Pakistan

On the 15th day of the US-Israel war against Iran, strategic signalling between the warring sides intensified after American forces struck Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil export hub, while Tehran and its regional allies increased pressure across multiple theatres stretching from the Gulf to Iraq and Lebanon. US aircraft conducted strikes on Kharg Island on the night of March 13, targeting what Washington described as military facilities associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. The attacks reportedly hit a short airstrip, air defence positions, docks linked to the Joushan naval base, a control tower and helicopter hangars. Iranian state media acknowledged damage but said air defences were restored shortly afterwards and confirmed that oil export infrastructure was deliberately spared. Reports on Saturday afternoon suggested that oil exports from Kharg Island remained unaffected and at least two ships had docked for loading. US President Donald Trump described the raid as one of the most “...

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said on Saturday that flight operations at Islamabad International Airport would remain suspended for two hours on March 16. In a statement on X, the authority said, “Due to operational reasons, flight operations at Islamabad International Airport will remain temporarily suspended on 16 March 2026 from 08:30am to 10:30am PKT.” It advised passengers to check with their airlines for any updates. In a notice to airmen (Notam), the PAA specified segments of air traffic service (ATS) routes within the Lahore flight information region (FIR) that would not be available from ground to flight level 210 due to “operational reasons”. The Notam stated that arrival and departure operations at Islamabad International Airport would remain closed, and urged arriving aircraft to “bring sufficient holding fuel to cater for delay”. Today’s notice comes after a Notam with the same specifications was issued on March 12, restricting flights in the same route segments for three hour...

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday rubbished claims by the Afghan Taliban regarding the capture of a military post, saying it was “designed to mislead internal public opinion” in the neighbouring country. In a post on the social media platform X, the ministry’s fact-checking account posted a photo of a post by the Afghan Ministry of Defence, which claimed that a Pakistani military outpost was captured while 14 soldiers were martyred. In response, the ministry said, “This latest claim of the so-called Ministry of Defence of the Afghan Taliban Regime regarding capturing some post and made-up damages etc, is false as always, fabricated and designed to mislead Afghan internal public opinion, which are unfortunately first-hand experiencing and suffering under these terror sponsors.” It said that damages and losses incurred by the “master proxy Afghan Taliban and their extension Fitna al Khawarij” were being regularly updated by the ministry. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terr...

Employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and autonomous institutions under government patronage would see their salaries cut by five to 30 per cent under the government’s austerity measures, which would go towards public relief, it was decided on Saturday. The move adds to a host of austerity measures announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday in view of the global oil crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has hiked local fuel prices. On Saturday, PM Shehbaz chaired a meeting reviewing the impact of petroleum product prices and the implementation of government austerity measures in view of the ongoing situation in the Middle East, a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said. “It was decided in the meeting that, like government employees, there will be a 5-30pc cut in the salaries of employees of state-owned enterprises and autonomous institutions under government patronage,” the statement said. It added that the funds saved as a result of all austerity measures...

The US and Israel’s war against Iran has led to sporting events being postponed in the region, while competitions elsewhere have been hit by travel disruption, with thousands of flights cancelled in some of the world’s busiest transit hubs. Bahrain and Saudi F1 races set to be cancelled Next month’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Grands Prix are set to be cancelled due to the Middle East conflict. Multiple sources told Reuters an announcement, seen within the sport as just a matter of time, was expected with a March 20 deadline looming for freight that has to be transported to Bahrain for logistical reasons. Trump says inappropriate for Iran to be at World Cup US President Donald Trump said on March 12 that Iran’s soccer team were welcome to take part in this year’s World Cup but that he believed it was not appropriate they be there “for their own life and safety”. Iran have qualified for the 48-team tournament to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 and are scheduled to play two group mat...

India on Saturday ended the preventive detention of prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, freeing him six months after he was arrested over protests in India-held Ladakh. The Buddhist-Muslim enclave was deprived of its autonomy in 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government carved it out of occupied Kashmir, placing the region under New Delhi’s direct control. Wangchuk, 59, an environmental advocate who became a key figure in Ladakh’s movement for greater autonomy, was held in September and later charged under India’s National Security Act (NSA) following protests that left four people dead and dozens wounded. New Delhi had blamed the violence on “provocative speeches” by Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike demanding either full federal statehood for India-held Ladakh or constitutional protections for its tribal communities, land and fragile environment. Authorities in the sparsely populated, high-altitude region bordering China and Pakistan at the time said the order, issued by the district magist...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday commended the officers and personnel of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) for carrying out a successful operation against militants in the Shagai area of Lakki Marwat.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir ​Khan Muttaqi in a phone call ‌that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not ​force, the foreign ministry said in ​a statement published on Friday.

The federal government has decided to allocate savings generated through ongoing austerity measures to provide relief to the public.

