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PM SHEHBAZ PUSHES DEVELOPMENT AGENDA, STRENGTHENS GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS AT UN Thursday, 24 September, 2026 | 11 Rabius Sani, 1448
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PM URGES EARLY ADOPTION OF UN COVENANT ON RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT
PM REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO ERADICATE POLIO, EXPAND GATES FOUNDATION COOPERATION
PAKISTAN SEEKS BROAD-BASED PARTNERSHIP WITH BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
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NEW YORK
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RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called for early adoption of the International Covenant on the Right to Development while holding a series of high-level meetings on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, focusing on Pakistan’s development priorities, polio eradication, economic cooperation and regional peace. Addressing a high-level UN meeting marking the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the prime minister said every individual had the right to seek a better future and every nation should have the means to build it. He said the declaration had placed human beings at the centre of development and affirmed development as an inalienable right. Progress, he added, should not merely generate wealth but should also advance social development and protect human dignity. Shehbaz expressed concern over the challenges facing developing countries, including shrinking fiscal space and limited resources that were being diverted away from human development. Climate-related disasters were erasing hardearned gains, while technological inequalities risked carrying existing disparities into the digital age. He called for a proactive international approach, arguing that the right to development could not be realised if countries lacked the means to achieve it. The prime minister said Pakistan’s
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SHEHBAZ, SYRIAN PRESIDENT DISCUSS STRONGER TIES AND RECONSTRUCTION COOPERATION
PAKISTAN STANDS SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH KSA TO SAFEGUARD ITS SOVEREIGNTY, SECURITY: PM ISLAMABAD
staff report
development strategy was based on a homegrown economic transformation plan focused on boosting exports, embracing digital technologies, addressing climate challenges, improving energy infrastructure and promoting equity and empowerment. He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor complemented these efforts. Shehbaz also called for measures to address debt distress and reform the international financial architecture to provide developing countries with concessional financing, climate adaptation and loss-and-damage support, and assistance in bridging the digital and artificial intelligence divide. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for early adoption of the International Covenant on the Right to Development, saying the true measure of progress was not how far the world advanced but whether humanity advanced together.
19 terrorists killed, soldier martyred in Balochistan operations QUETTA
staff report
Security forces killed 19 terrorists and a soldier was martyred during separate operations across Balochistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday. According to the military’s media wing, intelligence agencies had reported the presence of multiple hideouts of Indiansponsored Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan in the Shaban area of Quetta district, which were allegedly posing a threat to the local population. The ISPR said security forces had been conducting a clearance operation in the area since September 21 to protect local residents and eliminate the terrorist threat. “Following an intense exchange of fire, 13 Indian-sponsored terrorists have been killed so far,” the ISPR said, adding that weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the cleared hideouts. It said the clearance operation would continue until the threat was completely neutralised. In separate preemptive intelligence-based operations in Kech and Quetta West on September 22 and 23, security forces killed another six terrorists following intense exchanges of fire, according to the statement. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered during the operations, it added. The ISPR said Subedar Muhammad Jamil, 39, a resident of Taunsa Sharif, embraced martyrdom during one of the engagements. The military said counter-terrorism operations under the vision of Azm-i-Istehkam would continue at full pace, with security forces and law enforcement agencies remaining committed to eliminating what it described as foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country. President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the security forces, saying the elimination of the Indian-backed terrorists demonstrated their professionalism. He also paid homage to Subedar Jamil, describing his sacrifice as a reflection of the security forces’ commitment to safeguarding the country’s peace and security.
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Rs 20.00 | Vol XVII No 180 | 8 Pages | Karachi Edition
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Wednesday reiterating strongest condemnation of the recent Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, reaffirmed that Pakistan stood unwaveringly, shoulder to shoulder, with the Kingdom in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and the sanctity of Islam’s holiest sites. The prime minister, in his message on the Saudi National Day annually observed on September 23, said that any threat to the sanctity and security of the Haramain Sharifain deeply wounds the sentiments of Muslims across the world, referring to the recent reprehensible attempted drone attack by Houthis on the Holy City of Makkah Al-Mukarramah. Extending his warmest felicitations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and the brotherly people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he
The prime minister also met Gates Foundation Chair Bill Gates and reiterated his government’s commitment to complete eradication of polio from Pakistan. Thanking the Gates Foundation for its longstanding support, Shehbaz appre-
said that the Kingdom’s remarkable journey of progress and transformation was a source of pride and admiration not only for the Saudi nation, but also for Pakistan. The prime minister, who is currently in New York to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, said that under the dynamic and visionary leadership of the crown prince, Saudi Arabia continued to make impressive strides towards greater prosperity, modernisation and innovation. He said that Pakistan took immense pride in its historic and time-tested brotherhood with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, rooted in faith, mutual trust and an abiding bond between our peoples. “Today, under the patronage of MBS, this brotherhood is growing into an even stronger strategic partnership, underpinned by our shared commitment to peace, security and the unity of the Muslim Ummah.
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ciated its engagement in polio eradication as well as maternal and child health, nutrition, immunisation, digitisation and financial inclusion.
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Dar holds talks with European FMs on bilateral, regional developments NEW YORK
DAR HOLDS MEETING WITH HUNGARIAN FM: In a separate meeting with Hungarian FM Anita Orbán, Dar congratulated her on assuming office and conveyed his best wishes for a successful tenure. The two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening Pakistan-Hungary relations and enhancing cooperation in the political, economic, trade and investment, business, education and people-to-people domains.
ISLAMABAD
staff report
Retired Lieutenant General Nauman Mahmood has been appointed the first secretary general of the Makkah Defence Alliance between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, the Foreign Office announced on Wednesday. In a statement, the FO said the government had appointed Lt Gen Nauman Mahmood, Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), retired, as secretary general under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, the alliance’s initial name. “The secretary general will lead the general secretariat of the alliance being established at Riyadh,” the FO said. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed the agreement on August 7, under which an attack against any one member is to be treated as an attack against all three. The alliance held its inaugural meeting in Istanbul on August 31, where officials from the three countries discussed the establishment of its institutional structure. Pakistan was selected to head the alliance’s secretariat, which is to be based in Riyadh. Under decisions taken at the meeting, the secretariat will support the alliance’s work under the defence agreement and will initially be headed by a Pakistani secretary general for a three-year term. The three countries also agreed to further institutionalise their cooperation to strengthen solidarity, ensure the credibility and effectiveness of collective deterrence and defence, and contribute to regional efforts and cooperative security aimed at achieving a just, inclusive and lasting peace. Speculation about expanding the alliance has emerged since its formation. Türkiye had initially suggested the possibility of Egypt joining the arrangement, although Cairo has not confirmed any such move. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had clarified after the agreement was signed that the pact was defensive in nature. Dar had also said the arrangement was open to other countries in the region that were willing to uphold its fundamental principles. However, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said on September 10 that expansion was not under consideration at that stage. He said the three founding members first needed to consolidate the new organisation before considering opening it to other states with similar threat perceptions and requirements.
Govt reduces petrol price by Rs1.93 per litre, HSD by Rs4.21 per litre ISLAMABAD
agencies
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday held meetings with his Austrian, Hungarian, Bulgarian and Greek counterparts in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, discussing bilateral ties as well as regional and international developments, the Foreign Office (FO) said. During his meeting with Austrian Minister for European and International Affairs Beate MeinlReisinger, the two sides expressed satisfaction over the “positive trajectory” of Pakistan-Austria relations and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, economic relations, education and people-to-people ties. They also exchanged views on regional and international developments, including the situation in the Middle East. Dar underscored the importance of “dialogue, diplomacy, and peaceful resolution of disputes” in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter and international law. The Austrian FM appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in promoting regional peace and stability and stressed the importance of “sustained diplomatic engagement” in addressing regional and global challenges. Dar also stressed the importance of the “full implementation” of the Islamabad MoU by all parties, according to the FO.
Nauman Mahmood named first secretary general of Makkah Defence Alliance
staff report
Both sides stressed the importance of convening “regular bilateral consultative mechanisms” to maintain momentum in bilateral engagement. The two foreign ministers also exchanged views on regional and international developments, with Dar underscoring that “dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable means” of addressing challenges. He also stressed the importance of “all parties returning to the Islamabad MoU”, the FO said. Both sides agreed to remain in “close contact” on bilateral and regional matters of mutual interest.
DAR, BULGARIAN COUNTERPART REVIEW FULL SPECTRUM OF RELATIONS: FM Dar also met Bulgarian FM Dr Velislava PetrovaChamova, with the two sides reviewing the “entire spectrum” of Pakistan-Bulgaria bilateral relations and expressing a desire to strengthen ties through enhanced and regular political and economic engagement. They also exchanged views on regional and global developments. FM Dar reiterated that “dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable means” of resolving outstanding issues and reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for diplomatic efforts to resolve regional disputes.
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The government on Wednesday reduced the price of petrol by Rs1.93 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs4.21 per litre. Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs390.12 per litre while HSD will cost Rs414.75 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel. According to the Petroleum Division’s notification, the new prices will be applicable for Sept 24 (Thursday). The price of HSD has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28. The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March. Meanwhile, the government has reintroduced a raft of austerity measures in response to rising fuel prices amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Under these measures, markets are required to close by 9pm and fuel allocations for official vehicles has been cut by 50 per cent for three months. On September 13, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced a “relief scheme” for users of motorcycles, autos and vehicles of up to 800cc to “alleviate the burden” of rising global oil prices. Previously, on July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US. Prior to this, the government had been announcing weekly revisions to fuel prices since early March, alongside measures for the conservation of fuel amid possible oil supply disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The federal government in April also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel. The petroleum minister stated that the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to give the OGRA the responsibility of deciding fuel prices on a daily basis based on international market trends.
First US-Iran talks in months raise hopes for progress despite no concessions NEW YORK reuters
The first shuttle talks between the United States and Iran in months raised hopes on Wednesday that the adversaries could make progress towards ending the Middle East war, although neither side spelled out any change in its position. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the first such contacts since an interim ceasefire agreement collapsed in July. "Steve and Jared had a very productive
meeting today with mediators of Iran," US President Donald Trump said. "I think there's a lot of momentum for them to make a deal. It's what we're hearing from everybody." Earlier, Trump had told the UN General Assembly in a speech that he had to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or "annihilate" it. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had engaged with the United States through a Qatari mediator in New York and conveyed conditions, including an end to the war on all fronts and a halt to US "acts of aggression". Some Iranian state media had earlier re-
ported that Araqchi and Witkoff had met, but Iranian officials clarified to Reuters that it was not face-to-face. Araqchi met the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, one of the main mediators at previous talks. The contacts offered the first diplomatic opening in months after negotiations broke down in July and fighting resumed across the region. Since then, the two sides have repeatedly exchanged fire, although Trump has stopped short of a full-scale resumption of US strikes after military commanders warned munitions stocks were running low.
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PAkIstAN reCeIves $1.7b IN ForeIgN loANs, grANts IN JUly-AUgUst
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Thursday, 24 September, 2026 | kARAchI
PROFIT
STAFF REPORT
AKISTAN received $1.703 billion in foreign assistance during the first two months of FY202627, up 23.61% from $1.377 billion received during the same period last year, according to data released by the Economic Affairs Division (EAD). Foreign aid picked up considerably in August, when the country received $626.19 million in multilateral and bilateral loans and grants, compared with $252.83 million in the previous month. Pakistan received no financing from China during August, after securing a $146.62 million Chinese loan in the preceding month. Of the total $1.703 billion received during July-August, $929.76 million was for budgetary support. This included $96.98 million in programme loans
and $191.26 million in short-term International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) financing. Overall, non-project loans accounted for $1.218 billion of foreign economic assistance during the two-month period, while project loans stood at $484.56 million. Bilateral loans and grants amounted to $35.2 million during July-August. Germany provided $12.87 million, followed by Saudi Arabia with $8.90 million, France with $8.52 million, Denmark with $3.15 million, Japan with $1.71 million and the United States with $0.08 million. Multilateral loans and grants totalled $590.96 million during the period. Pakistan received $238.49 million from the International Development Association (IDA), $191.96 million in short-term financing from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), $95.76 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and $13.35
million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Another $2.05 million came from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), $1.75 million from the IDB and $0.76 million from the OPEC Fund. Bilateral grants alone amounted to $12.63 million during July-August, including $10.73 million from Germany, $1.57 million from Japan, $0.25 million from Saudi Arabia and $0.08 million from the United States. During August, Pakistan received $337.96 million in loans from various development partners. This included $168.55 million in short-term IDB financing, $107.84 million from the IDA, $36.42 million from the ADB, $18.32 million from the IBRD, $6.78 million from the AIIB and $0.05 million from IFAD. The EAD data also reported financing through commercial banks and Naya Pak-
istan Certificates (NPCs). The supplied figures state total foreign commercial borrowing through these channels at $1.34 billion during July-August, while separately listing $300 million from UBL Dubai, $182.24 million through conventional NPCs and $447.52 million through Islamic NPCs.
USF approves Rs32.9b FY27 budget, advances Rs14b 4G push for 3.66m people PROFIT STAFF REPORT
The Universal Service Fund (USF) is pushing ahead with 15 contracted 4G projects worth over Rs14 billion in subsidies, aimed at extending connectivity to 3.66 million people living across 1,893 mauzas in 21 districts. The expansion forms part of USF’s programme for FY2026-27, for which its policy committee approved a Rs32.90 billion budget on Tuesday. Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja chaired the meeting. The largest portion of the budget, Rs24.89 billion, will meet payments for projects already under way, while Rs6.56 billion has been earmarked for new initiatives. Another Rs5.57 billion
was released for implementation during the first quarter. Of the 15 contracted 4G schemes, Kurram has progressed the furthest, reaching 75% completion. The Rs92.25 million project is designed to connect 251,980 people across 40 mauzas. Five more projects have reached the halfway mark. These cover Pishin, Chiniot, Abbottabad, Badin and Kohat. The Pishin project, which also extends into Killa Abdullah and Quetta, has the largest target population among the 15 schemes. Its Rs1.32 billion subsidy is intended to extend coverage to 574,545 people across 306 mauzas. Badin follows with 432,666 people across 144 mauzas, while Chiniot covers 333,267 people in 117 mauzas. Abbottabad targets 157,473 people across 61 mauzas. The Kohat project, which in-
cludes the former Frontier Region Kohat, covers 24 mauzas with a population of 41,404. Umar Kot and Khuzdar have each reached 25% completion. The former carries a subsidy of Rs914.61 million and targets 243,695 people across 142 mauzas. Khuzdar, despite covering a smaller population of 75,637 people across 144 mauzas, carries the highest subsidy among the 15 projects at approximately Rs2.945 billion. Another seven schemes, Small Lot P-15, Gujranwala, Muzaffargarh, Mansehra, Haripur, Rajanpur and Sujawal, remain under implementation. Among these, Muzaffargarh has a target population of 498,927 people spread across 138 mauzas. Rajanpur covers 301,512 people across 215
mauzas, while Sujawal targets 246,759 people in 144 mauzas. The Gujranwala and Mandi Bahauddin project covers 160 mauzas with 234,573 people. Small Lot P-15, meanwhile, targets 15,700 people in nine mauzas spread across Bahawalnagar, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura and Hafizabad. Beyond the contracted 4G programme, USF currently has 28 projects under implementation: 17 Next Generation Broadband Service Delivery schemes and 11 Next Generation Optical Fibre Network Services schemes. Its FY27 programme adds another nine NG-BSD projects and four NGOFNS projects, alongside block funding for smaller lots designed to reach remote settlements.
Rs1.12tr tax-exemption probe: FIA unable to locate 27 firms, Senate panel questions investigation, seeks report in one month PROFIT
STAFF REPORT
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) told the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control on Tuesday that the offices of 27 companies among 512 firms that issued consumption certificates covering Rs1.12 trillion worth of tax-exempt imported raw materials could not be located at their stated addresses. According to news reports, the disclosure came as the Senate panel questioned the FIA’s authority to in-
dependently investigate tax matters falling under the FBR and called for a coordinated mechanism between the two institutions to prevent jurisdictional overlap. The committee, chaired by Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, was examining alleged tax evasion, illicit manufacturing and trade malpractices involving businesses operating in the former tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The inquiry covers consumption certificates issued between 2018 and 2026 for imported raw materials exempted from taxes, involving Rs1.12 trillion. FIA officials said the agency began its inquiry on August 20 and issued notices to 512 companies. So far, 31 companies have provided the requested information, while owners of 17 companies have personally appeared before investigators. Another 17 company owners approached the Peshawar High Court against the FIA proceedings, seeking to have the matter referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and requesting restraint against agency action. The FBR disputed part of the FIA’s briefing, saying the agency had only issued notices and had not yet physically visited the sites. FIA officials responded that site visits would also be carried out. Lawmakers also cited an estimated annual loss of $1 billion to the national exchequer from irregularities in tax-exempt areas. Senator Saifullah Abro, who convened the subcommittee whose report was under review, said the tax facility was intended for residents of the former FATA rather than businesses exploiting the exemption. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said
the committee had done significant work on the issue but noted that tax matters also fell within the remit of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance. He said the finance committee could subsequently refer matters to the NAB or Ministry of Interior. The committee decided to constitute another subcommittee to further examine the alleged tax evasion and directed both the FBR and FIA to submit comprehensive inquiry reports within one month, along with verified physical stock registers of seized goods. Separately, lawmakers examined the theft of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes worth Rs250 million from FBR warehouses in Swabi and Mardan. The FIA told the committee that an FIR had been registered. Members, however, questioned why the case primarily targeted lower-ranking personnel, including inspectors, a driver and a watchman, rather than officials or other individuals who may have been responsible for moving such a large quantity of cigarettes. Senator Dilawar Khan questioned whether inspectors or watchmen alone could have removed such a large consignment. Senator Talha Mahmood also raised concerns over individuals identified during preliminary inquiries allegedly being excluded from final challans. The committee’s scrutiny of FBR warehouse arrangements also identified missing CCTV cameras, absent inventory ledgers and unverified handovers of confiscated goods. Officials further informed the committee that the Frontier Corps and Pakistan Rangers had been delegated anti-smuggling powers in border areas of FATA and PATA because of the security situation.
