Pakistan

Pakistan's programme on track but energy, food costs and remittances at risk

Pakistan Apparel Forum warns of industrial shutdown as production costs hit record high

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President Asif Ali Zardari has returned to Pakistan after concluding a five-day official visit to China, marking another step in strengthening bilateral diplomatic and economic ties.

The government of Punjab has launched Pakistan’s first virtual women police station, aimed at making it easier for women to report harassment and seek protection.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has inaugurated the “Rahmat Card Programme” aimed at providing financial support to widows and orphan children.

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The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab) has issued a weather alert warning of windstorms and rain in several parts of Punjab from Saturday until May 4.

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday announced a new set of rules and regulations for kite-flying during next year’s Basant festival. After nearly two decades, a three-day Basant festival was celebrated in Lahore in February, following Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s decision to lift a ban on the cultural event of celebration, colours and kite-flying, with strict regulations. The festival was banned in 2007 because of the increasing number of deaths and serious injuries caused by sharp strings, particularly to motorcyclists and pillion riders, as well as by celebratory gunfire. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has said that the festival will be celebrated in February 2027 and will be “bigger and better than the one held this year”. Speaking to Dawn, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said, “The new regulations have been issued on the directives of CM Maryam to ensure the protection of life and property.” She said that compliance with these instructions would be mandatory for every citizen, bui...

Climate colonialism argues that the climate crisis is not an accident — it is the outcome of centuries of extraction. The world’s richest countries, a small percentage of the global population, are responsible for the majority of historical greenhouse gas emissions while regions like South Asia contribute little but face the harshest impact today. It is estimated that the G20 countries produce about 80 per cent year on year of global greenhouse gases. This disproportionate extraction and consumption of resources by a handful of countries contributes to crises that the rest of the world pays for. The climate colonialism framework connects past exploitation with present suffering by examining the drivers of the climate crisis — colonialism, capitalism and consumerism. Ahmed Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer and former member of the Pakistan Climate Change Council, discusses all this and much more as he dives into drivers behind the climate crisis with DawnNews. As Pakistan confronts the accelerating realities...

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday directed that an effective regulatory system for virtual assets in line with international standards should be operationalised as soon as possible The remarks came as PM Shehbaz met with State Minister and Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal Bin Saqib in Lahore, according to a handout by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). “PM Shehbaz directed that an effective regulatory system for virtual assets in line with international standards should be fully operationalised as soon as possible to promote the digital economy in Pakistan and enhance investor confidence,” the handout said. During the meeting, the prime minister said that special measures should be taken to provide training to the youth in modern technologies, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and digital finance, so that the country’s workforce can be aligned with future requirements. Saqib also briefed PM Shehbaz on the PVARA’s transition into an operational regul...

The Pentagon said on Friday that it had reached agreements with seven AI companies to deploy their advanced capabilities on the War Department’s classified networks as it seeks to broaden the range of artificial intelligence (AI) providers working across the military. The statement notably excludes Anthropic, which has been in dispute with the Pentagon over guardrails for the use of its artificial intelligence tools by the military. The Pentagon labelled the AI startup, which is widely used across the Department of War, a supply-chain risk earlier this year, barring its use by the Pentagon and its contractors. SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, several of which already work with the Pentagon, will be integrated into its Impact Levels 6 and 7 network environments, giving more of the military access to their products, the Pentagon said in a statement. By expanding the AI services offered to troops, who use it for planning, logistics, targeting and a bevvy of other rea...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday constituted a high-level committee to review the issue involving One Constitution Avenue, a skyscraper in the federal capital that houses residential apartments, and also halted authorities from taking any action. The development comes a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) upheld the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) decision to cancel the building’s lease due to the company behind the project defaulting on payments. Late last night, reports had also emerged on social media of residents being served eviction notices by officials. Apartments in the building are also reportedly owned by prominent personalities, including PTI founder Imran Khan, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Shandana Gulzar Aurangzeb, former minister Burjees Tahir and former caretaker prime minister Nasirul Mulk. According to Radio Pakistan, the committee formed by the premier will be headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and will include Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, the c...

The US war on Iran has boosted prices of globally traded natural gas by throttling exports from the Gulf. In West Texas, gas is so abundant that some producers must pay to have it taken away. The war and Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy producers have halted 20 per cent of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply. Qatari LNG facilities have been damaged, and tankers have been unable to sail through the Strait of Hormuz waterway at the Gulf’s entry because of Iranian threats to fire on them. The crisis has exposed a major split in the global gas market: Import-dependent countries across Europe and Asia are scrambling for scarce supplies, but the US — the world’s largest gas producer, consumer and exporter — remains awash in fuel, with prices near 17-month lows. But US pipelines are full and LNG export plants are at capacity, so that cheap US gas cannot reach overseas buyers, creating a bifurcation much more stark than in the oil markets. Since the war began on February 28, gas futures at the US Henry Hub benchma...

India raised on Friday the prices of commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and jet fuel for international airlines, according to a state-run energy firm, as supply pressures from the Middle East war mount. The South Asian nation is heavily dependent on imported energy, including for roughly 60 per cent of its LPG, the fuel used for cooking by a vast section of its population, the largest in the world. As imports have been disrupted since the Middle East war began in late February, New Delhi has moved to ensure households and essential sectors remain adequately supplied, leaving many restaurants, manufacturers and power plants in the lurch. The government has maintained that India faces no overall fuel shortage. “Prices of bulk and commercial LPG cylinders have been revised,” the state-run Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), the country’s leading energy marketing company, said. IOCL’s price chart shows an increase of 993 rupees ($10.50) in the price of a 19 kilogramme LPG cylinder meant for commercial us...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a high-level committee to review the matter related to One Constitution Avenue.

A petition has been filed in the Federal Constitutional Court challenging the latest increase in petroleum product prices in Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: A private citizen has approached the Federal Constitution Court (FCC), seeking relief against the recent increase in petrol and diesel prices, it emerged on Friday. The government on Thursday raised petrol and diesel prices while simultaneously extending fuel subsidies for motorcyclists and the transport sector, seeking to cushion the impact of rising global oil costs on vulnerable consumers. Moved under Article 175(E) of the Constitution, the petitioner, Advocate Zulfikar Ahmed Bhutta, called on the court to direct the government to withdraw the recent price hike in the petroleum products. The petition requested that directions be issued to the government to provide petrol and diesel at the rate of Rs200 per litre. It said that the government should also ensure the import of petroleum products from Iran through all available sources, including pipelines, on an urgent basis. The petition also contended that the government should request Middle East countries to provide petroleum products on special...

Pakistan recorded a second consecutive month of improving security indicators in April 2026, with militant attacks and related casualties declining markedly, according to a report released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS). The Islamabad-based think tank documented 85 verified militant attacks in April, down from 146 in March, a 42 per cent decrease. As per the data, fatalities resulting from militant attacks fell from 106 in March to 60 in April, continuing a downward trend that began the previous month, when overall combat-related deaths dropped by 35pc. The report said that the improvement follows Pakistan’s cross-border military campaign targeting militant groups and Taliban positions between February 26 and March 18, which concluded with a suspension and subsequent talks in Urumqi, China. Pakistan had launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq on the night of February 26, following unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border. According to the PICSS report, tota...