Pakistan | Pakistan

Thomas E Schultze says Pakistan’s future will be shaped not only by its institutions but also by its women

Pakistan has reportedly asked the United States for a $10 billion currency-swap facility from the US Treasury’s Exchange Stabilisation Fund. The request arrived at an extraordinary moment: the United States is at war with Iran, Pakistan has become an important channel for diplomacy between Washington and Tehran, and Islamabad is again trying to turn geopolitical relevance into economic relief. The details of the proposal remain unsettled. Its legal structure, pricing, maturity, conditions and permitted uses have not been publicly disclosed. It may not be approved, and even an approved line may never be drawn. Those qualifications matter. But they do not make the request politically unimportant. On the contrary, the very possibility of such a facility tells us something about how money and power now travel together. Pakistan already has extensive experience with bilateral financial support, most notably through its currency-swap arrangement with China. A US facility would add another layer to that relationship...

Pakistan and Norway on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest. The development came as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, who arrived in Islamabad earlier in the day, the first such visit in a decade. The Foreign Office (FO) said the two held a “restricted-format meeting”. “DPM Dar warmly welcomed Eide to Pakistan. The two ministers discussed the full range of bilateral relations, as well as regional and international developments, and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest,” it said. Upon his arrival to Islamabad, Eide was received at the airport by Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Ayesha Ali. In a statement on Wednesday, the FO said the minister is undertaking the visit from Aug 13-14 at Dar’s invitation. During the visit, the two will hold delegation-level talks covering the full spectrum of Pakist...

Naqvi holds talks with Araghchi in Mashhad day after talks in Tehran Senior Iranian official says Iran, US did not discuss ceasefire extension Trump says US has ‘total control’ over Strait of Hormuz Iran could prolong war until Trump is out of office, Revolutionary Guards adviser says Pakistan condemns Houthi attack on vessel in Red.

ISLAMABAD - Afghanistan’s terror­ist threat remains un­changed as groups threaten neighbors and Central Asia, while Tali­ban support for TTP fu­els attacks on Pakistan, provoking military ex­changes, a UNSC report says.

• Taliban chief reportedly warned outfit to halt attacks or risk losing support • UN report points to training links involving TTP, BLA, Al Qaeda • ISIL-K attacks decline in Afghanistan, but increase in Pakistan ISLAMABAD: The Afg­han Taliban’s continued support for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has contributed to a rise in the frequency and lethality of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, even as Kabul has taken some initial steps to rein in the group, according to a UN Security Council-mandated monitoring report. The report also points to growing operational and facilitation linkages among the TTP, Al Qaeda, Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIL-K) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). The 38th report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, covering the period from Dec 16, 2025, to June 9, 2026, said that “cross-border attacks between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated, provoked by a high number of attacks by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakis­tan against Pakistan”. Like previous editions, the report was ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that Pakistan was “still far” from becoming a social welfare state, which he said was the original purpose of the country’s formation. The premier was speaking at an event in Islamabad to mark International Youth Day 2026, observed on August 12. He also inaugurated several initiatives for the youth, including the Power Sector Innovation Programme, the National Youth Employment Policy and the Skills Ambassador Programme. As part of the National Youth Employment Policy, the premier announced that a 35 per cent quota would be specified for women in the labour force. Every year, a 10pc quota will be specified for startups as well to facilitate youth in starting their own businesses, he said. In his speech, PM Shehbaz said that Daanish schools were a step towards making Pakistan a country where young people would have equal opportunities for advancement, irrespective of their financial status. He said that during his tenure as Punjab chief minister, he had establishe...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted a fresh spell of rain and thunderstorms across upper and central Pakistan from August 13 to 15, with widespread showers expected in most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beginning tonight.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide will undertake an official visit to Pakistan on August 13-14 to discuss avenues for expanding bilateral cooperation, trade and investment. In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said, “At the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Norwegian FM Eide will undertake an official visit to Pakistan on 13-14 August 2026.” According to the FO, the visit to Pakistan will be the first by a Norwegian foreign minister in a decade. During the visit, the FO said that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Norwegian counterpart would hold delegation-level talks covering the full spectrum of Pakistan-Norway relations. “The two sides will discuss avenues for further expanding bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade and investment, climate change, renewable energy, education and people-to-people contacts. “They will also exchange views on important regional and international developments,” it added. FM Eide has appreciated and acknowledged Pakistan’s ef...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday condemned the attack by Yemen’s Houthis on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea that claimed the lives of three Pakistanis and said Islamabad was in contact with the relevant authorities to ascertain further details. The attack targeted a Tanzania-flagged vessel Tihamah, causing deaths and injuries among its crew. Apart from three Pakistanis, an Indonesian was also killed in the attack. Dar said in a post on X that he had also received reports of a Pakistani being injured in the attack. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” he said, adding: “Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel.” “Such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” he said. “We are in contact with the relevant Saudi authorities, as well as the internationa...

