Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has begun a three-day official trip to Kyrgyzstan starting Monday, accepting an invitation extended by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Zhaparov, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office. Running from August 31 to September 2, the Shehbaz Sharif Kyrgyzstan visit centers on his attendance at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of State meeting, alongside a series of bilateral discussions in the Kyrgyz Republic. Delegation and Key Engagements The prime minister is traveling with a delegation that includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Communication Minister Abdul Aleem…
Author: Web Desk
Iran confirmed on Monday that it launched strikes against American military installations in Jordan, escalating a conflict that has now stretched past the six-month mark. The move came in direct response to fresh US military action on Iranian soil, the first such strikes in nearly a month. According to Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards, ballistic missiles were fired at two US-linked air bases inside Jordan, resulting in what officials described as substantial damage. Jordanian military authorities confirmed intercepting eight incoming missiles but did not identify who launched them. Iran Attacks US Bases in Jordan: Wider Regional Fallout The Revolutionary Guards also claimed…
The Bank of Punjab (BOP) has posted its best-ever half-year operating results, with the bank’s operating profit for 2026 climbing 67 percent year on year to Rs22.5 billion in the six months ending June 30. The strong showing was accompanied by the bank’s highest-ever interim cash dividend, set at 16 percent. Net interest income for the period rose 29 percent to Rs46.1 billion, while non-markup income, excluding one-off gains, jumped 61 percent to Rs11.9 billion. BOP’s Board of Directors reviewed and approved the unaudited figures, which the bank credited to steady business growth, tighter cost controls, and a more diversified…
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, has pushed back against India’s characterization of the Indus Waters Treaty as a lopsided arrangement, arguing that New Delhi has misrepresented the pact’s origins, framework, and intent. His remarks appeared in an opinion piece published by Newsweek. Sheikh wrote that India has repeated this narrative more frequently since announcing in April 2025 that it would hold the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance,” a move he described as an attempt to justify, after the fact, a step that has no grounding in either the treaty text or international law. He pointed out…
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir paid a visit to the Pakistan Ordnance Factory in Wah, where he examined the facility’s manufacturing output and its push toward greater self-reliance in weapons production. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed the visit in a statement issued on Saturday. According to the military’s media wing, the trip centered on assessing the factory’s production strength, its potential for export growth, and its broader role in supporting Pakistan’s defence industrial base. While on site, Asim Munir received briefings covering multiple facets of the Pakistan Ordnance…
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi traveled to Haripur to visit the family of Ayat Noor, offering his condolences to her father and joining relatives in prayer for the young girl. The chief minister was joined during the visit by Shafi Jan, the province’s Information Minister and the local MPA representing the area. During the meeting, Ayat Noor’s father expressed gratitude to the residents of Haripur for standing beside his family throughout this painful period. He urged authorities to hand down the strongest possible punishment to those involved and specifically demanded a public execution for the individual responsible for the…
An International Monetary Fund team is preparing to travel to Pakistan next month to carry out the fourth assessment under the country’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility, according to a report. Among the key items on the agenda, the IMF review mission will examine the government’s proposed changes to Sovereign Wealth Fund governance. Islamabad has already tabled the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2026 before the Senate, aiming to tighten oversight and build in stronger fiscal protections as part of its commitments to the Fund. Timeline Still Being Finalized A senior Finance Division official told media on Thursday that…
MUZAFFARABAD — Barrister Iftikhar Gilani has been sworn in as the 17th Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, winning Friday’s legislative assembly vote with a comfortable 30-14 margin. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker secured his victory over Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) nominee Sardar Mukhtar Khan, who managed to gather only 14 votes from assembly members. Background of the New AJK Premier Gilani is no newcomer to AJK politics. He entered the AJK Legislative Assembly for the first time in 2011 and later took charge as the region’s education minister. His current term in the assembly comes through a…
Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir met with a group of visiting Harvard Business School students and urged young people to base their thinking on facts rather than assumptions if they want to make a real difference in society. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) shared details of the meeting in a statement issued on Friday. The Asim Munir Harvard delegation interaction took place during the students’ visit to Pakistan, according to the military’s media wing. The group included participants from several different countries studying at the prestigious business school. What the…
Barrister Syed Iftikhar Ali Gilani, representing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), filed his nomination papers on Friday to contest the AJK prime minister election in Muzaffarabad. His filing follows a day after PML-N President Nawaz Sharif formally picked Gilani to represent the party in the race for the top office in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Gilani currently holds a reserved technocrat seat in the AJK Legislative Assembly. He was not the only PML-N figure to step forward. Col (retd) Waqar Noor, Dr Mustafa Bashir Abbasi, Raja Saqib Majeed and Mir Akbar, all PML-N candidates, also filed their nomination papers for…
