ISLAMABAD: The government received 23 bids, mostly from state-run firms, for 40 offshore oil and gas exploration blocks offered in a licensing round after an 18-year hiatus, the petroleum ministry said on Friday, hailing the response as a sign of renewed investor confidence.
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US delegation in Islamabad seeks partnership with Pakistan on critical minerals
ISLAMABAD: A high-level American delegation arrived in Islamabad on Friday to court Pakistan as a potential partner in securing vital mineral supply chains, part of a broader Washington effort to loosen China’s stranglehold on the rare earths and other metals essential to everything from electric vehicles to fighter jets.
Govt lifts fuel prices as global oil fluctuates
ISLAMABAD: The government increased gasoline and diesel prices for the next fortnight, tracking swings in the international crude market.
Fragile new truce with Taliban hinges on Kabul’s action against militants
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday portrayed a fragile new truce with the Afghan Taliban as a hard-won step toward peace along their volatile border, but one laden with stern conditions and deep scepticism, as Islamabad demanded verifiable action against militants using Afghan soil to stage attacks inside its soil.
Punjab disburses Rs6.4bn in flood aid as reconstruction push gathers pace
LAHORE: The provincial Punjab government has handed out Rs6.39 billion in emergency compensation on Thursday to tens of thousands of people battered by recent floods, a milestone in one of South Asia’s most ambitious reconstruction drives.
Report warns India could weaponise Indus River flows against Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: India lacks the capacity to abruptly halt the flow of the Indus River or fully divert its tributaries in the near term. But a report warns that New Delhi could soon wield the timing of its dams to manipulate river levels in ways that could cripple Pakistan’s agriculture, at a moment when trust between the nuclear-armed neighbours has frayed to its lowest point in years.
KP chief minister forms cabinet after repeated setbacks over Imran Khan consultations
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s new chief minister, Sohail Afridi, announced his provincial cabinet early on Friday, selecting 10 ministers, two advisers and one special assistant in a move that ends weeks of political suspense in this volatile northwestern province.
Security forces kill 22 militants, including top TTP commander – military
ISLAMABAD: In a series of sharp counterterrorism operations along restive border regions, Pakistani security forces killed 22 militants on Wednesday night and Thursday, the military said, dealing a significant blow to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan by eliminating its second-in-command.
Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to extend fragile border truce
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan reached a tentative accord early on Friday to extend a ceasefire along their volatile border, a breakthrough engineered by Turkish and Qatari mediators after days of deadlock in negotiations.
Pakistan keeps Taliban talks alive after Turkey calls to give peace “another chance”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan agreed on Thursday to extend high-stakes talks with the Afghan Taliban, heeding Turkey’s plea to give peace “another chance”, but only if Kabul delivers “clear, verifiable and effective action” against militants staging deadly attacks on Pakistan from its soil, security officials said.