KARACHI: Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 Index soared to an all-time high Friday, climbing 1.91% to 124,379.07, as local institutions bought aggressively after lawmakers approved the 2025 budget.
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Flash floods in Swat River kill eight, leave four missing
ISLAMABAD: Flash floods triggered by heavy rains in the Swat River in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have killed at least eight people and left another four missing, officials said on Friday as rescue teams scrambled to locate survivors and recover victims amid surging floodwaters in the northwest.
UPADTED: Pakistan top court overturns ruling, rejects PTI’s claim to 39 reserved seats
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday rejected the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) claim to 39 reserved seats in the national and provincial assemblies, overturning a prior ruling and shifting the country’s parliamentary balance toward the ruling coalition.
Supreme Court reserves verdict in high-stakes reserved seats review case
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday reserved its verdict in a politically explosive reserved seats case that could upend the country’s parliamentary balance, following a tense hearing marked by a justice’s recusal and sharp exchanges.
SBP reserves plunge to 11-month low on debt repayments
KARACHI: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) plummeted by a record $2.66 billion in a single week, driven by hefty external debt repayments, marking the steepest decline in more than three years.
Heavy monsoon rains batter Punjab, killing seven and injuring dozens
ISLAMABAD: Torrential monsoon rains lashed Punjab on Thursday, claiming at least seven lives and injuring dozens as roof collapses, drownings, lightning strikes, and electrocutions wreaked havoc across the province.
US tightens social media vetting for student, exchange visitor visas
ISLAMABAD: The Trump administration has directed applicants for F, M, and J nonimmigrant visas, covering academic students, vocational students, and exchange visitors, to make their social media accounts public for vetting.
India-Pakistan rift derails SCO defence meeting as joint statement falters
ISLAMABAD: A meeting of defence ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) collapsed into discord on Thursday, as India refused to sign a joint statement that omitted a deadly terrorist attack in occupied Kashmir.
Japanese Komatsu commits $100 million to Pakistan hub
KARACHI: Komatsu Ltd, the Japanese heavy machinery titan, will invest $100 million in a mining equipment maintenance hub in Pakistan and has clinched a $440 million deal with Barrick Gold Corp. to supply the Reko Diq mine, underscoring optimism about the country’s mining prospects, Nikkei Asia reported.
Pakistan parliament passes Rs17.57 trillion budget with deep cuts, defence hike
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s lower house of parliament approved a Rs17.57 trillion federal budget for the next fiscal year on Thursday, slashing spending by 7% while funneling nearly half the funds to debt servicing and boosting defense outlays by more than 20% after a sharp escalation in tensions with arch-rival India.