ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar are in advanced discussions for the supply of at least four cargoes of liquefied natural gas that would have to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter told Dawn newspaper.
Latest
Barbed wire goes up in Islamabad as US and Iran prepare for second round of negotiations amid renewed Hormuz crisis
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Sunday that senior US officials will arrive in Pakistan’s capital on Monday evening for a new round of negotiations with Iran, an 11th-hour effort to salvage a fragile two-week ceasefire that Tehran has accused Washington of violating and that appeared near collapse after Iranian forces fired on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Islamabad locks down Red Zone, suspends transit as US and Iran prepare for possible second round of peace talks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital sealed its most sensitive districts and suspended public transportation across the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Sunday as authorities braced for the possible arrival of senior American and Iranian delegations for a second round of direct peace negotiations aimed at ending a seven-week Middle East conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz Is Not a Poker Chip — It Is a Global Lifeline
The images are haunting in their familiarity: merchant vessels idling in the Persian Gulf, their crews numbering in the tens of thousands, waiting for safe passage through the narrow choke point that carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. On Saturday, Iran once again declared the Strait of Hormuz under “strict military control,” reversing a fleeting reopening announced barely 24 hours earlier. President Trump responded with characteristic bluntness, insisting that Tehran could not “blackmail” the United States by closing the waterway. Shipping officials reported at least two vessels — including Indian-flagged ships — coming under fire. The fragile two-week ceasefire that had offered a glimmer of de-escalation now hangs by a thread, set to expire on Wednesday.
Imran Khan’s wife petitions Islamabad court for suspension of corruption sentence, citing medical crisis after unannounced eye surgery
ISLAMABAD: Bushra Bibi, the wife of former prime minister Imran Khan, asked Islamabad High Court on Saturday to suspend her seven-year prison sentence in a major corruption case, arguing that her health had deteriorated sharply after an eye operation performed in custody without her family’s knowledge or consent.
FM Aurangzeb pushes mineral, energy cooperation in US Treasury talks at IMF meetings
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb held a productive meeting with Francis Brooke, deputy secretary at the US Department of the Treasury, on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings, where the two sides explored avenues for cooperation in the mineral and energy sectors as well as strengthening the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism framework.
Pakistan repays $2 billion to UAE as Saudi deposits roll over and markets provide offset
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan confirmed on Saturday that the government has repaid $2 billion to the United Arab Emirates, part of maturing bilateral deposits that are testing the country’s external financing position even as fresh inflows from Saudi Arabia provide a buffer.
Field Marshal Munir ends Iran trip and Prime Minister Sharif returns from three-nation tour as Islamabad races to salvage US-Iran ceasefire
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most powerful military officer wrapped up a three-day visit to Iran on Saturday while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returned from a whirlwind tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye, in a coordinated diplomatic offensive aimed at transforming a precarious two-week-old ceasefire between Tehran and Washington into a lasting regional settlement.
Iran recloses Strait of Hormuz, reports attacks on vessels as fragile US-Iran ceasefire frays
ISLAMABAD: Iranian gunboats opened fire on a tanker and a container ship was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, hours after Tehran’s navy broadcast a radio warning that it was once again sealing the strategic waterway to all commercial traffic in retaliation for what it described as US violations of a fragile ceasefire.
PM Shehbaz cuts diesel by Rs32.12 to Rs353.43, passing on global oil relief
ISLAMABAD: The government lowered the price of high-speed diesel by Rs32.12 a liter to Rs353.43, passing on the sharp drop in global crude prices triggered by Iran’s decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz during a ceasefire.