KARACHI: Pakistan accelerated its shift toward a cashless economy in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, with digital channels accounting for 92% of all retail transactions, up from 88% a year earlier, the State Bank of Pakistan said.
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US intelligence chief places Pakistan among nations whose missiles could reach American homeland
WASHINGTON: Director of US National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Congress on Wednesday that Pakistan is among a handful of nations whose advancing missile capabilities could one day place the US homeland in range, a stark assessment that groups Islamabad with Russia, China, North Korea and Iran in the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment.
At least 17 dead as storms and gale-force winds batter Karachi, collapsing walls and uprooting trees
KARACHI: At least 17 people were killed and more than a dozen injured on Wednesday night when heavy rain, thunderstorms and winds gusting as high as 97 kilometers per hour slammed into Karachi, toppling walls and roofs, striking victims with lightning and leaving trees strewn across streets in Pakistan’s largest city.
Kabul strike hit ammunition and drone depot used by Taliban, not rehab center – military spokesman
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top military spokesman said on Wednesday that a recent airstrike in Kabul struck an ammunition and drone storage facility used by the Afghan Taliban, not the civilian drug rehabilitation center claimed by Afghan officials, as part of an escalating campaign against terrorism emanating from across the border.
Pakistan oil importers face FX bottleneck as global prices double on Iran conflict
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s oil marketing companies are running into foreign-exchange bottlenecks as soaring international crude and product prices, coupled with higher insurance, import premiums and freight costs triggered by the US-Israel conflict with Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, more than double the financing required for cargoes.
President Zardari mourns Iranian Larijani death in Israeli strikes, calls for immediate ceasefire talks
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari expressed profound condolences to Iran on Wednesday following the killing of the country’s top national security official in Israeli airstrikes and offered Islamabad’s assistance in diplomatic efforts to defuse escalating tensions across the Middle East.
Pakistan pauses anti-Taliban border operation for Eidul Fitr at request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan announced a temporary halt in its military campaign against Afghan Taliban targets on Wednesday, a move framed as a goodwill gesture ahead of Eidul Fitr and prompted in part by appeals from three major Muslim allies.
Imran Khan’s sons offered visa-free entry on identity cards to Pakistan as ex-wife pleads for family visit amid jailed ex-PM’s declining health
ISLAMABAD: The information minister said on Wednesday that the two sons of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan are welcome to visit their father without visas by using their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis, responding directly to a public appeal from Khan’s ex-wife that highlighted months-long delays and the politician’s deteriorating health.
ADB to provide Pakistan $10 billion over five years in push for private-sector growth
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank plans to extend about $10 billion in financing to Pakistan over the next five years under a new country partnership strategy that puts private-sector development at the center of efforts to secure sustainable and inclusive growth.
Suspected female suicide bomber arrested in Balochistan; officials warn of militants’ exploitation of women
By Staff Reporter QUETTA: Security forces in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province arrested a young woman they described as a would-be suicide bomber, foiling what authorities