Page 52 - Pakistan

Pakistan isolated, militancy in J&K on its last legs, says minister Reddy

Union minister G Kishan Reddy on Saturday said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has isolated Pakistan globally and the "rogue nation no longer has support from the international community due to its role in sponsoring terrorism". While Pakistan struggles, India's vision for Jammu and Kashmir is moving forward with peace and progress, he said, asserting that militancy is on its last legs in the union territory. He also criticised Congress, saying it was supporting National Conference's "regressive agenda" aimed at pushing Jammu and Kashmir back into the dark era of "militancy and bloodshed". Addressing a gathering to garner support for Arvind Gupta, BJP candidate from Jammu West for the state assembly polls, Reddy reaffirmed that Jammu and Kashmir remains the "heartbeat of India". He said the party's vision for its people reflects the legacy of Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, who established the party with the aim to protect Jammu and Kashmir from "dynasti

India's 'uninterrupted dialogue' with Pakistan is over, says Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S says India will not overlook terrorism to improve relations with Pakistan

Floods in Bangladesh impacting cotton import, shipments may divert to India

Some cotton shipments could get diverted to India, Pakistan and Vietnam, commodity analysts said

Thousands evacuated as cyclone builds off India, Pakistan's coast

More than 18,000 have been evacuated since Sunday from cities near the coast, disaster management authorities said

Traders observe daylong strike across Pak to protest rising costs, taxes

Traders in Pakistan went on strike on Wednesday, shutting down their businesses in all major cities and urban areas to protest a rise in electricity costs and new taxes imposed on shop owners. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has steadily raised electricity prices since Pakistan last month struck a deal with the International Monetary Fund for a new USD 7 billion loan. The higher cost of living and price hikes have triggered widespread discontent and drawn protests. Most of the public markets across Pakistan were closed on Wednesday, though pharmacies and grocery stores selling basic food items remained open. Kashif Chaudhry, a strike leader, said those were not closed so as not to inconvenience the general public. Stores were shuttered in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi, as well as in the city of Lahore, the country's culture capital, and the main economic hub of Karachi. The strike was called by Naeem-ur-Rehman who heads t

Pakistan eyes $4 bn from West Asian banks to plug external financing gaps

Pakistan and the IMF reached an agreement on the loan program in July, subject to approval from the IMF's executive board

If anything happens to me, Army chief, ISI's DG responsible: Imran Khan

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday reiterated that the Army and the ISI are responsible for his condition and expressed fear for his life. Khan, 71, lodged at the Adiala Jail since last year, also blamed the current dispensation for being averse to criticism, for deteriorating law-and-order situation across the country, and also for ruining Pakistan's cricket that is facing repeated defeats. In a post on X from jail, Khan repeated claims about rigged elections and said only a government with a genuine mandate will be able to plan for fundamental reforms. The ISI controls all administrative matters related to my imprisonment.

Militants want to stop co-operation with China, says Pakistan PM Sharif

Separatist militants have consistently targeted Balochistan's deepwater port of Gwadar, run by China

More than 70 dead after multiple militant attacks in Pakistan's Balochistan

The assaults were the most widespread in years by ethnic militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major China-led projects

33 killed in Balochistan as militants shoot travellers from Pak Punjab

Armed men reportedly blocked the inter-provincial highway in Musakhail's Rarasham district, forced passengers out of their vehicles, and set 10 vehicles on fire

Imran Khan's trial in military court over May 9 violence possible: Pakistan

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's trial in cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year might go to the military courts, a government spokesperson has said. The events and vandalism on May 9 last year invited the application of the Army Act since military installations were attacked and damaged, Government spokesperson for legal affairs Barrister Aqeel Malik was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper.

