Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The launch ceremony of National Security Strategy 2002–2026, the 16th volume of A Personal Chronicle of Pakistan by Ikram Sehgal, was held at the Serena Hotel, bringing together senior military officers, diplomats, policymakers, academics, government officials, educationists and business leaders.

ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar yesterday held a telephone conversation with the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Relations and Foreign Trade of Venezuela, Félix Plasencia, during which the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and expanding.

ISLAMABAD - Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry Sunday accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sister, Noreen Niazi, of promoting an anti-state narrative.

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that not every dispute over appointments in public universities constitutes a constitutional matter, overturning the Sindh High Court’s June 13, 2025 judgment that had invalidated faculty appointments at the University of Karachi.

ISLAMABAD - Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, will undertake an official visit to Pakistan today (July 20) at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, marking her first trip to the country since assuming office.

• JUI-F leader says criticism not aimed at institution • Insists he has utmost respect for martyrs, recalls how many comrades have fallen prey to terrorism ISLAMABAD: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday refused to apologise for his controversial remarks about security personnel, saying he had no disagreements with state institutions; rather his misgiving were with those “at the helm of affairs”. In a no-holds-barred address to a party lawyers’ convention in the federal capital, the JUI-F chief slammed what he termed “a propaganda campaign” against him. The Maulana was alluding to his remarks at a political gathering in Kasur last week, where he spoke about security and terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where he reportedly made certain comments about security personnel. The statement had drawn widespread condemnation from political circles, and a number of ruling party ministers and leaders called on him to apologise for his remarks, and withdraw them. The JUI-F chief, however, maintaine...

Monsoon death toll climbs in province as authorities issue fresh landslide warnings

ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met National Party President Dr.

ISLAMABAD: With less than a week to go in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, the PML-N and the PPP have stepped up their election campaigns, with their top leadership taking charge of the election campaign to galvanise their support base. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is already in AJK for canvassing — just like he did in Gilgit-Baltistan, where his party ended up forming the government. Hoping to prevent a repeat of the GB polls, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, who has hitherto kept a low profile, has decided to step in and lead the election campaign in Kashmir. He is expected to address multiple rallies in Azad Kashmir. Observers see this election as ‘Nawaz vs Bilawal’ — with some claiming that the election campaign will be trickier for the PML-N because of widespread resentment against the political party over its purported role in the crackdown on protests led by the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). They believe that the PML-N is utilising all efforts to win the Kashmir polls because it ...

The release of the Household Integrated Economic Survey and Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement data presents a clearer picture of poverty and economic distress in Pakistan. This data has appeared after a gap of nearly six years, during which several important events and shocks took place. In 2018-19, the country had to go through a painful macroeconomic adjustment to counteract the yawning current account deficit left behind by the then departing PML-N government. Between 2020 and 2021, the global economy faced massive contraction on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. The expansionary policies designed to mitigate this contraction then led to increased inflation and monetary tightening the world over, which dried up dollar liquidity and raised commodity prices. During this cycle, the PTI government pursued ill-advised growth via the expansion of domestic consumption, which once again increased imports and reintroduced another balance-of-payments crisis. That crisis, coupled with the global oil pr...

Actor credits humour, faith, self-reliance for helping her navigate life's difficult moments

PAKISTAN’S ruling elites have long regarded the country’s geographical location as a strategic asset enabling it to project itself as a significant regional player and bolster its geopolitical position. But location cuts both ways. It has also been a liability. Few countries have faced the headwinds from their geography as Pakistan. An overbearing and hostile eastern neighbour, contested borders inherited from colonialism, unresolved Kashmir dispute, volatile neighbourhood and a western neighbour roiled by strife and foreign interventions, all combined to create a permanent security dilemma. That dilemma drove the country’s enduring search for stability. Pakistan’s long-standing strategic nightmare was having to confront two ‘hot fronts’ simultaneously. The imperative to avert this shaped its strategic thinking, security policy and strategy. The tyranny of geography always weighed heavily on the country. That has not changed. What has changed is the scale and gravity of the threat. Pakistan now faces a three-...

