KARACHI: Pakistan’s information-technology exports stayed above $400 million for a second consecutive month in April, the latest official data show, underscoring the sector’s ability to maintain momentum even as the country grapples with domestic infrastructure bottlenecks and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
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Pakistan swings to $324 million current-account deficit in April as imports surge
KARACHI: Pakistan recorded a current-account deficit of $324 million in April, the State Bank of Pakistan said on Monday, reversing a $1.134 billion surplus the previous month and marking the first shortfall in the fiscal year after several months of surpluses.
Power tariffs to hold steady in June after policy measures avert Rs38 billion consumer burden
ISLAMABAD: The Power Division said Monday that electricity tariffs will remain unchanged in June, crediting a series of policy measures for shielding consumers from higher costs even as fuel supply disruptions and elevated generation expenses continue to weigh on the sector.
Govt dismisses talk of raising voting age to 25 as debate swirls over new constitutional amendment
ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday rejected reports that the government was contemplating an increase in the minimum voting age from 18 to 25, calling the idea nothing more than rumor and insisting no such proposal was under active consideration.
Iran says it sent response to latest U.S. proposal as talks continue via Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Iran told the United States on Monday that it had formally responded to the latest American proposal for ending the war that began Feb. 28, with diplomatic exchanges continuing through a Pakistani intermediary even as Iranian officials rejected key U.S. demands as one-sided and excessive.
Tribal elder and two others killed in IED blast at crowded market in Pakistan’s restive northwest
WANA: A powerful improvised explosive device ripped through the crowded Rustam Bazaar in this town in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday morning, killing three people — including a prominent tribal elder who had long worked to mediate local disputes — and wounding four others, officials said.
Pakistan condemns drone strike near UAE nuclear plant, warns of catastrophic risks amid US-Iran tensions
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday issued a sharply worded condemnation of a drone strike the previous day that sparked a fire near the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, describing the incident as a reckless assault on civilian nuclear infrastructure with potentially “catastrophic and irreversible consequences” for human life, the environment and regional stability.
Karachi court grants police more time to question alleged drug queenpin amid her claims of torture and coercion
KARACHI: A Karachi court on Monday granted police four more days to question Anmol, the alleged drug supplier better known as Pinky, in a murder investigation, even as the suspect told a magistrate she was being pressured to implicate prominent figures and had endured repeated mistreatment in custody.
Polio campaign opens in Pakistan with deadly attacks on police escorts in restive tribal district
BAJAUR: Gunmen killed two police constables assigned to protect polio vaccination teams in Pakistan’s northwest on Monday, the opening day of a national immunization campaign aimed at stamping out the country’s persistent polio cases, officials said.
Pakistan lifts nationwide business-hour restrictions, exempting shops and restaurants from early closures until May 31
ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday scrapped early closing times for shops, markets, shopping malls and restaurants across the country, granting a temporary exemption from energy-conservation rules imposed six weeks ago in response to a sharp rise in fuel prices triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.