Pakistan

Insists on Constitutional mandate, no consultation required with provincial government

Vows no support for steps that shift crisis costs to citizens

.

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...

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Saturday sentenced 47 proclaimed offenders, including prominent PTI leaders Hammad Azhar, Omar Ayub and Zartaj Gul, to 10 years in prison in the May 9 GHQ attack case. District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Shah, who presided over ATC No. 1, penned a 16-page detailed judgment, which is available with Dawn. The convicts included Senator Shibli Faraz, Murad Saeed, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, as well as ex-MNAs Kanwal Shauzab, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Muhammad Ahmed Chattha and Sheikh Rashid Shafique. The court imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each and ordered the confiscation of their property in favour of the state. Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, triggered widespread riots across Pakistan, during which government buildings and military installations — including the GHQ in Rawalpindi — were stormed and vandalised. Following the unrest, a crackdown was launched against the PTI, with dozens of terrorism cases lodged against its leaders and supporters. Several of...

The district administration sealed 7 petrol pumps in the federal capital after reports that some stations refused to supply fuel to citizens.

Pakistan Railways on Saturday increased the fares of economy class and air-conditioned class tickets by five per cent and 10pc respectively, following the hike in petrol and diesel prices. According to a statement by the Pakistan Railways spokesperson, the fares of cargo trains have also increased by 20pc The new prices will take effect from Monday, March 9. However, the fare increase will not apply to bookings made in advance, the spokesperson said. He further said that Pakistan Railways will bear the additional burden of operational expenses of passenger trains. The development comes after the government increased the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs55 per litre, the highest-ever such hike as Pakistan felt the first direct economic impact of the US-Israel war on Iran. The ex-depot price of high-speed diesel was fixed at Rs335.86 per litre for the coming week, up by about 20pc from Rs280.86 per litre. Likewise, the ex-depot price of petrol was revised to Rs321.17 per litre from Rs266.17 per litre...

Pakistan Railways has introduced a new schedule for its reservation offices during the holy month of Ramazan, which has come into effect from today.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said on Saturday that global war-like conditions were affecting the economy, adding that the recent increase in petrol prices was a difficult decision but would be reversed once the situation improved.

Security forces have destroyed several militant positions during airstrikes in North Waziristan District as part of the ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, security sources said.

Military consultations between Islamabad and Riyadh following Iranian drone and missile strikes on Saudi territory highlight the delicate strategic balance Pakistan must maintain as the Iran conflict expands beyond its original theatre and begins to affect the security of Gulf states. The statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) after the meeting between the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, on its face, looks fairly routine and predictable, but when read closely, a careful calibration of language by Pakistan becomes obvious. The Pakistani statement acknowledged the gravity of the situation arising from Iranian drone and missile attacks on the Kingdom and noted that CDF Munir discussed with the Saudi defence minister the measures required to halt them within the framework of the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) between the two countries. This in itself was a signal of solidarity wi...

Security forces killed 15 terrorists in the Harnai and Basima district of Balochistan during two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs), said a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday. “On 05 March 2025, fifteen terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij and Fitna al Hindustan, were killed in two separate operations in Balochistan,” said the military’s media wing. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balo­chistan. The statement said that an IBO was conducted in Harnai District on the reported “presence of Fitna al Khawarij members”. “During the conduct of [the] operation, [our] own troops effectively engaged the khawarij hideout and after an intense engagement, 12 Indian-sponsored khawarij were sent to hell,” the statement added. In a separate IBO, conducted in the province’s Basima district, military f...

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would never surrender to Israel and the United States, as Middle East war entered its second week. Iran’s enemies “must take their wish for the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people to their graves”, Pezeshkian said, in a speech broadcast on state TV. Israel and the United States launched strikes against Iran on February 28, killing the Islamic republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggering a regional conflict. Iran has since responded with missile and drone strikes on Israel and US interests in regional countries, mainly in the Gulf. Pezeshkian is among three members of an interim leadership council that has been in charge of Iran since Khamenei’s killing. During the speech, Pezeshkian apologised to neighbouring countries for Iran’s attacks across the region, saying that they would not be targeted unless attacks originated from them. “I must apologise on my own behalf and on behalf of Iran to the neighbouring countr...

GAWADAR: At least seven people, including a child, were killed and eight others were injured in a road accident at Manjhi on the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan, police said on Saturday. The accident occurred when two cars collided after a broken-down gas tanker was left standing on the road. One of the cars was traveling from Gwadar to Karachi, while the other was coming from Karachi to Gwadar, police said. Makran Coastal Highway Police SP Muhammad Aslam Bangalzai said the injured and the bodies were shifted to Ormara Hospital. Earlier this week, three people — including a husband and wife, and another woman — were killed, and two others were injured in a road accident in the province’s Bakhtairabad area. In another incident on February 10, a local journalist from Balochistan, Aziz Lasi, was killed when three vehicles collided on the Quetta-Karachi National Highway in Winder. Additionally, four people, including two brothers, were killed when a passenger bus coming from Karachi hit their car in the Dar...