LAHORE: Five senior leaders of the main opposition party, all imprisoned on charges related to the May 9, 2023, riots, on Monday called for an immediate multi-party conference to forge a national consensus on the Palestinian issue and the shaky prospects for peace in Gaza.
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Armed men kidnap 14 workers in Balochistan attacks on construction sites
QUETTA: Armed men abducted 14 workers from a government construction project and a crushing plant in two separate incidents in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province, police said on Sunday, prompting security forces to launch search operations in the remote areas.
Ogra seeks input on quick payback for $432 million Azerbaijan oil pipeline deal
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s oil and gas regulator is soliciting expert and public feedback on a proposed four-year payback period for a $432 million government-to-government investment in a pipeline project with Azerbaijan, even as two key federal ministries have flagged concerns over the dollar-denominated returns and potential cost implications.
ECB warns nationality-based exclusion could trigger action against Hundred franchises
KARACHI: The England and Wales Cricket Board has written to all eight Hundred franchises reminding them of their responsibilities around discrimination, after reports emerged that Pakistan players are not being considered by the four sides with Indian Premier League ownership links.
UPDATED – Pakistan airstrikes target seven TTP, ISK hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, kill over 80 militants
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan carried out airstrikes on seven terrorist camps in Afghanistan early on Sunday, killing more than 80 militants in retaliation for a series of suicide bombings that have claimed the lives of soldiers and civilians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a security official said.
Political rift deepens in Sindh as PPP, MQM-P trade barbs over Karachi status
KARACHI: A resolution by the Sindh provincial assembly affirming Karachi’s unbreakable ties to the province has triggered a sharp political confrontation, with leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan denouncing it as an attack on the country’s foundational laws and a sign of hidden separatist ambitions.
Opposition rips into government over ‘flawed’ policies, soaring poverty
ISLAMABAD: Leaders of Pakistan’s opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), unleashed a barrage of criticism against the government on Sunday, branding its domestic and foreign policies as deeply flawed and accusing it of driving the country toward irreversible harm through poor economic management and questionable international engagements.
Pakistan’s debt interest payments jump 80 percent, but not due to costly borrowing, ministry says
ISLAMABAD: The Finance Ministry rejected reports that the country pays interest rates as high as 8% on external loans, calling such assertions misleading and stressing that the bulk of its public debt comes from concessional financing.
The Diplomacy of Denial
The conviction of Nikhil Gupta in a New York federal court last week has sent ripples far beyond Manhattan, reigniting a fierce debate over state-sponsored terrorism in South Asia. Gupta, an Indian national, pleaded guilty to charges in a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and US citizen, admitting he coordinated with an Indian government official identified as Vikash Yadav, a former intelligence officer. This admission, carrying a potential 40-year sentence, has bolstered Pakistan’s longstanding accusations against India, with Islamabad pointing to what it calls “irrefutable evidence” of New Delhi’s hand in cross-border attacks. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Abdrabi, didn’t mince words in a recent briefing, asserting that his country has shared concrete proof of “Indian sponsorship of terrorism and terrorist groups operating in Pakistan from across our borders.”
US envoy’s Huckabee’s remarks on Israeli expansion spark outrage from Pakistan, Arab allies
ISLAMABAD: A coalition of 14 Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, issued a sharp rebuke on Sunday to comments by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who suggested in a recent interview that he would not object to Israel claiming vast territories across the Middle East based on biblical boundaries.