Pakistan | News

• Reservoirs hold more than 13.1MAF water, 99pc of peak capacity • Tarbela reaches full conservation level of 1,550 feet; Mangla nearly filled to brim • Chashma Barrage also attains record storage level of 649 feet; officials expect minimal water shortage in Rabi season; wheat to benefit most ISLAMABAD: After many years, Pakistan will begin the upcoming Rabi season with healthy carryover water storage of more than 13 million acre feet (MAF) in reservoirs, which may partially offset agriculture output losses caused by floods in the outgoing Kharif season. “We expect water situation in Rabi season to be normal after many years”, said an official, adding that any shortage “will be minimal, bearable and manageable”. He noted that, after many years, we are also hopeful of having a reasonable carryover into the next Kharif season. While Tarbela Dam reached its peak conservation level of 1,550 feet last month and has remained there, Mangla Dam is struggling at 1,239.6 feet as of Sunday night against its maximum cons...

India romped home in style with a six-wicket win, chasing down the 172-run target with ease in their second high-intensity encounter against Pakistan in the men’s Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. Abhishek Sharma was adjudicated player-of-the-match — scoring 74 runs of 39 balls as he led the Indian effort from the front after getting a reprieve in Shaheen’s second over. The bitterness between the players, which started with India’s refusal of customary handshakes in the first encounter, continued as Sharma at the post-match ceremony said: “Today it was very simple, the way they were coming (at) us for no reason, I didn’t like it at all, and this is the only way I could give [an answer] with my bat.” Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha, speaking after the match, said, “We are yet to play the perfect game. We batted really well — but I think when it came to the bowling, they took the game away in the powerplay.” He said they could have got 15 more runs after being 91 in the first 10 overs, but added that 171 was still ...

Most of us Pakistan fans may not admit it, but we hope. We hope against hope when our team takes on India. Before the first ball is bowled, we tend to somehow forgo a few harsh realities and the reality that underlines all of them; India are way better. “Farq hai yaar (there’s a difference),” as my colleague put it right after Tilak Varma clattered Shaheen Afridi past deep square-leg for a four to wrap things up. “It’s a gulf in fact, a huge gulf of quality,” he concluded. His short analysis summed up Sunday’s Super Four fixture, which India comfortably won by six wickets with seven balls to spare. Pakistan genuinely came back stronger, impressing with the bat early on, but the “gulf” glared the brightest when Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill were at the crease. Indispensable Abhishek, Gill With their opening partnership of 105 off 59, Gill and Abhishek — the two friends from the Indian Punjab — set the match aside for India, neutralising Faheem Ashraf and Haris Rauf’s decent show with the ball...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday departed to Pakistan from Kashgar, China.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Saudi Arabia will stand alongside Pakistan in the event of any future aggression from India.

KARACHI: Pakistan is expected to meet all seven Quantitative Performance Criteria (QPC) set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of the second semi-annual review of the country’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, according to Topline Securities’ report released on Saturday. The IMF team is scheduled to visit Pakistan on Sept 25 to review the country’s performance under the $7 billion EFF arrangement, covering the first half of 2025. The review will assess Pakistan’s progress in meeting key economic targets for the March-June quarter. Based on Topline’s estimates, Pakistan is likely to meet the IMF’s QPC, including targets related to net international reserves and swap positions. The primary balance numbers for FY25 are also well within the IMF’s projections, the report noted. In addition to fulfilling IMF-mandated reforms, Pakistan is actively seeking foreign investment in emerging sectors such as offshore drilling, mining, and Web 3.0 technologies. A key milestone in this effort was the Pakis...

ISLAMABAD - The International Atomic Energy Agency has recognised Pakistan’s steady progress in developing its civil nuclear technology capabilities.

ISLAMABAD - The China-Pakistan Study Centre (CPSC) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) organised the launch of its latest book titled “Pakistan and China: Connecting at People’s Level” here.

