KARACHI: Pakistan’s newest private carrier, South Air, began scheduled domestic flights on Thursday, launching services from Karachi to Quetta and Islamabad via two cities that have had little or no direct air access in recent years, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said.
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PM Sharif orders contingency plan as renewed Iran-US clashes threaten economic recovery
ISLAMABAD: The government is preparing contingency plans to shield the economy from a new round of turmoil in the Middle East, as an intensifying exchange of fire between the United States and Iran unravels a ceasefire that Islamabad helped broker just last month.
EU says Pakistan regressed on human rights, warns GSP+ access hinges on reforms
ISLAMABAD: The European Union said on Thursday that Pakistan had regressed in several areas of human rights over the past two years despite a series of legislative reforms, and warned that Islamabad must address the shortcomings to retain preferential access to European markets under a revised trade scheme due to take effect in 2027.
Pakistan presses US, Iran to return to negotiating table as peace deal it brokered falters
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office renewed its appeal on Thursday for the United States and Iran to halt their exchange of strikes and return to the negotiating table, acknowledging for a second consecutive week that the fragile peace framework it helped broker is coming under mounting strain.
Iran attacks US military sites in Gulf after fresh American strikes
Iran fired missiles and drones at American military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan early on Thursday, hours after the United States pushed its bombing campaign deeper into Iranian territory and tightened a naval blockade around the country’s ports, in the latest sharp turn in a war that has ground on for nearly five months over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Security forces thwart suicide attack on military post in Waziristan; four militants killed
WANA: Security forces foiled a suicide bombing attempt against a military post in Pakistan’s tribal belt late on Wednesday, killing the would-be attacker and three other militants before they could reach their target, officials said.
Pakistan joins China-led AI alliance as FM Dar departs for Shanghai summit
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left Islamabad on Thursday for a two-day visit to Shanghai, where he is expected to sign Pakistan into a newly formed international body aimed at coordinating global cooperation on artificial intelligence, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.
Pakistan’s energy squeeze widens as priciest LNG buy meets fuel, gas warnings
KARACHI: Pakistan’s energy sector is confronting simultaneous pressures on multiple fronts, as the country secured its costliest spot liquefied natural gas cargo since February even as two sanctioned tankers carrying Iranian crude signalled Pakistani waters as a destination, and industry groups warned of imminent petrol and propane shortages.
Pakistan’s factory output rebounds as autos, food drive 5.8 percent manufacturing surge
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing sector expanded 5.77% in the 11 months through May, its strongest stretch of growth in years, as a rebound in car production and food output offset persistent weakness in textiles, pharmaceuticals and steel.
Pakistan textile exports barely grow as costs, Afghan halt bite
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports, the backbone of the country’s outbound trade, grew just 0.26% in the fiscal year through June, one of the weakest annual performances in recent years, as elevated production costs and the loss of key regional markets undercut an industry that accounts for roughly half of national exports.