Pakistan | Pakistan

In a major stride toward agricultural innovation and export diversification, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to establish three state-of-the-art date processing plants in Pakistan, marking a new chapter in Pak-UAE agri-trade cooperation.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned the renewed attacks by the Israeli occupying forces in Gaza, which have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.

Defence minister says any terrorist attack or suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give Taliban bitter taste of misadventures Info minister says dialogue failed as Taliban resorted to blame game.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Wednesday said that the party would stand with Pakistan if hostilities with Afghanistan resume. Pakistan and Afghanistan saw a worsening of ties in recent weeks, which saw border skirmishes, counter-statements and and allegations. The hostilities began earlier this month when an attack was launched on Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night of October 11. The attack had followed an allegation from the Afghan Taliban of airstrikes by Pakistan into Afghanistan — an accusation which Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied. Responding to a question on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, Gohar said that the PTI would stand with Pakistan in case hostilities with Afghanistan erupt once again, like they did during Islamabad’s brief war with India in May. “We will stand with Pakistan like we did during the war with India, Afghanistan will not be any different,” he said. “But I will say that Pakistan has to live with its neighbours and it’s in its best interest to live peaceful...

Posts from pro-Afghan and Indian users on social media platform X on Wednesday were sharing a video claiming it showed Russian President Vladimir Putin warning Pakistan’s army and offering support to Afghanistan amid the current tensions between the two countries. However, the video is dubbed over and has nothing to do with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan is witnessing a deterioration in ties with Afghanistan, with recent border skirmishes, counter-statements and allegations. The hostilities began earlier this month when an attack was launched on Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night of Oct 11. The attack had followed an allegation from the Taliban of airstrikes by Pakistan into Afghanistan — an accusation which Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied. For its part, Islamabad has long demanded that the Taliban stop terror groups from using its soil against Pakistan. Taliban, however, deny the allegation of allowing terrorists to operate from Afghan soil. Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to grapple with th...

Pakistan on Wednesday received its first-ever shipment of US crude with the cargo arriving at Cnergyico’s offshore terminal, marking a new chapter in Pak-US trade relations. The cargo arrived aboard the Suezmax vessel MT Pegasus and docked at Cnergyico’s Single Point Mooring (SPM) port situated on the coast of Balochistan. In August, it was reported that Cnergyico will import 1 million barrels of oil from Vitol this month. “The arrival of Pakistan’s first-ever US crude oil cargo marks an important milestone for the country’s energy sector and for Cnergyico,” Vice Chairman of Cnergyico Pk Limited Usama Qureshi told Dawn.com. “This first shipment will be followed by another in mid-November and a third in January 2026,” he stated, adding that collectively, “these three cargoes are expected to improve Pakistan’s trade balance with the United States by around $200 million”. Qureshi said the SPM facility, the country’s only offshore crude handling terminal, can efficiently receive large vessels, reduce logistics co...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned the Taliban regime on Wednesday that Islamabad would strike “deep into Afghanistan” if Afghan soil was used to launch terror attacks on Pakistan. In a pre-dawn announcement, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the latest round of talks between the two countries in Turkiye, which aimed to address cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghan soil, “failed to bring about any workable solution”. “We will conduct strikes, we definitely will,” Asif told reporters at Parliament House, when asked about the options available for Pakistan in case of cross-border attacks from Afghanistan. “If their territory is used and they violate our territory, then, if we need to go deep into Afghanistan to retaliate, we surely will,” he added. Earlier, when the second round of talks had begun between the two sides on Oct 25, Asif had warned that failure to reach an agreement would mean “open war”. Speaking about the recently collapsed talks today, Asif said, “Kabul was not sincere at any l...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday hailed Iran and Pakistan as partners in maintaining regional peace and stability during a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian. Pakistan and Iran agreed in August that peace and prosperity in their border regions hinged on effectively combating terrorism. The nearly 900-kilometre border between the two countries has long faced security threats from proscribed groups, such as Jaish al-Adl and the Balochistan Liberation Army. Pakistan and Iran share close ties but persistent issues, including terrorism, smuggling, and mutual accusations of harbouring militants, have periodically strained relations. The interior minister is currently on a visit to Iran at a time of sustained tension with two of Pakistan’s neighbours, Iran and Afghanistan. A press release issued today said he met President Pezeshkian, with the two discussing bilateral and bilateral cooperation. “Iran and Pakistan are partners in regional peace and stability,” the press release quoted Naqvi as saying...

Pakistan on Wednesday called for the immediate cessation of Gaza ceasefire violations by Israel after the latter’s strike on the Palestinian enclave killed more than 100 people. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 104 people were killed after Israel carried out air strikes on the Palestinian territory yesterday, accusing Hamas of violating the truce by killing a soldier, which the group denied. The renewed Israeli bombardment prompted strong condemnation from Pakistan, one of the eight Muslim countries that worked with the United States on President Donald Trump’s peace plan. “Pakistan strongly condemns the renewed attacks by the Israeli occupying forces in Gaza, which have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. “These actions constitute a clear and flagrant violation of international law, as well as a breach of the recently concluded peace agreement,” the FO said, warning that such “aggressive measures by the Israeli occupation forces threaten to undermine the i...