Pakistan on Saturday cancelled their pre-match press conference ahead of their second encounter with India in the men’s Asia Cup tomorrow, according to a statement by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). “Pakistan will not be holding their pre-match press conference today,” ACC said in a short statement. Andy Pycroft will be officiating the match as the referee again after last week’s controversy. A senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official confirmed to Dawn.com that the board had moved on after Pycroft’s ‘apology’ and had no issue with his appointment for the Pakistan-India match. The Group A clash between the fierce rivals last Sunday ended on a bitter note when Indian players refused to shake hands with their opponents. It was the first meeting between the regional neighbours since a four-day conflict in May left more than 70 people dead. While the match itself passed without incident, there was no shaking of hands between the captains at the toss or among the players at the end. Then, at the post-match cer...

The country’s nuclear programme has received recognition from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in addition to Pakistan’s steady progress and close cooperation with the agency. In a post on X following his meeting with Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Chairman Raja Ali Raza Anwar on the sidelines of the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi highlighted Pakistan’s achievements in expanding its civil nuclear energy capacity. He observed that Pakistan’s nuclear power programme was advancing “at a good pace”, particularly with the ongoing construction of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit-5 (C-5). Grossi recalled witnessing the first concrete pouring at the site in February, which he described as a “major milestone in Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen energy security through clean and sustainable nuclear power”. The IAEA DG and PAEC chairman reviewed areas of cooperation under various agency initiatives. These included Atoms4Food, which applies nucle...

With millions displaced and close to a thousand people dead, the Pakistan floods that have been ongoing since June are worryingly reminiscent of the floods that devastated the country in 2022. As the country fights to keep its head above the rising floodwaters, many questions abound. Could the damage so far have been contained? How has climate change contributed? Has India’s release of floodwater — which it had warned about — exacerbated the loss and damage of its lower riparian neighbour? Have the floods been down to bad governance, or a lack of preparedness? To understand these matters, Dialogue Earth spoke to Muhammad Ehsan Leghari, an expert on water resource management and member for the Sindh province at the Pakistani water regulator, the Indus River System Authority. He discussed the factors that have contributed to the unprecedented floods in Pakistan, what has and hasn’t worked for flood control, and how the country can manage future floods effectively. This conversation has been edited for length an...

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released updated statistics showing a notable rise in the country’s electorate, with the total number of registered voters now standing at 134,949,984.

Following the landmark defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, both nations have stepped up efforts to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has revealed that a number of Arab countries are interested in signing defence agreements with Pakistan following the landmark security pact inked with Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

LONDON/ ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday hinted that some countries were showing interest in building strategic defence agreements with Pakistan, following the country’s landmark pact with Saudi Arabia.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday strongly condemned the failure of the UN Security Council to adopt a draft resolution on the worsening hu­manitarian situation in Gaza, calling it a “dark moment” that risks en­abling further atrocities against the besieged Palestinian population.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday extended the air­space ban for Indian aircraft till Oc­tober 24, according to a statement by the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA).

RAWALPINDI - Director General Inter Services Pub­lic Relations Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said il­legal Afghan nationals are involved in terrorism and serious crimes in Pakistan.

Pakistan were all set to chase South Africa’s daunting 313-run total, but fell 25 runs short in their second one-day international (ODI) pre- Women’s World Cup ODI encounter in Lahore. A spectacular knock by Sidra Amin, who brought up her second consecutive century of the series, brought them close, but in the end, the Duckworth-Lewis method adjusted 313-run target was a step too far. Set a mammoth score to chase after the Proteas batters ruled the roost in the first innings, Sidra stepped up again under the Gaddafi Stadium lights to score a sublime hundred — but failed to close the chase. What could have been a night to remember for the fans in the rain-affected ODI clash saw the Women in Green falter in the final stages of the chase — which, if they had come through, would have been their second-highest chase ever. The match saw the Proteas reach 292-3 in 46 overs before the total was adjusted to 313 according to the D/L method after a disruption in play as the Pakistani bowlers had a forgettable day with t...

Pakistan has decided to prolong the closure of its airspace for Indian flights by another month.