Pakistan | Pakistan

The moon marking the start of Rabi ul-Sani 1447 Hijri was not sighted anywhere in Pakistan, and the first day of the Islamic month will now be observed on Thursday, September 25, 2025.

Pakistan has welcomed the recent announcements by several countries recognizing the State of Palestine, calling the move a victory for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

ISLAMABAD - Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Pakistan, Alisher Tukhtaev, on Monday highlighted the centuries-old cultural, spiritual, and historical ties between Uzbekistan and Pakistan, describing the two nations as ‘one family bound by history and faith’.

Lahore - Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has said that China has always stood by Pakistan in every sector, and if this friendship continues with the same spirit, Pakistan will soon overcome its challenges.

ISLAMABAD - Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, has said that his country is ready to work more vigorously with Pakistan under the leadership of the two countries for common development and strengthening strategic partnership.

Pakistan twice came from behind in an enthralling South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-17 Championship clash against India, only for their arch-rivals to go ahead for a third time and eventually clinch a 3-2 victory at the Colombo Racecourse Stadium on Monday that secured top spot in the group. Goals in each half by Pakistan’s Mohammad Abdullah, from the penalty spot, and Hamza Yasir had levelled the Group ‘B’ clash at 2-2 by the 70th minute but India’s substitute Rahan Ahmed found the winner in the 73rd to take his side through to a semi-final against Group ‘A’ runners-up Nepal. Pakistan, meanwhile, take on Group ‘A’ winners Bangladesh with both last-four clashes to be held on Thursday. Both teams had already secured semi-final berths and heading into the final group game, Pakistan held the advantage by the barest of margins — on goals scored — and a draw would’ve sufficed for Nasir Ismail’s side to avoid Bangladesh, who have ousted them in the semi-final stage of each of the last two editions. Bangl...

Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan has said his team is confident that it would face “India again in the final” of the men’s Asia Cup next Sunday. India romped home on Sunday with a six-wicket win, chasing down the 172-run target with ease in their second high-intensity encounter against Pakistan in the tournament. Pakistan rode on a brilliant 45-ball 58 from opener Sahibzada Farhan but managed 171-5 after romping to 93-1 in 9.3 overs. Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Monday, before Pakistan clash with Sri Lanka tomorrow, the opener said: “We are confident that we will face India again in the final (of the Asia Cup).” Speaking about his celebration after he scored his half-century against India, he said: “I hardly celebrate after a 50. It was a spontaneous thought to celebrate that way — I don’t care for what people are making of it.” He added that Fakhar’s role from the other end gave him confidence to play his shots. In Pakistan’s last match against India, the bitterness between the two sides — w...

A new polio case has been confirmed in Hyderabad district, Sindh, raising Pakistan’s total number of cases in 2025 to 27, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported.

India men’s captain Suryakumar Yadav claimed matches against Pakistan can no longer be considered a real rivalry after his side extended their recent dominance over the Green Shirts with a six-wicket victory in their Asia Cup Super Four clash on Sunday. India’s second win over Pakistan at the T20 tournament padded their head-to-head record in the format to 11-3 against the Green Team, with one match tied. Pakistan still has a lead in the overall record against India across all three formats with 88 wins against India’s 79 victories. Played against the backdrop of lingering tensions between the two nations in the wake of their military conflict in May, there were no handshakes between the players once again. “According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches and if it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry,” Suryakumar told reporters. “But 13-0, 10-1. I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore.” Defending champions India dropped four catches during the match, and Suryakumar said th...

• 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...