Pakistan | News

Indonesia has expressed its desire to further expand defence ties with Pakistan across multiple domains, the military’s media affairs wing said on Monday. The development came as Indonesian Defence Minister Lieutenant General (retd) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin called on Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. “The meeting focused on matters of mutual interest, evolving regional and global security dynamics, and exploration of avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation,” it said. “Both sides underscored the importance of strengthening institutional linkages, training collaboration and defence industrial cooperation between Pakistan and Indonesia,” it added. “The visiting dignitary lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces and acknowledged their sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. He also expressed Indonesia’s desire to further expand defence ties with Pakistan ...

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Sunday strongly rejected claims circulating on social media that Pakistan is being used as a base or transit corridor to support the United States in a possible military strike against Iran, calling the reports “baseless disinformation”.

The government on Monday took strong exception to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi saying the state should provide evidence of Kabul’s soil being used against Pakistan. In a media interaction at the home of PTI leader Alamgir Khan on Sunday night, Afridi said that the state should give evidence for the claim that Afghanistan’s soil was being used for terrorism in Pakistan. He said that other countries also shared a border with Afghanistan but they did not have the same complaints. The clip was also shared by state broadcaster PTV on the social media platform X. In a post on X, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Afridi was speaking as Afghanistan’s “spokesperson“ which was highly “condemnable and shameful”. “The whole world has seen evidence of the Afghan Taliban regime’s support for terrorists, and there is also irrefutable evidence that Afghanistan’s soil is being used for terrorist activities,” Tarar said. “Sohail Afridi has reached the peak of lies and hypocrisy. The Pakistani na...

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has rejected claims circulating on social media alleging that Pakistan is being used as a base or launch corridor to support the United States for a possible military strike on Iran, which has been rocked by protests in recent weeks. The ministry’s fact check account on X attributed the claims to “propaganda machineries in Afghanistan“ and Indian accounts, particularly identifying three handles — Khurasan Media Urdu, Baba Banaras and Afghan Defense. Among them, a post by Khurasan Media Urdu claimed that “special American aircraft have reached Pakistan for an attack on Iran”. The post also mentioned “unusual” flight activity of US aerial refuelling and surveillance aircraft between Pakistan and Iran. A post by Afghan Defense repeated the claim. Baba Banaras’ post made a similar claim, stating: “Multiple US reconnaissance aircraft and cargo planes with weapons landed at Dalbandin Airbase and Pasni Airbase of Pakistan. Looks like the game has been set for Iran.” The m...

Pakistan has firmly rejected India’s comments on Pakistan-Bangladesh cooperation in construction and other key sectors, including defence-related engagements, saying New Delhi has no right to comment on bilateral ties between the two countries.

During the four-day conflict with India in May last year, Pakistan demonstrated not only the effectiveness of Chinese military hardware, but also its own indigenously produced equipment, like the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet, the Al-Khalid main battle tank and the Fatah series guided multiple launch rocket system (G-MLRS). In particular, the JF-17‘s role in the May conflict and in the skirmish with India in 2019 proved the jet’s capabilities in battle. During last year’s war with India, the Thunder was credited with destroying the state-of-the-art S-400 surface-to-missile system deployed by India at Adampur. The jet also made a strong showing at last year’s Dubai Airshow. Earlier this week, the defence minister said the success of its weapons industry could transform the country’s economic outlook. “Our aircraft have been tested, and we are receiving so many orders that Pakistan may not need the International Monetary Fund in six months,” Khawaja Asif told Geo News. Here is a brief timeline of arms deals that Pa...

The 13th Pakistan-US bilateral joint military exercise — ‘Inspired Gambit 2026’ — has kicked off with a focus on counterterrorism, the military’s media wing said on Saturday. In a statement, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that the two-week-long exercise — which began on Friday and is being held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Pabbi — will focus on the “counterterrorism domain, involving professional contingents from the armies of Pakistan and the US”. Officials from both sides attended the opening ceremony, it added. “The exercise is aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and interoperability through the sharing of counterterrorism experiences, while further refining tactics, techniques, and procedures essential for effective CT operations,” the statement said. “Emphasis is being laid on marksmanship skills during urban warfare, as well as on understanding each other’s operational doctrines and best practices,” it added. The military’s media wing termed the exercise of “vital...

Business opportunities and investment in Pakistan have seen a significant boost, driven by the efforts of the Special Investment Facilitation Council.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Saturday issued a travel advisory urging citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Iran due to the prevailing security situation and growing unrest in the country.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, said on Friday that he held a “productive meeting” with US Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to discuss the evolving partnership between the two countries.

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has called for the launch of a high-level economic dialogue with the United States at the earliest and urged a shift in bilateral engagement from geopolitics to geoeconomics during a series of meetings between the country’s envoy Rizwan Saeed Sheikh and senior members of Congress. Meeting House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US said 2026 should be treated as a “year of action” to translate shared intentions into concrete economic cooperation. “Our focus is shifting from geopolitics to geoeconomics,” he said, according to one of two handouts issued after the meeting, and stressed the need for institutionalised engagement in sectors such as energy, defence, minerals, information technology and artificial intelligence. Ambassador Sheikh said Pakistan’s low-cost, high-quality manufacturing base positioned it well to meet growing US market needs, highlighting surgical instruments, textiles and ...

