Pakistan

The United States could raise tariffs on India if New Delhi does not meet Washington’s demand to curb purchases of Russian oil, US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “Modi is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy,” Trump said on Sunday. “They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly,” Trump said in response to a question on India’s Russian oil purchases. India’s commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50 per cent last year as punishment for its heavy buying of Russian oil. Despite the hefty tariffs, India’s exports to the US leapt in November. Encouraged by the improved trade data, Indian officials have maintained a firm stance against US trade demands, signalling limited flexibility in areas such as agricultural imports, while data shows India’s oil purchases from Russia have declined. India is asking refiners for weekly disclosures of Russian and US oi...

United States President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US might launch a second military strike on Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro if remaining members of the administration do not cooperate with his efforts to get the country “fixed”. His comments to reporters aboard Air Force One raised the possibility of further US military interventions in Latin America, and suggested Colombia and Mexico could also face military action if they do not reduce the flow of illicit drugs to the United States. “Operation Colombia sounds good to me,” Trump said. He also said that Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, “looks like it’s ready to fall” on its own without US military action. He also insisted the US was “in charge” of Venezuela after the seizure of Maduro, but was also dealing with the new leadership in Caracas. Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez said at the same time that she was ready to work together with the Trump administration, asking the US leader for a balanced, respectful ...

ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar yesterday held separate telephonic conversations with the foreign ministers of Malaysia and Egypt, as well as Bangladesh’s foreign adviser, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation and maintaining close diplomatic engagement.

ISLAMABAD - The year 2025 will be remembered in Pakistan’s legal history as the country’s judicial map was redrawn through creation of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC).

LAHORE: The police booked a singer for performing a song titled “Qaidi No 804” during a government-sponsored cultural event at the Shalimar Gardens here on Sunday. The suspect, a Qawwal, has been accused of giving the event ‘political colour’ as the song was associated with the jailed PTI founder Imran Khan. In the FIR, the complainant, the Shalimar Gardens in charge, Mr Zameerul Hasan, alleged that the singer, Faraz Khan, deliberately tried to exploit the cultural event and instigate people, as the song was associated with a particular political party. He said a music and cultural night was organised by the Walled City of Lahore Authority, which was a non-political event. However, he alleged the singer and his companions sang the song, associated with the PTI leader, on the demand of some audience. He told the police that the suspect should have kept in his mind that the event was open to the public, and was attended by people having affiliations with different political parties. The controversial song posed...

• People’s Unity alleges privatisation bidding process lacked transparency; employees barred from participation • Claims collective bargaining agent has expertise to turn around loss-making flag carrier ISLAMABAD: In what appeared to be a lost battle, the PIA Employees’ Combined Bargaining Agent (CBA), People’s Unity, has asked the government to put on hold the signing of the airline’s share purchase agreement (SPA) and the transfer of management control to the Arif Habib-led consortium until consideration of its reservations and a counter-offer. In a letter to PIA’s board of directors, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Privatisation, the union alleged that the privatisation process culminating in the bidding was non-transparent, claiming that employees were not allowed to participate. It said the CBA had the expertise to turn around the loss-making national carrier through professional management and a competent board. People’s Unity President Hidayatullah Khan said the government was repeating “th...

Beijing slams use of force; Islamabad urges restraint; CPEC, trade ties under spotlight at 7th Strategic Dialogue

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Central challenge is to turn fragile stability into broad-based prosperity

Short-term capital gains do not bode well for developing economy where millions are underemployed or unemployed

From zero-yield accounts to crypto and pensions, asset selection will now define outcomes

Promises on paper will not build factories or jobs; Pakistan needs systems, not headlines

Lessons from global megacities show data-driven transport and air-quality reforms can reverse trend

Economists see inflation, labour constraints, rising competition weighing on world's largest economy

Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah on Sunday said India’s claim of placing the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in “abeyance” has no legal basis and that the treaty remains fully in force under international law. In April 2025, India held the IWT in abeyance following the attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 — an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad without evidence. Pakistan termed any attempt to suspend its water share an “act of war”. In June, the Permanent Court of Arbitration held that India cannot unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance. Speaking on Geo News‘ programme ‘Jirga’, Shah talked about the legality of India holding the IWT in abeyance and said: “As far as holding the treaty in abeyance is concerned, the word ‘abeyance’ is not recognised under international treaty law. It is a coined term, because we believe India understands that it cannot suspend, breach or terminate the treaty.” However, he cautioned that India’s continued non-cooperat...

The United States is ready to work with Venezuela’s remaining leaders if they make “the right decision”, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday after an audacious US operation removed the oil-rich country’s president, Nicolas Maduro. “We‘re going to judge everything by what they do, and we‘re going to see what they do,” Rubio told CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation’. “I do know this: that if they don’t make the right decision, that the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage.” Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was in a New York detention centre on Sunday after US President Donald Trump ordered a US raid to capture the South American leader and take control of the country and its vast oil reserves. As part of the dramatic operation early on Saturday that knocked out electricity in parts of Caracas and included strikes on military installations, US Special Forces seized Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transported them via helicopter to a US Navy ship offshore before flying them to the US. ...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said the world must recognize that a just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute was the only way to achieve durable peace in South Asia.

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has set up Pre-Departure Facilitation Desks across all zonal offices to assist international travelers with immigration procedures and clearances, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced in a post on X on Sunday.

LAHORE - Federal Minister for Communications and President of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) Abdul Aleem Khan on Sunday said that the politics of abuse and intolerance had no place in a civilised society, stressing that mutual respect and dignity were collective responsibilities.

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