ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar reached Beijing on Saturday for high-level talks with his Chinese counterpart, aiming to deepen the longstanding alliance between the two nations amid a backdrop of regional tensions and economic challenges.
Politics
A war of words resurfaces as Pakistan and India clash over terrorism and water treaty
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Saturday sharply dismissed remarks by India’s external affairs minister, S. Jaishankar, as “irresponsible assertions,” accusing New Delhi of trying to shift blame for its own support of terrorism and its destabilising actions in the region.
Pakistan Air Force successfully tests indigenous cruise missile
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force has successfully tested an indigenously developed air-launched cruise missile called Taimoor, military officials said on Saturday, hailing the achievement as a major step toward bolstering the nation’s defence capabilities amid rising regional tensions.
Court sentences exiled journalists and critics to life in ‘digital terrorism’ case
ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced seven critics of the government and military, including journalists, a YouTuber and a former army official, to life imprisonment on Friday for their alleged roles in inciting riots that erupted after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in May 2023.
Govt says it seeks talks, not the political exile of Imran Khan
ISLAMABAD: Amid a deepening political deadlock that has gripped Pakistan for months, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asserted on Friday that the government was not demanding the exclusion of Imran Khan, the jailed founder of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, as a prerequisite for negotiations.
For the fifth time, Islamabad’s local elections appear headed for postponement
ISLAMABAD: The long-delayed local government elections in the capital, Islamabad, are poised for yet another postponement, the fifth in a row, after the federal cabinet on Friday approved a raft of amendments to the law governing the polls, casting fresh doubt on a vote already scheduled for Feb. 15.
PM aide calls for talks among Pakistan’s ‘top five’ power brokers to break political deadlock
ISLAMABAD: A top adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pressed for steps to rebuild trust among five most influential figures in Pakistan’s politics on Thursday, saying that without agreement at the highest levels, the nation would remain mired in political deadlock.
ECP extends deadline as 446 lawmakers fail to file asset statements
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Thursday 446 lawmakers, including 125 members of the National Assembly, had failed to submit required statements detailing their assets and liabilities by a Dec. 31 deadline, setting up a potential wave of suspensions that could disrupt legislative proceedings across the country.
Pakistan saw a sharp rise in militant attacks in 2025, though a border closure brought late relief
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan suffered its most violent year in a decade in 2025, with a sharp escalation in terrorist attacks and clashes that claimed more than 3,400 lives, even as a decision to seal its border with Afghanistan in October helped curb cross-border assaults in the year’s final months, according to a report by an independent think tank.
Rivals swap nuclear site lists, but Pakistan flags concerns over Indian dam project
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India exchanged lists of their nuclear installations on Thursday, adhering to a longstanding agreement aimed at preventing attacks on such facilities, even as Islamabad raised fresh concerns over New Delhi’s plans for a hydroelectric project that it said could violate a separate water-sharing treaty.