ISLAMABAD: Pakistan successfully placed its third homegrown electro-optical satellite into orbit on Saturday, a launch from a Chinese facility that officials described as a major step forward in the country’s efforts to build independent space capabilities while relying on longstanding cooperation with Beijing.
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Araghchi delivers Tehran’s response to US proposals in Pakistan as Trump envoy trip over ‘not enough’ offer
ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left the Pakistani capital on Saturday after handing over Tehran’s formal response to American proposals for ending the war, in a day of intensive consultations with Pakistan’s prime minister and top military commander.
Endgame Without End
Eight weeks after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28, the conflict has settled into precisely the kind of grinding, expensive impasse that Donald Trump once boasted he would never tolerate. American aircraft carriers patrol the Persian Gulf. Iranian ports are under naval blockade. The Strait of Hormuz — the narrow throat through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas once moved — is contested by both sides. Oil prices remain roughly 40 percent above prewar levels. Supply chains for fertilizer, petrochemicals, plastics, and agricultural goods are snarled from Asia to Europe. And this weekend, in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the two governments are once again circling each other through intermediaries, each insisting it is negotiating from strength while privately acknowledging that neither can prevail on the battlefield or in the marketplace.
Pakistan LNG importer secures three spot cargoes after 28-month hiatus as power shortfall widens
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state-owned LNG importer secured three spot-market cargoes Friday after a gap of more than two years, as an acute power shortfall forced authorities to scramble for supplies ahead of the summer peak.
Pakistan raises petrol, diesel prices by Rs26.77 a liter in latest weekly adjustment
ISLAMABAD: The government increased the price of petrol and high-speed diesel by Rs26.77 a liter on Friday, the latest in a series of volatile fuel-price revisions triggered by the now-paused US-Israeli war on Iran.
Iran’s foreign minister arrives in Islamabad, raising hopes for renewed US peace talks
ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Pakistan’s capital on Friday with a small delegation and was received by senior Pakistani leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Witkoff, Kushner to join Araghchi’s delegation in Islamabad as second round of peace negotiations looms
ISLAMABAD: The White House announced on Friday that two senior American envoys will fly to Pakistan on Saturday for what officials described as a second round of direct peace talks with Iran, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepares to arrive in Islamabad late Friday night with a small negotiating team.
Iran’s foreign minister heads to Pakistan, raising prospects for renewed US talks
ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Pakistan’s capital late on Friday with a small negotiating team, officials said, in a development that could clear the way for a second round of direct peace talks with the United States aimed at ending the two-month-old war.
Security forces kill 22 militants in northwest Pakistan
By Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD The security forces have killed 22 suspected terrorists in a joint intelligence-based operation in the Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
Pakistan repays full $3.45 billion UAE deposits as Saudi support cushions reserves
KARACHI: Pakistan has repaid in full $3.45 billion in deposits owed to the United Arab Emirates, the State Bank of Pakistan said Friday, closing out a longstanding bilateral facility that had been rolled over for years as part of efforts to stabilise the country’s external accounts.