Pakistan

The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced the launch of the Ehsaas Fuel Support Scheme for commercial transport operators to provide relief amid rising petroleum prices following recent regional tensions affecting fuel markets.

After their face-to-face talks yielded no agreement, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday said it was now time for the United States to decide whether it can “earn” Tehran’s trust. In a post on X, written in Persian, Ghalibaf said: “America has understood our logic and principles, and now it’s time for it to decide whether it can earn our trust or not?” Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation, recalled that before the negotiations, he “emphasised that we have the necessary good faith and will, but due to the experiences of the two previous wars, we have no trust in the opposing side”. “My colleagues on the Iranian delegation Minaab168 raised forward-looking initiatives, but the opposing side ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations,” he added. The Iranian parliament speaker went on to state: “We certainly consider diplomacy of authority to be another method, alongside military struggle, for achieving the rights of the Iranian people, ...

Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi will inaugurate the upgraded Tourist Safari Train today at Rawalpindi Railway Station, according to official sources.

The demand for the Iranian rial has witnessed a sharp increase in Pakistan, with the currency reportedly gaining nearly fourfold against the Pakistani rupee in recent weeks, according to exchange market sources.

DHAKA: A self-proclaimed spiritual leader was beaten to death by a mob in Bangladesh on Saturday, officials said, in the latest violence fuelled by religious tensions in the country. Muslim-majority Bangladesh has seen a sharp rise in religious intolerance and mob violence since the 2024 uprising that toppled the government of former premier Sheikh Hasina. Shamim Reza Jahangir, believed to be in his 60s, died from his injuries after hundreds of people stormed his residence in Kushtia district and thrashed him with sticks, chief administrative official Touhid bin Hasan said. The mob was angered after an old video of the man resurfaced online on Fri­day. He had uttered remarks against the Holy Quran. “Sensing that something might happen, police went to the spot, and the administration tried their best. But an angry mob of more than 200 people attacked his residence,” bin Hasan said. Jahangir was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police sources said that Jahangir had been briefly arres...

ISLAMABAD: The Jinnah Convention Centre (JCC) on Saturday became a hub of foreign and local media as journalists gathered to cover the historic US-Iran talks. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also holds the portfolio of foreign minister, said in a statement that more than 50 foreign journalists had come to Pakistan to cover the event. He said Pakistan had offered the facility of visa-on-arrival to foreign journalists. Earlier, foreign and local media persons were assembled at a local hotel, from where they were taken to the JCC in special buses arranged by the Information Ministry. The convention centre was turned into a large media centre where special booths were set up for private TV channels from which they conducted their talk shows. However, they had no direct access to the venue where the historic talks between the US and Iran were under way. Local media appeared to be more constrained in obtaining information about the talks and relied on updates received by American and Iranian journalists from t...

ISLAMABAD: Ministers of finance and central bank governors of developing countries will launch the ‘Borrowers’ Platform’ to improve their debt management capacity in Washington on April 15, during the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings. Finance Minister Muhammad Aura­ngzeb and Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouck will jointly preside over the launching of the platform, to be held at the United Nations Foundation. The launch comes amid rising debt pressures across developing countries. To mark this historic occasion, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend the platform’s launch. The initiative is member-state-led, with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) serving as the secretariat. The platform addresses a gap in the international financial system, where developing countries remain under-represented while creditor coordination has expanded, UNCTAD says. Pakistan and Egypt lead Borrowers’ Platform launch The platform will open a new space for cooperation on debt. A key, lo...

• Most cases linked to Korangi and Malir; study stresses immediate wound care and timely post-exposure treatment to prevent deaths • Findings point to substantial virus burden in stray dogs; experts call for scaling up vaccination and improved dog population management KARACHI: A study published in an international journal has found that the rabies virus — one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world — is widely circulating among the city’s dog population, highlighting a high risk of exposure to the virus and an urgent need for prevention, surveillance, and prompt treatment. In a first, researchers at the Indus Hospital detected rabies virus RNA in samples taken directly from fresh bite wounds, offering a breakthrough for surveillance. The study, titled Detection of rabies virus RNA in dog-bite wounds in a rabies-endemic area: evidence from an observational cohort study, is published in eBioMedicine, part of The Lancet Discovery Science. Under the study, a total of 100 patients with World Health Orga...

GILGIT: The caretaker cabinet of Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday approved the renaming of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) as the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), and police recruitment for 600 newly created posts. It also decided to hand over as many as nine roads in GB, with a total length of 461km, to the National Highway Auth­ority (NHA). The caretaker cabinet meeting was held under the chairmanship of Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Yar Muha­mmad at CM Secretariat in Gilgit. Addressing a press conference at the CM Secretariat, GB Care­taker Information Mini­ster Ghulam Abbas, accompanied by Car­etaker Home Minister Sajid Ali Baig, Caretaker Finance and Planning and Development Min­ister Abrar Ismail, Car­etaker Forest Minister Hafiz Sharafuddin, and spokesperson for the CM Shabbir Mir, briefed the media. He said the GB cabinet appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for their role in bringing about a ceasefire between the US and Iran through sincer...

