ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the Senate on Wednesday that Islamabad and Beijing share a “converging vision” on regional and global issues, as a high-level Chinese delegation sat in the visitors’ gallery to observe commemorations of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
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Pakistan reopens offshore frontier after two decades with 23-block award
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan formally reopened its offshore oil-and-gas frontier on Wednesday after nearly two decades, signing production-sharing agreements and exploration licenses for 23 blocks in a bid to curb heavy reliance on imported fuel and revive interest in one of the region’s most underexplored maritime basins.
‘Monstrous and inhumane’: Video of bound, kneeling activists ignites global fury over Israel’s treatment of Gaza flotilla detainees
ISLAMABAD: Israeli authorities have begun detaining hundreds of activists seized from the Global Sumud Flotilla at the southern port of Ashdod, a Palestinian rights group said on Wednesday, after naval forces intercepted the vessels in international waters and diverted them to Israel.
Interior minister Naqvi makes second trip to Tehran in five days as US-Iran peace efforts enter critical phase
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in the Iranian capital on Wednesday for talks with senior Iranian officials, his second visit in less than a week, as Islamabad pressed ahead with intensive mediation to prevent the resumption of hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
US and Iran remain on knife’s edge as Trump weighs new military action
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he had been within an hour of ordering a fresh round of US military strikes on Iran before calling them off, a dramatic reversal that underscored the fragile state of the three-month-old conflict and the persistent deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Ten nations condemn Israel’s seizure of Gaza-bound aid flotilla, demand activists’ release
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and nine other countries issued a sharp joint rebuke Tuesday to Israel’s latest interception of a civilian aid flotilla bound for Gaza, denouncing the operation in international waters as a violation of international law and calling for the immediate release of dozens of detained activists, including a prominent Pakistani humanitarian worker.
Pakistan extends airspace ban on Indian civilian and military aircraft until June 24
ISLAMABAD: The airports authority has extended its prohibition on all Indian civilian and military aircraft using Pakistani airspace, pushing the restrictions into late June as tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors continue more than a year after a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir triggered a brief but intense conflict.
Pakistan seeks buyers for controlling stakes in three major power distributors
ISLAMABAD: The government invited expressions of interest from local and international investors on Tuesday for stakes of as much as 100% in three of the country’s largest state-owned electricity distribution companies, the latest effort to overhaul a loss-plagued power sector and ease pressure on public finances.
Pakistan faces highest macro-financial risk in Asia-Pacific from prolonged Middle East conflict, S&P says
KARACHI: Pakistan is the most vulnerable major Asia-Pacific economy to macro-financial stress from a drawn-out Middle East conflict, S&P Global Market Intelligence said Monday, cautioning that elevated energy costs and external financing strains could unravel the country’s tentative recovery.
Sindh police chief fears suspect in major cocaine case may be targeted to derail widening probe
KARACHI: Sindh province’s top police official said on Tuesday that investigators fear someone may try to harm a woman suspected of running a sophisticated cocaine distribution network, as authorities widen a sprawling probe that has already drawn in federal agencies, traced millions of rupees in bank transactions and raised questions about possible protection from influential figures.