Page 15 - Pakistan

International watchdog FATF condemns Pahalgam attack, vows tighter scrutiny

India has reportedly intensified its diplomatic push to highlight the resurgence of cross-border terrorism and the funding channels that support it on the global stage

Will Pakistan nuke Israel? Islamabad denies Iranian commander's claim

Pakistan has denied an Iranian official's claim that it pledged a nuclear strike on Israel if Iran is attacked, calling the statement completely false

Pak Army chief Munir invited to US military parade? White House says no

The White House has denied reports claiming that Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has been sent an invitation to the US military parade

H-word, M-word & fading K-word: Stop seeing India through old prisms

If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it

World Bank, IFC approve $700 million loan for Pakistan's Reko Diq project

The International Finance Corporation and the World Bank have approved a concessional loan of USD 700 million for a major mining and resource development initiative in Pakistan, according to a media report. The Reko Diq project is located in Balochistan province, which is known as a mineral-rich region of the country. This approval by lenders is a significant victory for Pakistan, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. As a result of this approval, the private sector is expected to invest USD 2.5 billion in the Reko Diq project, one of Pakistan's most important initiatives, the report said. With the approval, Pakistan has taken a crucial step forward in securing the success of the Reko Diq project, which is expected to play a pivotal role in the country's resource development sector. Barrick Gold and the federal and Balochistan governments own the project jointly. The financing for phase one of the project, which is expected to start production in 2028, is being discussed with ..

From 'lies & deceit' to 'phenomenal partner': How US is rethinking Pakistan

A top US general has called Pakistan a 'phenomenal partner' in counter-terrorism, years after Donald Trump accused it of 'lies & deceit' over terror support

Earthquake of magnitude 4.7 jolts Pak's Peshawar, no casualties reported

Pakistan is prone to seismic activity as it lies on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates

US has to have relationship with Pakistan, India: American Army general

The United States has to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India, a top US general has said, noting that it cannot be a binary switch where Washington cannot have ties with Islamabad if it has relations with New Delhi. US Army General Michael Kurilla, Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), made the comments during a testimony before the US House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. We have to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India. I do not believe it is a binary switch that we can't have one with Pakistan if we have a relationship with India, Kurilla said. We should look at the merits of the relationship for the positives that it has. ISIS Khorasan (ISIS K) is perhaps one of the most active in trying to do external plots globally to include against the homeland. The Taliban is going after ISIS K - they hate each other, and have pushed a lot of them into the tribal areas on the Afghan-Pakistan border, he said at the full Committee Hearing on US Military Postur

Pakistan raises defence expenditure by 20% to $9 billion in annual budget

But slashes overall federal spending by a hefty 7%

Pakistan raises defence budget by 20% after Op Sindoor, cuts overall outlay

Pakistan's total budget outlay decreases by 7% to 17.573 trillion Pakistani rupees ($62 billion)

Operation Sindoor was India's biggest action against terrorism: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Pahalgam terror strike was not just an attack on our people but also an assault on the social unity of India, as he asserted that Operation Sindoor carried out in retaliation was the "biggest action" taken against terrorism in India's history. In his address at an event in Dehradun, he also said that terrorists killed people in Pahalgam asking their religion but "we didn't ask their 'dharm' (religion) but hit back seeing their 'karm' (deeds)". Singh said in the last 11 years, the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership has bolstered the circle of national security. "On every matter related to national security, we have changed both attitude and way of action of the government. The world saw this change during the recent Operation Sindoor," he said. On April 22, terrorists killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam in south Kashmir. India launched Operation Sindoor early on May 7 to destroy nine terror ...

Pakistan's tax exemptions rise to $21 million, economic survey shows

Tax exemptions to various sectors cost Pakistan more than USD 21 billion this year, a higher amount than the USD 17 billion the country is required to repay against its maturing commercial and bilateral external debt, according to the latest economic survey. Unveiled by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday, the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2024-25 documents various economic developments and indicators in a fiscal year. According to the document, the cost of tax exemptions surged to a record Rs 5.8 trillion in the current fiscal year (2024-25), a rise of nearly Rs 2 trillion in the first year of the present government from the previous fiscal year's Rs 3.9 trillion. The Express Tribune newspaper reported that in dollar terms, the cost of tax losses was USD 21 billion, substantially higher than the USD 17 billion Pakistan is required to repay this year against its maturing commercial and bilateral external debt owed to China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and ...