QUETTA: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday reiterated the federal government’s resolve to address Balochistan’s economic and development-related concerns through the constitutional framework. He made these remarks during a meeting with a parliamentary delegation of the National Party (NP) headed by its president, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch. During the meeting, Dar emphasised that the federal government rem­ains committed to supporting Balochistan in tackling its diverse challenges and fulfilling the aspirations of its people for sustainable economic growth, progress, and prosperity. Dr Baloch appreciated the deputy prime minister’s engagement and affirmed that the National Party is prepared to cooperate with all stakeholders to promote the welfare and development of the people of Balochistan. He also stated that the insurgent groups active in the province do not enjoy public backing or legitimacy among the people of Balochistan. He briefed Dar on the political and security situation following the recent tra...

• FFD warns of low- to medium-level flooding in Chenab and Ravi over next 24 hours • Woman, two children killed after landslide buries their house in AJK’s Kotli • At least 11 killed by flash floods in occupied J&K LAHORE/MUZAFFARABAD: The River Chenab swelled to nearly 180,000 cusecs after torrential rains triggered flash floods in India-occupied Kashmir, killing at least 11 people, with the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) of the Pakistan Meteorological Depart­ment forecasting low to medium flooding in the river at Marala and the River Ravi at Jassar over the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, a woman and her two children were killed in the early hours of Sunday after a massive landslide triggered by heavy rainfall buried their house in a village in Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The influx pushed the River Chenab into the medium flood category, according to a senior official of the Punjab Irrigation Department. He said India had not provided Pakistan with prior information on upstream river flows. ...

THREE reports last Friday — a widening food trade gap, return to a current account deficit, and the government’s shift to daily fuel pricing amid renewed Gulf tensions — reveal how fragile Pakistan’s external sector remains, despite the recent macroeconomic stabilisation. The headline current account deficit of just $139m in FY26 appears reassuring. But the composition of the external account tells an uncomfortable story: Pakistan avoided a large deficit not because it exported more, but because expats sent home $41.6bn. Without those remittances, the external account would have deteriorated sharply. Exports remained largely stagnant. Goods exports declined, while the modest increase in services exports merely offset part of the loss. Meanwhile, imports stayed elevated, producing a merchandise trade deficit exceeding $35bn. The deterioration in agricultural trade is particularly worrying. Pakistan, an agrarian economy, saw food imports rise nearly 12pc to over $9bn while raw food exports plunged almost 30pc. ...

• Move aimed at preserving at least three months of import cover • Petrol, diesel prices to be revised only on working days • Ogra to now publish working details on its website • Govt to retain control over levy, climate levy, customs duty, deemed duty, margins ISLAMABAD: The government may shift back to fuel conservation and austerity measures as early as this week or next, as renewed hostilities in the Middle East raise pressure on oil prices and foreign exchange reserves. At the same time, prices of the two major petroleum products — petrol and high-speed diesel — will be revised only on working days, even though the move has been portrayed as a step towards deregulation and daily pricing. Retail petroleum prices will be announced every working day, from Monday to Friday, and not on Saturdays and Sundays. The announcement will be made by the Petroleum Division late in the evening, as usual, but not on a weekly basis. Effectively, rates announced on Friday will remain in place for the next three days — Satu...

Hangzhou centre generates 165kph winds, torrential rain to mimic real disaster conditions

• Strikes reported near Iran’s Darkhovin nuclear facility • Iran targets American bases; Kuwait’s power, desalination plants hit again • Momeni may visit Islamabad today for high-stakes talks • Jordan, Qatar, Iraq press Washington and Tehran to resume dialogue • Arab League warns war could rattle energy & trade GULF nations have called for an urgent return to diplomacy as the United States and Iran continue a widening exchange of attacks, raising concerns that the confrontation could spiral into a broader regional war. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani have held a phone call, stressing the need for joint efforts to end the dangerous regional escalation, Jordan’s state media reported. They called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to negotiations to secure a comprehensive resolution. They noted that a final agreement must address all root causes of tension and guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormu...

Rise of movement reflects frustrations among young Indians over high youth unemployment, frequent exam paper ​leaks

Singer unveils album cover for eight-track record including 'Ishq', 'Sunn Sajna', and 'Chaar Yaar'