Pakistan

After a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the two leaders envisioned an “exciting and promising future” for both countries. In a post on the social media platform X on Thursday morning, the premier echoed the statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) a day earlier. Calling it a “warm and most cordial telephone conversation”, PM Shehbaz said the two “reaffirmed our shared commitment to further strengthening the long-standing fraternal bonds between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have attained new heights in recent months”. “While expressing Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the kingdom, we also exchanged views on the regional situation, emphasising the need for unity within the Ummah and maintaining regional peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said. PM Shehbaz said he was “grateful” to the Saudi crown prince, who reaffirmed the kingdom’s desire to expand cooperation with Pakistan in all areas of mut...

The US military said Wednesday that eight people were killed in multiple new strikes on alleged drug boats, bringing the death toll in Washington’s campaign against what it says are narcotics traffickers to at least 115. US Southern Command, which is responsible for American forces operating in Central and South America, announced two sets of strikes, which were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, “three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy” were targeted in “international waters,” it said in a statement on X. “Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement. The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels,” it said. Accompanying the statement, posted on X, was a video showing the vessels traveling together at sea and then hit by a series of explosions. The exact location of the strikes was not immediately made clear. Previous strike...

Following its successful rollout in Karachi East and Shaheed Benazirabad, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has extended its mobile-based union council registration facility to Larkana and Tando Muhammad Khan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved Rs3.

At least 28 people, including women and children, were injured in incidents of aerial firing across Karachi as New Year 2026 began, according to hospital and rescue officials.

NEW DELHI: India’s opposition Congress party said on Wedne­s­day it was concerned by Beijing’s claims on helping broker the India-Pakistan truce after the military flare-up in May and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify the issue. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that the conflict between India and Pakistan in May was among the contentious matters mediated by Beijing in 2025. India has repeatedly rejected claims made by US President Donald Trump that Washington had mediated the ceasefire. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has not reacted to the claim made by Mr Wang. But it has maintained that the ceasefire with Islamabad was not the result of mediation. The decision to stop the firing was taken after the Pakistani director general of military operations had called his Indian counterpart, New Delhi has said. “China’s claims of mediating betw­een India and Pakistan are concerning — not just because they contradict what has been told to the country’s people so far, but also because ...

ISLAMABAD: After the Punjab police dispersed protesters outside the Adiala jail in the small hours of Wednesday, the opposition alliance, led by the PTI, denounced the use of water cannons against the family members of ex-prime minister Imran Khan and other party supporters. This is the third time the police have used force to break up the sit-in outside the prison. Imran’s sisters Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan, and Noreen Niazi, besides scores of supporters, have been staging weekly protests outside the jail to demand a meeting with Mr Khan. TTAP says struggle to continue despite govt ‘heavy-handedness’ Videos shared by the PTI Punjab account on the social media platform X after 1am showed water cannons targeting protesters. “In the severe cold, an attack with water cannons was carried out on unarmed, peaceful children, women, and citizens,” the X post said. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan condemned the use of water cannons and the arrest of Imran’s sisters and other PTI wor...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded a significant drop in cross-border terrorist attacks and violence-linked fatalities after it closed down the border to Afghanistan on October 11. Terrorist attacks went down by almost 17 per cent in December, preceded by 9pc decline in November. Terrorist violence-linked fatalities among civilians and security officials also fell in the last quarter of 2025, by nearly 4pc and 19pc each in November and December, shows data collected by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) as part of its annual security report 2025. With an almost 34pc surge in overall violence, the year 2025 went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade, says the report. The country has suffered a sustained escalation in violence for five consecutive years since 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan; with almost 38pc in 2021, over 15pc in 2022, 56pc in 2023, nearly 67pc in 2024, and 34pc in 2025. The comparative data for 2024 and 2025 reveals a sharp escal...

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called upon the people and political forces to recommit themselves to safeguarding the country amid global, domestic challenges and hailed the nation’s resilience and paid tribute to the country’s martyrs. In their separate New Year messages, they praised the nation’s resilience in the face of economic and security challenges. In his message, President Zardari urged the people and political forces to recommit themselves to safeguard the country’s shared future amid mounting global and domestic challenges. In his New Year message, PM Shehbaz hailed the nation’s resilience and paid tribute to its martyrs while pledging to accelerate economic reforms and uphold Pakistan’s role for global peace. Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2026

Jaishankar and Ayaz Sadiq hold brief conversation; Analysts caution against reading too much into episode

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ISLAMABAD - Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghaddam yesterday underlined the importance of further strengthening bilateral ties in all areas of mutual interest, particularly media, culture and people to people contacts.

Islamabad - Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Dr.

ISLAMABAD - A high-level delegation of the All Pakistan Newspapers and Electronic Media Employees Confederation (APNEC) met with Federal Minister for Board of Investment, Mr.

LAHORE - Punjab’s drive towards digital governance marked another major breakthrough on Wednesday as the eBiz Portal, launched under the Punjab Chief Minister’s vision, crossed a key milestone by offering 204 online government services, significantly expanding citizens’ access to transparent and paperless public.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Wednesday extended New Year greetings to the nation on the advent of 2026, expressing the hope that the year would usher in prosperity, stability and progress for Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD - The federal government has slashed the prices of Petrol by Rs10.

ISLAMABAD - Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had a brief interaction with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S.