Page 9 - Pakistan Army

Pak govt announces Rs 10.20 reduction in petrol price ahead of Eid ul Adha

In a major relief for inflation-hit masses in cash-strapped Pakistan, the government has slashed the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs 10.20 and Rs 2.33 per litre respectively ahead of the Eid ul Adha festival. The price cut, effective from Saturday, will bring the price of petrol to Rs 258.16 per litre while the price of HSD will be Rs 267.89 per litre, The Express Tribune newspaper quoted a statement from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday. The Finance Division, which usually reviews the fuel prices every 15 days, issued an official notification for the latest price cuts and said the new prices would be applicable for the next fortnight. The notification said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had worked out the consumer prices, based on the price variations in the international market. The move to slash the prices of petroleum would benefit the Pakistani people who have been hit by double-digit inflation. Pakistan has been hit by inflation of ab

Pakistan budget sets big tax target of $46.66 bn ahead of IMF talks

Pakistan has projected a sharp drop in its fiscal deficit for the new financial year to 5.9% of GDP, from an upwardly revised estimate of 7.4% for the current year

Pakistan likely to hike taxes in budget to bolster chances of IMF loan

"Everyone will have to contribute in this economy because schools or universities or hospitals can run with philanthropy but countries can only run through taxes," Pak Finance Minister Aurangzeb said

Pakistani army raids militant hideout, kills 11 in overnight operation

Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout, killing 11 in an overnight operation in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the restive northwest, authorities said on Tuesday. The intelligence-based raid was in retaliation to Sunday's roadside bombing that killed seven soldiers in the same Lakki Marwat district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan, the military said in a statement. It added the operation is still ongoing "to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area and that security forces were determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism" in Pakistan. No one has claimed Sunday's attack, however, blame is likely to fall on Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, an ally of the Afghan Taliban but is a separate group. It has stepped up its assaults in the region since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistani officials often accuse Afghanistan's Taliban rulers of giving shelter to TTP fighters, a charge that

Pakistan Army can't afford China's expensive security demand. What is it?

China is reportedly unsatisfied by how Pakistan has handled Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan's Dasu terrorist attack in March that killed five Chinese nationals working on the CPEC project

What is the 1999 Lahore Declaration that Nawaz Sharif says Pak violated?

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif admitted that Islamabad had violated an agreement with India, co-signed by him and ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999

IMF, Pakistan make considerable progress on extended loan facility

The IMF has opened discussions with Pakistan on a new loan programme after Islamabad last month completed a short-term $3 bn programme

Pak, US discuss regional security threat posed by IS group, local Taliban

Pakistani and US officials have held their latest talks in Washington on how to expand cooperation in tackling the threat posed to regional security by an affiliate of the Islamic State group and the Pakistani Taliban, Pakistan's foreign ministry said Monday. A joint statement said Pakistani diplomat Haider Shah and the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, Ambassador Elizabeth Richard, chaired the weekend talks. The talks occurred amid a surge in militants attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and an Afghan branch of the Islamic State group. The TTP is an ally of the Afghan Taliban that seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan's military recently said a suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in March was planned in Afghanistan and that the bomber was an Afghan citizen. Kabul has denied the charge.

'Black day' in Pakistan: How events of May 9 last year shook the Pak army

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has refused to apologise for the events of May 9

Hangor submarine launch: Is Pakistan eyeing naval deep-strike capability?

Pakistan is buying eight Chinese Hangor-class submarines equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and weapons to strike targets at standoff ranges

IMF approves immediate disbursal of $1.1 billion loan tranche to Pakistan

The International Monetary Fund has approved an immediate disbursal of USD 1.1 billion to Pakistan as part of a bailout package and said the country needs to take tough measures to bring its economy back on track. A decision in this regard was taken by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board as it completed the second and final review of Pakistan's economic reform programme supported by the IMF's Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). With this development, the disbursements under the SBA reached around USD 3 billion. IMF's Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh said, "Given the significant challenges ahead, Pakistan should capitalize on this hard-won stability, persevering -- beyond the current arrangement -- with sound macroeconomic policies and structural reforms to create stronger, inclusive, and sustainable growth." Continued external support will also be critical, she said. Achieving strong, long-term inclusive growth and creating jobs require accelerating structural .

Ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif set to lead PML-N amidst internal strife

Pakistan's three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is all set to retake the helm of the ruling PML-N next month to guide the party amid internal strife, seven years after he relinquished the post after being disqualified by the apex court. Nawaz, 74, will be elected president of the ruling party on May 11 in a meeting of the party leadership, a senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader told PTI. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Nawaz as premier and party president for his alleged corruption in cases related to the Panama Papers revelations about his illegal wealth stashed abroad. He relinquished his position within the party following his disqualification, which also led to his departure from the prime minister's office. PML-N Punjab president Rana Sanaullah told a press conference that a decision to make Nawaz the president of the party again was taken at a party meeting on Friday. A resolution was passed at the party meeting today to make the el

