Pakistan

China’s foreign ministry accused the media of publishing “false information” on Friday following a report that said the country’s top semiconductor firm has sent chipmaking tools to Iran. The report, which cited information from two unidentified senior officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, said contract chipmaker SMIC “began sending the tools to Iran roughly a year ago”. A US official was quoted in the report as saying they had “no reason to believe that any of this has stopped”. China is a key partner of Iran but has not announced military assistance to Tehran in the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, repeatedly calling for a ceasefire. The chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), did not respond to an AFP request for comment on Friday. Asked about the report at a regular news conference in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said he was “not familiar with the situation”. “What I can tell you is that recently, some media have been k...

Following improvements in air operations, Qatar Airways has started expanding its flight schedule to Pakistan and other destinations, planning to operate dozens of additional flights over the next 15 days.

Sarfraz Bugti has said that Afghanistan remains a brotherly nation, but urged Afghan nationals to refrain from violence in Pakistan.

Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday approved the surrender of the Rs265 million to the national exchequer in efforts to support the government’s austerity drive. On March 9, the government announced a host of austerity measures to conserve fuel in view of the global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. In a post on its X account, the Senate said that the chairman has approved the surrender of Rs265m as an “immediate measure” to the Finance Division, adding that efforts were also underway to “identify additional savings by curtailing expenses in the coming weeks to deposit in the national exchequer”. According to the statement, he directed the Senate Secretariat to ensure the implementation of the austerity measures in accordance with the austerity drive announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Gilani emphasised that “the Senate, as a key constitutional institution, fully recognises the importance of fiscal discipline in the current economic circumstances and remains committed to sup...

Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have signed an air defence agreement during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the kingdom, which is facing Iranian drone attacks, two senior officials told AFP on Friday. Kyiv has sought to leverage its expertise in downing Russian drones to help Gulf nations, which are being attacked with the same kind of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia fires on Ukraine. “The point of the agreement is that Ukraine will support them in developing all the necessary components of air defence, which they currently lack,” one official said of the document which, according to another was signed on Thursday. Both spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity. Kyiv has been using a mix of cheap drone interceptors, electronic jamming tools and anti-aircraft guns to down Russian drones fired at its cities on a nightly basis for four years. It touts its anti-drone defences as the best in the world. Ukraine has proposed swapping its interceptors for vastly more expensive air-defence missiles that G...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast chances of rain and thunderstorms in Karachi and across Sindh on Saturday, as a westerly wave continues to affect the country. According to its three-day weather outlook issued on Friday, the PMD said that Saturday would likely bring thunderstorms or rain “of light to moderate intensity” to the province due to a westerly wave entering the country from southwestern Balochistan. Mostly sunny weather is expected in Karachi today, with a maximum temperature of 32-34 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 24°C. Humidity will reach 76 per cent before dropping to 45-55pc in the evening as a northwesterly wind is expected to turn west/southwesterly. On Saturday, the PMD forecast “partly cloudy” weather with “chances of isolated wind [or] thunderstorms/rain”. Temperatures will stay similar, at around 31-33°C highs and 22-24°C lows. Humidity is predicted between 75-85pc in the daytime and 55-65pc in the evenings. Sunday is not expected to be rainy, but the maximum tem...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zedong at the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad on Friday, where the two discussed matters pertaining to counter-terrorism, security cooperation and the Police Exchange Programme. The interior ministry posted on social media that Naqvi arrived at the embassy in Islamabad’s Diplomatic Enclave earlier today, where he was welcomed by the ambassador. It also shared a video of him being received by Jiang at the entrance. “Discussion on the overall situation of the region also took place in the meeting,” the ministry said. The interior ministry said it was decided to hold a business conference to address security issues faced by Chinese investors in Pakistan, according to the ministry. It elaborated that in the first phase, meetings will be held with the Chinese business community present in Pakistan; the second phase will involve meetings with those who are interested in investing in Pakistan. The interior minister also said that a Special Protection Unit...

Heavy rainfall has lashed large parts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, as well as northern emirates, Gulf News reported on Friday. As per the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), “unstable conditions driven by a low-pressure system have brought repeated waves of rain, strong winds, and thunderstorms across the country”. Gulf News said that flashes of “lightning, booming thunder, and heavy downpours” were reported by residents in major cities across the Gulf state, from Thursday night into Friday early morning. The unstable weather also brought “thunderstorms, dust-raising winds, and reduced visibility”. Heavy rainfall also flooded the streets in some locations, according to the report. In Sharjah, heavy rain caused wadis to flow, “temporarily disrupting traffic on roads”. According to Gulf News, residents said the “skies put on a full-blown light-and-sound show — booming thunderclaps and electric streaks of lightning flashing overhead, all at the height of raging storm clouds...