37 people killed, several injured in two bus accidents in Pakistan

At least 11 people were killed and 35 injured when a bus veered off the highway in Pakistan's Balochistan province and fell into a ravine on Sunday, according to media reports. The bus carrying 70 people was bringing pilgrims back from Iran to Punjab province when the accident occurred in Hub, the Dawn newspaper reported. The accident occurred on the Makran coastal highway, a 653 km national highway which extends along Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast from Karachi in Sindh province to Gwadar in Balochistan province. Most of the passengers were from Lahore or Gujranwala, according to police sources. According to District Commissioner (DC) Lasbela Humaira Baloch, a rescue operation is being conducted. According to Edhi rescue sources, 23 others were injured in the incident and were swiftly transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the Lasbela incident and extended her condolences to the grie

Pak flies home injured and bodies of 28 pilgrims killed in Iran bus crash

Pakistan brought home Friday the bodies of 28 Shiite pilgrims killed in a bus crash in Iran this week while heading to Iraq for a pilgrimage. A Pakistani military aircraft also flew back 23 pilgrims injured in the accident, officials said. Earlier in the day in Iran, officials handed over the bodies of the crash victims to Pakistani diplomats. Prayer services were held in both Iran and later in Pakistan. Funeral were to take place in the victims' home districts early Saturday. The pilgrims were from Pakistan's southern Sindh province, according to Nasir Shah, a provincial government spokesman. The plane, requested by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for the repatriation, landed at the airport in Jacobabad, about 1,000 kilometres southwest from the capital of Islamabad. The coffins, covered in Pakistan's national flag, were handed over to the victims' relatives for burial. State-run PTV broadcast the ceremony at the Jacobabad airport, where relatives of the victims cried and

Pak to experiment by redesigning currency notes made of polymer plastic

Pakistan's central bank will experiment with a new polymer plastic currency banknote later this year while redesigning all the existing banknotes for enhanced security and hologram features. State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmed told a Senate committee on banking and finance in Islamabad that all the existing paper currency notes are being redesigned with new security features by December this year. Ahmed said the newly redesigned banknotes in the denominations of Rs 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 would be issued in December. The old notes would remain in circulation for five years being eased out of the market by the central bank, a source close to the committee said. The State Bank governor also informed the Senate committee members that a new polymer plastic bank note would be issued in one denomination for the public and if it is received well, plastic currency would follow in other denominations. Presently around 40 countries use polymer plastic banknotes which are ha

Pak seeks $4 bn loan from West Asian banks to meet financial obligations

Cash-strapped Pakistan is in talks with banks in the Middle East to borrow approximately USD 4 billion to meet its external financial commitments for the current fiscal year, as part of the USD 7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) currently pending for IMF's approval. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team had a virtual meeting with Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank, on Thursday, the Dawn newspaper reported on Friday. On Wednesday, a similar interaction was held with Mashreq Bank President and Group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal. Both meetings had been arranged to discuss the economic outlook and explore investment opportunities in Pakistan. For the current fiscal year, Pakistan has pitched about USD 20 billion in foreign borrowing in the budget, besides another USD 3 billion rollover from the UAE that was reported separately for the balance of payments. With this much borrowing, Pakistan's reserves are estimated to grow to about USD 19-20 billion by the end of the

Decoded: Buna-Raast connectivity project between Pakistan-Arab world

Raast is Pakistan's first instant payment system, which operates similarly to India's flagship project: Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

Making good progress with IMF to get board approval: Pak finance minister

Pakistan is in talks with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China to meet gross financing needs under the IMF programme

Mpox reaches Thailand; deadly Clade 1b variant found in 6 nations: Updates

Mpox infection updates: There are two viral strains of mpox: Clade 1b and Clade 2. The Clade 1b variant of the mpox infection is more deadly and is responsible for more than 500 deaths in Congo

19 dead, 11 injured in Balochistan as heavy monsoon rainfall causes havoc

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), from July 1 to August 17, rain-related incidents have resulted in 195 deaths and 362 injuries across the country

Pak HC temporarily bars trial court from issuing verdict against Imran Khan

A high court in Pakistan Monday temporarily barred a trial court from issuing its verdict in an alleged case of corruption against jailed former premier Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi. An anti-corruption court has been hearing the Al-Qadir Trust case against the former first couple which is based on the charges that Khan caused a loss of over Rs 50 billion to the national exchequer. A two-judge bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justices Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb and Babar Sattar, heard Khan's petition requesting the submission of records from the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) previous decision to close the case. Barrister Salman Safdar, representing Khan, highlighted that the case originally included eight accused, of which six were currently at large. "A total of 35 witnesses have testified so far, with the cross-examination of the final witness in progress," Safdar informed the court. After arguments, the bench restrained the trial court from ...