Imran Khan's party denies secret talks with Pak's powerful establishment

Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said on Tuesday that the party has no interest in engaging in discussions with anyone, firmly denying any rumours of secret negotiations with the powerful establishment. Today, I asked the party's founding chairman Imran Khan if some institutions had contacted him for the talks. Imran Khan clearly said that no one had contacted him, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan told reporters outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. He said no one had even contacted him for dialogue, nor had he received any message for talks from anyone, Gohar Khan was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. Gohar Khan's clarification came days after it was reported in a section of the media that Imran Khan had revealed that some PTI leaders were still in contact with the establishment (the military). The same is the case with the other party leadership. Even if we receive any message from anyone for dialogues, we will inform the media, he said. G

Pakistan's benchmark share index trades at record high, breaches 72,000

The index has surged 75.5% over the past year and is up 11.5% year-to-date

Iran Prez Raisi, Pak army chief Munir discuss stability, border security

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir discussed regional peace, stability and border security, months after the two neighbours carried out tit-for-tat air strikes against alleged terrorist hideouts on rival lands. Gen Munir called on Raisi, the first head of state of any country to visit Pakistan after the February 8 general elections, and emphasised the need for improved coordination against the terrorists, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army said. General Munir described the Pakistan-Iran border as the border of peace and friendship, emphasising the need for improved coordination along the border to prevent terrorists from jeopardising the longstanding brotherly relations between the two neighbouring countries, it said. The statement said that the discussion between the two dignitaries focussed on matters of mutual interest, notably regional peace, stability, and border security. "Both sides concurre

Even Pak politicians want PM Modi as their country's leader: MP CM Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that even politicians in Pakistan say they wish their country had a leader like him. He also alleged that India got divided due to the seeds sown by the Congress. Yadav was addressing gatherings on Friday evening during the campaigning in Hoshangabad Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh. He claimed that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) also want to become part of India as there is a crisis of survival in the neighbouring country. "Pakistan's leaders, including (former PM) Nawaz Sharif, are continuously saying that they wish Narendra Modi was there (in Pakistan). If you are a leader, then you should be such that even your enemy praises you. This leader (Modi) is making us proud," Yadav said in one of his addresses. He slammed the Congress, saying that there was a "stigma on the forehead" of the party of dividing the country into Bharat and Pakistan. "There was no BJP or Jan

US sanctions 3 China firms for providing ballistic missile tech to Pak

The US has imposed sanctions on three China-based companies and one from Belarus for supplying missile-applicable items for Pakistan's ballistic missile programme, including its long-range missile programme, the State Department has said. The name of the companies are Xi'an Longde Technology Development, Tianjin Creative Source International Trade and Granpect Co. Ltd from China and Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant from Belarus. These entities have engaged in activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a risk of materially contributing to, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery, including any efforts to manufacture, acquire, possess, develop, transport, transfer or use such items, by Pakistan, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Friday. Miller said the US is committed to strengthening the global nonproliferation regime by taking action to disrupt procurement networks supporting proliferation activities of ...

Pakistan security forces kill 7 terrorists in restive KP province

Pakistani security forces have killed seven terrorists trying to infiltrate the country's border with Afghanistan in the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, the military said. The security forces detected a movement of the seven terrorists near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Spinkai area of Ghulam Khan in the tribal district of North Waziristan, the ISPR, the military's media wing, said. The infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged and after an intense fire exchange, all seven territories were killed, it added. A large quantity of weapons, ammunition, and explosives was also recovered from the killed terrorists. Pakistan has consistently been asking the Taliban-led interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border. After the killing of the seven terrorists, the military again urged the interim rulers to fulfil their obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetrating acts of terrorism .

3 kids killed in landmine blast in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

At least three children were killed on the spot and one injured in a landmine explosion in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, police said. The tragic incident occurred in Wanna town of the tribal South Waziristan district on the third day of Eid. The children were on their way to watch a volleyball match between two local teams in the Mandokai area when one of them stepped on a landmine triggering a huge blast, a district police officer said. Three children died on the spot and one was critically injured. The injured child was provided immediate treatment at a local hospital before being shifted to a district hospital in Dera Ismail Khan. It was not immediately clear who planted the landmines in the area. However, South Waziristan is a hotbed for militants.

Militants kill 11 in Pak's Balochistan province in latest terror attacks

At least 11 people, nine of them from Punjab province, were shot dead by militants in Pakistan's restive Balochistan in two separate incidents, authorities said on Saturday, as the region witnessed a surge in terror attacks in recent days. Nine of the deceased were travelling in a bus on the National Highway from Quetta to Taftan when they were stopped by unknown militants, who pulled them out of the bus and killed them later, an official said. The bodies of these nine men were later found with bullet wounds in the nearby mountainous areas near a bridge, he said. The bus was going from Quetta to Taftan when armed men stopped it and after identifying passengers took the nine men to the mountainous areas, he added. The victims were from Wazirabad, Mandi Bahauddin, and Gujranwala in Punjab province. In a separate incident, a car was fired upon on the same highway in which two passengers were killed and two others injured. Condemning the attacks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought