Pakistan | Pakistan

The roof of a sprawling rice mill in the eastern district of commercial capital Karachi is covered with sky blue solar panels soaking rays under the broiling midday sun. The mill is one of thousands of industrial units across Pakistan that have shifted to solar energy to counter rising electricity tariffs and frequent power outages in recent years. The South Asian country of around 255 million people has witnessed a solar uptake, particularly over the past two years, after an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout forced Pakistan to sharply raise power and gas tariffs to support struggling suppliers in the heavily indebted energy sector. From pharmaceuticals to cement manufacturers in Karachi, to textile units in Faisalabad, and from supermarkets to mosques in Lahore, solar panels paired with lithium batteries have been adopted as an alternative to electricity from the national grid. “We were left with no other choice but to go for solar energy, as the power bills had literally become unpayable for industr...

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday lauded the Pakistan military’s contributions towards regional peace and security in a meeting with Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday, according to the military’s media wing. A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the army chief is currently on an official visit to Jordan and called on the Jordanian king for a meeting, with Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II also present. The ISPR said both dignitaries discussed matters of mutual interest, with a particular focus on enhancing bilateral cooperation in defence and security, and exchanging perspectives on regional developments. “His majesty appreciated the professionalism and contributions of the Pakistan Armed Forces towards regional peace and stability and expressed his desire to further strengthen defence collaboration between the two brotherly countries,” the ISPR said, adding that the army chief conveyed warm regards from Pakistan’s people, government and military...

Pakistan has decided to temporarily close portions of its airspace near the Indian border for two consecutive days, according to a notice issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority to all airlines and aviation operators.

American multinational technology company Meta has officially launched Meta AI in Urdu for users in Pakistan, intending to accelerate the process of digital transformation in the country, a press release from the company said on Monday. The announcement was made during an event titled “Future in Focus: AI and Innovation”, held in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), the release said. Meta also announced the start of an experimental programme for AI education and government digital transformation in Pakistan. “These initiatives aim to accelerate the process of digital transformation in the country,” the release said. “Pakistani users will now be able to interact with Meta AI not only in English but also in Urdu.” Speaking at the event, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said, “Under the Prime Minister’s Digital Nation Vision, Pakistan is moving toward a future where technology empowers every citizen. “Our pa...

Pakistan and Bangladesh have reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing bilateral defence and security cooperation, recognizing its importance in promoting regional peace and stability.

After staying out of favour in the Twenty20 International format for Pakistan’s last five assignments, former skipper Babar Azam was picked for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa only after fellow batter Fakhar Zaman decided to skip it, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said on Sunday. Since Hesson took over the role in June, Babar hasn’t featured for Pakistan in T20Is with the national side playing series against Bangladesh, the West Indies and a tri-nation series followed by the Asia Cup during that period. Hesson had cited the right-hander’s low strike-rate as the reason for his absence. But Babar’s selection for the series, which starts in Rawalpindi on Tuesday raised suggested a change of mind for the coach before the New Zealander clarified it. “I certainly endorse his selection,” Hesson said of Babar while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. “We’ve sent him (Fakhar) back to first-class cricket after a conversation wi...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the US sees an opportunity to expand its strategic relationship with Pakistan and that the recent strengthening of ties between the two countries does not come at the expense of Washington’s relationship with New Delhi. He made these remarks during a press briefing on Saturday, during which he was asked whether India had raised any concerns about the “stronger relationship” between the US and Pakistan. “They really haven’t — I mean, we know they’re concerned for obvious reasons because of the tensions that have existed between Pakistan and India historically. But, I think they have to understand, we have to have relations with a lot of different countries,” he said, according to a transcript of the briefing on the State Department’s website. He continued, “We see an opportunity to expand our strategic relationship with Pakistan, and I think we’ve made — that’s our job, is to try to figure out how many countries we can find how we can work with on things of common i...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday here hosted dinner in honour of cricket teams of South Africa and Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Poland on Saturday agreed to enhance cooperation in various fields including illegal immigration, border security and mutual legal assistance.

A second round of talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan kicked off in Istanbul on Saturday, with Islamabad eyeing a “concrete” mechanism to monitor Afghan Taliban actions aimed at preventing cross-border terrorist attacks. Today’s meeting follows the first round of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks mediated jointly by Qatar and Turkiye in Doha on October 18-19. The Qatar talks had come after days of fighting along the Pak-Afghan border — where trade is still closed — and strikes by Islamabad on Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan. The agreement reached in Doha extended an initial 48-hour truce and resulted in a permanent ceasefire, as well as a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries. According to Afghan interim administration spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan delegation was to be led by Mawlawi Rahmatullah Najeeb, deputy minister at Ministry of Interior, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported. Islamabad has not said who it has sent...

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced the launch of a nationwide campaign titled “Badal Do Pakistan (Change Pakistan) Movement” starting in November.

Pakistan and Iran have discussed exploring new avenues for cooperation in the blue economy by strengthening road, railway, and maritime connectivity between the two neighboring countries.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to ensuring equal participation of Balochistan in Pakistan’s national development, emphasizing that the province’s progress is vital for the country’s overall prosperity.

The second round of crucial negotiations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban is set to take place today in Türkiye, where both sides will discuss the establishment of a verifiable monitoring mechanism to counter cross-border terrorism.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Türkiye have explored new avenues of maritime cooperation, including the possible launch of a ferry service between the two countries and collaboration in shipbuilding, ship operations, and the shipbreaking industry.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the persistence of polio in Pakistan and its neighbouring country was a moment of introspection, urging the government authorities as well as the polio workers to put in their enhanced efforts to purge the country of this crippling disease.

Pakistan is among four possible destinations that are being considered to receive exiled Palestinian captives, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC), a non-governmental organisation established in 1993 to support political prisoners in Israeli occupation jails. They were freed in exchange for Israelis held in Gaza, but instead of going home, 154 former Palestinian prisoners were exiled to Egypt, where they are confined to a hotel and kept under tight surveillance. All of them had been sentenced by an Israeli military court to life in prison on charges of murder, belonging to Palestinian resistance groups banned by Israel and more. But when a ceasefire took effect in Gaza earlier this month, the group was put on buses and sent to Egypt, where authorities have put them in a five-star hotel that they cannot leave without clearance. Egypt first received 150 exiled prisoners in January, and more than eight months later, most of them are still in the same hotel, their fate undecided. PPC official Hasan ...

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has said that Pakistan’s direction is clear — only Imran Khan’s policy will be followed.

Pakistan has relocated the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) laboratory to Taftan, enabling the on-site testing of hydrocarbons and related products at the border wih Iran.

Pakistan has once again drawn global attention to India’s systematic persecution of minorities, exposing what it described as New Delhi’s “heinous face” at the United Nations.