For August, the data states that commercial bank and NPC inflows totalled $936.04 million, while the individually listed amounts comprise $300 million from UBL Dubai, $200.85 million through Islamic NPCs and $84.92 million through conventional NPCs.
NCCIA detains 212 in Islamabad crackdown on illegal call centres PROFIT
STAFF REPORT
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has detained 212 people in a crackdown on illegal call centres in Islamabad allegedly involved in international financial and online dating fraud. As per news reports, the suspects, including Pakistani and Chinese nationals and comprising both men and women, were taken into custody during raids over the past 24 hours on three call centres operating in sectors E-11 and G-10. Authorities seized 306 mobile phones, 383 computers and CPUs, and 299 laptops and monitors during the operations. Initial investigations indicate that the suspects allegedly approached victims through online dating applications, built relationships to gain their trust and then directed them towards fake online tasking and investment platforms promising financial returns. The NCCIA said the alleged network was involved in international financial fraud using Google scams and online dating schemes, with operational links traced to India and Brazil. As part of the crackdown, separate NCCIA teams raided FFK Lodhi Call Center in G-10 Markaz and another facility on Street No. 40 near the Passport Office in G-10/4 on September 22. Digital devices, electronic equipment and server data were seized for forensic examination.
Fazal Cloth Mills restores full production at Unit No. 10 after fire, expects no financial impact PROFIT
STAFF REPORT
Fazal Cloth Mills Limited (PSX:FZCM) has restored its Unit No. 10 in Muzaffargarh to full production capacity after a fire broke out in the facility’s Blow Room, the company informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday. According to the company’s disclosure, the fire occurred at the Blow Room of Unit No. 10, one of Fazal Cloth Mills’ production facilities in Muzaffargarh. Relevant personnel responded to the incident and took measures to control the fire and protect the company’s assets and operations. Following the incident, the unit was restored to normal operations and is currently running at full production capacity. Fazal Cloth Mills has notified its insurer and formally submitted a claim covering losses and damage arising from the fire. The insurance company is carrying out an inspection and assessment in accordance with the policy terms. The company said that the amount recoverable under the insurance claim, if any, will be determined after the assessment and verification process is completed. Management said it does not anticipate any financial impact on the company from the incident. Fazal Cloth Mills will make the required accounting treatment and disclosures once the insurance claim has been determined. The company said it would keep the PSX informed of any material developments related to the incident.
Only 317 retailers join FBR’s Aasaan Tax Scheme, just two are new taxpayers PROFIT STAFF REPORT
Only two new traders have so far opted for the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) 1% fixed tax scheme, while 315 of the 317 shopkeepers who have filed returns under the facility were already part of the income tax regime, indicating a weak response to the government’s latest attempt to bring retailers into the tax net. With only a week remaining before the return-filing deadline, the Aasaan Tax Scheme has generated around Rs26 million in taxes, averaging Rs81,944 per trader, against an annual collection target of Rs50 billion. The two new shopkeepers who have availed themselves of the scheme are from Quetta and Rawalpindi. Another 44
new shopkeepers had prepared draft returns but had not submitted them as of Tuesday. Around 5,000 retailers have registered for the simplified taxfiling facility, but the number of completed returns remains limited. Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani reviewed progress on the scheme on Tuesday as the government stepped up efforts to increase participation before the deadline. The scheme allows small retailers to pay a fixed tax equivalent to 1% of sales. In return, participating businesses are exempted from tax audits and requirements relating to digital transaction systems. The government has directed FBR commissioners across the country to intensify awareness campaigns and work with trader representatives and
local tax bars to facilitate shopkeepers. Tax commissioners have also been asked to establish contact with local tax bars so traders can seek assistance from tax lawyers of their choice in completing registration requirements. Kayani said information about the scheme should reach every shopkeeper with the assistance of trader representatives. He said the government
had implemented the scheme in line with traders’ demands and that it was now the responsibility of shopkeepers to make it successful. The government has sought to involve trader representatives directly in the scheme’s implementation. Lists of local representatives have been obtained from across the country for joint market visits by FBR officials and traders’ representatives.
Shopkeepers have two options for meeting their tax obligations: they can pay the fixed 1% tax on sales under the simplified scheme or continue filing regular income tax returns under the existing system. Those who choose neither option can face penalties under terms agreed with traders’ representatives. The penalty is Rs10,000 for the first month of non-compliance, Rs25,000 for the second month and Rs50,000 for the third. The Aasaan Tax Scheme is the government’s second initiative aimed at expanding the tax net among traders after the earlier Tajir Dost scheme failed to produce the desired results. Kayani has expressed optimism about the latest initiative because trader representatives were involved in its design and implementation.
Three-year-old gIrl found dead, broTher-In-law arresTed
NEWS 03
Thursday, 24 September, 2026 | KARACHI
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ISLAMABAD
RAJA KASHIF ASHFAQ
SLAMABAD Police have arrested a man in connection with the alleged rape and murder of his three-year-old sister-in-law, whose body was recovered from a rainwater drain near Jhangi Syedan on the suspect’s identification. According to a police statement, the body of three-year-old Sakina was recovered from an isolated area near Jhangi Syedan after police questioned the suspect. Police alleged that the child was sexually assaulted before being strangled to death. Police officials said Sakina was the suspect’s sister-in-law. The accused, identified as Kashif, had married the girl’s elder sister around one-and-a-half years ago. The suspect has been obtained on a fiveday physical remand, and investigators have started questioning him. SP Industrial Area Dr Ayaz Hussain said Sakina went missing at around 2pm on September 22 (Tuesday). A case was registered
on the complaint of the girl’s mother, who is also the suspect’s mother-in-law. According to the mother, Sakina had been playing outside the house in the street at around 2pm. When she checked on her a short while later, the child was no longer there. The family initially searched for the girl themselves but failed to locate her before approaching the police. The mother told police she feared that her daughter had been kidnapped and requested her immediate recovery. Dr Ayaz said the settlement in Jhangi Syedan, on the outskirts of Islamabad, was a relatively underdeveloped area where most residents were daily-wage workers who had migrated from other parts of the country. He said many residents earned their livelihood by working in other people’s homes, adding that Sakina’s mother was also employed as a domestic worker. According to the SP, the absence of CCTV cameras outside homes in the area made the search more difficult. He said police were informed about the girl’s disap-
pearance at around 11pm. Police questioned local residents and constituted seven teams to trace the missing child. Dr Ayaz said police teams continued searching deserted areas around the settlement. “We believed that, being a young child, she could not have gone very far. We also thought she might have gone with someone known to her,” he said. According to Dr Ayaz, CCTV cameras had been installed outside the house of a computer science professor in nearby Shams Town, an area close to Jhangi Syedan. Police examined the footage and found Sakina visible in the recording. Dr Ayaz said the CCTV footage, recorded at around 2:15pm, showed Sakina walking through a street while holding the hand of a young man believed to be around 23 or 24 years old. When police sought to identify the man, they were told that he was Kashif, Sakina’s brother-in-law. The SP said the suspect had also accompanied police teams during the search of de-
serted areas near the settlement, which was why he was not initially suspected. According to police, the suspect was questioned after investigators obtained the CCTV footage, but he failed to provide satisfactory answers. Dr Ayaz said the footage showed the suspect wearing trousers and a shirt, whereas he was wearing a shalwar kameez while participating in the search for Sakina. The SP claimed that during further questioning, Kashif confessed to sexually assaulting Sakina and then strangling her to death. Police said that, following the suspect’s identification, they took him to the location where he had allegedly disposed of the child’s body. Sakina’s body was found there in an unclothed condition. According to police, the suspect told investigators during the initial interrogation that he killed the child because he feared she would tell her family what had happened. Dr Ayaz said the suspect allegedly removed a drawstring from an old shalwar lying near the crime scene and used it to
strangle the child. Police said they also recovered the trousers and shirt the suspect was allegedly wearing at the time of the incident based on his identification. Sakina’s body was handed over to her family after a post-mortem examination. DNA and other samples from the suspect and the deceased child have been sent for forensic analysis, police said. According to police, the suspect, who originally belonged to Faisalabad, had moved to Jhangi Syedan a few months ago and was currently unemployed. His wife, Sakina’s elder sister, worked in people’s homes to support the family. Noon Police Station officials said charges related to murder had now been added to the case initially registered over Sakina’s disappearance. Sakina’s maternal grandfather said his daughter, the suspect’s mother-in-law, was a widow whose husband had died around two years ago. He said his widowed daughter had married her elder daughter to the suspect some time ago.