Two neighbours, two futures: India's rise amid Pakistan's mounting woes

India and Pakistan are charting opposite courses, with New Delhi rising in global influence while Islamabad battles economic turmoil and diplomatic isolation, according to World Bank

Pakistan's debt increases to PKR 76,000 billion by end-March 2025

Pakistan's debt has increased to PRs 76,000 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, according to the economic survey, which indicated that the cash-strapped country's economy is likely to grow by 2.7 per cent this year. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who released the Economic Survey 2024-25 Monday, said Pakistan's economy has been on the path to recovery for the last two years, and the process was further stabilised and strengthened in the current fiscal year. The survey is a key pre-budget document highlighting the economic performance of the government in the fiscal year 2024-25. Pakistan's financial year begins on July 1. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the government's debt increased to PRs 76,000 billion, including PRs 51,500 billion from local banks and PRs 24,500 billion in loans from external sources, according to the document, which comes a day before the presentation of the budget. Addressing a press conference after launchi

Allahabad HC quashes plea challenging FIR for post targeting PM Modi

The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against the petitioner for his alleged Facebook post targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the halt in military action between India and Pakistan on May 10. During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel argued that his client Ajeet Yadav (24) put up the post after getting carried away by emotions. Rejecting the submission, a division bench comprising Justices J J Munir and Anil Kumar said, "The post written by the petitioner against the prime minister carried scurrilous language against the head of the government. Emotions cannot be permitted to overflow to an extent that constitutional authorities of the country are dragged into disrepute by the use of disrespectful words. The court dismissed the plea saying it was not a fit case to interfere with the FIR in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. Yadav has been booked for his Facebook post under various sections of t

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan likely to be released on June 11: Report

Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan is likely to get bail on June 11 in the Al-Qadir Trust case, a top party leader has said here. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear the petitions requesting the suspension of sentences to Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the 190 million Pound Al-Qadir Trust case on June 11. Khan, 72, has been lodged at the Adiala Jail since August 2023 in multiple cases.

Pakistan hikes assembly speaker, Senate chairman salaries to Rs 1.3 million

The Pakistani government has formally raised the monthly salaries of the National Assembly speaker and the Senate chairman to Rs 1.3 million, according to a media report on Saturday. The new salary marks a significant rise from their previous salary of Rs 205,000. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs issued the notification on May 29, but details surfaced on Friday, Samaa TV reported. The monthly salary for both officials has been fixed at Rs 1.3 million and they will also receive an additional 50 per cent as a temporary allowance on top of it, according to the notification. The revised salary structure will be effective retrospectively from January 1, 2025. Earlier on March 21, it was reported that the salaries and allowances of federal cabinet members had been significantly increased, with federal ministers, ministers of state and advisers receiving hikes of up to 188 per cent. Sources had said that the federal ministers approved a summary of the salary increments for themselv

Stopped war between India and Pakistan, it could have gone nuclear: Trump

Trump pointed out that a war between India and Pakistan could have gone nuclear if the US had not intervened between the two countries

Two fronts & The King's Gambit: China uses Pakistan to triangulate India

It is safer to presume that the Chinese now see Pakistan as an extension of their Western Theatre Command

Mediation between two unequals not possible: Tharoor on Trump's claims

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said that to suggest one can mediate between two unequals is not possible because there is no equivalence between terrorists and their victims, amid repeated claims by US President Donald Trump that he "helped settle" the tensions between India and Pakistan. Tharoor, currently in the US leading a multi-party delegation on Operation Sindoor, made the comments in response to a question during a conversation at the Council on Foreign Relations here Thursday. "Mediation is not a term that we are particularly willing to entertain. I'll tell you why not. The fact is that this implies, even when you say things like broker or whatever, you're implying an equivalence which simply doesn't exist," Tharoor said. He said there is no equivalence between terrorists and their victims. "There is no equivalence between a country that provides safe haven to terrorism, and a country that's a flourishing multi-party democracy that's trying to get on with its business," he