LAHORE: Lahore’s kite festival Basant will run for 10 days next year, a sharp extension of the revival held in February, after Punjab’s chief minister approved a new schedule on Wednesday.
Lead
Pakistan vows to use ‘whatever means’ to defend Saudi Arabia from Houthis
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has said it will use “whatever means are available” to defend Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, signalling that the nuclear-armed country could be drawn directly into the widening Middle East conflict.
Pakistan works to bring home bodies of sailors killed by Somali pirates
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Pakistan said on Wednesday it was working to repatriate the bodies of three sailors killed by Somali pirates, and to bring home the survivors of the hijacked oil tanker MT Honour 25, a day after Puntland forces retook the vessel following five months of captivity.
Pump fuel prices slip again, but remain far above pre-Iran war levels
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cut petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday, extending the daily adjustments the government adopted in July to pass through swings in crude markets unsettled by the war with Iran.
Pakistan sets terms for 200,000-ton sugar export, millers call it too small
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan finalised the mechanics for exporting 200,000 metric tons of surplus sugar and created a committee to watch domestic prices. Millers say the step does little to shrink a stockpile that will carry into the new crushing season.
Pakistan targets longer-dated debt in 6.86 trillion rupee funding plan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to borrow an additional 6.86 trillion rupees in the fiscal year through June 2027 to cover its budget deficit. It intends to rely on longer-dated fixed-rate bonds and sukuk rather than short-term treasury bills as it tries to extend the maturity of a public debt stock that has grown 76% in four years.
Somali pirates killed five hostages, including three Pakistanis, on Honour 25
KARACHI: Somali pirates killed five crew members, including three Pakistanis, on the hijacked tanker MT Honour 25, the authorities in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region said on Tuesday. The announcement ended months of uncertainty for families who had been trying to find out what had happened to the sailors.
Lahore court gives police six days with suspects in rape case involving Azerbaijani woman
LAHORE: A court in Lahore has ordered two men accused of gang-raping a young Azerbaijani woman to be held in police custody for six days, as detectives search for a third suspect and the complainant’s account of the night has emerged.
PM Sharif opens London trading, presses JPMorgan, BlackRock for more Pakistan exposure
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged some of the world’s biggest financial firms to invest more in Pakistan on Tuesday, taking his case for the government’s economic overhaul to a day of meetings in London that began with the opening of trading at the London Stock Exchange.
Pakistan starts IMF review talks with reform deadlines still missed
Pakistan began formal negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday over about $1.2 billion in bailout financing. It did so with a key state-asset reform still missing and a war-driven revenue shortfall to explain.