ISLAMABAD - Japan yesterday extended grant aid worth ¥350 million for the 2026 Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) Programme in Pakistan, aimed at strengthening the capacity of Pakistani government institutions through advanced education and training of public officials at leading Japanese universities.

LAST month, 117 prominent activists and former officials from India and Pakistan wrote an open letter to Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif calling on the two prime ministers to resume engagement as both countries faced shared economic, security and environmental challenges that needed urgent attention. The letter is unlikely to have any effect. The India-initiated absence of a dialogue is not just a consequence of the conflicted India-Pakistan relationship. It is a policy by itself underscoring India’s negative posture towards Islamabad that betrays no hint of a change. Even if the dialogue did take place it might change little. Historically, whether or not India and Pakistan were talking, their relationship showed little variation, as if it had been inoculated against friendship since infancy. Yet the relationship is not doomed forever; its failure is less due to the complexity of issues than to the policy choices by the two sides, especially India. Modi’s hard line on Pakistan is not exceptional. That has be...

• Calls on international community to pressure Israel to halt settlement expansion on Palestinian land • Guterres says Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank have no legal validity and violate international law WASHINGTON: Pakistan on Tuesday urged the international community to persuade Israel to halt new Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands, warning that the situation was approaching a “dangerous tipping point”, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres said all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank had no legal validity and constituted a “flagrant violation” of international law. Britain urged Israel to do more to prevent and prosecute settler violence, while Russia warned that the West Bank was approaching a “point of no return” and risked profound regional destabilisation, as the UN Security Council debated escalating attacks on Palestinians and settlement expansion. “The situation is approaching a dangerous tipping point. Unless this trajectory is reversed, the consequences for the two-stat...

Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday for an official visit as Pakistan continues its diplomatic efforts to encourage dialogue between Iran and the United States amid tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.

In a phone call with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani congratulated Pakistan on the signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Tuesday. The joint defence agreement, signed on August 7 between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, aims to strengthen collective deterrence and empowers its signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them. In a post on X, FO said that the two leaders spoke last night, during which Dar’s Bahraini counterpart congratulated him on the agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye and also expressed intentions to visit Pakistan in the near future. Dar, for his part, welcomed the Bahraini foreign minister’s desire to visit and expressed appreciation for his comments. FO said that during the call, DPM Dar “reiterated Pakistan’s firm commitment to promoting dialogue and diplomacy to achieve peace and stability in the region ...

Pakistan is observing National Minorities Day on Tuesday to recognise the contributions of religious and ethnic minorities to the country and reaffirm the commitment to their rights and equal citizenship.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Monday, reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening the multifaceted partnership with Kazakhstan, specifically through enhanced regional connectivity, expanded trade linkages, and closer collaboration in the fields of energy, education, and people-to-people exchanges.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, on Monday, reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening the multifaceted partnership with Kazakhstan, specifically through enhanced regional connectivity, expanded trade linkages, and closer collaboration in the fields of energy, education, and people-to-people exchanges.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has rejected the Afghan Taliban regime’s claim that weapons are being smuggled from Pakistan into Afghanistan for so-called “subversive activities”, calling the allegation “frivolous, baseless and contrary to established facts”.

Birmingham gold medallist says federation’s IWF ban has derailed his career and cost Pakistan medals