Pakistan

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Third sibling critically injured; suspect on the run

Worker battles for life; contractor under investigation

Pakistan is holding talks with Afghanistan to end the current conflict between the two countries, but Kabul must “demonstrate visible and verifiable actions”, said Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi on Thursday. Since Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan on February 26, diplomatic contact between the two sides had largely ceased. The talks in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi were being held between senior officials of the two countries, the spokesperson said in his weekly press briefing. The meeting was focused on sharing perspectives on the latest escalation. No major outcomes were expected, though it was believed that China was pushing for confidence-building measures, such as reopening trade routes. The spokesperson recounted the visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Beijing earlier this week at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, saying that it “provided an opportunity for both sides to hold in-depth d...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has approved a series of initiatives related to transshipment with the aim of strengthening Pakistan’s maritime sector amid evolving regional security dynamics following the US-Israeli attack on Iran, it emerged on Thursday. The initiatives were approved based on recommendations of the high-level committee constituted by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, headed by Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry. According to an official handout, the decisions mark a significant step toward positioning Pakistan as a competitive and resilient transshipment hub in the region”. Among the key initiatives, the government has approved the handling of bulk and break-bulk cargo under transshipment arrangements. The handout added that the measure was expected to significantly enhance port throughput, attract new shipping lines, and facilitate regional trade by enabling the efficient movement of commodities such as grains, coal, minerals and project cargo. The government also approved ...

ISLAMABAD: Amid a continuous surge in the global market, Pakistan on Thursday said it would seek flexibility in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to create room for evolving contingencies following the US-Israeli war on Iran and pass on the burden of petroleum prices to consumers. This was announced by the Ministry of Finance after a meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the US Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker ahead of upcoming spring meetings with the IMF and the World Bank later this month. An official statement by the ministry said both sides discussed Pakistan’s ongoing engagement with international financial institutions and development partners, including efforts to maintain reform momentum under the IMF programme. “The finance minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to fiscal discipline while seeking flexibility in light of evolving global and regional challenges,” the statement said. The minister also briefed the US diplomat on ongoing efforts to manage energy sector c...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday reminded his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh that the “illusion of space for war between two nuclear states is inconceivable and has drastic consequences”. The reprimand was ostensibly in reaction to Singh’s recent statement, in which he warned Pakistan against any attempting “misadventure” under the shadow of the ongoing Middle East war, as reported by Indian media. A post on X, in which Asif did not specifically refer to the statement but tagged Singh, said: “Repeated rhetoric reflects not strength, but visible strategic anxiety as the anniversary of the staged false flag operation in Pahalgam approaches — an episode that failed to withstand international scrutiny and exposed New Delhi’s reliance on manufactured crises. “Such threat-mongering is not new; it is part of a predictable pattern — externalising internal fragility, and attempting to provoke escalation under the garb of unsubstantiated allegations for vested political interests,” he said. The Pahalgam epis...

Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, son of former Balochistan Governor Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, died in Karachi on Thursday due to a heart attack.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the Centre and provinces need to set their priorities and make collective efforts to provide relief to the needy amid the global oil crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran. He made the remarks while addressing a high-level meeting, attended by Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, the chief ministers from all four provinces and federal ministers. The premier said that the Centre and provinces should utilise their resources sagaciously and curtail their development projects as much as possible while also utilising their resources on agricultural-related initiatives. “We have to spend this money on public goods and transport. Now we have to set our priorities jointly,” he added. He also highlighted the government’s initiatives to protect the economy and the common man from the adverse impact of the global oil crisis. In his remarks, PM Shehbaz also said that like other countries across the world, Pakistan was “being severely affected ...

Indian police this week seized 414 cooking‑gas canisters hidden in a graveyard in Hyderabad city and arrested those involved in trying to ​sell them on the black market amid shortages due to the ‌US-Israeli war on Iran, a government official said on Thursday. Authorities have stepped up raids to curb hoarding of liquefied petroleum gas canisters after the US-Israeli war against Iran disrupted shipping, causing supply ​shortages. India, the world’s number two Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) importer, meets about 60 per cent ​of its demand through overseas purchases, mostly from the Middle East. “Just ⁠yesterday, around 2,600 raids were carried out and about 700 cylinders were ​seized,” Sujata Sharma, a senior official in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural ​Gas, told a regular briefing on the Middle East crisis. “In addition, around 400 cylinders were recently found at one location inside a graveyard in Hyderabad. Ten people have been ​detained there, and the distributor involved has been suspended,” she said....

