ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement on Thursday to conduct a joint feasibility study for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project, a transformative initiative to link Central Asia to Pakistani seaports via Afghanistan, boosting regional trade and connectivity.
International
Pakistan, EU bolster trade and security pact, urge Gaza ceasefire
ISLAMABAD: Senior officials from Pakistan and the European Union met in Brussels on Thursday to strengthen their partnership under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), a trade framework that has fueled a 108 percent surge in Pakistani exports to Europe since 2014.
US lawmakers weigh response to Pakistan’s rights concerns
ISLAMABAD: A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is pressing the Trump administration to consider sanctions against countries, including Pakistan, that suppress religious freedom and violate fundamental rights.
Gunmen attack passenger bus in Balochistan, killing three and wounding 12
QUETTA: Three people were killed and 12 others injured in Pakistan’s southwestern Kalat district on Wednesday when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus traveling from Karachi to Quetta in the latest wave of violence plaguing the country’s restive Balochistan province.
Pakistan says Iran envoy Moghadam has immunity amid FBI most-wanted status
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday defended its Iranian ambassador, Reza Amiri Moghadam, saying he enjoys diplomatic immunity and is widely respected, after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation placed him on its most-wanted list over his alleged role in the 2007 disappearance of a retired FBI agent.
UK lifts air safety ban on Pakistani airlines, opening path for flights to resume
ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom on Wednesday removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, paving the way for Pakistani airlines to apply for permits to operate flights to the UK, the British High Commission in Islamabad said.
Amnesty presses Balochistan chief minister to free detained activists in dissent crackdown
QUETTA: Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti to release detained Baloch activists and an end to what it described as a sweeping crackdown on dissent in the restive province
Former aide to Imran Khan to testify on political repression before US commission
ISLAMABAD: A former aide to imprisoned ex-prime minister Imran Khan will testify on Tuesday before a US congressional commission about what he calls widespread political repression in Pakistan.
JUI‑F Rehman presses PTI for internal shake‑up in KP rather than opposition plot
ISLAMABAD: The leader of a right-wing pro-Taliban opposition party called on Saturday for a shake-up in the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, pressing the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to initiate change from within the ruling party rather than through opposition manoeuvres.
NJPMC forms task force on Pakistan enforced disappearances, 30-day deadlineÂ
ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) has established a dedicated committee to develop an institutional response to the country’s persistent human rights crisis of enforced disappearances.