Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The war in the Middle East will have a cascading impact on the global economy, even if the fragile ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump takes hold, World Bank President Ajay Banga told Reuters in an interview on Friday. And the damage will be far more serious if the ceasefire fails and the conflict escalates, he said. Banga on Tuesday said global growth could be lowered by 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points in a baseline scenario, with an early end to the war, and by as much as 1 percentage point if it endures. Inflation could increase by 200 to 300 basis points, with a much higher impact of up to 0.9 percentage points if the war continues, he said. The war, which has killed thousands of people across the Middle East, has sent the price of oil up by 50pc while disrupting supplies of oil, gas, fertiliser, helium and other goods, as well as tourism and air travel. The two-week ceasefire announced by Trump appears tenuous, with Israel and Iran continuing strikes. Iran said on Friday that blocke...

Since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28, Pakistan’s top civilian leadership has leaned on backchannel and direct telephonic diplomacy, using a steady stream of phone calls to position Islamabad as a bridge between Washington and Tehran. From the first day of the conflict, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif began reaching out to Gulf leaders, condemning regional escalation and showing solidarity. In the weeks that followed, both the premier and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expanded that outreach, holding repeated conversations with counterparts in Tehran, Gulf capitals, and key regional players. Here is a timeline of the calls made by Pakistan’s leadership since the conflict began.

Authorities have announced a comprehensive traffic diversion plan in Islamabad ahead of the arrival of foreign delegations for high-level talks between the United States and Iran.

RAWALPINDI: The district administration declared Saturday as a public holiday in Rawalpindi in view of the US-Iran dialogue in Islamabad. Earlier, the administration observed April 9 and 10 as public holidays and on Friday it extended it for another day. Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema told Dawn that the government had decided to declare public holiday in the district in relation to the security arrangements for the delegates in Islamabad. He said all emergency departments and institutions will remain operational. Hospitals and other services will also remain operational. Meanwhile, the district administration asked traders to close all bazaars and commercial outlets and petrol filing stations in some selected area like Murree Road, Airport Road and Peshawar Road to close their outlets on Friday and Saturday. Due to the security measures, the movement of residents will also be restricted to their localities. “The petrol filling stations on Murree Road, Airport Road and Peshawar Road have been close...

Opposition and treasury members exchange punches during the City Council session on Friday.—PPI • Treasury and opposition councillors fight over seating dispute • Mayor Wahab claims JI ‘spoiled the atmosphere’ • Opposition leader blames PPP for ‘hooliganism’ • House passes 13 resolutions after JI’s walkout KARACHI: A violent brawl erupted at the City Council session on Friday as members of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and opposition Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) clashed in a chaotic showdown with members trading blows and kicks, and even hurling chairs on each other. The commotion started when some PPP members objected to the JI members for sitting on chairs placed ahead the seat of the Opposition Leader Advocate Saifuddin, insisting that the opposition members should not be allowed to sit in front of the opposition benches. While Mayor Murtaza Wahab helplessly watched the ruckus, the PPP and JI members scuffled leading to fighting among members turning the City Council hall in to a battlefield. They kicked...

• Work to begin next month; 2,314 cameras to be installed across Karachi except district Central • CM reviews proposal to expand surveillance network to other Sindh cities KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has approved Phase-II of the Karachi Safe City Project, work on which is likely to begin next month. In the second phase, over 2,300 smart cameras and advanced monitoring infrastructure will be installed across Karachi. Presiding over a meeting of the Sindh Safe Cities Authority (SSCA) here at the CM House, the chief minister termed the project a major step towards strengthening urban security, surveillance and law enforcement capacity in the metropolis, saying ensuring public safety through modern technology remains a top priority of his government. The meeting was attended by Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Inspector General of Police Javed Odho, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Iqbal Memon and others. The meeting was informed that the Phase-II of the p...

WASHINGTON: As indirect diplomacy between the United States and Iran converges on Islamabad in the coming hours, the messaging from Washington has settled into a carefully managed tone of cautious optimism—tempered by clear acknowledgment that the process remains fragile. US President Donald Trump, speaking briefly before boarding Air Force One on Friday evening, projected guarded confidence in the American negotiating team while avoiding any suggestion that outcomes were pre-determined. “We’ll see how it turns out. So it’s JD and Steve and Jared. We have a good team, and they meet tomorrow. We’ll see how it all works out,” he said, referring to the delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and senior aides. At the same time, Trump framed the talks in explicitly strategic and transactional terms, suggesting that economic and geopolitical interests tied to regional chokepoints would ultimately shape outcomes. “The strait will open up. If we just left the strait, …(it) is going to open,” he said, adding that th...

• Growing number of service members seeking information on how to apply for discharge • March alone saw over 80 new cases, nearly double annual norm • School bombing in Iran cited as key turning point by many callers WASHINGTON: The US-Israeli war against Iran has caused an unprecedented surge in US service members seeking information about conscientious objection, according to the Centre on Conscience and War, a nonprofit that advises troops on their rights. The group says calls to its 24-hour GI Rights Hotline have increased by 1,000 per cent in recent weeks, with many active-duty personnel asking how to apply for discharge as conscientious objectors — a rarely used and often complex process. In interviews with various US media outlets, including National Public Radio, the centre’s executive director, Iraq War veteran Mike Prysner, said the spike reflects a deep moral reckoning among troops in the wake of the conflict with Iran. “In a typical year, we see about 50 conscientious objector applications from ac...

