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.
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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.
With Hormuz Strait declared open, Trump thanks Pakistan, and presses for weekend talks to seal Iran nuclear accord
ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened to all commercial vessels, a significant easing of tensions in the Persian Gulf following a fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon.
Pakistan sells $500 million eurobond at 6.95 percent after four-year hiatus
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan sold $500 million of three-year Eurobonds on Friday, its first return to the international capital markets in four years, a day after receiving $2 billion in fresh assistance from Saudi Arabia.
Factory output rebounds for fifth straight month, powered by autos and petroleum
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing sector expanded 5.89% year-on-year in the first eight months of fiscal 2026, as a sustained rebound in industrial production offset weakness in textiles and steel, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed.
FM Aurangzeb thanks Beijing for IMF backing as Panda bond plans advance
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb thanked China for its “long-standing and unwavering” support for Pakistan’s International Monetary Fund program and praised Beijing’s role in shepherding the country’s latest reviews, the finance ministry said on Friday.
Pakistan signs agreement with Saudi Arabia to extend $3 billion deposit
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on Friday to extend the maturity of a $3 billion deposit that the Saudi Fund for Development placed with the State Bank of Pakistan, the finance ministry said.
Sharif and Erdogan urge swift action to lock in fragile Mideast ceasefire as Islamabad’s mediation push intensifies
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday stressed the need to “effectively utilise the current window of opportunity” to forge a durable peace in the Middle East, capping a day of high-level diplomacy here as Pakistan presses to convert a two-week-old ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran into a lasting agreement.
Bushra Bibi, wife of imprisoned former prime minister Khan undergoes retinal surgery and returns to jail amid mounting health concerns
RAWALPINDI: Bushra Bibi, the wife of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, was returned to Adiala Jail on Friday after undergoing surgery for retinal detachment in her right eye at a private hospital in Rawalpindi, jail authorities said.
Pakistan deploys two dozen fighter jets to escort Iranian negotiators home after inconclusive US talks, citing fears of Israeli attack
By Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD: Pakistani fighter jets and surveillance aircraft provided an extensive air escort last weekend to a high-level Iranian delegation returning from inconclusive