Page 22 - Pakistan

Pakistan signs $1 bn syndicated financing deal for 5 years amid crisis

Pakistan signed a five-year long-term syndicated financing facility for USD 1 billion, indicating strong support from leading financiers amid the country's ongoing economic crisis. The Dubai Islamic Bank acted as the Sole Islamic Global Coordinator while Standard Chartered Bank is the Mandated Lead Arranger and Book-runners, a finance ministry statement said on Wednesday. Other financiers include Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank as the Mandated Lead Arranger and Sharjah Islamic Bank, Ajman Bank and HBL as Arrangers, it said. The Ministry of Finance has signed a syndicated term finance facility of USD 1,000 million partially guaranteed by a policy-based guarantee of the ADB (Asian Development Bank) programme Improved Resource Mobilisation and Utilisation Reform', said the statement. The facility is a landmark transaction for the Government of Pakistan that demonstrates strong support from leading financiers in the region. This is a five-year multi-tranche facility including both Islamic and .

Trump hosts Pak's Asim Munir after latter seeks Nobel prize for him

Pakistan's Army chief Asim Munir met with US President Donald Trump and thanked him for mediating in the conflict with India. He also called for a Nobel Prize for Trump

Terrorists blow up key gas pipeline in Pakistan's Lakki Marwat district

Unidentified terrorists on Wednesday blew up a key pipeline in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which supplied gas to the Punjab province, according to local police. The terrorists blew up the gas pipeline in the restive Lakki Marwat district, triggering a fire and causing a massive gas leak, the district police officer's spokesperson said. They targeted the key gas pipeline from the Bettani Gas Field to Punjab, using explosives to destroy a main section of the line. Soon after the blast, security forces were dispatched to the site and cordoned off the area. Emergency teams were also mobilised to control the fire and assess the extent of the damage. Investigations are underway to identify and apprehend those involved in the attack. Officials have condemned the incident as an assault on critical national infrastructure aimed at destabilising the region and disrupting essential energy supplies. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especial

Bomb blast derails six coaches of Jaffar Express in Pakistan's Sindh

A bomb explosion near a railway track derailed six carriages of Jaffar Express in Sindh province of Pakistan on Wednesday. No casualties were reported in the incident involving the train plying from Peshawar to Quetta, authorities said. It is the second time in four months that the Jaffar Express was targetted. Wednesday's blast occurred near the railway track close to the cattle market in Jacobabad in the Sindh province, near the volatile province of Balochistan. The explosion caused a three-feet deep and railway track of almost six feet was damaged, according to Dunya TV. A heavy contingent of police cordoned off the area soon after. Authorities are currently investigating the nature of the blast and an inquiry is underway to determine the cause and nature of the incident. Following the explosion, train operations were temporarily suspended on the route. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast as yet, however, police sources said usually terrorist acts in Sindh prov

Bomb blast derails six coaches of Jaffar Express train in Pakistan

Six carriages of the Jaffar Express train were derailed after being hit by a bomb planted near the railway track in Pakistan on Wednesday. The mishap happened in the Jacobabad District of the Sindh province, which borders the volatile province of Balochistan. No casualties have been reported in the incident, authorities said. The blast occurred near the railway track close to the cattle market in Jacobabad, causing six bogies of the Jaffar Express to derail. Following the explosion, a heavy contingent of police cordoned off the area. Authorities are currently investigating the nature of the blast. An inquiry is underway to determine the cause and nature of the incident. Following the explosion, train operations were temporarily suspended on the route. No group has so far claimed responsibility. It is the second time in recent months that Jaffar Express was targeted after it was attacked in March in the Bolan area of Balochistan when travelling from Quetta to Peshawar. The Balo

India has more nuclear weapons than Pakistan, China far ahead: SIPRI report

A new SIPRI yearbook reveals that India now has more nuclear warheads than Pakistan. But China continues to outpace both South Asian neighbours.

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