ISLAMABAD: The opposition has said that nobody but the jailed Imran Khan can call off a planned march on the capital, confirming that the interior minister met opposition leaders in private just days before publicly promising to stop the protest by force of law.
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Pakistan moves to fix gaps in PM Sharif’s fuel relief scheme as uptake tops 1.7 million
ISLAMABAD: The government moved to broaden and tidy up Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s fuel relief program on Saturday, ordering that every operating fuel station be brought onto the system, allowing token redemption by text message where there is no internet, and loosening the rules for motorcycle, rickshaw and Qingqi riders who make up the bulk of enrollees.
Pakistan sends interior minister to Tehran as Houthi strikes on Riyadh threaten to widen Gulf war
ISLAMABAD: The interior minister was due in Tehran on Sunday for what Iran called a purely bilateral visit, as Islamabad struggled to keep its role as go-between in the Iran-US war while being pulled ever closer to a new front in Yemen.
Taliban threaten “crushing response” if Pakistan strikes Afghanistan – but ask Saudi Arabia to help broker peace
ISLAMABAD: The Taliban have warned Pakistan of a “crushing response” to any military action on Afghan territory, while at the same time appealing for Saudi Arabia to help resolve the bitter dispute between the two neighbours.
Pakistan warns Red Sea and Hormuz crises threaten global energy and food supplies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called on Yemen’s Houthi movement to halt attacks on merchant shipping in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as the United Nations Security Council met for the second time in a week to discuss the growing threat to one of the world’s most important trade routes.
Security forces kill 11 militants in two Balochistan operations
QUETTA: Security forces have killed 11 militants in a pair of operations in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, state media reported on Saturday, the latest in a rapid succession of military actions as violence across the region intensifies.
21-hour siege at Kohat police compound ends after eight IUMP militants killed
PESHAWAR: Security forces have ended a siege of a police compound in the north-western city of Kohat, killing eight militants after an assault that began with a suicide car bombing at a mosque and left at least 23 people dead.
Pakistan sees profit repatriation fall to $558 million on payout timing
KARACHI: Foreign companies took less money out of Pakistan in the first two months of the fiscal year, a lagging signal of how thinly the country attracted investment during a Gulf war that is still unfolding.
Textile exports rise 5.6 percent as costs, regional war weigh on growth
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports grew at a modest pace in the first two months of the fiscal year, held back by high input costs and by shocks that have disrupted shipments to two of the country’s regional markets.
Pakistan property gets a lift as Gulf war sours investors on Dubai
KARACHI: Some of Pakistan’s wealthiest investors are selling Dubai property and steering part of the proceeds into luxury real estate in Karachi, builders and dealers say, an unexpected windfall for the local market from a war that has undermined the emirate’s standing as a haven for South Asian money.