Pakistan

Expansion of global suppliers exposes policy failures and declining competitiveness in Pakistan's top export sector

.

Cabinet members recommend ZTBL loan waiver for flood-hit growers

Dispute over control, offshore assets and misconduct allegations clouds future of $100m tech exporter

Govt should promote long-term investment that will lead to faster networks, more tax revenue

Selling pressure emerges after midday amid futures contract rollover

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...

Iran insists diplomacy is the only way to resolve a decades-long nuclear dispute with the West, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian state TV on Monday, adding it was time for the West to choose “cooperation or confrontation” amid looming sanctions. Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, launched a 30-day process on August 28 to reimpose United Nations sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon. Araqchi said he will meet with his European counterparts and the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, in New York this week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme. Two European diplomats told Reuters the meeting will be on Tuesday. “They have tested Iran repeatedly and know we do not respond to the language of pressure and threat,” Araqchi said. “I hope we can find a diplomatic solution in the coming days, otherwise, Tehran will take appropriate measures.” The E...

As of August 2025, Palestine has been recognised as a state by 147 of the United Nations’ 193 member states. Despite nearly three-quarters of the world’s nations accepting it as one of them, Palestine’s status remains contested. Whilst it has the status of a permanent observer state at the UN, which allows for participation but does not grant voting rights, its actual status seems to be in between — it is neither a state nor entirely not a state. Its status is all the more perplexing given that the issue of how an entity becomes a state in international law is itself highly uncertain. Becoming a State States are formally equal sovereigns in international law and all have the same legal personality. In the international system, they are juridically equal, with inequalities of power between them not affecting this inherent equality. The concept of independence and equality of a sovereign state is one of the axiomatic principles of international law. States remain the most fundamental actors in the global legal ...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Monday condemned the deaths of civilians during “operations against terrorists” in the province’s Tirah area. Earlier, a senior police officer in the area told AFP on condition of anonymity that “jets targeted four houses, which were completely destroyed”. He, however, did not say who carried out the attack. The incident generated criticism from multiple quarters. A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat said CM Ali Amin Gandapur met a delegation from the district following the incident with PTI MNA Iqbal Afridi, the KP chief secretary, additional chief secretary (home), Peshawar commissioner and other officials also present in the meeting that reviewed the law and order situation in the “context of the unfortunate incident” that occurred in Tirah. “Martyrdom of civilians in the incident is regrettable and condemnable. Martyrdom of civilians as a result of operations against terrorists is unacceptable,” the statement quoted CM Gandapur as saying. It added tha...

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq led a parliamentary delegation to Bahrain on the special invitation of President of the Council of Representatives Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam to reinforce Pakistan’s parliamentary diplomacy and expand its regional outreach.

Tech giant Oracle is set to provide security for a US version of TikTok’s algorithm, the White House said on Monday, under a deal for the sale of the Chinese-owned app’s American operations. The proposal moves TikTok’s US operations into a new joint venture based in the United States, a senior White House official told reporters, adding that the entity would involve a “majority-American board of directors.” Oracle, in turn, is expected to serve as a security provider. The agreement provides that a copy of TikTok’s content recommendation algorithm be brought into the US joint venture system, the official said. “It’s going to be fully inspected and retrained by the security provider on US user data, and then it’s going to be operated by that US entity,” the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Washington has forcefully sought to take TikTok’s US operations from the hands of the Chinese parent company ByteDance over national security reasons. Under President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, C...

Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar on Monday announced he would challenge the Supreme Court (SC) registrar’s decision to return his petition, which sought the court’s intervention to fix the hearing of pending petitions contesting the 26th Constitutional Amendment before a full bench. “This amounts to undermining and closing the doors of justice. Will file an appeal,” Khokhar said on X. The 26th Constitutional Amendment takes away the SC’s suo motu powers, sets the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term at three years and empowers a special par­liamentary committee to nominate the next CJP from among the three most senior SC judges. Invoking the inherent jurisdiction of the apex court for the enforcement of fundamental rights under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, Khokhar had pled the apex court on September 4 for the immediate fixation of the pending challenges to the 26th Amendment before the full court, in compliance with the Oct 31, 2024, decision of the judges’ co...

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...

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday took notice of an attack last night on Metro 1 News anchorperson Imtiaz Mir in Karachi’s Malir area that injured him. According to a statement issued by the Saudabad police station late last night, Mir was shot and injured by unknown gunmen in Malir district’s Kala Board area. “It seems to be targeted,” said the statement, adding that further investigation was under way. CM Shah took notice of the “murderous attack on senior journalist Imtiaz Mir”, said a statement issued by the CM’s spokesperson, Abdur Rasheed Channa. Expressing deep regret over the incident, the chief minister sought a report on the incident from Sindh Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon. Saudabad Station House Officer (SHO) Atiqur Rehman told Dawn.com, “The journalist is admitted at the intensive care unit of [a] private hospital.” He added that Mir sustained two bullet wounds, including one on the mouth. “He was travelling in a car, which his brother was driving, when armed pillion riders targ...

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.

The District and Sessions Court in Islamabad on Monday ordered the arrest and production of former Sindh governor and PTI leader Imran Ismail in connection with the Azadi March case.

A first information report (FIR) was registered against suspects who allegedly gunned down three transgender persons in Karachi, it emerged on Monday. The bodies of three transgender individuals were recovered from Karachi’s Memon Goth area after midnight on Sunday, according to Edhi Information Centre. It said the bodies were found riddled with bullet holes and that the deceased were taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medicolegal formalities. The complaint was filed at Memon Goth police station on Sunday under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 302 (murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, registered by a transgender person who lived in the same building as the three victims, they told the complainant on Saturday evening that they were headed to Bahria Town on Super Highway. “I tried calling them, but they did not answer. I kept calling them until 1am,” the complainant stated in the FIR. Ït was not until I opened WhatsApp that I...

A new polio case has been confirmed in Sindh’s Hyderabad district, taking the nationwide tally to 27 this year and total cases in Sindh to seven, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Monday. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed progress. According to a statement from the NIH, “With this detection, the total number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2025 has reached 27 – including 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seven from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.” NIH added that, “Polio Eradication conducted a Sub-National Polio Vaccination Campaign in September 2025 across 88 districts of the country including Hyderabad.” The campaign immunised “approximately 21 million children under the age of five,” NIH said. The next polio immunisation campaign will run from October 13 to 19 and aims to tar...

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur chaired a meeting of the Health Department here on Monday to review the performance of the Healthcare Commission over the past six months.