Pakistan

Owing to spike in demand, per-truck freight rates have risen sharply

Study flags debt risks, CBAM pressures and need for policy fixes to support industries

PTA issues warning on registration compliance to safeguard telecom security

Seed tech programme under joint initiative has already trained 700 professionals

Urge Sindh govt to ensure Rs85b subsidy reaches end-consumers

Plans for 20% of global LNG market by 2030-2035 challenged; output projected at 90-105 million tonnes by 2030

Three major US stock indexes end session in positive territory; crude erases earlier gain

Forecast raised as impact of US tariffs proves smaller than expected

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced on Thursday that it will resume direct flights to London from March 2026, following the removal of a five-year ban on Pakistani airlines by UK authorities earlier this year.

The PTI on Thursday approached the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) with a request for a three-day extension to the submission deadline for nomination papers in local body elections in Islamabad. According to the application, submitted to the ECP’s Diary Branchand available with Dawn, Baldiat Committee Secretary Anjum Shahzad Tanoli requested that the chief election commissioner extend the deadline to December 27. “With due respect, this is to draw your kind attention towards the schedule of local body elections in Islamabad, wherein the last date for submission of nomination papers has been fixed as 27th December,“ the application read. It noted that the government announced a local holiday on December 26, stating that it would significantly affect the process of filing nomination papers. “Islamabad comprises 125 union councils (UCs), and in each union council, at least nine councillors are required to submit their nomination papers,“ the application stated. “The announced holiday will create serious ad...

The Sindh government has announced the Bhutto STEM Scholarship, a new initiative designed to support talented students seeking higher education at the University of Oxford.

.

Five victims injured in four incidents, activists call for stronger laws

.

.

Use of firearms in populated areas of Khanewal condemned

.

The Cabinet Division of the Government of Pakistan has officially notified a public holiday on December 26 within the jurisdiction of Islamabad, while withdrawing the earlier announced holiday scheduled for December 24.

Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed two major initiatives — a power transmission strengthening project and an accelerating state-owned enterprise (SOE) transformation programme — totalling $730 million that would relieve overloading of existing transmission lines and improve operational efficiency. At the beginning of this year, Pakistan and ADB signed an agreement to provide $200 million in support to the country’s ailing power distribution system through network improvement. In the recent agreement, the second power transmission strengthening project amounts to $330m, while the accelerating SOE transformation programme is worth $400m, according to a statement issued on Thursday. Ministry of Economic Affairs Secretary Muhammad Humair Karim appreciated the Manila-based lending agency’s role and its continued support in advancing critical infrastructure and governance reforms, the statement said. He highlighted that the transmission project would “enable reliable evacuation of 2,300 megawatt f...

LONDON: Former special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) Mirza Shahzad Akbar was attacked in the United Kingdom, where he has been living in self-imposed exile since April 2022, leaving him sustaining facial injuries, including “bruising and a fractured nose”, it emerged on Thursday. “I have been attacked and been in the hospital and with the police. Bruised and fractured [sic],” the ex-SAPM said in text messages after Dawn reached out to him, seeking confirmation of a post about the incident on PTI’s X account. The PTI’s post at 9:50pm PKT on Wednesday said Akbar was attacked at his house in Cambridge in the morning. “The attacker punched him repeatedly in the face, as a result of which his nose and jaw were fractured,” it said. “Local police have collected all details, and an investigation is underway,” the party said. Later, taking to the X platform, Akbar denounced the attack as “cowardly” and expressed “full faith in the rule of law and in British law enforcement” in ensuring justice. “Yesterday at ...