Pakistan

PESHAWAR - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has written a letter to the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, urging him to reconsider the proposed withdrawal of tax exemptions for the merged districts (MDs) and Malakand Division.

ALTHOUGH it will take time for US-Iran negotiations to produce a durable peace deal, regional states have begun positioning themselves to benefit from the new economic opportunities that are likely to emerge. Anticipating greater regional integration, Türkiye, for example, has announced incentives to attract manufacturing investment. Pakistan, too, is well placed to benefit. It has earned global goodwill for helping reduce regional tensions and supporting diplomatic efforts for peace. At home, the economy has reached an important inflection point. After restoring macroeconomic stability, the challenge now is to move towards investment-led, export-oriented and inclusive growth. The new budget seeks to balance fiscal discipline under the IMF programme with steps to ease business constraints and give relief to citizens — an aim that’s essential but not easy to fulfil. Implementation of the broader reform agenda is a sine qua non for availing emerging opportunities: improving security, making energy prices compet...

Casualties reported across Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which borders Vietnam

Meta also invests about $60 million in local infrastructure, including roads and water systems

IS the fragile US-Iran ceasefire — and the memorandum of understanding that underpins it — collapsing? Unless deconfliction measures kick in, and both sides show restraint, a return to wider hostilities seems very likely. The latest round of violence was sparked by suspected Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz; the ships were apparently targeted because they were not following routes designated by Tehran. The US retaliated by attacking Iranian facilities early on Wednesday, prompting Tehran to hit sites in Kuwait and Bahrain that it claimed were US facilities. But what has raised eyebrows is US President Donald Trump’s comment that the MoU with Iran is over, and that talks with the Islamic Republic were a “waste of time”. It should be remembered that Mr Trump earlier scuttled the Iran nuclear deal during his first presidency, therefore his threats cannot be taken lightly. But while using unparliamentary language to describe the Iranians, the US leader paradoxically also left the door open for d...

British-Pakistani doctor and women's advocate will become only the third Pakistani to compete at Miss Supranational

Coldplay-curated spectacle will debut at the World Cup final, with an 11-minute performance raising halftime concerns

• Verdict says land acquired for public purpose must retain ‘original use’ • Upholds PHC ruling against housing scheme on mill land ISLAMABAD: In what has been billed as a verdict that may set a precedent for land use policy nationwide, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Wednesday ruled that land acquired for a specific public purpose — such as industrial development — cannot subsequently be converted into residential housing schemes. “We… hold that since the land in question was acquired specifically for the establishment of Paper and Board Mills, the petitioner company cannot claim, as a vested, absolute or indefeasible right, its conversion into a housing scheme,” FCC Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan observed in a judgement he authored. A two-judge FCC bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin and comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, took up an appeal filed by M/s Adil International (Pvt) Ltd against the Sept 11, 2024, judgement of the Peshawar High Court, which had rejected the petitioner company’s plea. “The...

Deal comes as Australian Premier Albanese hosts Indian counterpart Modi for summit in Melbourne

Index touches an intra-day high of 182,276.81, low of 179,411.35, indicating volatility in session

WASHINGTON: Pakistan and the United States will begin two days of trade negotiations in Washington on Thursday, with tariffs expected to dominate the agenda as Islamabad seeks relief from new US import duties while pursuing a broader bilateral trade agreement. The talks, which were held on Wednesday as well, follow extensive negotiations over the tariff regime announced by President Donald Trump on April 2, 2025, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which initially imposed a 29 per cent tariff on Pakistani exports. A Pakistani delegation that visited Washington in July 2025 succeeded in persuading US officials to reduce the proposed tariff to 19pc following discussions with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), officials familiar with the negotiations said. Two-day trade talks with US Trade Representative start today The delegation returning to Washington for the latest round of talks will be led by Commerce Secretary Jawad Paul and includes Foreign Office spok...

Elusive designer Martin Margiela is breaking his camera-shy silence to auction off his personal Paris archive

• Summons agency’s chief for briefing on online portal, enforcement timelines • Senators seek briefing on revised mechanism for registration of blasphemy FIRs ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights expressed concern over the delay in processing of complaints by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and the technical issues with its online complaint portal. In its meeting chaired by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, the body reviewed the NCCIA performance, delays in cybercrime complaint redressal, the procedure being followed in blasphemy-related cases and progress in the murder case of Lahore resident Ahmed Javed. Senator Quratulain Marri informed the meeting that a sustained online campaign had been launched against her and her family on social media, and that no effective action had been taken despite the filing of a formal complaint through legal counsel. The NCCIA officials told the committee that technical and operational constraints had affected the online complaint system....

• Report alleges state capture of superior judiciary • Calls for repeal of 26th, 27th amendments • Favouritism, nepotism cited as major concerns LAHORE: A new report by the International Federation for Human Rights and one of its member organisations, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, has pointed out widespread and systemic corruption at all levels of Pakistan’s justice system, with grave consequences for human rights. The 32-page report, titled ‘Under the Bench: Mapping corruption risks in Pakistan’s justice system’, details the multifaceted ways in which corruption, described as endemic throughout Pakistan’s judicial system, has affected the independence and effectiveness of the judiciary and its ability to uphold fair trial rights and protect other fundamental freedoms. The report suggests there are indications that judicial corruption in Pakistan has reached a systemic scale and may amount to grand corruption. “This report shows the extent to which corruption has become entrenched in all aspects of...

ISLAMABAD: Amid hot and humid weather, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) has declared force majeure — a legal term that absolves contractual liability — for its inability to supply regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) for three weeks due to renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. This may significantly hamper the power supply from over 5,000MW of RLNG-based plants in Punjab and curtail the transmission of power from Sindh to upcountry load centres, resulting in higher loadshedding in the days ahead. Informed officials said while rationing from already imported cargoes could help mitigate shortages, the government would have to increase dependence on the expensive spot market. In separate letters to four RLNG-based power plants in Punjab, the Lahore-based SNGPL said it had been updated by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) that ‘the event of force majeure notified due to ongoing war in the Gulf region remains in effect and continues to prevent the performance of its supplier’s obligations under their LNG S...

• NA panel seeks cheaper financing for Lyari freight corridor • Voices concern over K-IV delays, funding shortfall ISLAMABAD: The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on Wednesday warned a parliamentary panel that any renewed US-Iran escalation could adversely affect Pakistan’s economy through higher energy costs, inflation, increased external financing needs and slower economic growth. Against this backdrop, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division, led by Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, advised the government to evaluate all possible cost-effective options for the construction of the multi-billion-rupee Lyari Elevated Freight Corridor (LEFC) before entering into stringent loan conditions with the Korean Exim Bank. The committee also expressed concern over delays and cost overruns in the Karachi Greater Water Supply Project (K-IV). The EAD team, comprising parliamentary secretary Zeb Jaffar and federal secretary Humair Karim, informed the committee that Pakistan entered 2026 with improving macroe...

Latest tally puts the injured at 16,740 and the homeless at 17,907

CDF Munir, CM Bugti, and heads of law enforcement agencies attending the meeting

Democratic lawmakers estimate conversion will cost more than $1 billion, raise concerns about its security

Brent crude futures rise 86 cents, or 1.1%, to $78.88 a barrel