Pakistan

Education, health allocations to see major increases

Husband asked elder brothers for money for honeymoon

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Accused convicted of killing Saddam Hussain, injuring another

Victim ambushed by assailant on way home

R. Kelly says white supremacists were ordered to kill him in prison and demands release amid serious safety threats.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced Federal Budget 2025-26 on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Here is a brief summary of all his major announcements. Economic Performance & Reforms GDP Growth: Expected at 4.2% for FY2025-26. Inflation: Reduced to 4.7% (from 29.2% two years ago), targeted at 7.5% for FY2025-26. Fiscal Discipline: Primary surplus at 2.4% of GDP, budget deficit at 3.9% of GDP. Remittances: Increased […]

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Prosecutor on Tuesday appointed a two-member prosecution team to assist in the investigation and ensure the comprehensive preparation of the charge sheet in the murder case of TikTok star Sana Yousaf. The District and Sessions Courts have taken this step to strengthen the legal process in the ongoing investigation. The appointed team […]

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday condemned a “senseless wave of violence” after a teaching assistant stabbed by a 15-year-old pupil outside a school in the east of the country succumbed to her wounds. The secondary school student was arrested after attacking the 31-year-old assistant with a knife during a bag search in Nogent in eastern France, officials said. France has, in recent years, seen a series of attacks on teachers and pupils by other schoolchildren. “While protecting our children, a teaching assistant lost her life, the victim of a senseless wave of violence,” Macron wrote on X, commenting on the latest in a spate of such incidents at French schools. “The nation is in mourning and the government is mobilised to reduce crime.” Education Minister Elisabeth Borne was on her way to Nogent “to support the entire school community and the police”. “I commend the composure and dedication of those who acted to subdue the attacker and protect the students and staff,” she said on X. The pupil is 15...

The federal government has allocated Rs 39.

The federal government of Pakistan has proposed significant reductions in income tax rates for salaried individuals in the Budget 2025-26, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced during his budget speech at the National Assembly on Tuesday.

The federal cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Tuesday, has approved the budget proposals for the fiscal year 2025-26.

Pakistan government is expected to introduce new taxes worth up to Rs700bn in the budget 2025-26, to be presented later in the day.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday presented a Rs17.

The sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks is planned for Sunday, Tehran said as the two sides appear locked in a standoff over uranium enrichment nearly two months into the high-stakes negotiations. Iran has said it would present a counter-proposal to the latest draft from Washington, criticised by Tehran for failing to offer sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. “The next round of Iran-US indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement on Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from mediator Oman, which has hosted some of the previous rounds, while Washington has said the talks could be held as early as Thursday. The longtime foes have held five rounds of negotiations since April, the highest level contact since President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from a 2015 nuclear accord during his first term. Trump has said the next meeting was expected on Thursday, although a source familiar with preparati...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget for the fiscal year 2025-2026 in the National Assembly on Tuesday. Under the watchful eye of the International Monetary Fund, the government projected growth of 4.2 per cent and set an ambitious tax collection target at Rs14,131 billion, an 8.95pc increase from last year’s goal. The government had earlier promised relief for the salaried class in the next fiscal year. Use the calculator to ascertain how much you will be paying in taxes for the FY25-26.

• Many goods, services will now be taxed at higher rates • Lower rates for digital payments versus cash transactions set to replace distinction between filers, non-filers • Some relief expected for salaried persons earning around Rs100,000 per month ISLAMABAD: Facing limited room for fresh tax measures, the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government has resorted to rebranding taxation — shifting from “broadening the tax base” to pursuing “equity” — in an effort to justify higher taxes on lower-income segments. This transition comes as the government eyes a record revenue target of nearly Rs14 trillion for FY26, a 22 per cent increase over projections for the outgoing fiscal year. Tied to its commitments under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, the government estimates autonomous revenue collection at Rs12.845tr, based on 4.2pc GDP growth and 7.5pc inflation. To meet the ambitious target, the government will need an additional Rs655 billion in new tax measures and another Rs400bn through enforcement...

LAHORE: Although the country’s total installed power generation capacity is set to rise to 46,605 megawatts in the outgoing fiscal year (FY25), substantial capacity payments to idle power plants continue to burden electricity consumers nationwide. However, energy experts in both the public and private sectors remain optimistic that this capacity payment burden — estimated at Rs12 to Rs15 per unit and passed on to consumers — will gradually decline, as the government has halted new power projects and terminated power purchase agreements (PPAs) with several independent power producers (IPPs). “The issue of capacity payments is not considered very painful during summer, but it becomes more significant in winter when our total electricity demand drops to just 12,000-13,000 MW,” a senior official at the Ministry of Energy told Dawn on Monday. According to the Economic Survey, the country’s total installed electricity generation capacity reached 46,605MW, with the energy mix comprising hydel (24.4 per cent), therma...

ISLAMABAD: The cumulative expenditure on education by the federation and the provinces remained merely 0.8 per cent of the Grand Domestic Product (GDP) while the country’s literacy rate was a little above 60 per cent, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2024-25. The segregated data showed that the literacy rate was 60.6pc, with men at 68pc compared to 52.8pc among women. During the first three quarters of the ongoing financial year, the education-related spending decreased 29.4 per cent, dropping to Rs899.6 billion from Rs1,251.06 billion. The position may increase by June as the expenditure data is only available for July-March, said the survey. The cumulative education expenditures by the federal and provincial governments in FY 2025 were estimated at 0.8pc of the GDP compared to 0.9pc in the health sector. In the development budget for this financial year, Rs92.1 billion were earmarked for the education sector, including higher education. The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training...