Pakistan stands shoulder to shoulder with KSA to safeguard its sovereignty, security: PM
19 terrorists killed, soldier martyred in Balochistan operations
Together, we have proudly signed the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement and the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement,” he remarked. Concluding with the slogan of “long live Pakistan-Saudi Arabia brotherhood,” he prayed that the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia brotherhood would continue to grow from strength to strength. Chairman Senate congratulates Saudi leadership, people on Saudi National Day: Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani extended his heartfelt greetings to the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Saudi leadership and the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia on the 96th National Day
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also commended the forces for killing 19 terrorists, saying operations against elements disrupting peace in Balochistan were continuing. Earlier on Wednesday, Radio Pakistan reported that security forces had killed two terrorists affiliated with Fitna al Hindustan during an intelligence-based operation in the Jausak area of Turbat. Pakistan Television separately reported that security forces were continuing operations against terrorists in Balochistan under Raddul Fitna-3. In Mastung, nine terrorists were killed after allegedly attempting to attack a security checkpost, according to the state broadcaster. Heavy weapons, ammunition and three motorcycles were also recovered. FIVE TTP TERRORISTS KILLED IN QUETTA POLICE ENCOUNTER Separately, Balochistan police killed five terrorists in an exchange of fire after an attack on a police station in Quetta’s Aghbarg area, officials said. According to Saddar Senior Superintendent of Police Shafqat Janjua, the terrorists targeted the Aghbarg police station on the outskirts of Quetta in the early hours of Wednesday. Police personnel deployed at the station returned fire, killing five attackers belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), he said. Janjua said the attackers had arrived on motorcycles and that police recovered weapons and ammunition from them. Meanwhile, the Edhi Foundation said one of its ambulances was allegedly hijacked by armed men in Balochistan. The foundation said the ambulance was returning to the Edhi Kalat Centre at around 7:15am after transporting the body of a woman from an area near Gidar, around 110 kilometres from Civil Hospital, Kalat. According to the foundation, unidentified armed men assaulted the Edhi worker and took control of the ambulance. The latest operations follow a series of counter-terrorism actions across Balochistan. On Tuesday, six terrorists were reported killed and nine suspected individuals arrested during an intelligence-based operation in the Saran Tangi area.
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of the Kingdom. In his message, Gilani said Saudi National Day was a significant occasion to celebrate national unity, pride, progress and the Kingdom’s remarkable development. He expressed his best wishes for Saudi Arabia’s continued peace, stability, prosperity and success. Gilani said Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations were rooted in shared faith, brotherhood, history, mutual respect and strong people-to-people ties. Describing Saudi Arabia as a trusted and steadfast friend of Pakistan, he noted that the recent strategic mutual defence agreement further reflected the depth and enduring strength of bilateral relations.
The Chairman Senate emphasised that Pakistan attaches great importance to its fraternal ties with Saudi Arabia and remains committed to further strengthening parliamentary, economic, trade, investment, energy, education, health and cultural cooperation. He expressed the hope that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would continue working together for peace, security, prosperity and unity in the Muslim Ummah, while praying for the continued progress and well-being of the Kingdom and further strengthening of the brotherly ties between the two countries. PRESIDENT ZARDARI FELICITATES SAUDI LEADERSHIP, PEOPLE:
President Asif Ali Zardari felicitated the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the Kingdom’s 96th National Day, saying the signing of the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement and the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement had further strengthened the strategic dimension of the longstanding Pakistan-Saudi partnership. In his letters to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, President Zardari said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia shared “deep-rooted ties of faith, shared history, friendship, mutual trust and solidarity.” The president said the two countries “greatly value their close relations, marked by strong cooperation and mutual support at bilateral, regional and interna-
PM Shehbaz pushes development agenda, strengthens global partnerships at UN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
He also briefed Gates on agricultural reforms being pursued by the government, particularly in innovation, biotechnology, climate resilience, research and capacitybuilding for farmers. The two sides agreed to explore cooperation in improved seeds, livestock genetics and emerging agricultural technologies. Shehbaz also expressed interest in expanding collaboration with the Gates Foundation in public health, agriculture, digital innovation and artificial intelligence. Gates stressed the importance of polio eradication for protecting future generations and acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts under the prime minister’s leadership. Shehbaz invited him to visit Pakistan at
his earliest convenience. In another meeting, Shehbaz met Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr Denis Becirovic and reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to transform their historically close and fraternal ties into a broad-based partnership centred on trade and economic cooperation. The two leaders reviewed bilateral relations in political, economic, defence, skilled labour mobility, education and cultural fields and exchanged views on regional and international developments. Shehbaz congratulated Becirovic on the formal opening of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European Union accession talks and said Pakistan viewed the country as a potential regional trade and connectivity hub for Pakistani goods entering Euro-
pean and Western Balkan markets. He also reiterated Pakistan’s support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing that regional stability depended on a strong, stable and prosperous country. Becirovic appreciated Pakistan’s role in facilitating de-escalation and normalisation in West Asia and the Gulf and supported Pakistan’s position regarding the status of the Indus Waters Treaty. The two leaders agreed to remain engaged to further strengthen bilateral relations, including through high-level exchanges. Shehbaz also met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to its historic and fraternal relations with Syria. The prime minister reiterated Pak-
istan’s support for Syria’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and political independence, while expressing good wishes for the Syrian people in their efforts towards national stabilisation, peace, cohesion and economic recovery. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation through enhanced high-level exchanges, activation of institutional mechanisms and greater collaboration in trade, investment, education, information technology and other areas. Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan’s readiness to contribute to Syria’s reconstruction and economic recovery and stressed the importance of dialogue, diplomacy and adherence to the principles of the UN Charter for promoting regional peace and stability.
Dar holds talks with European FMs on bilateral, regional developments CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
The two sides agreed to “stay engaged” and expand cooperation across areas of mutual interest. GREEK FM PRAISES PAKISTAN'S ROLE IN REGIONAL PEACE In his meeting with Greek FM George Gerapetritis, the Greek minister appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in promoting regional peace and stability as well as its growing diplomatic engagement on the international stage. The two
sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening Pakistan-Greece relations, with particular focus on expanding trade, investment and business-to-business linkages. The Greek foreign minister also appreciated the “valuable contribution” of the Pakistani diaspora in Greece. The two ministers exchanged views on regional and global developments, including disruptions to energy supply chains, and underscored the importance of “unhindered maritime movement”.
First US-Iran talks in months raise hopes for progress despite no concessions CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
Iran hardliners resist diplomatic moves: The diplomatic contact in New York caused backlash in Iranian media associated with hardliners. An opinion piece run by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, associated with the Revolutionary Guards, said Araqchi was wrong to have contacts with Witkoff and Kushner, "a major gift to Trump", as Iran had already conveyed its terms. Iranian sources told Reuters the delegation had been ordered not to meet the Americans face-to-face by the Supreme National Security Council, a body that includes figures selected by Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader, who has yet to appear in public since replacing his father killed on the war's first day. One Iranian journalist covering the visit told Reuters that some hardliners viewed the trip to New York itself as an insult to the memory of the slain leader, Ali Khamenei.
OIL PRICES HOLD NEAR TWO-WEEK LOW: Still, the diplomatic opening helped keep oil prices near two-week lows. Brent crude LCOc1 hovered around $100 a barrel after surging earlier this month when Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis launched a major offensive, threatening traffic through the Red Sea, an alternative Saudi export route. The war, launched by Trump in February alongside Israel as "Operation Epic Fury", has lasted nearly seven months, killing thousands of people, disrupting global energy supplies and spreading to other countries in the region — particularly to Lebanon and more recently to Yemen. Trump repeated previous assertions that the war could end around the time of November's US midterm elections, though he has not explained why. An interim agreement reached in June, signed by Trump and Pezeshkian, would have given Iran its main demands: lifting financial sanctions and unfreezing assets in return for talks on limiting its nuclear programme.
