KARACHI: Rescue workers pulled more bodies from the charred remains of a popular shopping mall in Karachi on Monday, pushing the death toll from a weekend fire to at least 23, while dozens of people stayed unaccounted for in what has become one of the city’s deadliest blazes in years.
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Import spike pushes Pakistan into $244mln current account deficit in December
KARACHI: Pakistan’s current account swung to a deficit in December as a surge in imports overwhelmed rising exports and remittances, pointing to the fragility of the country’s external position even as foreign reserves continue to climb.
Death toll rises to 14 in Karachi mall fire as search for missing continues
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire that gutted a bustling shopping mall in Karachi climbed to 14 on Monday as rescuers pulled eight more bodies from the charred wreckage and battled rekindled flames amid fears that dozens more people remained trapped inside.
Pakistan plans $2 billion debt tokenization to tap retail investors
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance ministry is considering tokenizing as much as $2 billion of its domestic government debt in an initial push, according to a senior official, as the cash-strapped nation looks to harness blockchain technology to widen access to its bond market and cut costs.
Pakistan is invited to join Trump-led ‘Board of Peace’ for Gaza’s postwar reconstruction
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received an invitation from President Donald J. Trump to join a new international board intended to oversee the reconstruction and governance of postwar Gaza, the Foreign Office said on Sunday, as the United States works to pull together an international group for a territory left in ruins by more than two years of Israeli attacks.
Six dead, dozens feared trapped as rescuers battle a raging fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire that has raged for almost 24 hours at Gul Plaza, a crowded shopping mall in Karachi’s bustling Saddar district, climbed to six on Sunday, including a firefighter killed in the line of duty, as authorities warned that over 50 people are now feared missing and possibly trapped inside the collapsing structure.
Poliovirus detected in sewage across much of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Health officials in Pakistan reported on Saturday that poliovirus had been detected in 40 environmental samples collected from sewage sites across all four provinces and the federal capital during December, signalling persistent challenges in eradicating the disease despite intensive vaccination efforts.
Sharif to seek IMF backing for massive tax relief at Davos meeting – report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif plans to meet with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, pressing for support on a sweeping relief package aimed at easing crushing taxes and energy costs that have hammered industries and households, Express Tribune newspaper reported on Sunday.
Karachi police arrest man accused of sexually abusing scores of children over years
KARACHI: Police have arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting more than 100 boys over several years, in what authorities described as a major breakthrough in one of the city’s most extensive child abuse investigations.
Winter fog and unsafe driving kill 24 on Pakistan’s highways
ISLAMABAD: At least 24 people were killed and more than two dozen others injured on Saturday in two separate road accidents in Pakistan’s Punjab and Balochistan provinces, as heavy winter fog and reckless driving again proved deadly on the country’s highways, officials said.