ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have drawn up a draft defence agreement after nearly a year of negotiations, a senior Pakistani official said, confirming reports of talks among the three Muslim-majority nations amid lingering regional tensions.
International
Pakistan included in US immigrant visa freeze over public charge risks
ISLAMABAD: The United States is suspending immigrant visa processing for 75 countries, including Pakistan, starting Jan. 21, as the Trump administration intensifies its enforcement of rules aimed at barring immigrants deemed likely to rely on public welfare programs, the State Department announced on Wednesday.
Pakistan condemns India security adviser’s ‘revenge’ rhetoric
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday sharply rebuked comments by India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, who had urged his country to “avenge” its history of subjugation by building a stronger nation, dismissing the rhetoric as the product of “camouflaged hate-mongers” driven by “imagined historical vendettas.”
PM Sharif confirms Pakistan sees global demand for JF-17 after show of strength against India
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that several countries were in talks with Pakistan to buy its fighter jets, a development he linked to heightened global interest following the country’s military success against India in a brief conflict last year.
Pakistan to pilot pre-immigration checks for travellers to the UAE
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish a pre-immigration clearance system that would allow Pakistani travellers to complete border formalities at home before flying to the Gulf nation, effectively letting them bypass lengthy airport lines upon arrival and exit as if they were domestic passengers.
Three TTP militants killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa intelligence-led operation
ISLAMABAD: The counterterrorism forces killed three militants linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in an intelligence-based operation in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, officials said, as the country contends with a persistent wave of attacks that has claimed hundreds of lives in recent months.
Pakistan says four militants killed in Balochistan security operation
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed four militants accused of being sponsored by India during an intelligence-based operation in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, the military said on Tuesday, amid a broader surge in attacks that has strained the country’s efforts to contain terrorism.
Amid turmoil in Iran, Pakistani students and pilgrims begin heading home
ISLAMABAD: As violent protests continued to grip Iran for a third week, leading to a fierce government crackdown and international condemnation, dozens of Pakistani students and pilgrims began streaming back home through a remote border crossing, officials said, showing the widening ripple effects of the unrest.
KP chief minister Afridi’s call for evidence on Afghan terrorism draws fierce backlash
ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday sharply rebuked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister, Sohail Afridi, for questioning whether Afghanistan’s territory was being used to launch terrorist attacks against Pakistan, accusing him of acting as a spokesman for Kabul and sowing doubt on national security matters at a time of surging violence.
Six policemen martyred in northwest Pakistan roadside bomb attack
PESHAWAR: An armored police vehicle was ripped apart by a roadside bomb in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Monday, killing six officers in one of the deadliest attacks on law enforcement in the region this month, officials said, as the government vowed to root out militant groups amid a surge in violence.