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved $250 million for a flagship adaptation programme aimed at building resilient water and agriculture systems for vulnerable communities in the glacier-dependent regions of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Pakistan, a press release issued on Wednesday said. Led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the ‘Glaciers to Farms’ programme covers nine ADB developing member countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which all rely on glacier and snow-fed rivers for agriculture, domestic water, and electricity generation. The programme will focus on four glacier-fed river basins — the Naryn and Pyanj in Central Asia, the Kura in the South Caucasus, and the Swat in Pakistan — covering roughly 27m hectares, the ADB said in a press release. The handout added that the GCF approved its concessional funding for the programme at its 43rd board meeting on October 29. It said that around 13m people, incl...

ISLAMABAD/RIYADH - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Tuesday agreed to launch a comprehensive Economic Cooperation Framework aimed at elevating Pakistan–Saudi Arabia relations into a new era of strategic economic.

Pakistan’s brittle batting line-up imploded once again as South Africa romped to a comprehensive 55-run victory in the first Twenty20 International at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night, bowling the hosts out for a paltry 139 in 18.1 overs while chasing 195. Corbin Bosch, the 30-year-old seamer, produced a masterclass in death bowling to finish with career-best figures of 4-14, while left-arm spinner George Linde chipped in with 3-31 as Pakistan lost their last seven wickets for just 58 runs after a sedate powerplay. Openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub, promoted to set the tone, managed a cautious 31 before Lizaad Williams shattered Farhan’s stumps with a nip-backer for 24 off 19 balls. The dismissal brought Babar Azam to the crease for his much-anticipated T20I comeback, but the former skipper lasted just two deliveries, chipping a short-of-length ball from Bosch straight to cover for a golden duck. Skipper Salman Ali Agha’s wretched night continued when he was trapped plumb in front by Bosch...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped out on attending an Asean summit in Malaysia to avoid broaching the issue of Pakistan in a possible meeting with United States President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Modi had backtracked from his proposed visit to Malaysia over the weekend to attend an Asean summit and opted to join the discussions “virtually” instead. The opposition Congress party had blamed the change of plan on Modi’s fear of meeting Trump. The annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-nation grouping, as well as associated meetings, was held from Oct 26 to 28 in Kuala Lumpur. “Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed away from a regional leaders summit in Malaysia this week to avoid meeting US President Donald Trump and having a possible discussion about Pakistan,” people familiar with the matter said. “Officials in the government were apprehensive that Trump would repeat his claim that he mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day ...

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday strongly rejected Indian media reports alleging that Pakistani officials held secret meetings with the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel’s Mossad to discuss sending troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force.

Pakistan has tested multiple missile types over the last few years to increase its defence capabilities and also to ensure credible deterrence. The missiles range from ground-launched cruise missiles to medium-range ballistic missiles. Fatah 4 cruise missile On September 30, the Pakistan Army successfully conducted a training launch of a newly inducted, indigenously-produced Fatah-4 cruise missile at a range of 750 kilometres, the military’s media wing said. “Equipped with advanced avionics and state-of-the-art navigational aids, this weapon system is capable of evading [the] enemy’s missile defence system due to terrain-hugging features and engaging targets with high precision,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. An image of the newly inducted cruise missile Fatah-4. — Screengrab via X/@PTVNewsOfficial Fatah surface-to-surface missile On May 5, Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of a Fatah series surface-to-surface guided missile with a range of 120 kilometres, as pa...

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday launched the Economic Cooperation Framework, which is based on their shared economic interests and reaffirms their desire to strengthen trade and investment relations. The decision to launch the framework was taken during a Monday meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the Ninth Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII9) in Riyadh, according to a statement from the Foreign Office (FO). The FII9 convened global leaders, investors, policymakers, and innovators to explore the theme, ‘The Key to Prosperity: Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth’ and discuss key topics such as innovation, sustainability, economic inclusion, and geopolitical shifts. “As part of the framework, several strategic and high-impact projects will be discussed in the economic, trade, investment and development fields that will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the two governments, enhancing the pivotal role of the pr...

Pakistan on Tuesday expressed solidarity with the people of Turkiye as 6.

Pakistan’s economy has expanded by three per cent in fiscal year 2025 (FY25), the World Bank said in a report on Tuesday, but cautioned that growth is likely to remain the same in the next fiscal year due to the impacts of the recent floods. Earlier this month, the WB had cut its growth forecast for Pakistan by half a per cent to 2.6pc for the current fiscal year due to the recent floods, which are also expected to push up inflation to 7.2pc. It had said that for FY 2025/26, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was projected to remain around 2.6pc, as ongoing catastrophic floods had damped the forecast. It projected a 3.1pc growth rate for the country in its previous biannual outlook in April 2025. Pakistan has set 4.2pc growth target and has since been looking at 3.5pc as part of its engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the report released today, titled — Staying the Course for Growth and Jobs — WB predicted that the economy’s “growth is projected to remain at three per cent for the...

The World Bank, in its Pakistan Development Report 2025, has cautioned that inflation in Pakistan is likely to rise following the recent floods that caused extensive damage to the country’s economy.

Pakistan’s build-up towards next year’s T20 World Cup will continue on Tuesday when they take on South Africa in the opener of the three-match series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The national side goes into the series after faring decently in their biggest test at the Asia Cup last month — beating all sides they came up against except world number one and archrivals India, who handed them defeats in all three encounters including the final. South Africa, in contrast, arrive as a depleted outfit on paper — the presence of star batter Quinton de Kock, featuring in a Twenty20 International for the first time since June 2024, standing out in a largely second-string squad led by Donovan Ferreira, who has just nine T20Is to his name. Hence, Pakistan can be safely called favourites to take the series trophy, which would help restore their damaged confidence following the triple-drubbing from India. The hosts too haven’t shied away from striking a balance between experimentation and experience. Former skipper B...