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of the country early on Friday. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 159km in the Tajikistan- Xinjiang border region at 2am. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which reports magnitude using the Moment Magnitude scale, said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.3 and struck Tajikistan at a depth of 140km. The United States Geological Survey said Pakistan, Tajikistan, China and Afghanistan were among the affected countries. According to media reports, the tremors were felt in Islamabad and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There were no immediate reports of any casualties. Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region. In October 2025, a 3.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded in Karachi. ...

ISLAMABAD: The International Crisis Group (ICG) says Pakistan is the worst-affected country by the Tali­ban’s 2021 takeover of Afgha­nistan, noting that even though a ceasefire holds for now, Islamabad is likely to strike again if militant violence persists. The Brussels-based independent and non-profit think tank, founded by prominent statesmen, says in a new report that relations between the two countries have tanked, mainly because of the Afghan Taliban’s refusal to crack down on the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Since 2022, violence in Pakistan has spiralled. In 2025 alone, militants killed more than 600 Pakistani soldiers and police, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the two provinces bordering Afghanistan. Islamabad blames the banned TTP for these attacks, along with Baloch insurgent groups, which it believes with evidence, are backed by arch-rival India. Brussels-based think tank says Islamabad may strike Afghanistan again if militant attacks continue “UN monitors assert that the TTP en...

Pakistan and a wide selection of Muslim countries issued a joint statement on Thursday condemning a visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to Somaliland earlier this week. On Tuesday, Saar arrived in Somaliland for a high-profile visit, condemned by Somalia as an “unauthorised incursion”, after Israel recognised the breakaway region in the Horn of Africa. The joint statement, issued by the Foreign Office (FO) today, was issued on behalf of the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Türkiye and Yemen, as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It recalled the earlier statement condemning Israeli recognition and “expressed strong condemnation” of the Israeli FM’s visit. “The said visit constitutes a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and undermines established international nor...

Pakistan’s air chief met high-ranking Saudi defence officials, the military’s media affairs wing said on Thursday, adding that the latter appreciated Islamabad’s “constructive role” in promoting regional peace and stability. A statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Pakistan Air Force Air (PAF) Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu called on Royal Saudi Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Turki bin Bander bin Abdulaziz and Saudi Armed Forces’ Chief of General Staff General Fayiadh bin Hameed Al-Rowaily during a visit to the kingdom. “During the meetings, matters pertaining to bilateral defence cooperation, regional security environment and future avenues of collaboration were discussed,” it said. It added that the Saudi defence leadership “praised the professionalism, operational excellence and combat readiness of [the] PAF and expressed strong interest in enhanced joint training and operational collaboration, particularly in the domain of multi-domain operations“. “They ...

Bangladesh and Pakistan are set to resume direct flights after more than ten years, signaling warming ties between the two countries, Dhaka’s national carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines announced on Thursday.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert around $2 billion of Saudi loans into a deal for JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, according to two Pakistani sources, signaling a major step in deepening defence cooperation between the two allies.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert about $2 billion of Saudi loans into a JF-17 fighter jet deal, two Pakistani sources said, deepening military cooperation months after the two nations signed a mutual defence pact last year. The talks underscore how the two allies are moving to operationalise defence cooperation at a time of acute financial strain and as Saudi Arabia is reshaping its security partnerships to hedge against uncertainty about US commitments in the Middle East. The mutual defence deal was signed following Israel’s strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in Doha, an attack that shook the Gulf region. One of the sources said the discussions were limited to the provision of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, the light combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan and China and produced in Pakistan, while the second said the jets were the primary option among others under discussion. The first source said the total deal was worth $4bn, with an additional $2bn to be spent on equipment over...

ISLAMABAD - Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training, Wajiha Qamar, on Monday met with the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan, Salem Al Zaabi, at the UAE Embassy in Islamabad.

Featuring for Pakistan for the first time since June last year, Shadab Khan impressed with the ball, teaming up with Abrar Ahmed as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the opening fixture of the three-match Twenty20 International series at the Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. The all-rounder took two wickets, while Abrar hunted three victims to restrict Sri Lanka to a paltry 128-run total before Sahibzada Farhan’s half century helped Pakistan chase down the target with 20 balls to spare. Shadab gave away only 25 runs in his four overs, bagging both his wickets in his very first over and could have gone on to take a third had it not been for a dropped catch later on. Coming into bowl in the seventh over, after Mohammad Wasim and Salman Mirza’s pace — that accounted for a wicket for each — saw Sri Lanka post 35-2 in the powerplay, Shadab trapped a sweeping Kusal Mendis lbw and induced an inside edge off Dhananjaya de Silva’s bat for wicket-keeper Usman Khan to take a good catch. With Sri Lan...