Pakistan

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Thousands of bookings cancelled in twin cities due to traffic disruptions, road closures

'Hun Dan' blends indigenous storytelling with themes of culture and identity

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After two days of closures, traffic flow was restored across Pindi and Islamabad

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb reached Washington on Sunday, where he will attend plenary meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) from Oct 13 to 18. The meetings bring together global finance ministers, central bankers and development leaders, offering Pakistan a crucial platform to secure the next IMF tranche, advance economic reforms, and engage international partners on growth, investment, and resilience. Aurangzeb’s visit comes after a IMF mission concluded talks with Pakistani authorities on reviews of two lending programmes totalling $8.4 billion without announcing a staff-level agreement (SLA). Before leaving for the US, the finance minister had expressed optimism that the SLA with the IMF would be finalised next week during his visit to Washington. Separately, Pakistani officials in Washington told media representatives that during the 2025 annual meetings, the delegation from Islamabad would focus on securing the third IMF tranche, meeting the remaining programme be...

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Sunday urged the PTI and other political parties to unite in backing the “charter for a stable Pakistan”, saying the initiative had become more crucial than ever following last night’s border escalation with Afghanistan. According to a statement from the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), overnight skirmishes between Kabul and Islamabad erupted on the night of Oct 11-12, after “Afghan Taliban and India-backed militants launched an unprovoked attack along the Pak-Afghan border”. Pakistan said its forces responded decisively, killing over 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Afghanistan to rein in the Fitna-al-Khawarij — a term the state uses for militants linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — saying the group operates from Afghan soil. Kabul, however, has denied any involvement. Speaking during a media briefing in Fais...

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Victim dies on the spot after multiple axe blows; suspect on the run

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Pakistan has issued a stern warning to the Afghan Taliban government, cautioning that any future terrorist attack in Balochistan or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will trigger direct military strikes on Taliban posts across the border, security sources said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit — also referred to as the Gaza Peace Accords signing ceremony — in Egypt on October 13, co-hosted by US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) confirmed on Sunday.

The Foreign Office said on Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would visit Egypt tomorrow (Monday) to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of the peace agreement aimed at ending the “prevailing grave situation in Gaza”. “At the invitation of the president of Egypt, HE Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and the president of the United States, HE Donald Trump, the prime minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, will visit Egypt on October 13, 2025 to participate in the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit and attend the signing ceremony of the peace agreement aimed at ending the prevailing grave situation in Gaza,” the FO statement said. The prime minister would be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, as well as other senior ministers during the visit, it added. The summit is taking place amid positive signs of Palestinians getting respite from the two-year-long Israeli onslaught. During this period, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed ...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly is set to elect a new chief minister on Monday (October 13), with four candidates formally entering the contest after their nomination papers were accepted on Sunday.