WASHINGTON: As tensions surrounding Iran once again test regional diplomacy, Pakistan is emerging in Washington’s policy conversations as a potential intermediary — a shift that signals a broader reassessment of its strategic utility beyond the traditional security framework. At an hour-long virtual briefing held on Thursday evening by the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, Congressman Tom Suozzi suggested that Islamabad’s geographic position, demographic weight and cross-regional ties give it space to play a more active mediatory role. “And we see from this negotiation with Iran right now, and the role that it’s playing, Pakistan can play more and more of a role in international affairs as a mediator,” said Suozzi, the Democratic co-chair of the caucus. He described Pakistan as “a very, very important neutral party, with friends on both sides.” The remarks come amid renewed diplomatic maneuvering around Iran, where Washington has relied on regional actors to maintain communication channels. Pakistan’s leadership...

Mohsin Naqvi visited the Chinese Embassy on Friday and met Ambassador Jiang Zedong to discuss security cooperation and regional developments.

PESHAWAR: Repatriation of undocumented Afghan nationals was abruptly suspended on Friday after a border security official was injured in a late evening cross-border attack from the Afghan side on Thursday. The Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan was reopened on Thursday for the return of stranded and illegal Afghan nationals, after having remained closed since February 26 with the launch of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq. However, security officials at Torkham said local paramilitary forces went on high alert due to the injury of an FC official at the Awal Khan post near the border. The incident took place around 9:30pm on Thursday evening. Sources at Torkham and the Hamza Baba transit point said that although the entire staff of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), National Logistics Corporation (NLC), police and other government departments was present at the transit point and Torkham, they were directed to immediately stop the regi...

Sohail Afridi has launched a public feedback feature to strengthen the Right to Services Commission and ensure timely delivery of government services.

North Korea and Belarus’s strongmen leaders signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty after Kim Jong Un gave a lavish welcome to President Alexander Lukashenko on his maiden visit. Besides supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine — around 2,000 North Korean soldiers are thought to have died — both nations are under Western sanctions and are accused of gross human rights violations. The two men met last year in China. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, attend a banquet for Lukashenko in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on March 27, 2026. —AFP “In the modern realities of global transformation — at a time when the world’s major powers openly ignore and violate the norms of international law — independent countries must cooperate more closely and consolidate their efforts aimed at protecting their sovereignty and improving the well-being of their citizens,” Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted Lukashe...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported a magnitude 5.3 earthquake felt in the northern regions of the country on Friday morning. According to a statement issued by the PMD, the earthquake was recorded at 9:53am at latitude 36.71° north and longitude 74.44° east. Its epicentre was recorded in northwestern Kashmir, 84 kilometres northeast of Gilgit, at a depth of 12km. The statement said that tremors were reported to be felt in Gilgit, Skardu, Pattan, Balakot and surrounding areas. Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region. A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Islamabad and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in late February. Earlier that month, a 4.5-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of northern Pakistan, a day after another earthquake of magnitude 5.9 that jolted parts of KP.

Tremors of a 5.

The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Gujranwala has released a model paper for the compulsory English subject as students gear up for the 2026 annual matriculation examinations.

The Islamabad High Court has scheduled a hearing for March 31 in the £190 million case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi.

Airstrikes reportedly carried out by Israel struck areas near the Pakistan Embassy and the residence of Pakistan’s ambassador in Tehran on Thursday night, according to a report by Türkiye Today.

KARACHI - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met a delegation of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan during his visit to Karachi on Thursday, where both sides discussed the country’s political situation and issues concerning Sindh, particularly Karachi.

• Dar confirms facilitating indirect talks between Washington and Tehran • Chances of face-to-face meeting over the weekend remain low, but both sides continue to engage on proposals • Diplomats involved in the process say Araghchi in constant contact with Pakistani officials • Ankara and Cairo also among venue options, but Tehran maintains preference for Islamabad ISLAMABAD: Chances of negotiations between the United States and Iran opening up at the end of President Don­ald Trump’s five-day pause remain limited, but a Pakistan-led initiative — in coordination with Turkey and Egypt — has created a narrow de-escalation window. Islamabad, meanwhile, has emerged as the preferred venue for any initial engagement, even as the gap between the two sides remains wide, diplomats from the region told Dawn. Pakistan has taken centre-stage in a process being carried out in collaboration with Ankara and Cairo, with officials confirming that indirect exchanges between Wash­ington and Tehran are continuing through structur...