Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday hailed the US-Iran agreement, commending the leadership of both countries for the “diplomatic success”. At the outset of his speech, he said that today, the world had achieved a “historic milestone” of peace. The premier said that a new dawn had emerged as “after three months and 16 days of tireless efforts, the US and Iran announced an immediate […]

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been imprisoned since 2023, was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad for eye treatment on Monday, hospital sources told Dawn. Sources in Pims’ administration said the PTI founder was brought to the hospital for follow-up eye treatment, which included the administration of a fifth anti-VEGF intravitreal […]

US and Iranian officials said they had agreed on a framework to end the war, halt the US blockade of Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a preliminary pact that sent oil prices falling but leaves the fate of Iran’s nuclear programme to further negotiations. “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform around […]

A trainer aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force crashed near Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan city on Monday, resulting in the martyrdom of both pilots onboard the aircraft, the military’s media affairs wing said. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the aircraft was on a routine training sortie when it crashed. As a result, Flight Lieutenant Muhammad Qasim Abdullah […]

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index KSE-100 gained over 2,800 points during intraday trade on Monday as the US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement aimed towards ending a war that began over three months ago and crippled the world economy. The KSE-100 index rose by 2,836 points (1.65 per cent) from the previous close of 172,399 to reach 175,236 points at 11am . Last week, […]

Oil prices slipped to their lowest since March on Monday after US President Donald Trump and Iran’s deputy foreign minister said they had reached an initial deal to end the war and to resume traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures fell $4.08, or 4.7 per cent, to $83.25 a barrel by 0415 GMT and US West Texas Intermediate was at $80.53, down $4.35, or 5.1pc. Both contracts fell […]

LAHORE: The Lahore Heritage Areas Revival Board (LHAR) has denied reports that the historical Ewing Hall near Neela Gumbad would be demolished following the government’s takeover of the property, saying the structure would be preserved and restored. On the other hand, the Forman Christian College University (FCCU) issued another statement, saying that it has been unfairly asked to pay rent for […]

Long before credit rating agencies existed, there was a simpler test of financial health: can a borrower pay interest from their income, or by borrowing more money? American economist Hyman Minsky gave the failed rating a name: Ponzi finance. And it is worth being precise about it. A Ponzi position is not high debt, or even rising debt. It is the specific condition in which you are paying your […]

Islamabad’s mediatory role, as well as those of other countries, was in the limelight on Monday as world leaders welcomed a much-awaited agreement between Washington and Tehran to de-escalate tensions and eventually end a war that began more than three months ago and crippled the world economy. The preliminary agreement, first announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is being hailed as a […]

• Muttahida chief says Karachi’s growing population and economic importance require a new administrative framework• Politicians, experts and civil society members call for urgent governance reforms in capital of Sindh KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has stressed the need of carving out a new urban province in Sindh, saying “it has become an […]

In the aftermath of the budget, farmers say they are feeling “angry, frustrated and helpless.” Of these emotions, they describe helplessness as the most devastating, as it leaves them with little hope and few options. Against this backdrop, they argue that the budget speech and accompanying documents appear to have all but forgotten a sector that contributes nearly a quarter of the […]

— FSA The federal budget for FY27 is refreshingly forward-looking. It focuses on some of Pakistan’s most pressing structural challenges: broadening the tax base, continuing import tariff reforms, sustaining incentives for the information technology sector, and reviving the long-dormant construction industry. The most politically sensitive measure is the relief provided to salaried […]

EVERY now and then there seems to emerge a vague if transient realisation in some small circles of American polity that Israel may not be their absolutely best buddy of all time ever. The issue of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in 1967 in which 34 US soldiers were killed — suppressed and spared from scrutiny as it was — pops up now and then, as it did a few days back on the anniversary […]

A YEAR after the May 2025 conflict, the India-Pakistan relationship remains volatile. Diplomacy is frozen. Neither side has sought to break the deadlock. A war of words erupts every so often. Last week, it was over the water dispute. Then it was on the Kashmir dispute at the UN. Bilateral relations are at one of the lowest points in their tortured history. Last […]

JERUSALEM: Somaliland’s de facto leader Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi met his Israeli counterpart on Sunday in Jerusalem in his first-ever state visit, which comes months after Israel officially recognised the breakaway African state. In December, Israel became the first country to recognise the independence of Somaliland since it declared its autonomy from Somalia in 1991 following a civil […]