Page 132 - Pakistan

Pakistan's defence minister calls for unity in fight against terrorism

Pakistan's defence minister on Tuesday urged all political forces of the country to unite against terrorists who are targeting not a sect or particular segment of society but the entire nation. The statement came a day after the death toll in the terrible suicide bombing in a Peshawar mosque rose to 100, while the attack is being compared with the school bombing of 2014 which had killed around 150 people, mostly students. Khawaja Asif was asked by journalists outside the parliament building about the possibility of any fresh operation against the militants. He said that the high-level National Security Committee (NSC) would decide about launching a military operation to eliminate militancy. "This is a decision that the National Security Committee will take. Such things can be decided at a forum (like the NSC) which is able to take such major decisions," he said. Later addressing the parliament, he urged all political forces to unite against terrorists who are targeting not a sect

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Mosque suicide blast death toll rises to 100 in Pakistan's Peshawar city

The death toll from the suicide blast rose to at least 100 on Tuesday after rescue workers retrieved more bodies from the debris of the devastated mosque inside a major police facility in Pakistan's northwestern Peshawar city. According to security officials, the suicide bomber who was present in the front row during the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers on Monday blew himself up, causing the roof to collapse on the worshippers. Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) spokesperson Mohammad Asim said that 100 bodies had been brought to the medical facility. Asim said 53 injured were currently being treated while seven had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). He said that most of the injured were out of danger. Most of the victims were policemen. At least a deputy superintendent of police, five sub-inspectors and the mosque's prayer leader Maulana Sahibzada Noorul Amin were among the dead. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the sui

Pak court to indict Ex-PM Imran Khan in Toshakhana reference case

A Pakistan court on Tuesday said that PTI chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan will be indicted in connection with the Toshakhana refrence case

Inflation, loans, forex balance: The many crises for Pakistan's economy

Without a bailout package from IMF and support from others, India's neighbour will be pushed deeper into the abyss

Death toll in Pak's Peshawar suicide blast in mosque jumps to 83: Report

The death toll in a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Peshawar's Police Lines has gone up to 83 after nine more bodies were recovered from the rubble, The News International reported

Pakistan's fate at stake as rupee plunges to 250 against the dollar: Report

Pakistani's economy has reached rock bottom as the rupee plummeted to 250 against the US dollar and the value of currency depreciated

Against the flow

Pakistan has nothing to complain about the Indus Waters Treaty

61 killed, 150 injured in Taliban suicide attack at mosque in Peshawar

A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up in a mosque packed with worshippers during afternoon prayers on Monday in the high-security zone in Pakistan's restive northwestern Peshawar city, killing at least 46 people and wounding more than 150 others, mostly policemen, officials said. The powerful blast occurred inside the mosque in the Police Lines area around 1.40 pm when worshippers, which included personnel of the police, army and bomb disposal squad - were offering the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers. The bomber who was present in the front row blew himself up, causing the roof to collapse on the worshippers, officials said. Lady Reading Hospital officials said 46 people have died and 157 others injured. There were mostly policemen and security officials among the dead and injured. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, saying it was part of a revenge attack for slain TTP commander Umar Khalid Khurasani who w

Multiple people injured in explosion in Peshawar mosque: Officials

At least 50 people were injured when a suicide attacker blew himself up at a mosque here in the capital of Pakistan's restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, officials said. The blast occurred near the Police Lines area around 1.40 pm when the Zuhr prayers were being offered, the Dawn newspaper reported. According to security officials, the suicide attacker was present in the front row during the prayers when he exploded himself, injuring dozens of people offering prayers. The injured are being shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, the officials said. Hospital sources said 13 of those injured were in a critical condition. An emergency has been imposed in the locality and the area has been cordoned off.

At least 17 dead, 83 injured at Peshawar mosque blast in Pakistan

At least 17 people were killed and 83 others injured after a blast ripped through a mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar city on Monday, officials said

Pak's deepening political-eco crisis may spill over into region: Experts

As dwindling forex reserves, nationwide power outages, stampedes at state-run food distribution centres and a Pakistani rupee, which plunged nearly 50 per cent in a year to 260 to the US dollar on Monday, propels the neighbouring country towards being an international "basket case", Indian analysts believe there could be serious consequences for the region. Amid this economic crisis, the Shahbaz Sharif government will begin crucial negotiations with the Washington-based IMF (International Monetary Fund) for a bail-out package on Tuesday which may come with "tough and possibly politically risky" pre-conditions of austerity, feeding into a bigger political crisis, they said. The risk for India would not only be instability in Pakistan with its fall-out of rising extremism in the region but also unpredictable actions which could include bids to divert domestic public attention by focussing on an external enemy. "The current economic crisis is feeding into the ongoing political crisis .

