Pakistan | News

KARACHI: Pakistan’s total foreign exchange reserves stood at $19.95 billion during the week ended on July 11, ARY News reported on Thursday, citing the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Pakistan’s reserves held by the SBP increased by $23 million on a weekly basis to reach US$ 14.52 billion during the same period, the central bank […]

Pakistan and the European Union (EU) on Thursday agreed on bolstering cooperation in security and counter-terrorism among other sectors during a bilateral dialogue, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Office (FO). EU Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Riina Kionka in March had announced that European companies recognised Pakistan as a potential business destination and were exploring new avenues for economic partnership. The EU is Pakistan’s sec­ond-largest trading partner, with the GSP+ status allowing the country to enjoy duty-free or minimum duty on European exports. According to the press release, Pakistan and the EU held their 10th Political Dialogue in Brussels and discussed key regional and international issues, including multilateral cooperation. Both sides agreed to deepen dialogue and discussions on security during the event. “The EU and Pakistan reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Strategic Engagement Plan (SEP) signed in 2019,” the FO stated. “Both sides aim to further d...

In a significant breakthrough, five of Pakistan’s most-wanted fugitives have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and extradited to Pakistan, according to an official statement.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has said he is not aware of any planned visit by US President Donald Trump to Pakistan.

US President Donald Trump is expected to visit Pakistan on September 18, 2025, as part of his upcoming tour of South Asia, according to official sources.

A participant speaks at the webinar on investment opportunities at Pakistani ports on Wednesday.—Courtesy US consulate ISLAMABAD: Over 65 US companies joined a landmark webinar on Wednesday to explore commercial opportunities at Karachi Port and Port Qasim. The webinar hosted by the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration and the US Department of State, in collaboration with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, part of the ‘Gateways to Growth: South Asia Port Opportunities’ series, has opened new doors for American commercial services in the port sector of Pakistan. The webinar served as a strategic platform for American companies to engage directly with Pakistani port officials and private operators. “US investors have made substantial contributions to Pakistan’s development, and we are confident that the port sector will be another area where we can achieve great success together,” said US Consul General Scott Urbom in Karachi, emphasising the role of partnership in fostering long-term c...

• Gender pay gap at 25pc hourly, 30pc monthly • Women make up only 13.5pc of workforce ISLAMABAD: Women in wage employment earn substantially lower wages than their male counterparts in Pakistan, according to a report launched by the International Labour Organ­isation (ILO) on Wednesday. The ‘Pakistan Gender Pay Gap Report 2025’ estimates the gender pay gap at approximately 25 per cent based on hourly wages and 30pc based on monthly wages. The gender pay gap in Pakistan is also significant by international standards. In comparison, lower-middle-income countries — the income group Pakistan falls under — have an average gender pay gap of 21pc based on monthly wages and 17pc based on hourly wages. While launching the report, Secretary of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis Nadeem Aslam Chaudhary reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to ensuring equal pay for work of equal value. He said the report and accompanying action plan represent a vital step towards identifying and addressing the barriers that hinder women’s p...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and China yester­day vowed to bolster bilat­eral ties as they discussed progress on the multibil­lion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

Pakistan and El Salvador have formalized diplomatic relations for the first time, anchoring the partnership on crypto collaboration and digital asset development, according to a July 16 announcement. The presser followed a meeting in San Salvador between Bilal Bin Saqib, special assistant to Pakistan’s prime minister on crypto and blockchain, and El Salvador’s President Nayib […] The post El Salvador, Pakistan inaugurate diplomatic relations to collaborate on digital assets appeared first on CryptoSlate.

KARACHI: The U.S. Department of Commerce, in association with the U.S. Department of State and Pakistan’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs, held a high-impact webinar focused on exploring Pakistan port investment opportunities, ARY News reported. This is a strategic decision to deepen U.S.-Pakistan trade relations. The engaged participants from over 65 American companies signalled growing interest […]

Pakistan on Wednesday stressed that Iran’s envoy in Islamabad, Reza Amiri Moghadam, was “widely respected” after the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) added him to its Most Wanted list for his alleged role in the 2007 disappearance and suspected abduction of retired FBI agent Robert A. “Bob” Levinson. “As far as Pakistan is concerned, the ambassador of Iran is widely respected for his role in the promotion of Pakistan-Iran relations,” FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told Dawn.com in response to a request for comment on the matter. “He is entitled to all the privileges, immunities and respect due to [being an] ambassador, that too, from a friendly neighbouring country,” Shafqat highlighted. Levinson arrived on Iran’s Kish Island on March 8, 2007 and went missing the following day. Notably, a 2013 Associated Press (AP) investigation revealed that Levinson had been sent on a spy mission by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analysts who had no authority to run such an operation. Levinson’s fami...

