Pakistan

Assures citizens of 2.59m litres of petrol and 1.58m litres of diesel in stock

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Pindigheb blast victim succumbs to third degree burns

Women avail major offers on clothes, accessories and cosmetics at opportune moment before Eid

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The opposition on Saturday slammed the government’s move to hike petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per litre, terming it an “inflation bomb” for the public and demanding its reversal. The decision to raise the prices came as the country felt the economic impacts of the US-Israel war on Iran, which has paralysed trade via the Strait of Hormuz — a route Pakistan relies heavily on for its oil supplies. Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas termed the decision the “worst form of governance and a grave anti-people move”. “When people are already struggling to make ends meet, such decisions are tantamount to rubbing salt into the people’s wounds,” he said on X. Highlighting that the government was already collecting more than Rs100 in petroleum levy, Abbas wondered whether the public or the ruling class would bear the additional burden. The government has increased the petroleum development levy (PDL) on petrol by Rs20 to about Rs105 per litre to offset what would otherwise have been a higher increase in ...

The best way to deal with pressure is to embrace it, India captain Suryakumar Yadav reminded his teammates ahead of Sunday’s final of the T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium. India are bidding to become the first team to retain the T20 World Cup title and to achieve that, they will have to deal with not just a strong New Zealand XI but also the weight of expectation from a cricket-mad nation of about 1.4 billion people. Leading the team in the final of a home World Cup was a “special feeling”, and Suryakumar said they were looking forward to the challenge. “There are nerves, butterflies in the stomach, but as I always say — if there’s no pressure, there’s no fun,” Suryakumar told reporters on Saturday. “I’m very excited. All the boys and support staff, and I’m sure all of India is excited for tomorrow.” More than 100,000 predominantly home fans are expected to fill the world’s largest cricket stadium where Australia famously beat India in the final of the 50-overs World Cup three years ago. Expectation...

Insists on Constitutional mandate, no consultation required with provincial government

Vows no support for steps that shift crisis costs to citizens

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The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance department on Saturday directed all offices working under it to adopt conservation measures in view of the Middle East crisis and “anticipated disruptions” to the supply chain of petroleum products. While the government has assured the nation that petroleum reserves were sufficient and the situation remained under control, fuel prices were hiked by Rs55 on Friday, citing the rising global oil prices as shipping in the Strait of Hormuz remains paralysed. A notification issued by KP’s finance department on Saturday, a copy of which is available with Dawn, noted that a “critical situation is expected to arise at local level” due to the anticipated disruptions. “Given the possible implications, it has become necessary to adopt precautionary and conservative measures to ensure the smooth functioning of government operations in the province,” it added. According to the notification, all departments, formations and subordinate offices working under the finance department were directed ...

Five senior PTI leaders currently incarcerated at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail said on Saturday that “internal divisions and external pressures” were threatening the country’s sovereignty, economy and democracy, and called for putting aside personal ambitions and political grudges for the sake of Pakistan. The PTI leaders — Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed, and Omar Sarfraz Cheema — made the remarks in a statement issued through their counsel, which was also shared by the party on X. Earlier this week, the senior leaders had called on the government to revisit its approach toward the PTI and its founder, Imran Khan. In the fresh statement, the five leaders said that the evolving regional and national situation should be discussed among the leadership of the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) and within the PTI’s political committee for “formulating a way forward in a joint session of Parliament”. They said that currently, the last thing that P...

Aviation authorities reported that 122 flights scheduled between Pakistan and several Middle Eastern destinations were cancelled on Saturday, affecting passengers at multiple international airports across the country.

Eight days into the war between the United States–Israel coalition and Iran, the conflict has settled more firmly into a pattern that began to emerge over the previous 48 hours; a high-intensity confrontation fought largely through missiles, drones and proxy forces and widening steadily across multiple theatres. At the same time, quiet diplomatic activity gathered momentum to contain the widening fallout for the region. The past 24 hours demonstrated that despite the scale of coalition air power deployed against Iran and its allies, Tehran’s asymmetric military capabilities remained largely intact and continued to shape the tempo of the war, along the area stretching from the Strait of Hormuz through Iraq to Lebanon, where attacks on American facilities, shipping lanes, and Israeli military positions have continued in a calibrated but persistent manner. One demonstration of this capability was seen in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that one of its drones...

The United States and Israel’s war with Iran could leave consumers and businesses worldwide facing weeks or months of higher fuel prices even if the week-old conflict ends quickly, as suppliers grapple with damaged facilities, disrupted logistics, and elevated risks to shipping. The outlook poses a wider global economic threat, as well as a political vulnerability for US President Donald Trump leading into the midterm elections, with voters sensitive to energy bills and unfavourable to foreign entanglements. “The market is shifting from pricing pure geopolitical risk to grappling with tangible operational disruption, as refinery shutdowns and export constraints begin to impair crude processing and regional supply flows,” JP Morgan analysts said in a research note on Friday. The conflict has already led to the suspension of around a fifth of global crude and natural gas supply, as ships avoid the vital Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman amid Tehran’s retaliatory attacks. Global oil prices have surged 24 pe...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the finance and petroleum ministers to visit the provinces and prepare a strategy in coordination with the provincial governments for the conservation of petroleum products and their uninterrupted supply to the people. The directives come a day after the government announced a Rs55 per litre increase in petrol and high-speed diesel prices, mere hours after PM Shehbaz and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb assured the nation that petroleum reserves were sufficient and the situation remained under control. The fresh instructions by the premier came during a meeting chaired by him to review the country’s economic situation, according to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). During the meeting, a briefing was given on the current global situation and the economic impacts on the region. According to the PMO, the premier directed that a strategy emphasising austerity and savings be formulated in view of the current global economic pressure caused by th...

ISLAMABAD: An additional sessions court on Saturday convicted a retired army officer in a high-profile money laundering case, sentencing him to 10 years in prison and imposing a fine of Rs25 million. Additional Sessions Judge (West) Nasruminallah Baloch found retired Col Khalilur Rehman, the vice chief executive of Bahria Town, guilty of laundering approximately Rs1.6 billion. The case was registered by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Money Laundering Circle last year. The court sentenced Rehman to 10 years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs25m. It was further ordered that, in the event of default on the fine, the convict would undergo an additional one month of simple imprisonment. Crucially, the court also ordered the forfeiture of property and assets obtained through money laundering. According to the detailed judgment, the court held Rehman accountable under Sections 3 (offence of money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2010. The...