KARACHI: The counterterrorism officials announced on Saturday the arrest of a Karachi man they say was secretly procuring commercial drones, explosive material and electronic components for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, acting on directions from his brother, a wanted militant currently sheltering in Afghanistan.
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Finance minister Aurangzeb says budget marks shift from stability to export-led growth
ISLAMABAD: Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Saturday mounted a vigorous defence of his Rs18.77 trillion federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27, saying the government had exhausted the fiscal space available to it in pursuing an ambitious pivot from economic stabilisation toward export-driven growth.
Petrol prices cut for fifth consecutive week
ISLAMABAD: The government has reduced the price of petrol by Rs4 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs2 per litre, with the new rates taking effect from Saturday.
President Zardari clears final legal hurdle for PIA privatization
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday approved the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (Conversion) (Repeal) Bill, 2026, removing the last legal obstacle to the transfer of the national carrier’s assets, liabilities and management control to a private consortium.
Death toll reaches 20 as protesters scatter before dawn in Azad Kashmir – report
RAWALAKOT: They came by the thousands, converging on the eastern edges of this mountain city from across the rugged districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. By midnight Thursday, they were gone.
Pakistan says US-Iran peace text is finalised — even as Washington and Tehran trade contradictions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday that the United States and Iran had reached agreement on a final text for a peace deal to end more than three months of armed conflict — even as the two sides offered sharply conflicting accounts of what that deal actually contained, casting uncertainty over one of the most consequential diplomatic developments of the year.
Pakistan budget: Stability preserved, growth deferred
ISLAMABAD: Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented a Rs18.77 trillion federal budget on Friday that raises defence spending by almost a fifth, set an ambitious revenue target and offers modest tax relief to the salaried middle class — all while leaving the country’s deeper structural failings largely untouched.
Trump calls off Iran strikes, claims deal nearing as conflict edges toward abyss
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a planned military assault on Iran on Thursday evening, announcing in a post on Truth Social that negotiations with Tehran had advanced to the point where the Islamic Republic’s leadership had effectively approved the terms of a deal — a claim Iran had not confirmed as of late Thursday.
Ruling coalition opens talks to shape new government in Gilgit-Baltistan
GILGIT: Senior leaders of Pakistan’s two dominant political parties convened in this mountain city on Thursday to begin carving out a power-sharing arrangement for the remote northern territory of Gilgit-Baltistan, where a June 7 legislative election left the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party in its strongest position in the region in years — but still short of a governing majority.
Pakistan’s hands are all over this world cup
SIALKOT: The 23rd FIFA World Cup began on Thursday, launching nearly six weeks of football across the stadiums of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The players are from 48 nations. The coaches speak dozens of languages. But the ball they will all chase — the one that will determine who lifts the trophy in New Jersey on July 19 — was made in Pakistan.