• Ceasefire talks loom as Lebanese death toll in war nears 1,900 • Air raid sirens wail across northern Israel amid fresh rocket barrage • UN warns of looming food crisis as conflict sends prices soaring BEIRUT: An Israeli stri­ke on the southern Lebanese city of Nabatiyeh killed at least 13 State Security personnel on Friday, a source from the government agency said, as fierce cross-border fighting raged despite plans for ceasefire talks between the two countries. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said “enemy warplanes laun­ched a series of heavy strikes” on Nabatiyeh. One of the strikes hit the State Security office in the vicinity of the government complex. An AFP photographer at the site saw extensive damage and a fire still burning hours later. The attack comes as the Lebanese government prepares for negotiations with Israel next week to end a war that has killed nearly 1,900 people in Lebanon since it began in early March. Lebanon’s presidency said on Friday that a meeting would be held with Isra...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced a Rs135 per litre cut in diesel and Rs12 per litre in petrol prices for the week ending April 17 to pass on the impact of ease in global prices following a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. The ex-depot price of high-speed diesel (HSD) has now been fixed at Rs385.54 per litre against Rs520.35, showing a 26 per cent or Rs135 per litre decrease. HSD is considered the most inflationary item given its use in freight transportation. On the other hand, petrol price has been cut by around 3pc to Rs366.58 per litre for the next week from Rs378.41, down by Rs11.83. The price of kerosene was also reduced by Rs17.33 to Rs450.15 per litre and that of light diesel oil (LDO) by Rs25.31 to Rs369.72 per litre. Informed sources said the reduction in the diesel price was not purely because of a fall in global rates, but chiefly because of the correction in the pricing formula that entailed undue benefit to local refineries as the spread between t...

The delegation from Iran touched down in Islamabad late on Friday night ahead of talks with the United States, with US Vice President JD Vance and his delegation en route to Pakistan as well. The talks are taking place during a two-week halt in the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began with the former launching attacks on the latter on February 28. An appeal by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week led to a pause in the fighting, with negotiations scheduled for Saturday. According to the Foreign Office (FO), the Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and comprising Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the defence council secretary, governor of Iran’s central bank and lawmakers, was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. “DPM/FM expressed the hope that parties would engage constructively, and reit...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Friday that the government was reducing the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs135 per litre and that of petrol by Rs12 per litre. He made the announcement in a televised address to the nation. PM Shehbaz said HSD would be available at Rs385 per litre and petrol at Rs366 per litre from 12am on Saturday. Moreover, he said targeted subsidy initiatives announced by the government following the fuel crisis resulting from the Middle East crisis would not be discontinued. Separately, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar shared the notification for the new prices on X, according to which the price of kerosene has also been reduced by Rs17.33 per litre to Rs450.15 and that of light diesel oil by Rs25.31 per litre to Rs369.72. PM Shehbaz had begun his address by saying he was speaking to the nation at a “historic occasion”, when there was talk of peace instead of war in the Gulf. He said that parties that had been facing each other in a war had now agreed t...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasised Pakistan’s strong commitment to expanding its cooperation with Saudi Arabia in all spheres, particularly in trade, investment, and economic development, during a meeting with Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah al Jadaan, according to a statement issued by the PM’s Office (PMO). The statement said Jadaan, who was on a one-day visit to Islamabad, called on PM Shehbaz at the PM House on Friday evening. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir also attended the meeting, it added. “Welcoming the Saudi dignitary, the prime minister conveyed his respectful regards to … King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud. “The prime minister fondly recalled his recent warm and cordial telephone conversation with the crown prince. He expressed appreciation for the crown prince’s deep affection towards Pakistan as well as for the kingd...

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday emphasised Pakistan’s strong commitment to expanding its cooperation with Saudi Arabia in all spheres, particularly in trade, investment, and economic development.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday approved the establishment of a dedicated Cyber Crime Unit to address the rising incidents of online harassment and blackmail, particularly targeting women and children.

Islamabad - The Pakistan Navy successfully rescued and evacuated 18 crew members, including nationals from China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Indonesia, in the North Arabian Sea.

ISLAMABAD - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Friday projected Pakistan’s growth to accelerate to 3.

Islamabad - The war in the Middle East will have a cascading impact on the global economy, even if the fragile ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump takes hold, World Bank President Ajay Banga tells Reuters in an interview.

ISLAMABAD - In a major relief to the masses, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced a further reduction in fuel prices, slashing diesel by Rs 135 per liter and petrol by Rs 12 per liter, fully passing on the benefit of the decline in international oil prices to the common man.

In his address to nation Shehbaz Sharif hopes US-Iran talks will lead to permanent ceasefire Says negotiations are make-or-break to achieve peace UK’s Starmer felicitates PM Shehbaz on hosting peace talks.