Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday spoke to his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan wherein they discussed the recent regional situation and matters of mutual concern.

The World Bank (WB) has recently approved additional financing for Pakistan, amounting to $108 million to execute two projects supporting access to social services, markets and jobs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The international lender also greenlit $78m in additional financing to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project (KPRAP) along with $30m to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project (Kite), enabling both projects to achieve their objectives in improving access to health and education services, markets and jobs in a way that strengthened resilience to natural disasters in the province. “By rehabilitating critical rural road infrastructure and enhancing disaster preparedness, KPRAP and Kite projects are not only improving access to essential services like health and education, but also fostering climate, economic resilience and creating job opportunities for local communities,” WB Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine said in a news release on Tuesday. He said the $78m in addi...

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Tuesday that the provincial government was working to bring ride-hailing services in Karachi under one system, according to a press release issued by his spokesperson. “We are working to bring the [online] taxi system in Karachi under one umbrella in an integrated and modern manner,” the statement quoted Memon as having said while chairing a meeting of the transport department. Memon added that these services will be organised under one umbrella so that safe, standard and legal facilities can be provided to passengers. The minister’s spokesperson Husain Mansoor, speaking to Dawn.com, said, “All online taxi services like Careem, Yango would be brought under one system.” The statement added that Special Assistant to the Sindh Chief Minister on Investment and Public-Private Partnership Qasim Naveed Qamar, Transport Secretary Asad Zamin, and Sindh Mass Transit Authority Managing Director Kamal Dayo also attended the meeting. The senior minister added that providin...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Kazakhstan on Monday renewed efforts to deepen educational cooperation by organising a joint education fair and Vice Chancellors’ Summit at the National University of Technology (NUTECH), where a high-level Kazakh delegation engaged with Pakistani academic leaders under the Higher Education.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan, China leadership have attached great importance to agricultural collaboration, identifying it as a priority in bilateral cooperation.

Peshawar - Advisor to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, met with a delegation from the British High Commission in Islamabad today.

ISLAMABAD - Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has hailed the proposal of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif for an impartial and transparent investigation into the Pahalgam incident.

The Pakistan Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday said the country had “credible evidence” proving that the Jaffer Express attack was “externally sponsored by its regional adversaries”, according to a press release. The Jaffar Express train was hijacked on March 11 when Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists ambushed the Peshawar-bound train carrying 440 passengers, opening fire and taking hostages. Security forces launched a two-day operation, concluding on March 12. Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that all 33 terrorists were neutralised, but no hostages were harmed in the final rescue phase. During the launch of the “Victims of Terrorism Association Network”, Jawad Ajmal, a counsellor at the Pakistan Mission, emphasised that the international community has a responsibility to support survivors of brutal terrorist attacks and the families of victims whose lives were permanently altered by such tragedies. He underscored the need for collective actio...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to safeguard its sovereignty and national interests.

A report outlining the facilities provided to Bushra Bibi, wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, was submitted by the Adiala Jail Superintendent to the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday.

Several parts of Sindh, including Karachi, continued to experience intense heat on Tuesday, with the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warning that hot and humid conditions are expected to persist over the coming days.

At least 70 people were injured and one person lost their life when an oil tanker exploded in Balochistan’s Nushki district.

The Pakistan Army shot down an Indian surveillance quadcopter after it violated Pakistan’s airspace along the Line of Control (LoC), security sources confirmed.

Pakistan armed forces have successfully shot down an Indian spy quadcopter on Line of Control (LOC). According to security sources, the Indian spy quadcopter was shot down along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Bhimber sector’s Manaawar area. The quadcopter was attempting espionage by violating Pakistani airspace. Security sources described the incident as evidence of the Pakistan Army’s vigilance, professionalism, and robust defensive preparedness. They emphasized that the military remains ready to respond swiftly to any aggression from the enemy. Tensions have escalated between India and Pakistan after Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists. Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, offering his support for initiatives aimed at promoting de-escalation and dialogue between the two countries. He reiterated his readiness to support any initiativ...

Lights flickered back to life in Spain and Portugal on Tuesday after a massive blackout hit the Iberian peninsula stranding passengers in trains and hundreds of elevators while millions saw phone and internet coverage die. Electricity had been restored to more than 90 per cent of mainland Spain early on Tuesday, the REE power operator said. Lights came on again in Madrid and in Portugal’s capital. Barely a corner of the peninsula, which has a joint population of almost 60 million people, escaped the blackout. But no firm cause for the shutdown has yet emerged, though wild rumours spread on messaging networks about cyber attacks. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the source of the outage was “probably in Spain”. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said “all the potential causes” were being analysed and warned the public “not to speculate” because of the risk of “misinformation”. Sanchez said about 15,000 megawatts of electricity, more than half of the power being consumed at the time, “suddenly d...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board will meet on May 9 to discuss the country’s staff-level agreement for a new $1.3 billion arrangement under a climate resilience loan programme, along with the first review of Pakistan’s ongoing $7bn bailout programme, the global lender said. According to the Fund’s website, this will be the first “review under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility”, along with request for an arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Previously, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb during his visit to Washington had said he also expected the IMF Executive Board to approve in early May. Approval from the board would trigger the disbursement of a $1bn tranche under the programme, which Pakistan secured in 2024. The IMF programme has played a critical role in stabilising Pakistan’s fragile economy, providing much-needed external financing and boosting market confidence. Pakis­tan and the IMF had reached a three-year, $7bn aid packag...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and the United Kingdom have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation on climate action, nature conservation, and green economic growth under the Pakistan-UK Green Compact.

ISLAMABAD - Justice Ayesha Malik gets honorary Degree from the prestigious University of London by the Chancellor University of London, Princess Royal, Princess Ann at the prestigious Barbican Centre.

Says water rights of all provinces protected by Water Apportionment Accord of 1991 and Water Policy of 2018 Pakistan reserves right to protect its water interests if India blocks due water.

LAHORE: The police and employees of the government hospitals clashed on The Mall on Monday when the former tried to stop the latter from entering the high security zone where the international cricket players and other VIP guests were staying. The clash left some protesters as well as the policemen injured. The protesters, including the young doctors, had announced on Sunday to take out the rally under the banner of the Grand Health Alliance (GHA) and stage a sit-in outside the Chief Minister House. The young doctors alleged that the police used force, tortured the protesters, including women, and arrested some of them. The police high-ups claimed that the protesters used syringes and knives they had brought from the hospitals, and injured some law enforcers. They said the employees were asked to avoid using the road leading to the high security zone, which led to the physical clash. YDA stops entry of policemen to all public hospitals The eyewitnesses said a part of The Mall from Charing Cross to the Alhamra...