ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Kazakhstan elevated their ties to a strategic partnership on Wednesday, signing 37 memoranda of understanding and pledging to boost bilateral trade to $1 billion within a year, as leaders from both nations emphasised the need for stronger regional integration through enhanced connectivity and economic collaboration.
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Power users set to pay higher bills as regulator weighs quarterly tariff hike
ISLAMABAD: Electricity consumers are poised to face an additional 42 paise per unit in their bills from April through June, driven largely by capacity payments to power producers during the October-December quarter of fiscal 2026.
Pakistan presses UNSC to label militant BLA group a terrorist organization
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday called on the UN Security Council to act quickly in designating the banned Balochistan Liberation Army as a terrorist organisation under its sanctions regime, warning that the group and other militants operating from Afghan soil pose a growing threat to regional stability.
When US Weapons Fuel Pakistan’s War
In the shadow of Pakistan’s volatile borderlands, where jihadist insurgencies simmer and occasionally erupt into full-scale warfare, a new chapter in US foreign policy is unfolding—one driven by the relentless global hunt for critical minerals. The allure of Pakistan’s untapped reserves, estimated at a staggering $8 trillion in copper, lithium, cobalt, gold, and other essentials, has drawn the Trump administration into an improbable alliance with Islamabad. Yet this pursuit, fueled by Washington’s urgency to break China’s stranglehold on rare earths and copper supplies, is colliding head-on with a security nightmare: a flood of American-made weapons, abandoned in the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, now empowering militants to deadly effect.
FBR hints at instalment recovery of Rs217 billion super tax arrears
ISLAMABAD: The government has signalled willingness to recover around Rs217 billion in super tax arrears through instalments to ease pressure on businesses, as an International Monetary Fund review mission prepares to visit later this month amid assurances of no external financing shortfall, Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.
Army chief vows no leniency for terrorists or their backers after Balochistan attacks
QUETTA: Pakistan’s top military commander, Field Marshal Asim Munir, declared on Wednesday that no terrorist or facilitator would escape punishment and that violence could not be justified “on any pretext,” as he visited Balochistan in the wake of coordinated militant assaults that killed dozens of security personnel and civilians.
Federal govt rebuffs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s bid for extra funds to aid displaced families
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has rejected a plea from the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Rs10.4 billion in additional funding to cover costs tied to resettling people displaced by security operations in Bajaur and the Tirah Valley, instructing the provincial administration instead to draw from its own coffers amid tight national finances, Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Security forces killed nearly 200 militants days after deadly weekend BLA attacks across Balochistan
QUETTA: Security forces have killed 197 militants in a sweeping counterterrorism operation across Balochistan, officials said, as clearance efforts continued in remote mountainous areas following a series of coordinated attacks that left dozens dead and brought parts of the restive province to a standstill.
Export demand puts Pakistan’s JF-17 production to the test – report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is grappling with a sudden wave of interest in its JF-17 fighter jet from at least five countries, a development that could overwhelm the production lines of its joint venture with China, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Opposition leader urges PM Sharif to allow trusted doctors to examine jailed ex-premier Khan
ISLAMABAD: The leader of opposition in the National Assembly appealed directly to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday for his personal intervention to allow jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to be examined by his own trusted physicians, citing urgent concerns over the cricket star-turned-politician’s health and the secretive nature of recent medical procedures.