Power minister Leghari says 86 percent of Pakistani households still on subsidised electricity

ISLAMABAD: Power minister Awais Leghari pushed back on Sunday against what he called a weeks-long misinformation campaign over electricity subsidies, insisting the government was expanding its protected consumer base rather than retreating from it, even as separate negotiations with Chinese power producers under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework remained deadlocked.

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FIA blocks nearly 40,000 passengers in crackdown on human smuggling last year

ISLAMABAD: The federal immigration authority blocked nearly 40,000 passengers from boarding scheduled flights last year, part of an aggressive and expanding enforcement campaign that officials say has disrupted criminal smuggling networks and reduced the number of Pakistanis dying on illegal migration routes to Europe and the Middle East.

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Trump seeks tougher terms on Iran’s uranium stockpile, sending negotiators back to table

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump has sent his negotiators back to the table with Iran after rejecting the draft terms of a potential ceasefire deal, demanding stronger language on the disposal of Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpile and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — in a move that risks prolonging one of the most dangerous standoffs the Middle East has seen in years.

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FBR heads for Rs1 trillion shortfall as Iran war, Eid holiday squeeze collections

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue is careening toward a revenue shortfall of close to Rs1 trillion by fiscal year-end, with the tax authority needing to collect an extraordinary Rs2.75 trillion in June alone to meet its downward-revised annual target — a sum that officials privately concede is out of reach.

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Hegseth hails Pakistan as a ‘true friend,’ crediting Islamabad’s hand in Iran talks

ISLAMABAD: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that an unlikely and deepening partnership has taken hold between the United States and Pakistan, crediting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir with helping steer Washington and Tehran toward a fragile but still-tenuous peace.

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Pakistan rules out Israel ties without Palestinian state, defying Trump’s Abraham Accords push

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will not normalise relations with Israel unless an independent Palestinian state is established, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday, rebuffing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to expand the Abraham Accords as part of a broader Middle East peace settlement.

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Trump convenes Situation Room meeting on Iran as Tehran disputes terms of any agreement

ISLAMABAD: US President Trump convened an emergency meeting in the White House Situation Room on Friday to weigh what he described as a sweeping agreement with Iran — one that would demand Tehran permanently renounce nuclear weapons, reopen the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted shipping, and allow American forces to unearth and destroy the Islamic Republic’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

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