Pakistan

THOUGH America’s 250th independence anniversary observed on Saturday is a significant milestone, the celebrations were overshadowed by events in Iran, as high officials from around the world, as well as millions of ordinary Iranians, gathered for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral. It was an ironic reminder that America’s merits are often eclipsed by its disastrous foreign policy choices. Despite its immense wealth and global influence, instead of acting as a first among equals, the US frequently displays imperial arrogance, using its military might to intimidate sovereign nations. Unless there is a radical foreign policy rethink — a remote possibility under President Donald Trump — America’s contributions to the world will continue to be dwarfed by the damage it regularly inflicts overseas. Domestically, the US has come a long way from its 18th-century origins. It has witnessed the dispossession of Native Americans, the cruel indignities heaped on African slaves and their descendants, as well as blatant displa...

• Delay breaches July 1 structural benchmark under IMF $7bn EFF • Officials blame legal issues over Ogra chief’s appointment and unresolved UFG targets ISLAMABAD: Amid over Rs3.44 trillion circular debt in the gas sector, the government has missed its July 1, 2026 deadline for notifying the biannual gas tariff as required under structural benchmark of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Under two new gas sector structural benchmarks, Pakistan has committed to notifying semi-annual gas tariff adjustments on July 1, 2026, and February 15, 2027, to maintain energy tariffs at cost-recovery levels. The successful third EFF review in April this year introduced 11 new structural benchmarks, including those related to the energy sector. Senior government officials said the gas tariff notification, effective from July 1, was originally delayed due to legal questions surrounding the appointment of Establishment Secretary Nabeel Ahmad Awan as the acting chairman of the Oil ...

Hakan Fidan says summit will address evolving security threats, defence cooperation, alliance adaptation

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday urged Pakistani embassies abroad to accelerate efforts to create employment opportunities for Pakistani workforce. Presiding over a meeting on employment opportunities for Pakistani youth, the prime minister ordered complete digitalisation of immigration system. The prime minister instructed the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, NAVTTC, and the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme to ensure skills training, language courses, and internationally-recognised certifications for the workforce, particularly young people. According to a PMO statement, PM Shehbaz said the country’s workforce was highly capable and that the government was taking every possible step to provide internationally competitive education and enhance global employment opportunities. UN Secy Gen candidate calls on PM Shehbaz UN Secy Gen candidate Meanwhile, María Fernanda Espinosa — one of the candidates for the post of United Nations secretary-general — called on the premier at the PM House on Mond...

ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan has quietly begun mediating between Libya’s rival eastern and western power centres, a previously-unreported effort that would further raise Islamabad’s diplomatic profile if it succeeds. The Pakistani involvement comes after observers monitored for months a US-led push to find a diplomatic solution in Libya, which has been split between rival eastern and western administrations since a civil war that broke out in the years after the 2011 Nato-backed uprising toppled Muammar Qadhafi. The move comes on the heels of a separate mediation between the US and Iran this year, where Pakistan has played a central role, and has been repeatedly praised by the Trump administration for its involvement. Reuters cited Pakistani sources as saying that the US was “fully aware and involved” in Islamabad’s Libya role. Insiders claim US is ‘fully aware and involved’ in Islamabad’s role The effort was also being supported by Saudi Arabia, sources said. Last year, Islamabad struck a mutual defence pact with Sa...

Says director was angry and he used the entire box of tissues

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday described the Baldia Town factory fire as one of the most tragic, painful and heart-rending disasters in Pakistan’s history, in which 260 workers lost their lives and around 60 others suffered burn injuries. “The victims were ordinary workers who had entered the factory to earn their livelihood, but many of them never came out alive,” Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan observed in the detailed 39-page judgement. The verdict explained why a three-member SC bench had overturned the convictions of two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers, Abdul Rehman alias Bhola and Zubair alias Chariya, on June 10 in connection with the 2012 fire at the garment factory in Karachi’s Baldia area. The bench, also comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Shakeel Ahmad, set aside the death sentences awarded by an anti-terrorism court on charges of murder, extortion, arson and terrorism. Detailed verdict in Baldia factory fire case states prosecution failed to prove charges agains...

FOR more than sixty-five years, the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has stood as one of the world’s renowned, most enduring and successful transboundary water-course division arrangements between two nation states. Beyond its legal and international significance, it has also been the cornerstone of Pakistan’s water resources development. The certainty and predictability of flows provided by the treaty enabled Pakistan to develop the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS); the world’s largest contiguous irrigation system, comprising three major reservoirs, six barrages, twelve inter-river link canals and an extensive distribution network that irrigates nearly 35 million acres and supports more than 90 per cent of the country’s food production. Pakistan’s hydropower system, irrigated agriculture and much of its economic development have evolved on the foundation of uninterrupted and predictable flows from the western rivers. The treaty has also contributed significantly in the overall strategic stability of South Asia....

Official says nearly 17,000 people injured and about 18,000 displaced after June 24 twin earthquakes

Says suspects attempting to establish network to carry out attacks against security forces, key sites in city

Substitute Mikel Merino scored a late winner to put Spain in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Portugal and end Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career on Monday. The European champions will face Belgium on Friday in Los Angeles. In front of an expectant crowd of 70,649 at the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys, a match that on paper promised so much failed to really deliver. Extra time looked certain, before fellow substitute Ferran Torres slipped in Merino to settle the contest in the first minute of injury time. It meant a sour final World Cup match for the 41-year-old Ronaldo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, having confirmed on the eve of the encounter that this would be his last dance on football’s biggest stage. The neighbours came into the contest both unbeaten, but while Portugal had not been entirely convincing, Spain had not even conceded a goal in the tournament. One of the pre-tournament favourites, they still haven’t. For all their pedigree, talent and history, Spain have only lifted t...

LAHORE: The population of the rare Punjab urial is experiencing a steady resurgence across the rugged Salt Range, with recent sightings of large herds signalling improving stability for the vulnerable wild sheep, officials said. Recent footage captured near the Chakwal motorway shows herds of the wild sheep roaming freely across the mountain ranges without fear or disturbance, an encouraging indicator of improved habitat safety. The Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) is known locally as ‘wild sheep’, and has reddish-brown fur that fades in colour during winters. While six types of urial are found in the broader region — including Bukhara, Balochi, Afghani, Capsini, and Ladakhi — the Punjab urial is exclusively restricted to the Jhelum and Chakwal districts. This globally unique species relies heavily on the Salt Range, a 300-square-kilometer expanse of rugged mountains and dense scrub forests which encompasses the Jhelum, Chakwal, Khushab and Mianwali districts. Despite recovering numbers, the animal rem...

Calls for assistance to SMEs in preparing feasibility studies, completing requirements needed to obtain financing

After attack, security forces, police, other law enforcement agencies kill 15 terrorists in joint clearance operation

275 injured after severe weather batters three communities in Huanggang’s Huangzhou district

Two commercial ships suffer significant damage but report no casualties, report says

Brent crude futures gain 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.37 a barrel

Iran resumes attacks on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz: report

Peshawar - Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, on Monday directed the administration in the merged districts to ensure visible improvement in public service delivery within the next three months, emphasizing that citizens should experience tangible and measurable improvements in the quality and accessibility to public.

ISLAMABAD - British High Commissioner Jane Marriott on Monday welcomed the signing of a $50 million climate finance facility between British International Investment (BII) and Bank Alfalah, describing it as an important example of how the United Kingdom and Pakistan can work together to tackle climate change while promoting sustainable.