Pakistan

Christopher Nolan's epic fantasy film becomes his biggest hit since 'The Dark Knight Rises'

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday notified an additional burden of Rs9.8 billion on electricity consumers for the August billing period due to a fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of 75 paisa per unit. The net average fuel cost in August would be around 41 paisa per unit higher than in July, when the FCA stood at Rs0.34 per unit. In its notification, Nepra said it had decided that the positive FCA for June 2026, amounting to Rs0.7503 per kWh, would apply to all consumer categories that opted for prepaid tariffs, except lifeline consumers, electric vehicle charging stations and prepaid electricity consumers. The adjustment applies to K-Electric (KE) as well as power distribution companies (Discos) that originated from Wapda. The regulator said the adjustment would also apply to consumers under the incremental consumption package. Discos and KE are required to reflect the fuel charges adjustment for June 2026 in the billing month of August 2026. The FCA is reviewed every mont...

ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission (PC) on Friday said it had received a strong response from domestic and international investors for the privatisation of Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco). The commission said it had received 12 expressions of interest (EOIs) from prospective investors seeking to acquire a 51pc to 100pc stake in Fesco along with management control. The EOIs were submitted by three Turkish investors, one Chinese investor and eight local investors. The three from Turkiye include Aktor Elektrik Enerji Yatırımları San. ve Tic. A.Ş., Genvera Enerji A.Ş. (Celik Group) and ⁠Cengiz Enerji Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş. The EOI from China came from Jiang Xi Electric Power Construction. The remaining eight Pakistani groups include Engro Energy Limited, Sapphire Fibers Limited, Hub Power Holdings, Lucky Cement, Shirazi Investments (Pvt) Limited (Atlas Group), Maple Leaf Cement and Kohinoor Textile, Nishat Mills Limited and Pak Elektron Ltd, and Artistic Milliners (Private) Limited and K-Electric...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has welcomed the newly signed defence agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, describing it as a significant development for cooperation among Muslim nations.

US Treasury sanctions Aban Tether for processing millions of dollars of transactions for sanctioned Iranian entities

The Punjab government has begun distributing agricultural land under its "Apna Khet, Apna Rozgar" initiative, providing leased farmland to eligible families in the Cholistan region to promote farming and livelihood opportunities.

.

.

.

.

.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye may on the face of it appear to be a creation of an Islamic equivalent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato). It plainly is not, but reflects a gradual, yet unmistakable, reordering of the Gulf’s security architecture at a time when confidence in traditional security arrangements is under unprecedented strain. For decades, the Gulf’s security rested upon an uncomplicated bargain under which the United States guaranteed regional stability, safeguarded maritime trade and energy infrastructure, and in return retained an unrivalled strategic presence across the region. Though that arrangement has not disappeared, repeated crises over the past few years have exposed its growing limitations. The inability of that arrangement — which emerged after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait — to deter attacks on energy facilities, repeated disruptions to commercial navigation, uncertainty generated by Washington’s changing regional priorities, ...

Hike will apply to all consumer categories, including K-Electric, except for lifeline consumers

Federal Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Aurangzeb Khan Khichi, on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening cultural diplomacy and people-to-people contacts with Kazakhstan as he held a farewell meeting with Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kistafin, to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation in.

Latest revision takes petrol to Rs327.62 per litre and HSD to Rs380.86 per litre under the new pricing system

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye on Friday signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, committing to enhanced collective security, expanded defence cooperation and closer strategic coordination among the three countries.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed on Friday that certain elements within the ruling PML-N were undermining Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and sowing discord between him and his political allies. The PPP and the PML-N have been engaged in a war of words since the latter emerged in the lead in Mirpur polls on July 27. The PML-N has also won the majority of the seats in the second phase, with the PPP accusing it of rigging and other violent tactics in both phases. The PPP chief was addressing an election rally in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, where the third phase of elections in the region is slated to be held. “High-profile people are saying that the government has collapsed. I’m not saying that, nor am I casting doubt on the prime minister’s intentions. He’s a good man with good intentions. But what can he do when the people around him have bad intentions?” Bilawal asked. In reference to remarks he made earlier this week, the party chief highlighted that the PPP did not start the “countdo...

GROWING American interest in Pakistan’s critical minerals is no longer speculative. According to US diplomats, American companies are actively examining several mineral projects here as part of Washington’s push to diversify mineral supply chains away from China. That interest has already produced a $500m agreement between the two countries and approval of $1.3bn in US financing for Reko Diq. For Pakistan, the opportunity extends beyond capital inflows. Its mineral wealth can attract new technologies, diversify exports and generate employment. That outcome depends on treating these resources as long-term national assets rather than items to be signed away in closed rooms. The experience of Reko Diq offers an important lesson. Years of legal disputes and policy reversals imposed enormous costs on Pakistan. While the project has since been revived, the controversy demonstrated the consequences of weak governance, lack of transparency and poor contract management. Any future agreements involving critical mineral...

RECENTLY put into trial operation, Jalalpur canal has stoked a new controversy between Punjab and Sindh. A summary of the Sindh government, raising objections against the project, was already pending with the Council of Common Interests (CCI) since 2024. Sindh had been raising objections on this project from its inception, but these have been consistently disregarded. A 117km-long main canal with a design discharge of 1,350 cusecs off-taking from the right bank of the Rasul barrage on the Jhelum river, it aims to irrigate a culturable command area of about 68,000 hectares in the Potohar plateau of Punjab, mainly in Pind Dadan Khan and Khushab during the Kharif season. The Asian Development Bank had provided financial assistance for design and construction of the project to the Punjab government. Punjab claims that it will use its own share of water for the new canal through internal adjustment. Sindh, however, has questioned the source of additional water of approximately 0.5 million acre feet every year. Pun...

Outcome to determine final composition of the 45-member legislature, pave the way for formation of the next AJK gov