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04 COMMENT
Trump may not let voters decide the midterm outcome
Thursday, 24 September, 2026
Power privatization moves ahead
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Now that EOIs have been received for IESCO the process can move on
HE privatization of the Batch I of Distribution Companies completed its pre-penultimate stage with the receipt of Expressions of Interest for the Islamabad Electricity Supply Company. EOIs have already been received for the other two companies up for privatization, the Faisalabad Electricity Supply Company and the Gujranwala Electric Power Company, and in fact, the companies having submitted EOIs for FESCO have undergone prequalification, and are to move on to the next, penultimate stage, that of carrying out due diligence, before the final stage, of the auction itself. It has become clear that Turkey is dead set on getting in on the power sector action in Pakistan. Three companies have filed EOIs for all three companies, which makes it seem as if they wish to get one each. What makes matters interesting is that while all three companies have experience in distribution, all have expertise in generation from renewable courses, such as solar, wind or hydro power. It may be remembered that these were DISCOs that being put up for sale, without any permission to generate. This permission was only included after the road shows in Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and China. This raises an interesting prospect. Currently, industries, which are concentrated in the FESCO and GEPCO, are converting to solar power, causing all aorta of convulision in the DISCOs, which are committed to making capacity payments to DISCOs and can think of no other way than increasing tariffs. Whoever buys the DISCOs needs to work with the industrialists, and become part of the solution, rather than enhancing the problem, as at present. Even if the Turkish companies do not but the DISCOs, whoever does would do well to acquire some of their expertise in solar power so that they can work with the industries. Now that the prequalified companies have been allowed to begin their due diligence before finalizing their bids or even discontinuing their participation, the Privatization Commission needs to ensure that K-Electric experience is not repeated, in which the first buyer, Shanghai Electric, turned it over to the Abraaj Group, which came crashing down because of Group Chairman Arif Naqvi’s prosecution for fraud in 2018. Ultimately K– Electric has ended up with the KES Power, more than two decades after the process began in 2005, but it still has a number of disputes with regulators and the government. More recently, the successful privatization of PIA provides a useful counter-example of how things can be done.
Trying to upset the results
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WASHINGTON WATCH Dr JAmeS J ZOGby
HERE is no doubt that this will be one of the most consequential midterm elections in recent history. In the past two years, as policies enacted by President Trump and enabled by a compliant Republican-led Congress have had, and may continue to have, a corrosive impact on the very foundations of governance and our democracy. As a result, the stakes are high for both parties in November. For Democrats, the election represents the opportunity to roll back the changes Mr Trump has imposed on Washington and the nation, to expose questionable business transactions that have benefited the President and his family, and to reestablish congressional oversight and prerogatives, as the Constitution intended. For the President, winning this election represents his only chance to continue to have a free hand in wreaking havoc in Washington and the world and to avoid congressional investigations into his unethical and illegal behaviour. With just six weeks left before Election Day, the news media and political prognosticators usually turn to pollsters and pundits to better understand what we can expect the outcome of an election to be. In a normal year, there are a few standard metrics that analysts will review to project likely election results. Some of these are: the favorable ratings of the president and the two major parties; whether voters believe the USA is on the right or wrong track; and voters’ assessment of which party would better address the issues they believe are most important. If we were to use just these standard measures of electoral success, no one would fault Democrats for anticipating victory in November. The President’s approval and job performance ratings are in the mid-30 percent range. And while voter confidence in the Democrats is even lower (in the mid-20s), when asked which party they trust to do a better job of handling eight different issues (including health care, immigration, the deficit, the economy, cost of living, the Iran war, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) majorities or pluralities of voters say they have more confi-
Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami
Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor
The untouchable sector M. A. Niazi
Babar Nizami
Editor Pakistan Today
Editor Profit
Real estate stays out of the tax net
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Dr ZAfAr KHAN SAfDAr
AKISTAN’S real estate sector has discovered something ordinary taxpayers rarely experience: a government willing to listen when it asks for relief. Ahead of the June 2026 budget, the Association of Builders and Developers argued that lower taxes would attract investment and raise real estate’s contribution to GDP from 2.5 percent to 15 percent. The government responded. Withholding tax on property purchases by filers was cut from 2.5 percent to 1.25 percent, Federal Excise Duty on commercial property transfers was abolished, and capital value tax on foreign real estate assets was removed. Real estate was presented as an economic engine, not a revenue target. The same government, meanwhile, raised the income tax burden on salaried workers by 165 percent between 2022 and 2025. The message was clear. Some sectors are taxed to raise revenue. Others are taxed only when they can no longer negotiate. Pakistan’s real estate sector absorbs an estimated 30 to 40 percent of domestic private investment, making it the country’s largest destination for capital, yet contributes only about 2.5 percent to GDP through construction. Property values in major cities have risen several-fold, generating extraordinary gains for those with capital while pushing homeownership beyond the reach of millions. Pakistan’s housing deficit exceeds ten million units, overwhelmingly affecting people who cannot afford to enter the very market producing these returns. The sector absorbs huge amounts of capital but generates little in exports, productive employment, technology or sustained economic growth. It is less a growth engine than a store of wealth, and fiscal policy has been designed to keep it that way. The fiscal numbers are damning. A sector that absorbs roughly a third of private investment contributed only Rs 35 billion in taxes in FY2024, while the petroleum levy alone raised Rs 1.2 trillion in nine months the following year. Agriculture, despite contributing nearly a quarter of GDP, remains lightly taxed and poorly integrated into the national tax effort, while Pakistan collects remarkably little from property compared with economies such as Singapore and the UK. The IMF has repeatedly
identified real estate taxation as a major gap in Pakistan’s fiscal system. Yet instead of closing that gap, governments keep cutting transaction taxes. The sector with some of the deepest pockets has somehow become one of the state’s lightest taxpayers. The argument made by the real estate lobby is consistent and familiar: lower taxes will increase transaction volumes, bring the sector into the formal economy and ultimately generate more revenue through wider compliance. It has theoretical merit, but its practical record in Pakistan is far less convincing. This is also the argument made by traders, agricultural landlords and many politically protected economic classes when asked to pay what a comparable earner would pay in a functioning tax system. Pakistan has been reducing or restructuring real estate taxes for three decades, yet the promised formalisation has never materialised at any meaningful scale. What has materialised is a property market that absorbs capital that could otherwise finance manufacturing, technology and exports, delivers extraordinary returns to those who already own assets, shelters wealth more effectively than most other investments and continues to receive budget after budget of political accommodation. The irony is difficult to miss: the sector keeps being promised that lower taxation will create a broader tax base, while the broader tax base never seems to arrive. The difference becomes clearer when the tax burden is placed side by side. A salaried employee cannot bargain with the tax collector because his income is deducted at source before it reaches his account, with marginal income tax rates reaching 35 percent or more in the upper brackets. A property investor holding several plots in a major housing society can sell one every two years, benefit from capital gains rates that decline with the holding period, enjoy transaction taxes that were reduced again in the June 2026 budget, and operate in a market where FBR valuations remain below actual prices. Both citizens participate in the same economy, but they do so under very different fiscal rules. The difference is not simply about income or wealth. It is about who has the political organisation to make the state listen. The salaried worker has a payslip. The property sector has a lobby. And when the two ask for relief, only one is heard.
dence in the Democrats. In addition to these numbers, it’s also important to remember that, more often than not, the party that holds the White House usually loses seats in midterm congressional elections. With President Trump’s very low approval ratings, it would be safe to assume that Republicans face the prospect of significant losses in November. More disturbing for the GOP is the fact that the President doesn’t seem to get this. From his antics at his recent midterm convention to the hundreds of millions the President says he will spend on this election using a political action committee he personally controls, he is making a determined effort to have this election be about Donald Trump. For example, at that midterm convention, he bizarrely asked attendees to stand and pledge both to the flag and to him, “the greatest president in the history of the United States,” and to commit that they would vote to keep Republicans in control of Congress or, in his words, they could “go to hell!” Despite Trump’s efforts, many Republican candidates, who read the polls and are listening to their voters, stayed away from the “convention” and have shied away from their election being a referendum on Trump. The bottom line is that while all of the factors normally considered in making election predictions point in favor of a Democratic win, the outcome of this year’s elections may be different because President Trump, and his operatives around the USA, are taking steps that may impact this election more than the quality of the candidates running, or voter perceptions of the performance of the president or their confidence in the two parties. Since beginning his second term in the White House, Trump and his movement have taken steps to rig this midterm contest in the GOP’s favor. They engineered unprecedented redistricting of congressional seats in several states that may make it easier for Republicans to win five to seven congressional seats in November. The president has also been pushing a number of restrictions on mail-in voting— which, after months of back and forth in the courts, now seem to be on hold, at least for this year. Then there are the concerns that Mr Trump may send immigration enforcement police or even the National Guard to polling places in heavily Democratic areas to suppress voter turnout. And this past week the Depart-
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Karachi – Ph: 021-32640318 I
The writer is President, Arab American Institute
It goes without saying that nothing like this has ever happened before. But like so much of what President Trump has already done during his time in office “nothing like this has ever happened before” doesn’t mean it won’t be tried now.
