In the fractious landscape of Pakistani politics, where amendments to the Constitution often serve as proxies for deeper power struggles, the sudden emergence of plans for a 27th Amendment has set off alarms. Just months after the contentious 26th Amendment reshaped the judiciary, introducing new mechanisms for judicial appointments and establishing federal constitutional benches, the government is now pushing for further changes that could profoundly alter the balance between the center and the provinces, the military and civilians, and the executive and the judiciary.
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PIA resumes Gulf flights after ceasefire; delays hit 15 hours
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) resumed flights to Gulf countries on Tuesday following a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, but passengers faced delays of up to 15 hours as the airline worked to restore normal operations.
Balance restored
A US-brokered ceasefire has paused the latest clash between India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed rivals whose rivalry nearly spiraled into disaster. Yet this tenuous truce reveals a seismic shift: Pakistan, long outmatched by India’s military might, not only stood firm but gained a strategic edge, upending South Asia’s power dynamics.
Lifeline under siege
India’s abrupt suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty on April 24, 2025, following a deadly terrorist attack in Kashmir, has thrust South Asia into a perilous standoff, with Pakistan warning that any tampering with its water lifeline would be an “act of war.” The decision, outlined in a sharply worded letter from India’s Jal Shakti Ministry Secretary Debashree Mukherjee to her Pakistani counterpart Syed Ali Murtaza, dismantles a 65-year-old pact that has endured wars and crises, exposing the fragility of trust between two nuclear-armed neighbors.
Fragile recovery
By Staff Reporter
Fitch Ratings lifted Pakistan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating to ‘B-’ from ‘CCC+’, with a Stable Outlook, signalling cautious hope for economic stabilisation via a $7 billion IMF Extended Fund Facility and $1.3 billion Resilience Facility.
Costing billions
By Staff Reporter
A critical anti-tax evasion initiative in the tobacco sector remains stalled in the mountainous region of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) despite years of planning, multiple deadlines, and urgent warnings about the growth of illicit cigarette production costing the national exchequer over Rs 300 billion annually.
World Cup 2023: PM Sharif seeks advice on sending cricket team to India
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has set up a high-level committee to decide whether the national cricket team should take part in the 2023 World Cup in India, amid strained relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Power at large
By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: On the mornings of long power-less nights, hot and bothered sleep-deprived employees totter into their offices after burning the country’s history’s most expensive fuel and blackguard their employers in hushed tones for eternally stagnant salaries.
BHUTTO-ZARDARI: Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari with US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken in New York May 18. Photo courtesy APP
FM Bhutto’s advocacy for a Pakistan-US reset
By Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON DC: Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is making a sound case for a rest in Pakistan-US relations, a prominent Washington Post opinion writer has said.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Christiane Amanpour's CNN Edition - video screen grab
A plucky young Bhutto batting for Pakistan
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Bilwal Bhutto Zardari may be young but he is a Bhutto. Diplomacy runs in his blood and international affairs were the stuff he learned in his cradle. Small wonder he was like a fish in water interacting with foreign leaders and media persons on his maiden visit to the United States after assuming charge as Pakistan’s new foreign minister.