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan has issued a warning over a surge of false information originating from India, aimed at undermining Pakistan’s diplomatic initiatives amid ongoing US-Iran tensions.

The ongoing campaign against fancy and unapproved number plates in Karachi has been temporarily suspended due to adverse weather conditions, traffic authorities said on Thursday.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index sank by 3,500 points on Thursday, after a press conference by United States President Donald Trump dampened investor hopes of a quick end to the war on Iran. The KSE-100 index dropped by 4,073.85 points, or 2.62 per cent, to stand at 151,505.26 points as of around 12:15pm, in a change of course from the bullish momentum it had sustained over the past two days. It closed at 152,011.26 points, down 3,500.30 points or 2.25pc, from the previous close of 155,511.56. Topline Securities said that the local bourse remained under pressure, “tracking the negative momentum in global markets” after remarks by Trump on the ongoing war on Iran dented investor sentiment. “Escalating geopolitical tensions, coupled with a surge in oil prices, kept market participants on the back foot, reinforcing a cautious stance throughout the session,” it said. “Selling pressure prevailed across the board, dragging the index to an intraday low of 5,489 points. The market eventuall...

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Thursday directed port authorities to finalize and implement a comprehensive 30-day plan for shifting, auctioning, and disposing of stuck-up containers and surplus materials to ease congestion and enhance operational efficiency at port terminals.

Eight Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, on Thursday strongly condemned Israel’s move to pass a law making death by hanging a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks. The joint statement, shared by the Foreign Office, was released by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The statement said that the countries “strongly condemned the Israeli occupying power’s enactment of a law in its Parliament (Knesset), that allows the imposition of the death penalty in the occupied West Bank and its de facto application against Palestinians”. They warned against the “increasingly discriminatory, escalating Israeli practices that entrench a system of apartheid and a rejectionist discourse that denies the inalienable rights and the very existence of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. “The ministers underscored that this legislation constitutes a dangerous escalation...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised the government of Pakistan against providing general petrol subsidies, recommending instead that relief be limited to low-income groups to avoid further economic strain.

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday restrained the anti-terrorism court (ATC) from framing charges against veteran journalist Matiullah Jan, and directed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to expeditiously decide on the challenge to the terrorism charges invoked against him. Headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, a three-judge SC bench took up a plea by the journalist seeking to set aside the IHC’s Feb 23, 2026, order denying ad-interim relief to stay his criminal trial. During the hearing, the prosecution did not object to the issuance of directions to the high court, while the apex court observed that it would not go into the merits of the case at this stage so as not to prejudice it in favour of either party. Barrister Qadeer Janjua represented Jan in the case, in which the journalist raised questions about the trial court’s jurisdiction and the applicability of terrorism charges against him. Filed under Article 185(3) of the Constitution, the petition challenged the Feb 23 IHC order, which, while issuing notic...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif presided over a crucial meeting on Thursday to assess the likelihood of an energy shortfall in light of escalating regional tensions.

Every year on World Autism Awareness Day, morning television shows and programmes are awash with families of autistic children pouring out their lived realities — the exhausting therapy schedules, the struggle to find inclusive schools, the financial strain of specialised care, and the quiet isolation that often follows. Their testimonies lay bare a system that offers sympathy but little structural support. Even with the surge in visibility, awareness fades as the cameras move on, and families are left navigating the same gaps in services, affordability, and inclusion, with no meaningful progress in sight. A recent episode brought this gap into sharp focus. A furore erupted on social media after users commiserated with Asma Afaq, the mother of a nine-year-old autistic child, Zaviyar, who was reportedly denied entry into a play area at Karachi’s Dolmen Mall. Despite her reassurance that she would personally supervise her child to ensure the safety of others, Zaviyar was refused access to Sindbad’s Wonderland. ...

Experts marked World Autism Awareness Day by calling for urgent attention to early diagnosis, timely therapy and greater societal support for individuals with autism, noting that more than 350,000 children in Pakistan are affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).