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Silent cost of children missing school
The regional comparison makes the cost of this policy harder to ignore. Bangladesh, which has now moved ahead of Pakistan in per capita income, generates more than twice Pakistan’s export revenue relative to GDP, largely through a manufacturing base that has absorbed capital into productive activity. Vietnam attracts more than $18 billion in annual FDI into productive sectors, while its property market, despite its size, has not been allowed to become the default destination for domestic savings Pakistan’s investment rate is only 14.4 percent of GDP, compared with 30 percent in Vietnam and 25 percent in Bangladesh. The gap is not accidental. It reflects an economy that has made asset appreciation more attractive than productive investment, allowing property to become one of the easiest places to park wealth and one of the hardest places for the taxman to reach. We call it investor confidence. Much of it is simply capital choosing the safest shelter. Pakistan cannot broaden its tax base, diversify its exports or build an industrial economy while continuing to protect the sector that absorbs enormous amounts of capital but contributes so little to those goals. Yet the 2026-27 budget cut real estate transaction taxes further and once again presented the sector as an economic engine. For three decades, Pakistan has been feeding capital into property, starving productive investment, and calling the imbalance growth. The writer has a PhD in Political Science, and is a visiting faculty member at QAU Islamabad. He can be reached at zafarkhansafdar@yahoo.com and tweets @zafarkhansafdar
Pakistan cannot broaden its tax base, diversify its exports or build an industrial economy while continuing to protect the sector that absorbs enormous amounts of capital but contributes so little to those goals. Yet the 2026-27 budget cut real estate transaction taxes further and once again presented the sector as an economic engine. For three decades, Pakistan has been feeding capital into property, starving productive investment, and calling the imbalance growth.
Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965
ment of Justice sent a memorandum to election officials in all 50 states threatening imprisonment for any official who knowingly allows undocumented individuals to vote. On a broader level, we are learning that Trump allies have been focusing on filling the ranks of election monitors and poll watchers. In the past volunteers in these positions are stationed at polls simply to observe and to assist if called upon to help solve issues that may occur. These new GOP recruits, however, have been weaponized to see their mission to make, not solve, problems. All of these disruptive tactics appear to be directed toward preparing a case that will pressure the Republican Speaker of the House to refuse to certify the results of the election— something like a replay of January 2021. It goes without saying that nothing like this has ever happened before. But like so much of what President Trump has already done during his time in office “nothing like this has ever happened before” doesn’t mean it won’t be tried now.
Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545
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WHEN a child misses school, the loss is often regarded as missed education. However, the real damage extends far beyond the individual classroom. Education is the primary engine of upward mobility, and when it grinds to a halt, the consequences ripple outward in a devastating compounding effect. Pakistan has one of the largest out-of-school child populations in the world. According to the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC), an estimated 25.1 million children aged 5–16 in Pakistan are out of school. Behind this figure is a significant economic cost: every year of education forgone represents skills that are not acquired, productivity that is not developed, and earning potential that may never be fully realised. Education is often framed as a basic social service, but from an economic perspective, it represents a foundational investment in human capital. From early childhood through higher learning, formal instruction cultivates essential competencies: ranging from basic literacy and numeracy to advanced critical thinking. As individuals acquire these capabilities, their personal economic potential expands significantly, granting them entry into higher-paying, specialized roles within an increasingly complex and technology-driven labour market. When a child receives little or no education, that critical investment in human capital is either severely depleted or lost entirely. For an individual, the consequences of never attending school may not seem significant. A child may enter the labour market early, help with household work, or remain dependent on informal employment. In the short term, this may provide a household with an additional source of labour or income. Without the foundational human capital acquired through education, an individual faces compounding structural barriers that progressively narrow their trajectory over a lifetime. Without basic literacy or numerical skills, it becomes difficult to acquire high-paying jobs, which harms an individual’s income in the long run. This creates a gap between the economic potential of a young person and the opportunities available to them. When this happens to millions of children simultaneously, the individual loss becomes a national economic problem. This also has an intergenerational effect. As household incomes drop, impoverished families are compelled to pull their own children out of school to cover basic survival needs, turning localised poverty into a permanent cycle. Economic growth does not depend only on how many people are in the workforce; rather, it depends on the productivity of those individuals as well. A worker who has received adequate education can potentially operate machinery, use technology, manage accounts, interpret information, communicate effectively, and acquire new skills. A worker without foundational education faces greater barriers to many of these activities. This amplifies the stakes dramatically for Pakistan as it attempts to expand beyond low-productivity employment. The World Bank has warned that Pakistan’s low human-capital outcomes limit its growth prospects and that a healthier, better-educated, and more skilled population would be more productive and able to earn more if the economy creates sufficient jobs. This also has negative repercussions for the government, as a large population with limited education and low earning potential can contribute to lower tax revenues, greater demand for social protection, and lower productivity across the economy. At the same time, the limited skills of a large section of the workforce can intensify unemployment and underemployment pressures. Pakistan currently has a very young population, which presents an opportunity for economic growth if this population is adequately educated and integrated into the labour market. However, as this population ages, the economic consequences of inadequate education could become more pronounced. A workforce with lower lifetime earnings and limited savings or access to formal social protection may place a greater burden on the state as the proportion of dependants increases. In this sense, failing to educate children today could create fiscal and economic pressures for the government decades into the future. MEKAEEL SADIQ GONDAL KARACHI
Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
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Global rebalancing
COMMENT 05
Thursday, 24 September, 2026
BRICS paves broader way for global governance, peaceful settlement of disputes
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MIan abrar
HE 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi was another step in the transformation of the grouping from an economic forum to a broader platform for shaping debates on global governance, international security, technology and the concerns of the Global South. The expanded 11-member grouping met at a summit on September 12-13 under India’s chairmanship and the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability” amid geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions and conflicts challenging the existing international order. The summit also marked the 20th anniversary of BRICS cooperation. Starting in 2006 as a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China, later joined by South Africa and other members, the group now represents nearly half the world’s population and about 40 per cent of global GDP. Its enlargement has made it heavier– but also more diverse, with members with different political systems, strategic interests and positions on major conflicts. The New Delhi Declaration sought to hold this disparate group together. It reaffirmed sovereign equality, mutual respect, inclusiveness, consensus and multilateral cooperation and called for a more representative, fair and accountable international system. It also supported reforms of global institutions to give emerging markets and developing countries more influence in international decision-making. The message was clear: BRICS no longer views its role only through the prism of economics. It is increasingly viewing global governance as part of its agenda. This was articulated most explicitly by Chinese President Xi Jinping. BRICS could be a “pioneer” in reforming global governance, Xi said, adding that the rising voice of the Global South should be reflected in international decision-making. He emphasised sovereign equality, noninterference, peaceful settlement of disputes
and respect for international law. His basic point was that international rules should be made collectively rather than dictated by a small club of powerful states. Xi also placed his Global Governance Initiative on a par with the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilisation Initiative. He combined these ideas as part of a wider reply to what China considers to be deficiencies in the existing framework for peace, development, security and governance. But Xi’s message was more than institutional reform. It was a particular style of dealing with world conflicts. He called on BRICS countries to turn away from bloc confrontation and Cold War mentality and promote dialogue, diplomacy and political solutions. He said international “hotspot” issues should be dealt with not only through crisis management, but also through addressing their root causes. The Middle East was a prime example. Xi called for a de-escalation, an end to hostilities and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. Re-establishing confidence and creating a new security architecture was necessary for regional security, he said. He also reiterated China’s view that the Palestinian issue is still the core of the Middle East question, and a two-state solution is the fundamental way to achieve peaceful coexistence. The BRICS declaration included several elements of this approach. Leaders expressed concern about rising tensions in the Middle East, called for restraint and supported dialogue, consultation and diplomacy as a means of resolving disputes. The point was that the language was deliberately broad. The BRICS now includes countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose interests and positions on regional security do not always see eye to eye. It is thus a major diplomatic challenge to maintain consensus among them. The same dynamic played out across Ukraine. The declaration did not take a position that would divide the group, but rather stressed dialogue, consultation and diplomacy. It also restated its opposition to unilateral sanctions not authorised by the U.N. Security Council. The approach underscored a key feature of BRICS: its members may sharply disagree on individual conflicts, but they continue to seek a common platform rather than let those disagreements derail the organization. While at the core of the summit economic issues still remained, even here the agenda was broadening. The BRICS leaders condemned unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures, protectionism and policies that disrupt global trade and
