Pakistan | Pakistan

• Global watchdog ranks country 27th out of 100 • India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh fared better • China, Iran and Russia at bottom ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been ranked 27th out of 100 — ‘Not Free’ — in terms of internet freedom by a global democracy watchdog in a recent report, which cited government measures to expand censorship practices. During June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025, the report issued by the US-based Freedom House noted that the authorities threatened to block virtual private networks (VPNs) and adopted amendments to the country’s cybercrime law that rights groups said could be abused. On the other hand, countries like India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are markedly more open, classified as ‘Partly Free’, with much higher freedom scores of 51, 53, and 45, respectively. The watchdog was unable to track Afghanistan’s score. The countries placed at the bottom are China, Myanmar, Iran and Russia with scores of 9, 9, 13¸and 17, respectively. The watchdog noted that governments in the countries that suffered...

Babar Azam finally ended his 807-day wait for a One-day International century, scoring an unbeaten 102 to lead Pakistan to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday, sealing the three-match series with a game to spare. The former Pakistan skipper, under intense scrutiny after 83 innings without a three-figure score, struck eight boundaries in a 119-ball innings that blended patience with poise. He reached his milestone in the 47th over, pulling pacer Pramod Madushan to midwicket for a single, before collapsing to his knees in prostration and embracing Mohammad Rizwan at the non-striker’s end. The Rawalpindi crowd erupted, having waited long for this moment. Reaching the milestone, Babar equalled former opener Saeed Anwar’s record for the most ODI hundreds for Pakistan — 20 centuries. Rizwan played the ideal supporting role, remaining unbeaten on 51 off 54 balls, hitting five fours and a six. The pair added an unbroken 112 for the third wicket, guidi...

Chief of General Staff (CGS) Lieutenant General Aamer Raza met his Saudi counterpart, General Fayyadh Bin Hameed Al-Rowaily, in Riyadh to discuss broadening strategic ties and strengthening the mutual defence agreement signed by the two nations, the military’s media wing said on Friday. The two countries have long shared a multifaceted relationship rooted in strategic military cooperation, mutual economic interests, and shared Islamic heritage. These ties have encompassed economic assistance and energy supplies, with Riyadh being a significant source of financial aid and oil for Islamabad. According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “matters of mutual strategic interest” were discussed during the meeting, including strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, enhancing interoperability and advancing collaboration under the mutual defence agreement. “Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening the long-standing fraternal ties between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Sau...

King of Jordan King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein is undertaking a two-day state visit to Pakistan from tomorrow on the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II will arrive in Pakistan for a two-day state visit on Saturday at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during which he is expected to hold high-level meetings with the prime minister and the president, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) on Friday. The Jordanian monarch’s last visit to Pakistan was at the invitation of former president Mamnoon Hussain. Two memoranda of understanding were signed by both nations, with one related to cooperation in civil protection and defence and the other to cooperation in the housing sector. According to the FO, Saturday’s high-level visit reflects the “longstanding, fraternal relations” between Islamabad and Amman. “It will serve to further strengthen the strategic direction of Pakistan–Jordan relations and place them on a higher trajectory, encompassing a comprehensive and broad-based partnership in the political, economic, and cultural spheres,” the statement read. “During his visit … King Abdullah II … will hold ...

Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi asserted on Friday that Pakistan had never eschewed dialogue with any government in Kabul but would not hold talks with any terrorist groups. The spokesperson’s speech came in the context of the third round of talks that concluded on November 7 in Istanbul between Pakistan and Afghanistan, aimed at ending cross-border terrorism and consolidating a fragile ceasefire that was initially agreed upon after border clashes last month. Since the skirmishes, representatives of the two countries held two rounds of talks — first in Doha and then in Istanbul — but a final agreement could not be achieved. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that a ceasefire, however, was still in place “for the time being”. “Pakistan has never eschewed dialogue with any government in Kabul. However, Pakistan will not hold dialogue with any terrorist groups, be it Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA),” he said while addressing his weekly press briefing. ...

Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi firmly stated that Pakistan will not hold talks with any terrorist groups, rejecting recent claims made by the Afghan regime.

RAWALPINDI: After a day and a night of chaos, focus will finally shift back to cricket when Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the second One-day International at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday. The encounter — Pakistan’s opportunity to wrap up their second successive ODI series — comes after a turbulent 48 hours that threatened to overshadow the cricket itself. The match was originally slated for Thursday, but the schedule was thrown into disarray after a terror attack in Islamabad on Tuesday sparked understandable concern within the Sri Lankan camp. Reports soon emerged that several visiting players were contemplating abandoning the tour altogether. The uncertainty prompted urgent intervention from Pakistan’s interior minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who, along with the country’s top security officials, held lengthy discussions with the Sri Lankan delegation to assure them of their safety. By late Wednesday night, the situation had stabilised. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) rea...

More than 25 million children across Pakistan are currently out of school, with 20 million of them having never attended school, according to a new report by the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE).