Pak minister says cyber attack could be behind nationwide power breakdown

Pakistan's Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir said the government is probing the massive January 22 electricity outage across the country from different angles

Imran Khan's party to contest bypolls in all 33 vacant parliamentary seats

Earlier, on Friday, The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that bypolls to 33 NA seats would be held on March 16

Pak need to fix responsibility for its depleting forex reserves: Report

Pakistan is in the midst of an "economic meltdown" as its forex reserves dropped by over 40 per cent since the exit of Miftah Ismail and the taking over of Ishaq Dar as the new Finance Minister, reported The Express Tribune.Amid growing fears of an economic meltdown, senior analysts have said that the government needs to fix responsibility for the depletion of Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves in a matter of months otherwise "course correction" won't be possible."Who is responsible for the depletion of our foreign exchange reserves in a matter of months? The government has to fix responsibility," said Naveed Hussain, Editor (Print & Digital) of The Express Tribune, while speaking on ExpressNews talk show 'Experts' on Thursday."In April 2022, the state coffers had nearly USD 11 billion, but the reserves plummeted to USD 7.8 billion by August," he added while referring to the time when the PDM took over the government after ousting Imran Khan through a vote of ...

Pakistan govt goes for a steep hike in petrol and diesel prices

After the rise, the price of petrol was set at Rs 249.80 per litre

10 students dead, 15 injured as boat capsizes in northwest Pakistan

At least 10 students of a religious seminary died on Sunday when their boat capsized in a lake in northwest Pakistan, according to officials. The students, aged between seven and 14 years, of Madrassa Mirbash Khel were on an excursion trip when their boat capsized in the Tanda Dam lake in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said. The rescue workers have recovered 10 bodies, they said. Deputy Commissioner Kohat Furqan Ashraf said the boat was carrying 30 people and most of them were children. He said 16 children were rescued and rushed to a nearby hospital. The Pakistan Army's rescue teams have also reached the site of the incident where rescue operations are being carried out. Caretaker Chief Minister KPK Azam Khan directed the local administration to provide emergency relief to the affected families.

Earthquake of 6.3 magnitude jolts parts of Pak; epicentre in Tajikistan

An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude jolted parts of Pakistan on Sunday but so far there was no report of any loss to life or property. According to the Meteorological Department, the quake's depth was 150 km with the epicentre being in Tajikistan. The department also reported that the latest tremor hit the country at around 12:54 pm and had a longitude of 69.65 East and a latitude of 38.65 North. However, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, an independent tracker of earthquakes through crowdsourced information, said that the earthquake took place near Attock in Punjab province of Pakistan. Radio Pakistan reported that there were no immediate reports of casualties. The tremor was felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other areas of the country. Pakistan is located in a quake-prone region. The deadliest jolt in 2005 killed more than 74,000 people in the country.

Pakistan hikes petrol, diesel prices by Rs 35 amid economic crisis

With today's hike, petroleum will now cost Rs249.80 per litre, while diesel Rs 262.80 per litre, kerosene oil Rs 189.83 per litre and light diesel oil Rs 187 per litre

Pak's foreign loan disbursements slow down from July to Dec 2022: Report

Pakistan received only USD 5.6 billion in foreign loans during the first half of current fiscal year, equal to about one-fourth of the annual budget estimate, due to the cash-starved country's failure to take timely decisions about reviving the IMF loan programme, according to media report on Saturday. Data compiled by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed that foreign loan disbursements from July to December 2022 stood at a mere USD 5.6 billion, the Express Tribune newspaper reported, adding that the disbursements were not enough to finance the maturing foreign debt, making a severe dent in the foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank. The key reason for the low disbursements was the government's failure to ensure the timely completion of the ninth review of the IMF programme. As a consequence, the receipt of USD 5.6 billion was equal to only one-fourth of the annual budget estimate of USD 22.8 billion. The IMF on Thursday announced that it would send its mission to ...