supply chains. They called for more multilateral trade, increased use of local currencies and better cross-border payment systems. Food security, energy, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and climate action were also high on the agenda. The underlying worry was resilience. The disruptions in global supply chains have exposed the vulnerabilities of emerging economies, prompting BRICS to increasingly focus on diversification, secure supply chains and greater participation by developing countries. Artificial intelligence became another strategic area. Xi announced a BRICS initiative on AIenabled new industrialisation, and called for collaboration in research, applications, industrial chains and supply chains. He also called for international cooperation on AI governance and warned against the danger of technological fragmentation. This focus is a reflection of a changing global reality. AI, semiconductors, critical minerals, digital infrastructure and data are no longer just technological or commercial matters. They are increasingly linked to economic and strategic security. This agenda broadly complemented India’s priorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Global South should move from being a “rule-taker” to a “rule-shaper”. He also urged BRICS decisions to be implemented on ground, indicating that the grouping needs to go beyond declarations and produce practical results. Another initiative that contributed to placing health security and collective resilience on the agenda was an initiative for an integrated early-warning system for infectious diseases. But arguably the most visible political development in New Delhi was the atmosphere surrounding India-China relations. The summit was held against the huge backdrop of Xi’s presence in the Indian capital and his meeting with Modi. The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations, border issues, economic ties, people-to-people contacts and regional and global issues. According to the Indian account, both sides agreed that differences should not become disputes and laid emphasis on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest. The Chinese account went further, referring to China and India as partners and noting that bilateral relations had moved from “starting afresh” to further improvement. Beijing cited new institutional exchanges, a widening cooperation agenda and growing bilateral trade. Xi pointed out that China and India have different national conditions, but broad com-
mon interests, and should view the relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective. The tone was important. China and India remain important economic and political rivals, and the unresolved boundary question between them still needs careful management. But New Delhi demonstrated that competition does not necessarily preclude dialogue. That warmth was also evident in the wider summit atmosphere. Modi interacted cordially with Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with handshakes, smiles and informal exchanges on display during the summit program. Modi’s separate meeting with Putin was also a further indication of India’s broad diplomatic outreach, including political, economic, defence, energy, space and people-to-people cooperation. The summit demonstrated that, despite all the differences within the BRICS camp, dialogue is still possible even between countries with competing interests. Which is exactly where Xi’s global-governance message comes in. His call for states to settle differences through dialogue instead of allowing them to harden into permanent blocs speaks directly to the challenge facing an expanded BRICS. The larger the grouping, the more weight it carries globally – but also the wider the spectrum of interests it has to encompass. Xi also emphasised people-to-people and civilisational exchanges, including more co-operation in culture, tourism and education, more youth exchanges and a BRICS People-to-People Exchange Forum. The basic idea was that durable international stability cannot be built just on diplomatic or military arrangements; more understanding between societies is also important. Another important development was the passing of the chairmanship of BRICS from India to China. The New Delhi Declaration endorsed China’s assumption of the chairmanship in 2027 and its hosting the 19th BRICS Summit. The transition offers Beijing an opportunity to leverage the consensus arrived at in New Delhi and to further shape the grouping’s agenda around global governance, cooperation in the Global South, development
Why Al-Aqsa flood happened In Sinwar’s case, we now know that he negotiated with Israel—namely, indirectly, with Netanyahu—over the basic demands of the people of Gaza: an end to the siege, an increase in the food and raw materials entering the besieged enclave, and the release of Palestinian political prisoners
Sinwar eventually used the military option when it became clear that Israel had totally rejected the political option
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PALESTINE CHRONICLE Ilan PaPPe
S we reach the three-year mark since the AlAqsa Flood operation and the onset of the Gaza genocide, we can benefit from the passage of time and see more clearly some of the aspects and crucial issues connected with that fateful date that remained blurred or invisible when examined in the immediate aftermath of the operation and the genocide that followed. It is important to ponder these issues and aspects, as they also relate to the fact that too many people in the world, including some of those who have shown support for the Palestinian struggle, believe that this horrific chapter is behind us. The genocide continues, albeit incrementally, in the Gaza Strip and has now spilled over into the West Bank, where the intensification of the army and settlers’ violence is aimed at turning the West Bank into another Gaza Strip. The passage of time enables us to learn much more about the motives of the small group of leaders in Hamas who planned the operation. It is important to analyze these motives in a professional way in order to refute the deceptive and fabricated narrative spun by Israel about an operation that was conceived in Tehran as part of a plan to destroy the Jewish state. This narrative was already successfully challenged as one that willfully ignores the historical context of the long history of Zionist oppression and the more recent inhuman blockade of the Strip. But it also conceals a more intricate reality that evolved in the years immediately preceding Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and that was also glossed over by Palestinian and pro-Palestinian commentators. This more focused look at that particular period sheds light on the dilemmas facing Hamas and the Palestinian liberation movement more generally in their existential struggle against the Zionist project of elimination. The reconstruction of this immediate background reminds me of the way the historiography of the 1948 Nakba benefited from the declassification of the Israeli archives. The fusion of Israeli archival material with Palestinian oral and written history provided a fuller picture of that catastrophe. We now have a better understanding of the developments that led to October
The writer is Head of News at Pakistan Today. He has a special focus on current affairs, regional and global connectivity, and counterterrorism. He tweets as @mian_abrar and also can be reached at hussainmian@gmail.com
Israeli army would have eventually persuaded Netanyahu to launch that devastating attack on the Strip; Al-Aqsa Flood was an attempt to preempt this attack
What we do know is that Sinwar, very early on, showed that, as far as he was concerned, the abduction of elderly people and children was not part of the operation, as he immediately suggested their release but received no response from Israel 2023 through the erudite work of some Israeli journalists who have access to material most of us are currently unable to see. Their research sheds light on the difficult choices that faced Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar—and, indeed, that face any leading figure in the Palestinian resistance movement—in the face of seventeen years of blockade of the Gaza Strip and oppression in the West Bank. It helps refute the common image of Sinwar in the West as a fanatical and messianic leader who embarked on an operation meant to establish an Islamic Caliphate on the ruins of Israel. Such a depiction is born out of the racist and Orientalist approach to Palestine in general and to Palestinians who put their faith in Islamic political movements. Sinwar confronted Israel in a manner similar to that adopted by Arab leaders such as Anwar Sadat in 1971 and Palestinian leaders such as Yasser Arafat in 2000. Sadat warned the Israeli leaders that if they did not return the Sinai to Egypt through diplomacy, Egypt would go to war, while Arafat warned Ehud Barak and Bill Clinton that if he was unable to return from the Camp David summit in 2000 with a promise to reduce the oppression of the Palestinian people, another uprising would be inevitable. In Sinwar’s case, we now know that he negotiated with Israel—namely, indirectly, with Netanyahu—over the basic demands of the people of Gaza: an end to the siege, an increase in the food and raw materials entering the besieged enclave, and the release of Palestinian political prisoners. Sinwar warned the Israelis that rejecting these demands would lead to an operation on the scale of AlAqsa Flood. The Israeli army suggested that Netanyahu respond to these demands with an all-out attack on the Gaza Strip—the very attack it executed in response to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. It is also clear that Netanyahu hesitated to give the green light to such an operation, but it is equally clear that Hamas commanders, including Sinwar, knew that such an attack on Gaza was imminent. In this respect, Sinwar appears to have been a leader who was looking for limited achievements, while leaving a grander, long-term vision to a far more distant future. Like Sadat, he eventually used the military option when it became clear that Israel had totally rejected the political option. Moreover—and this is the most important part of what is now emerging—the army would have eventually persuaded Netanyahu to launch that devastating attack on the Strip; Al-Aqsa Flood was an attempt to preempt this attack. What we do not know is when and why Operation Al-Aqsa Flood deteriorated in some places into a mas-
and international security. The New Delhi summit was not a dramatic breakthrough that could settle the world’s major conflicts. But its importance is in another area. Notwithstanding significant internal divergences, BRICS was able to maintain consensus and produce a broad framework around multipolarity, multilateralism, development, economic cooperation and peaceful dispute resolution. More importantly, New Delhi showed that BRICS can be a diplomatic space where big powers and developing countries continue to talk even when they disagree over conflicts and strategic questions. Whether the grouping will play a future role will therefore depend less on whether it becomes an opposing bloc to existing powers and more on whether it can turn its growing collective weight into concrete cooperation. The agenda is already wide: reform of global institutions, development, trade, technology, health, climate, peace and a greater voice for the Global South. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Under Chinese chairmanship, the challenge will be to convert the New Delhi consensus into sustained cooperation while holding an increasingly diverse grouping together. The New Delhi summit was less about creating another geopolitical bloc and more about the changing geometry of world politics: a resurgent Global South wanting a bigger say; major powers talking to each other, even when they disagree; and growing demands for international institutions to be more representative and inclusive. The most overt strategic declaration of the summit’s more general message was Xi Jinping’s appeal for a fairer system of global governance.
