. According to the Ministry of Finance’s fiscal operations report for July-September 2025, the overall budget balance showed a surplus of Rs2.12 trillion in absolute terms, up 10pc from Rs1.896tr in the same period last year. As a share of GDP, the surplus slipped marginally from 1.7pc to 1.6pc. Last year eventually closed with a 5.4pc deficit, as rising expenditures gradually offset the one-time impact of SBP profits. The primary balance — the difference between total revenue and expenditure, excluding interest payments — stood at 2.7pc of GDP this year, slightly lower than last year’s 2.8pc. In absolute terms, however, the primary surplus grew 8.4pc to Rs3.497tr, compared to Rs...

PESHAWAR: ‘Dispara­ging’ remarks from Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Soh­ail Afridi, regarding ongoing security operations in the province, drew strong condemnation from politicians, religious leaders, and journalists on Friday. The offending remarks came during CM Afridi’s interaction with the media outside Adiala jail a day earlier, after he was once again denied an audience with PTI founder Imran Khan. During his media talk, he alleged that the sanctity of worship places was violated when sniffer dogs were brought there, while also making disparaging remarks about security personnel. However, he claimed that despite everything, they still supported the security forces. Reacting to the statement, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned Mr Afridi’s words, while Awami National Party (ANP) chief Senator Aimal Wali Khan termed it an “attempt to incite religious sentiments”. “I condemn any rhetoric that seeks to undermine the honour and sacrifice of our armed forces,” the governor wrote on X. He sa...

DG ISI-led delegation heads back to country; Minister says Pak concerns centred on security; Turkiye, Qatar lauded

Shehbaz, Aliyev discuss multi-dimensional cooperation

The 54-year-old former Barcelona and Spain midfielder has won 715 of his 999 games so far

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The Kazakh fired 15 aces and won 73 percent of her first-serve points on her way to a hard-fought win.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that the talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan are “over” and have “entered an indefinite phase” as negotiators failed to bridge deep differences between the two sides. “Right now, as we speak, negotiations are over,” said the defence minister while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’. Earlier, officials and sources said the talks stalled without any agreement. “The talks in Istanbul are deadlocked,” a senior security source told reporters, confirming that discussions had hit an impasse. The third round of Pakistan–Afghanistan talks began on Thursday in Istanbul and was planned to continue for two days. The defence minister added that the Afghan Taliban delegation again came to Istanbul “without any programme” and that they were not willing to sign a written agreement. “They said that they would only respect the verbal agreement, but there is no room to do that.” Asif elaborated that during the earlier rounds, the negotiators urged for a...

She clocked 12 aces and saved six of nine break points to book her place in the final for a second time

October inflows offer relief as imports hit $6.1b, highest since March 2022

Targets Rs3.6tr in treasury bills, Rs1.7tr in bonds, Rs275b in sukuk, plus Rs200b buyback

Oppose bulk charges accumulated over several years in petition submitted to OGRA

Govt seeks Rs3.3tr for mega dams as country faces scarcity, flooding challenges and India's water aggression

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