ISLAMABAD: The government has doubled a climate-related levy on petrol and diesel while cutting a separate petroleum levy by the same amount, a revenue manoeuvre that leaves retail fuel prices unchanged even as the tax structure underpinning them shifts.
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US, Iran report ‘positive progress’ in Doha talks, next round to follow Khamenei funeral
ISLAMABAD: Iran and the United States made ‘positive progress’ in two days of indirect talks in Doha this week aimed at shoring up a fragile ceasefire, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said on Thursday, though officials on both sides gave no indication the broader dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program had moved closer to resolution.
Pakistan tax revenue nearly doubles in two years, finance minister says
ISLAMABAD: Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Wednesday that the country’s tax authority had met its revised revenue collection target for the fiscal year that ended this week, crediting administrative reforms and staff at the agency for what he called a landmark result in the government’s push to overhaul the tax system.
NDMA raises alert for GLOFs and flash floods across northern, central Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The disaster management authority warned on Wednesday of an elevated risk of glacial lake outburst floods, flash floods, landslides and urban flooding across the country’s northern and central regions over the next four days, as rising temperatures and an active monsoon system combine to accelerate glacier melt and trigger heavy rain.
Seven dead as tourist boat capsizes on Pakistan’s Saifullah Lake
MINGORA: A boat carrying tourists capsized on a lake fed by Swat River on Wednesday, killing seven people, rescue officials said, the latest in a series of drowning accidents that have plagued the popular summer tourist destination.
Pakistan stocks jump over two percent to open new fiscal year on inflation relief
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks extended a record-breaking rally on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index jumping more than 3,700 points to open the new fiscal year, as investors bet that easing inflation will pave the way for interest rate cuts and cheaper oil bolsters the outlook for the import-dependent economy.
Owners, contractor charged as Lahore buries 14 children killed in tuition-centre roof collapse
LAHORE: Police have registered a criminal case against the four owners of a private tuition centre and the contractor who built it, alleging they were piling soil onto an already decaying roof when it collapsed on a room full of students, killing 14 children, a senior police official said Wednesday.
Pakistan, India exchange prisoner lists, Islamabad seeks release of 97 who served time
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India exchanged lists of prisoners held in each other’s custody on Wednesday, a biannual ritual required under a 2008 bilateral pact, with Islamabad renewing calls for New Delhi to free and repatriate dozens of Pakistanis who have already completed their sentences.
Pakistan says it downs four Afghan drones as Taliban claims strikes on its soil
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday it had shot down four drones launched from Afghanistan into the southwestern province of Balochistan, hours after Afghanistan’s Taliban administration claimed its forces had carried out airstrikes on Pakistani territory, in the latest flare-up along a border that has seen months of deadly clashes.
World Bank approves $70 million loan for Punjab digital push
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a $70 million loan to help Pakistan’s Punjab province expand broadband internet access, strengthen digital public services and reduce reliance on cash transactions, the lender said.