ISLAMABAD: The government rang in 2026 with fuel price cuts, slashing petrol and diesel rates for the next two weeks in a move that tracks softer global crude and delivers modest relief to consumers and transporters battered by high costs.
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Pakistan expands biometric law to allow facial and iris scans for national identity checks
ISLAMABAD: The government has expanded the legal definition of biometrics to include facial and iris scans alongside fingerprints, paving the way for a new system of contactless identity verification that aims to ease longstanding hurdles for citizens whose prints have faded with age or illness.
Pakistan stands with Saudi Arabia, urges negotiations to avert Yemen fallout
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan voiced strong support for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday amid a sharp escalation in Yemen’s civil war, where a Saudi-led coalition has clashed with Emirati-backed separatists, threatening to unravel fragile regional alliances and revive the specter of a divided Yemen.
Army chief warns of ‘firm and decisive’ response to any breach of sovereignty
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top military commander warned on Wednesday that any breach of the country’s territorial integrity, whether direct or indirect, would provoke a firm and decisive response, as he accused Indian-sponsored proxies of fomenting violence and disrupting development in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan.
At a funeral in Dhaka, a brief handshake signals a pause in India-Pakistan silence
ISLAMABAD: In a brief but symbolic encounter, the speaker of the National Assembly, Ayaz Sadiq, shook hands with India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on Wednesday during a funeral in the Bangladeshi capital, marking the first high-level contact between officials from the two nuclear-armed neighbors since a military clash in May that brought relations to a new low.
Shaheen Afridi cut short BBL stint, heads home for knee rehab ahead of T20 world cup
LAHORE: Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will return home from Australia’s Big Bash League after suffering a knee injury while playing for the Brisbane Heat, the club said on Tuesday, dealing a blow to his preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Retail payments surge 6 percent to $592 billion on mobile banking boom
KARACHI: Pakistan’s retail payments climbed to Rs166 trillion ($592 billion) in the first quarter of the fiscal year, a 6% increase from the prior period, fueled by a rapid expansion in mobile app-based banking, according to the central bank.
Loss-making PIA readies London relaunch following privatization deal
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines is set to resume direct flights to London in March after a six-year suspension, a move that comes as a local consortium led by Arif Habib Group finalizes its acquisition of the beleaguered carrier in a privatization push aimed at stemming years of losses.
Yasmin Rashid’s election petition rejected, Nawaz Sharif victory upheld in Lahore
LAHORE: An election tribunal in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday dismissed a legal challenge by Yasmin Rashid, a jailed opposition leader from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, against the victory of Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister and head of the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, in a closely watched constituency from last year’s general elections.
Pakistan balances ties with Saudi Arabia and UAE as Yemen rift deepens Gulf tensions
ISLAMABAD: As rivalries between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intensified over Yemen, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, held a telephone conversation on Tuesday with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to address the “current regional situation and recent developments,” the Foreign Office said.