Pakistan

US President Donald Trump’s summit with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing this week was the latest in decades of high-level diplomatic encounters between the two countries marked by drama, tension and surprising breakthroughs. Here are some of the most notable visits by US presidents to China: Cold War summit The US cut ties with China when the Communist Party (CCP) took over the country in 1949. Over two decades later, in February 1972, then-US president Richard Nixon flew to China to break the ice. Nixon met with Chairman Mao Zedong as well as premier Zhou Enlai, with whom he famously raised glasses of the fiery Chinese spirit baijiu. At a banquet in the Great Hall of the People, Nixon declared “there is no reason for us to be enemies”. A secret visit by national security adviser Henry Kissinger the year before laid the groundwork for the presidential trip, alongside reciprocal visits of table tennis teams termed “ping-pong diplomacy”. Nixon’s visit kicked off formal contacts that led to full diplomatic ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday welcomed the decision of Chinese technology firm IBI Group to establish its digital economy headquarters in Pakistan, saying the move would help strengthen economic cooperation and investment ties between Islamabad and Beijing.

United States President Donald Trump on Friday concluded his visit China, where he said he made “fantastic trade deals” with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump had arrived in Beijing seeking to seal deals in sectors including agriculture, aviation and artificial intelligence, as well as to contain differences between the two sides in a number of tense geostrategic areas — not least the Middle East war. Trump’s overtures to Xi, whom he described as a “great leader” and “friend”, have so far been met with more muted tones by the Chinese leader. But the US leader said “a lot of good” has come out of the visit. “We’ve made some fantastic trade deals, great for both countries,” he said, as Xi accompanied him through the gardens of Zhongnanhai, a central leadership compound next to Beijing’s Forbidden City. “We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve,” Trump added, without providing details. Xi said it was a “milestone visit”, and that the two sides had to date est...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday said that Pak-US ties had strengthened during United States President Donald Trump’s tenure. He made the remarks during a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur, the interior ministry said in a post on the social media platform X. The meeting was also attended by US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, and other officials. “During the meeting, discussions took place on Pakistan-US relations and the latest situation in the Middle East,” the ministry said. It added that views were also exchanged on increasing cooperation in the fields of security, counter-terrorism, and combating narcotics. “Pakistan-US relations have strengthened during Trump’s tenure,” the ministry quoted Naqvi as saying. “Pak-US relations are based on mutual trust and bilateral cooperation,” Naqvi said, adding foolproof security had been ensured for American companies working on the Reko Diq project. Accor...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday lauded the “historic” ties between Pakistan and China during a meeting with a Chinese business delegation. According to a handout from the Prime Minister’s Office, a high-level 11-member Chinese business delegation led by Qian Xiaojun, the founder, president and controlling shareholder of IBI Beijing United Technology, called on the premier. “While welcoming the delegation to Pakistan, the prime minister said Pakistan and China enjoyed historic ties and the two countries were all-weather strategic cooperative partners,” the handout said. He lauded the remarkable progress made by China under the visionary leadership of President Xi Jinping and said that he was looking forward to his visit to China later this month, it added. The prime minister welcomed the growing business-to-business engagement between the two countries and said it was particularly encouraging that IBI would promote digital economy cooperation, investment facilitation and industrial collaboration, it sa...

India’s state-run fuel retailers have raised petrol and diesel prices for the first time in four years by 3 Indian rupees ($0.03) per litre, or more than three per cent, according to dealers, to recoup some of the losses incurred due to higher global crude oil prices. India — the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer — is one of the last major economies to raise retail fuel prices following the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz by the war started by US-Israeli attacks on Iran. State-run Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp, which together control more than 90pc of India’s 103,000 fuel stations, tend to set diesel and petrol prices in tandem. A BPCL spokesperson confirmed the price increase at its retail outlets. Indian Oil and HPCL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Diesel in Delhi will cost 90.67 Indian rupees a litre and petrol 97.77 Indian rupees, reflecting increases of 3.4pc and 3.2pc, respectively, from 87.67 Indian rupees and...

ISLAMABAD - Honorable First Lady of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Ms.

Rawalpindi - Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Pakistan on Thursday visited Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital to explore a potential partnership in eye care, including telemedicine, medical training, and institutional referrals for Uzbek patients.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi on Thursday announced a major Eid gift for the people of Peshawar, saying that the upgraded Awam Express train equipped with modern facilities will be inaugurated before Eid-ul-Azha.

Israel on Thursday threatened to take The New York Times to court over a piece it published denouncing allegedly widespread sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have ordered the “initiation of a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times”, according to a joint statement issued by their offices. The offices said that the piece by Nicholas Kristof, a prominent opinion columnist, was “one of the most hideous and distorted lies ever published against the State of Israel in the modern press, which also received the backing of the newspaper”. Kristof’s investigation is based on testimonies gathered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from 14 men and women who said that they had been sexually assaulted by Israeli settlers or members of the security forces. The report described “a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children — by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency an...

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said that a coordinated negative information campaign initiated from outside Pakistan was aimed at creating deliberate confusion and misinformation in an attempt to discredit Pakistan’s role for sustainable peace in the region.

LAHORE: After the arrest of drug dealer Anmol alias Pinky by Sindh Police, her appearance in a Karachi court whose video went viral on mainstream as well as social media and her revelations during the investigation, Punjab police have also woken up to three old cases allegedly registered against her and her brothers in Lahore several years ago and are reportedly planning to seek custody of the woman from Sindh. On the other hand, the arrest and investigation have put the Punjab Police under the scanner as it transpired that officers in the CIA (now the Crime Control Department) had taken bribes and avoided arresting Anmol, who was nominated in three cases. The FIRs were registered with Liaqatabad Police Station in 2019, Iqbal Town Police Station in 2020 and Kot Lakhpat Police in 2022, nominating Anmol and her two brothers, Nasir and Riaz Baloch. The 2022 FIR clearly stated that the police, during a raid on Jan 6, rounded up a black SUV at Shadab Colony, following the intelligence reports that it was smuggling...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday warned that Pakistan continued to face serious economic difficulties and stressed the need for coordinated efforts by the federal and provincial governments to provide relief to the public amid rising inflation and growing financial pressure.

RAWALPINDI - The Army Rocket Force Command on Thursday conduced a successful training fire of indigenously developed Fatah-4, Ground Launched Cruise Missile.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has successfully completed its inaugural Panda Bond issuance today in China’s onshore capital market - marking the country’s first-ever entry into the world’s second-largest and deepest capital market.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday approved formation of a task force on waste-to-energy production.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday conferred 47 military awards upon distinguished officers and soldiers to recognise their exceptional bravery, leadership and meritorious services rendered for the defence of the country.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari has conferred the Sitara-i-Imtiaz upon Muhammad Yaseen Khan, Founder and President of Sundas Foundation in recognition of his outstanding services in the fields of humanitarian work, social welfare, thalassemia prevention and care for patients suffering from blood-related disorders.

KARACHI - Renowned autism specialist Irum Rizwan on Wednesday was awarded prestigious Tamgha-i-Imtiaz for her exceptional services, excellence, and commitment to reshape the landscape of autism care in the country.

ISLAMABAD - Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Farid Ahmadov Thursday called on the Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP), Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and discussed prospects for judicial cooperation, legal assistance and modernization of court systems between the two countries Federal law.