Pakistan is preparing to return to the international debt markets next year by issuing dollar-denominated Eurobonds, ending a nearly five-year pause, Bloomberg reported.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has fined the Pakistan cricket team for maintaining a slow over rate during the opening One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka, held on Tuesday at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia have called for continued dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their ongoing disputes on cross-border terrorism. Last week, a third round of talks between Islamabad and Kabul, which were taking place in Istanbul in the presence of mediators, broke down without any agreement, as negotiators failed to bridge deep differences over how to prevent cross-border terrorism. The talks had followed deadly border clashes between the two neighbours in October. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi spoke on the telephone on Wednesday, during which the two sides exchanged views on the latest bilateral and regional developments. In its statement on Telegram, the Russian foreign ministry said the two ministers “welcomed the agreement reached between Kabul and Islamabad, mediated by the authorities of Qatar and Türkiye, on a mutual ceasefire and an end to cross-border shootings along the Afghan-Pakistani frontier”. “The sides...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday said Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir facilitated the talks with Sri Lanka, resulting in the latter’s cricket team deciding to stay in Pakistan for the ongoing matches. Sri Lanka’s cricket board said late last night that its team’s ongoing tour of Pakistan will proceed, averting a crisis-like situation after reports about some players returning home in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad. “Our field marshal himself spoke to their defence minister, secretary and convinced them and assured them fully of [providing] security,” Naqvi, also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, said while speaking on the Senate floor. View this post on Instagram He recalled that the Sri Lankan team yesterday “decided to return after the bomb blast occurred”. “Our interaction with them began […] their board, players and everyone decided with great bravery to stay here,” the PCB chairman added. “They had many concerns, but we tried to allay all of ...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has highlighted mines and minerals in Pakistan as an important area of mutual interest between Pakistan and Canada and said that Canadian company Barrick Gold’s role in the Reko Diq project would be the harbinger of development in Pakistan and a success story of Pakistan-Canada economic.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday was dismissive of Afghanistan’s intent to reduce transit trade, saying the move would only “benefit” Pakistan. Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are at their lowest point in the four years since the group came to power. Border crossings bet­ween the two countries have remained closed since October 11 and trade has been at a standstill following ground fighting and Pakistani airstrikes across their 2,600-kilometre frontier that killed dozens on both sides in the worst fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul. “For us [it will have no impact], instead, I think it will be a relief for us because the amount of goods that are booked for Karachi Port from Afghanistan, ultimately, all end up in Pakistani markets,” said Asif while speaking on Geo News. The defence minister added that the goods imported from across the border had no consumption in Afghanistan and ended up disrupting Pakistan’s local markets. The minister also added, “When their trad...

Pakistan on Wednesday said that it continued to fully participate in good faith in the Neutral Expert proceedings, with its next phase scheduled to take place on November 17-21 in Vienna.

ISLAMABAD - In order to make justice delivery more transparent and citizen-centric, the Chief Justice of Pakistan chaired a high-level policy meeting Tuesday to steer progress on the automation and digitization of courts across Pakistan.

A counter-punching century by Salman Ali Agha and Haris Rauf’s fiery pace led Pakistan to a six-run win over Sri Lanka in the first One-day International at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night. While Salman’s gritty knock carried Pakistan out of deep trouble for the hosts to post an above-par 299-run total, Haris bowled a red-hot spell (4-61) to restrict Sri Lanka despite the visitors looking dangerous early on. Sri Lanka had cruised to 75-0 in the first 10 overs as openers Pathum Nissanka and debutant Kamil Mishara punished the Pakistan pacers’ lack of discipline. Both batters were also handed a reprieve each as Salman dropped Nissanka in the slips off Shaheen while he was playing at six. Mishara, meanwhile, escaped a scare when Haris Rauf failed to hold on to a chance in the 10th over. In between, the Sri Lankan openers hit boundaries on regular intervals with the Pakistan bowlers struggling to maintain consistent line and length in the first powerplay. But two overs later, Haris Rauf removed bo...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said attacks on terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan could not be ruled out after today’s incidents in Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least 12 people were killed and 36 were injured in a suicide blast in the federal capital. The incident occurred as international events were being hosted in the capital, including the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference and the 6th Margalla Dialogue, while a cricket match between the Green shirts and Sri Lanka was also being held in Pindi. Meanwhile, a clearance operation by security forces continues in Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan against terrorists hiding inside the educational institute. When asked during an interview on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ if Pakistan would respond after today’s attacks and statements from the leadership linking them to Afghanistan, Asif said: “God willing”, adding that attacks on terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan “could not be ruled out” and could definitely happen....

When 23 children died in India’s Madhya Pradesh after consuming contaminated cough syrup in early September, the news barely registered across the border. In Pakistan — where self-medication is rampant and syrup bottles are household staples — the tragedy strikes dangerously close to home. Many in Pakistan remain unaware that those sweet, over-the-counter syrups can be fatal. In the recent Indian case, the children — all under six — died of kidney failure after consuming syrup laced with diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic solvent found at 500 times the permissible limit. Investigations revealed the manufacturer, Sresan, had sourced industrial-grade propylene glycol from local chemical and paint dealers instead of certified pharmaceutical suppliers. With no qualified chemist overseeing production, the syrup went untested — and deadly. This isn’t the first such incident. In 2022, Indian-made syrups caused the deaths of at least 70 children in The Gambia and 18 in Uzbekistan. Between December 2019 and January 2020...