KARACHI: At least five people died in the sprawling port city of Karachi on Thursday as unusually heavy rains triggered a series of deadly electrocutions and sent part of a three-story building crashing onto a passerby, officials said.
Latest
Pakistan opens talks with Afghanistan in China, insisting on action against militants as border operation continues
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has sent a senior delegation to the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi for talks with Afghan officials aimed at resolving escalating border tensions, even as its military continues a counterterrorism operation inside Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.
Trump’s Recycled Rhetoric and the Real Cost of More War
President Trump’s primetime address on the war with Iran was never going to be easy listening. But even by the standards of a conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives, drained billions of dollars and sent global energy prices soaring, Wednesday night’s 19-minute performance was astonishingly empty. Billed as a moment for Americans to hear how the fighting would end, it delivered only the same threats, the same boasts and the same timeline — two or three more weeks of ferocious bombing — that everyone has heard for weeks. There was no new diplomatic formula. No acknowledgement of Iranian demands. No realistic path to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Just the familiar vow to “hit them extremely hard” and “bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.” This was not resolve. It was stalling.
Pakistan inflation accelerates to 7.3 percent in March, highest since August on energy shock
KARACHI: Pakistan’s consumer inflation quickened to 7.3 percent year-on-year in March, the fastest pace since August 2024, as surging energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict pushed household prices higher, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released on Wednesday.
Pakistan dismisses Afghan claims of border fence removal as fabricated
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday rejected as “fabricated and devoid of facts” claims by the Afghan Taliban that barbed wire fencing along the Durand Line had been dismantled or was being removed.
Vance pursues ceasefire through Pakistan as Trump claims Iran conflict nearing end but threatens ‘stone ages’ strikes
ISLAMABAD: US Vice President J.D. Vance held discussions with Pakistani intermediaries about the Iran conflict as recently as Tuesday, officials said, a sign of the administration’s parallel pursuit of diplomacy even as military operations intensify.
Trilateral meeting in China seeks to ease Pakistan-Afghanistan standoff
ISLAMABAD: Senior officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan and China convened in Urumqi on Wednesday for the first high-level trilateral meeting in months, an effort to ease escalating border tensions that have all but frozen diplomatic contacts between Islamabad and Kabul since Pakistan launched a military operation into Afghan territory six weeks ago.
China backs Pakistan’s diplomatic push to end Middle East conflict
ISLAMABAD: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister that Beijing appreciates Islamabad’s “active diplomatic role” in trying to end the Middle East conflict, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Wednesday, as the two countries unveiled a joint five-point initiative aimed at halting hostilities in the Gulf and broader region.
Security forces kill 13 militants in two operations in northwest province
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 13 militants in two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Wednesday, part of an escalating counterterrorism campaign against a resurgent insurgency that has claimed more than 2,300 lives in the region over the past year.
FBR misses nine-month revenue target by Rs612 billion amid war-related disruptions
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue fell short of its revenue target by Rs612 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, the latest sign of mounting pressure on the government’s finances as conflict-related uncertainties weigh on economic activity.