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, where the pair discussed and reaffirmed mutual support in core sectors, including agriculture, mining, industry and security, Chinese media reported. Dar was on a three-day visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Tianjin on Tuesday. According to the Foreign Office (FO), Dar and Wang were scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the event. The Foreign Office (FO) said in a post on X: “The two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on key areas of mutual interest, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and multilateral cooperation.” According to Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN, the top diplomats reaffirmed their mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests. “China is ready to work with Pakistan to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and push forward the building of a China-Pakistan community wit...

Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif, while welcoming the United Kingdom’s Air Safety Committee decision on Wednesday, termed the removal of Pakistan’s name from the British Air Safety List (ASL) as an important milestone.

The quiet energy revolution has spread from wealthy neighbourhoods to middle- and lower-income households as customers look to escape soaring electricity bills and prolonged power cuts. Down a cramped alley in Karachi, residents fighting the sweltering summer heat gather in Fareeda Saleem’s modest home for something they had never experienced before —uninterrupted power. “Solar makes life easier, but it’s a hard choice for people like us,” she says of the installation cost. Saleem was cut from the grid last year for refusing to pay her bills in protest over enduring 18-hour power cuts. A widow and mother of two disabled children, she sold her jewellery — a prized possession for women in Pakistan — and borrowed money from relatives to buy two solar panels, a solar inverter and a battery to store energy, for Rs180,000 ($630). As temperatures pass 40 degrees Celsius, children duck under Saleem’s door and gather around the breeze of her fan. Fareeda Saleem, a local resident, shows a newly installed inverter at he...

Pakistan is witnessing a rapid shift towards solar power as citizens across income brackets turn to rooftop panels to escape soaring electricity bills and persistent power outages.

The US Congress may soon urge President Donald Trump’s administration to consider imposing sanctions on countries that suppress religious freedom and violate human rights, Republican Congressman Christopher H. Smith suggested during a congressional hearing on Pakistan on Tuesday. “One of the biggest disappointments — regardless of who is in the White House or at the State Department — is the absence of sanctions,” said Smith, who co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC). Smith recalled that the only individual ever sanctioned under US religious freedom laws was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the 2002 Gujarat riots. “We are going to call on the Irfa office to consider imposing [sanctions] — especially in light of the terrible acts committed against people of various faiths,” he said. The Irfa office, based at the State Department, enforces the International Religious Freedom Act, which authorises the US government to designate and penalise countries that engage in or tolerate se...

Islamabad - Shifa International Hospital, in partnership with the Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI), hosted a workshop on Tuesday focused on advancing HPV vaccination to eliminate cervical cancer in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Japan on Tuesday signed a ¥379 million grant agreement in Islamabad to fund higher educa­tion for young civil officers under the 2025 Human Resource Development Scholarship Programme.

RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Indonesia have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation and explore new avenues in economic, strategic, and defence sectors.

Indonesia’s Defence Minister Lt Gen (retired) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin expressed his country’s desire to boost defence ties and explore possible collaboration in defence production as he met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Tuesday. Pakistan and Indonesia maintain strong bilateral relations rooted in shared religion and culture, with both countries cooperating in trade, education, and health. Gen Sjamsoeddin called on PM Shehbaz at the PM Office today, where he reiterated Indonesia’s desire to “further strengthen defence ties with Pakistan and to explore possible areas for cooperation, especially in defence production”, according to a statement from government-run PID. The Indonesian minister conveyed the best wishes of President Prabowo Subianto for the prime minister and people of Pakistan, the press release added. Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz “reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to explore and expand collaboration with Indonesia in joint ventures of investment in mutually beneficial projects”, the state...