Pakistan

Special prayers were offered in the mosques across the country during Jumma congregational prayers on Friday, expressing deep solidarity with the Pakistan Army amid ongoing tensions.

Remittances from overseas Pakistani workers clocked in at $3.2 billion for the month of April, up 13 per cent year-on-year, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data released on Friday. Topline Securities, a brokerage firm in Karachi, noted, “Worker remittances clocked in at US$3.2bn, up 13pc YoY in Apr-2025. “This takes 10MFY25 remittances to US$31bn, up 31pc YoY,” it added. According to the firm, inflows during April were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($725m), UAE ($658m), UK ($535m), and US ($302m). Earlier, the government had set a target of $35bn in remittances for the current fiscal year (FY25), but financial experts believe the inflow would exceed the estimate. “The inflows could reach up to $36bn in FY25,” said a currency dealer in the banking market. A study published by the Asian Development Bank found that Pakistani migrants tend to remit more when economic conditions are improving back home and when there is a positive association between remittances and domestic economic activity. The stu...

Pope Leo XIV on Friday celebrated his first Mass in Vatican City’s Sistine Chapel where he was elected less than 24 hours earlier and prayed that his historic papacy can help the Catholic Church be a beacon illuminating “the dark nights of this world”. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost and the first US pope, looked serene as he said the Mass in the famous, frescoed chapel with the same cardinals who chose him to be the 267th pontiff and the successor to Pope Francis. Dressed in relatively simple white and gold vestments, Leo, who was born in Chicago but spent two decades as a missionary in Peru, said a few words in English before continuing his homily in fluent Italian. He painted the spiritual picture of the Church he would like to see under his papacy. “God has …. entrusted this treasure to me so that, with his help, I may be its faithful administrator for the sake of the entire mystical Body of the Church,” he said. “He has done so in order that she may be ever more fully a city set on a hill, an ark...

Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recovered nearly 4,000 points on Friday after the index suffered its largest-ever plunge a day earlier, causing losses to the tune of Rs820 billion loss to equity investors following Indian drone attacks in major cities across the country. The benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 799.65, or 0.77 per cent, to stand at 104,326.46 from the previous close of 103,526.81 at 11:06am. At 4:31pm, the index recovered 3647.82, or 3.52pc, to stand at 107,174.63 from the last close. Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, said that after falling sharply by 6pc yesterday, the stocks had recovered. “So far, there has been no news of any major escalation which helped restore confidence,” he said. Yousuf M. Farooq, director research at Chase Securities, noted, “Stocks on the PSX remained volatile today, opening higher as participants increasingly factored in that an all-out war with India is unlikely. “Some investors have begun accumulating stocks trading at highly attrac...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday expressed satisfaction over a significant 31% increase in remittances during the first ten months of the fiscal year 2025, compared to the same period last year.

THE October 2023 judgement had been widely hailed as ‘historic’. The one issued by five judges this Tuesday will one day prove equally significant, albeit for entirely different reasons. Earlier this week, while Pakistanis were still cheering for their air force after it successfully tackled the late-night marauders next door, the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench threw a wet blanket on the public mood with the announcement that it was restoring sections of the Pakistan Army Act that allow for civilians to be court-martialled. Ruling with a 5-2 majority, the bench overturned the unanimous decision issued in October 2023 by five senior justices of the Supreme Court — including three who are still serving, most notably the incumbent chief justice of Pakistan — who had ruled that there could be no justification under the Constitution for military trials of civilians. It may be recalled that the original judgement also ruled that all cases against civilians being tried under the Act should be transferred to ci...

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday notified Syed Waqar Mehdi as a Senator on a General Seat from Sindh, with his term ending on March 11, 2027.

Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared on Friday that Pakistan will not bow to any external pressure regarding its security and is fully equipped to counter any form of aggression.

ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry will brief foreign media on escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, with top Air Force and Navy officials also addressing the situation.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday briefed the Acting US Ambassador to Pakistan on the escalating Indian aggression following the recent Pahalam incident, emphasizing the threat posed to regional stability.

The conflict between India and Pakistan over occupied Kashmir offers a potentially rich intelligence harvest for China in its own rivalry with India as it gleans data from its fighter jets and other weapons used in action by Pakistan. Security analysts and diplomats say China’s military modernisation has reached a point where it has the ability to deeply scrutinise Indian actions in real-time from its border installations and Indian Ocean fleets as well as from space. “From an intelligence perspective, this is a rare target of opportunity right on China’s borders involving a key potential adversary,” said Singapore-based security analyst Alexander Neill. Two US officials said a Chinese-made J-10 Pakistani jet fighter shot down at least two Indian military planes — one of them a French-made Rafale fighter. India has not acknowledged the loss of any of its planes while Pakistan’s defence and foreign ministers have confirmed the use of J-10 aircraft but have not commented on which missiles or other weapons were ...

Pakistan has taken down a total of 77 Indian drones so far, state media reported.

Security sources have confirmed that six Indian drones of Israeli origin were shot down in different parts of Punjab, including Vehari, Pakpattan, and Okara.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met with Finland’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Hannu Ripatti, to discuss strengthening bilateral ties, particularly in education, technology, trade, and diplomatic engagement.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to suspend the remainder of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 “with immediate effect for one week”, according to a statement on Friday. An IPL match on Thursday was abandoned midway after fighting began in India’s border regions, but the cricket board attributed the disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala. “Further updates regarding the new schedule and venues of the tournament will be announced in due course after a comprehensive assessment of the situation in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders,” said the statement from BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com. “The decision was taken by the IPL Governing Council after due consultation with all key stakeholders following the representations from most of the franchisees, who conveyed the concern and sentiments of their players, and also the views of the broadcaster, sponsors and fans; while ...

A dogfight between Chinese-made Pakistani jets and French-made Indian Rafale fighters will be closely scrutinised by militaries seeking insights that could offer an edge in future conflicts. A Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two US officials told Reuters, marking a potential major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet. The aerial clash is a rare opportunity for militaries to study the performance of pilots, fighter jets and air-to-air missiles in active combat, and use that knowledge to prepare their own air forces for battle. Experts said the live use of advanced weapons would be analysed across the world, including in China and the United States which are both preparing for a potential conflict over Taiwan or in the wider Indo-Pacific region. One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian figh...

The official X (formerly Twitter) account of Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs was hacked late Thursday night, according to a spokesperson for the ministry.

US Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the United States will not interfere in the conflict between India and Pakistan.

All airports across Pakistan remain fully operational, according to Pakistan Airports Authority spokesperson Saifullah Khan, who clarified that any flight cancellations are being made at the discretion of individual airlines.

AS tensions with India continued to escalate, Pakistani officials responded to a number of apparently false claims made by Indian officials and media. On Thursday night, Indian news channels were flooded with reports claiming that India’s air defence systems had shot down Pakistani jets during alleged attacks on multiple locations across Jammu in India-held Kashmir and Punjab in India. Although the claims were widely repeated, no evidence or footage was offered to substantiate them. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar dismissed the claims that India shot down Pakistani jets, including an F-16 and two JF-17 fighter jets. He termed the claim “absurd and false”. “Fake and concocted stories will get you nowhere. Such false claims only reflect your desperation. Denied and rejected,” the minister said in a post on X. Separately, speaking to Geo News, the information minister challenged the Indian government to provide proof of downing any PAF fighters or capturing a pilot. “I am 100 per cent denying it. With fulle...