The Pakistan Airport Authority has released a fresh NOTAM for flights arriving at and departing from Islamabad International Airport, announcing a temporary shutdown of six sectors within the Lahore Flight Information Region on March 16.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not force, the foreign ministry said in a statement published on Friday. Wang urged both sides to remain calm and exercise restraint, hold face-to-face talks as soon as possible, seek an immediate ceasefire and address differences through dialogue, according to the statement. The further use of force would only complicate the situation and intensify tensions, Wang said. “China is willing to continue to make active efforts to help achieve reconciliation and detente between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong on X, sharing the call’s details. The ministry’s statement came after Pakistan on Friday targeted terror camps and associated infrastructure in Afghanistan. Wang and Muttaqi also exchanged views on the situation in Iran, the statement said. Wang told Muttaqi, according to the sta...

Officials from Punjab and Uzbekistan have started preparations for a joint agreement aimed at strengthening trade, exports, and investment links between the two sides.

Meta is planning sweeping layoffs that could affect 20 per cent or more of the company, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers. No date has been set for the cuts and the magnitude has not been finalised, the people said. Top executives have recently signalled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare back, two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to disclose the cuts. “This is speculative reporting about theoretical approaches,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in response to questions about the plan. If Meta settles on the 20pc figure, the layoffs will be the company’s most significant since a restructuring in late 2022 and early 2023 that it dubbed the “year of efficiency”. It employed nearly 79,000 people as of December 31, according to its latest filing. The...

Just over two weeks before President Donald Trump is due to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, Chinese uncertainty over the US leader’s goals and the impact of the Iran war hangs over the highly anticipated state visit. Trump’s trip, his first to China in his second term, is aimed at sealing a trade war truce the two leaders shook hands on when they met in South Korea in October. But for Beijing, which likes to carefully choreograph such events to avoid any possibility of embarrassment, Trump’s free-wheeling style is proving a challenge. A source familiar with negotiations told AFP that Chinese officials were expecting more ambitious preparations for such a summit between the leaders of the rival superpowers. The White House insisted, however, that preparations were going well for the visit from March 31 to April 2, with regular contacts and interactions with Beijing. “Unlike the autopen Biden administration that prized performance over outcomes, the Trump administration is very comfortable with trip...

At least four people, including two children, were injured when the Afghan Taliban launched a “few rudimentary” drones, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday. On Friday evening, security sources said that two rudimentary drones were intercepted at different locations adjacent to Rawalpindi but were successfully brought down through electronic countermeasures. The military’s media wing said today that the drones were intercepted through “soft and hard kills” and did not reach their intended targets. According to the ISPR, two children were injured in Quetta, a civilian was injured in Kohat and another in Rawalpindi. “These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban.” The military’s media wing added that while the Afghan Taliban “project victimhood to garner global sympathy”, on the other hand, they “actively target civilians through their terrorist proxies and their drones”. “Pakistan’s people and its Armed Forc...

North Korea fired about 10 unidentified ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan Saturday, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with South Korea, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce”. Seoul’s military detected “around ten unidentified ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea at around 1:20 pm (0420 GMT),” the JCS said in a statement. Japan’s defence ministry also confirmed the launch, saying on its official X account that “what is possibly a ballistic missile was launched from North Korea”. The announcement came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that US President Donald Trump thinks a meeting with Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un would be “good”. Washington has for decades led efforts to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear programme, but summit...

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Saturday demanded that Pakistan Customs in Karachi release a vehicle belonging to the provincial government that the authority had wrongly confiscated and apologise over the matter. In a post on X, Memon said, “Pakistan Customs Karachi confiscated a Sindh government vehicle on 12 March, claiming it was non-custom paid. “Despite being shown all official documents confirming that the vehicle belongs to the Information Department and was purchased through official outlets of Indus Motor Company, the vehicle was still taken into custody,” he added. The minister lashed out at Customs, saying: “Such incompetency and unacceptable behaviour towards a provincial government department cannot be tolerated.” He demanded that Pakistan Customs immediately release the vehicle and issue a written apology. Memon, also the information minister, shared pictures of what seemed to be the original stamped sales certificate issued by Indus Motor Company Limited on Feb 12, 2026, in Hydera...

Pakistan and Germany have signed a grant agreement worth €18 million aimed at promoting hydropower and renewable energy projects in the country’s northern areas.

The president of the Gul Plaza Association, Tanveer Pasta, has submitted his response to the judicial commission investigating the Gul Plaza fire tragedy, attributing the high number of casualties to delays and inadequate arrangements in the rescue operation.

Flight operations from Pakistan to several Middle Eastern destinations remained disrupted on Saturday, with at least 25 additional flights cancelled amid ongoing regional tensions.