SAHIWAL: City Police claimed to have recovered an 11-year-old girl 48 hours after she had gone missing from the E-Green Bus Stop at Jogi Chowk while standing with her maternal aunt on April 8. Station House Officer (SHO) Rai Nasir said the girl had allegedly been kidnapped by a woman and was later recovered. She was handed over to her parents. According to police, the missing child, Faizain Bibi, a resident of Chak Thatha Anayat in Okara district, had come to Sahiwal with her aunt, Shaheen Bibi, for shopping. They were waiting at the Jogi Chowk bus stop for the E-Green bus when the girl suddenly disappeared. Despite an extensive search by passengers and bystanders, no trace of her was found. The family initially tried to locate her on their own before registering a case (No. 282/26) under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the City Police Station on the complaint of her father, Muhammad Nawaz. Sahiwal District Police Officer (DPO) Usman Tipu constituted a special team led by SP Investigation Shafqat Ra...

SARGODHA: Marriage halls have been fined Rs200,000 for violating the one-dish policy and directed to strictly comply with the regulation. According to sources, the assistant commissioner took action against several marriage halls in Sargodha for serving more than one dish at wedding events, imposing fines totalling Rs200,000. During surprise inspections, officials found that government orders were being flouted at multiple venues. The assistant commissioner said violators had been penalised and warned that strict implementation of the one-dish policy would be ensured. “Violation of government rules will not be tolerated under any circumstances, and action against such elements will continue,” the official said. However, a marriage hall owner, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged selective enforcement of the policy. He claimed the restriction was being applied to ordinary citizens, while influential individuals, particularly ruling elites, were exempt. He further alleged that at two wedding ceremonies a...

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has welcomed the successful conclusion of talks between the United States and Iran, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to supporting peace through active diplomatic engagement.

• Move comes after President Trump slams deal as ‘big mistake’ • Legislation underpinning the deal shelved; standoff leaves indigenous Chagossians in limbo LONDON: Britain’s government said Saturday it has put on hold its deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, following criticism from US President Donald Trump over the future of a crucial joint military base on the archipelago. The planned legislation to underpin the deal, which requires Washington’s backing, will not be included in the government’s upcoming parliamentary agenda, The Times newspaper reported. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said London would continue to seek Washington’s formal approval for the agreement. The deal has become a point of contention in what analysts describe as a period of strained relations between the two historical allies. Under the agreement, Britain would hand the islands back to Mauritius while retaining control of the strategically vital US-British military base on the atoll of Diego Garcia thro...

US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that no agreement was reached with Iran following more than 21 hours of negotiations in Islamabad, citing remaining differences between the two sides.

• Support aimed at easing pressure on foreign exchange reserves • Islamabad preparing to repay $3.5bn UAE debt this month • Finance Minister Aurangzeb departs for IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings • Visit seen as critical amid regional tensions, economic pressures • Officials hope for ‘peace dividends’ in engagements with global lenders ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to receive $5 billion in financial support from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, offering a critical buffer for its fragile external position, as Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb departed for Washington on Saturday to attend the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings and advance the country’s economic diplomacy. The expected inflows come at a crucial juncture, with Islamabad preparing to repay $3.5bn to the United Arab Emirates this month and facing pressure on its foreign exchange reserves, even as it seeks to leverage its role in facilitating US-Iran dialogue to secure economic support from global lenders. Officials in Islamabad say the visit comes at a critical ju...

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in Lebanon and Gaza on Saturday, while an Israeli settler shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, according to officials. The widespread violence came a day after plans were announced for potential ceasefire talks between Lebanon, Israel and the United States. Israeli strikes on a village near Sidon in south Lebanon on Saturday killed eight people and wounded nine others, five of them seriously, the Lebanese health ministry said. Lebanon’s health ministry also said a total of 10 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the country’s south on Saturday, with state media reporting Israeli raids on more than a dozen locations. Earlier in the day, officials said strikes killed 10 people in the Nabatiyeh district. The ministry said the dead included a member of the Lebanese civil defence and two paramedics from the Islamic Health Committee, decrying Israel’s “systematic” targeting of emergency workers. Hezbollah slams planned negotiations with I...

US Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that the US had not been able to reach an agreement with Iran, after 21 hours of “substantive discussions” under the umbrella of the “Islamabad Talks” which commenced on Saturday afternoon. He was addressing a press conference in Islamabad after the direct talks between delegations from the two countries, mediated by Pakistan, stretched into a second day on Sunday. “We have been at it now for 21 hours, and we have had a number of substantive discussions, that’s the good news,” said Vance. “The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement,” he added. “We have made very clear what our red lines are, what things we are willing to accommodate them on and what things we are not willing to accommodate them on,” said the US vice president, adding that the Iranian delegation had “chosen not to accept our terms”. Vance began the press conference by appreciating Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, sayi...

• US, Iran hold first face-to-face meeting in decades marking a significant moment for two countries • Marathon meet

Iran denies US claim of 'clearing out' Strait of Hormuz

Diplomatic momentum builds in Islamabad despite sensationalism and skepticism from Indian media