ISLAMABAD: Fourteen infants died early Wednesday when a fire tore through the newborn nursery of Pakistan’s largest public hospital in Islamabad, an inferno that investigators say began with an exploding air conditioner and was fed by oxygen equipment keeping the youngest patients alive.
Aamir Ashraf
After 50 years, France closes its consulate in Karachi
KARACHI: For half a century, the French tricolour flew over a consulate that Pakistanis in this sprawling port city had come to think of as a fixture, a quiet outpost of Paris on the edge of the Arabian Sea. This week, that chapter closed.
Petrol, diesel costs climb for second straight day amid Mideast volatility
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan raised gasoline and diesel prices for a second consecutive day, extending a run of near-daily adjustments that the government adopted this year to track swings in global crude markets rattled by conflict between the US and Iran.
Pakistan coal plants’ sloppy buying habits cost consumers millions
ISLAMABAD: The independent power producers are paying inflated prices for imported coal through opaque procurement practices that regulators say are quietly padding electricity bills for millions of consumers, according to government findings that have prompted new policy guidelines aimed at plugging the leak, Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Top court to weigh contempt case over Imran Khan’s blocked hospital transfer on Sept. 16
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan will take up a contempt of court petition next month accusing the government of defying a judicial order to transfer imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan to a private hospital for medical treatment, according to court filings and officials familiar with the case.
Pakistan forms panel to defuse $18 billion Iran pipeline dispute
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a high-level committee to negotiate a settlement with Iran over a stalled natural gas pipeline, as the government seeks to limit its exposure to a Paris arbitration claim that could cost the cash-strapped economy as much as $18 billion.
Pakistan weighs scrapping Rs10 note as printing costs bite
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central bank is considering scrapping its lowest-denomination banknote, the Rs10 note, as officials weigh the rising cost of printing currency that’s becoming increasingly expensive to produce.
Pakistan targets up to $2 billion more in Eurobonds this fiscal year
KARACHI: Pakistan plans to raise as much as $2 billion through Eurobonds this fiscal year, extending a return to international capital markets that began with a $750 million issuance in April, while pursuing a $10 billion currency swap facility with the US to bolster investor confidence in the South Asian economy.
Pakistan seeks to revive Iran-US truce, but Pentagon keeps strikes ‘on the Table’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Tuesday it had made “significant progress” toward reviving a fractured peace framework between Iran and the United States, following a day-long visit by the country’s top military and security officials to Tehran, even as US officials signalled they had not ruled out further military action against Iran.
Pakistan launches feasibility study for strategic petroleum reserves with Wood Mackenzie
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan began a feasibility study on Tuesday to determine whether the South Asian nation should build strategic petroleum reserves, turning to global energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie as it seeks to shore up defences against the kind of supply shocks that have rattled global oil markets this year.