sacre of civilians, whether in the Jewish settlements or at the Nova festival. This was a breakout from the ghetto by a people who had suffered thousands of deaths, tens of thousands of injuries among children and women, and hundreds of thousands of people losing their homes in the 2014 Israeli assault and remaining displaced in 2023; they were a traumatized population subjected to starvation as a matter of policy during the seventeen-year Israeli blockade and to frequent bombardment from the air, land, and sea. What we do know is that Sinwar, very early on, showed that, as far as he was concerned, the abduction of elderly people and children was not part of the operation, as he immediately suggested their release but received no response from Israel. The destruction of Gaza as a matter of genocidal policy was not an irrational Israeli reaction to the killing of so many soldiers and civilians on October 7, 2023. It was the implementation of the army’s pre-2023 preparations, which went back to 2004, when the army built a dummy city in the desert to practice destroying urban spaces in a possible attack on the Gaza Strip. This strategy was rehearsed in the carpet bombing of the Dahiya suburb of Beirut in 2006. As in 1948, so too in 2023, Israel was looking for a pretext to advance its impossible vision of a de-Arabized Palestine. “It is a miracle,” exclaimed Ben-Gurion when he watched hundreds of thousands of Palestinians “flee” from Palestine, even as he was the architect of this ethnic cleansing. “It is a miracle,” cried Orit Strock, a minister in Netanyahu’s government, referring to the historical opportunity to commit genocide against the Gazans. “The drowned cannot get wet” is a famous Arab proverb and encapsulates the Palestinian dilemma, which can be clearly seen from the vantage point of 2026. Any armed attempt by Hamas to end the siege and the occupation was used as a pretext by Israel to intensify its policies of elimination. The alternative of succumbing to the reality of siege, attempted by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, resulted in incremental ethnic cleansing and one pogrom after another, carried out by the settlers with the complicity of the Israeli army. I wonder how many people outside Palestine can fully appreciate this dilemma, one that pushed young teenagers in West Bank refugee camps into confrontations with the Israeli army that they knew they could not win, preferring this to being continually abused, wounded, and killed by an occupying army. It is the inhuman dilemma that the Zionist project of elimination imposes on the Palestinians, and it is just another manifestation of their plight ever since the Zionist settlers arrived in Palestine in the late nineteenth century.
How to liberate the Palestinians, and indirectly the Israelis, from this impossible reality is not a difficult question to answer. This can only be achieved through the establishment of a democratic, post-Israel Palestine. Such a state would not solve every problem for the people living between the river and the sea and those who will return to it, but it would remove the continuous existential threat experienced daily by all the Palestinians living there. In such a reality, Palestine would not be divided into separate territories such as Gaza and the West Bank, but would constitute one organic homeland. If Gaza remains a Strip, there will be no peace and no reconciliation. Ilan Pappé is a professor at the University of Exeter. He was formerly a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Haifa.
TRUMP CLAIMS 9/11 ATTACKS HAPPENING EVERY DAY IN DEMOCRATIC CITIES SATIRE
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THE ONION
AYING the tragic events of 25 years ago were just the beginning in the nation’s blue states, President Donald Trump claimed that 9/11 attacks were happening every single day in Democratic cities. “You go to Seattle or Minneapolis or any of those other crime-ridden hellholes, and you’re gonna see planes smashing into skyscrapers constantly,” said Trump, who stated that hijackers had crashed 767s full of passengers into Chicago’s Willis Tower no fewer than 17 times in the past week alone. “You can’t even walk down the street in Los Angeles without worrying that al-Qaeda animals— welcomed by the mayor, of course—are about to fly a jumbo jet directly into your family. Even New York can’t keep track of all the 9/11s that take place, sometimes more than once an hour, because the people who run these cities hate America as much as the terrorists do.” Trump added that he had not attended any of the thousands of new 9/11 memorial services, having attended one for the first, which was annoying enough.
06 NEWS
PEZESHKIAN SAYS IRAN WILL NOT SURRENDER AFTER TRUMP'S ANNIHILATION THREAT
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NEW YORK
AGENCIES
RANIAN President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a speech at the United Nations on Wednesday that Tehran would never surrender to the United States but still believes in diplomacy, a day after US President Donald Trump used the same forum to threaten to “annihilate” Iran. The duelling speeches at the annual UN General Assembly in New York bookended the first shuttle talks between the US and Iran for months, which appeared to have yielded no concessions in the public stance of either side towards ending the Middle East War. In his speech, Pezeshkian defended Iran’s military actions as defensive, and insisted Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons. The president struck a defiant tone speaking at the UN for the first time since Washington and Israel launched an all-out war on his country, vowing Tehran would never “bend at the knee”. Pezeshkian accused Washington of “terrorism” for assassinating former supreme
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Thursday, 24 September 2026 | KARACHI
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the war. He held up a photograph of the dead leader before insisting Tehran had never started a war. On Tuesday, Trump had told the UN he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran but went on to hail renewed talks between Tehran and Washington’s negotiators. Pezeshkian made no reference to the talks to resolve the stalled war in his steely speech. “(Trump) must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” he said. Pezeshkian insisted that Tehran would not allow the Strait of Hormuz, which it has been intermittently blockaded since the start of the war causing global energy prices to spike, to be used for aggression against his country. “We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests from the waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their aggression upon us,” he said. Soaring fuel prices threaten to cost Trump’s Republicans their control of Con-
gress in November’s midterms. Pezeshkian’s attendance at the UN’s signature diplomatic event, in the heart of Manhattan, had been in doubt as it was unclear if the United States would issue a visa. Ultimately Washington granted the permit but denied visas to several members of Pezeshkian’s entourage. INDIRECT CONTACt The annual UN gathering in New York
provided the occasion on Tuesday for Iranian and US officials to hold their first known indirect talks since a ceasefire collapsed in July, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through mediators on the sidelines. “Steve and Jared had a very productive meeting today with mediators of Iran,” Trump said on Tuesday after his speech.
“I think there’s a lot of momentum for them to make a deal. It’s what we’re hearing from everybody.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said Tehran had engaged with Washington through a Qatari mediator and conveyed conditions, including an end to the war on all fronts and a halt to US “acts of aggression”. Some Iranian state media initially reported that Araghchi and Witkoff had met, but Iranian officials clarified to Reuters that it was not face-to-face. The diplomatic contact in New York caused a backlash in Iranian media associated with hardliners. An opinion piece run by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, associated with the Revolutionary Guards, said Araghchi was wrong to have contacts with Witkoff and Kushner, “a major gift to Trump”, as Iran had already conveyed its terms. Iranian sources told Reuters the delegation had been ordered not to meet the Americans face-to-face by the Supreme National Security Council, a body that includes figures selected by Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader.
FROM POLICY TO PRACTICE
Pakistan’s maritime turn on world maritime day 2026 DR. MARRIYAM SIDDIQUE
ORLD Maritime Day 2026 adopts the theme “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.” This is the first two-year theme in the International Maritime Organisation’s history, running through 2026 and 2027. It signals a shift in global maritime governance. The era of treaty-making has matured and the era of enforcement has begun. The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea remains the constitution of the oceans and nearly every coastal state has ratified it. Yet ratification is not implementation and the IMO acknowledges this gap by insisting that a rule must be translated into concrete national legislation, enforcement and day-to-day operations. Paper commitments do not secure sea lanes because only practice does. This gap matters more now than in most years. Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a fragile Strait of Hormuz and rising warrisk premiums have shown how quickly the maritime commons turns contested. A convention does not stop a missile from hitting a tanker, only enforcement does. Pakistan offers an instructive case. In July 2026, the Lloyd’s Market Association’s Joint War Committee removed Pakistan from its listed war-zone countries. The designation had stood since 2001 and it functioned as a standing tax on Pakistani trade by raising insurance costs at Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar. Its removal is a milestone. This outcome was not automatic; it followed sustained technical engagement. A formal submission was made in March and verified data was provided. Pakistan Navy worked along-
side other national stakeholders in a coordinated whole-of-government effort. The effect is measurable, since war-risk premiums have fallen, competitiveness has improved and confidence in Pakistani ports has increased. This is what implementation looks like – not a signature on a treaty but months of quiet work, evidence and follow-through. In March 2026, Pakistan Navy launched Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr in response to regional escalation. The defacto closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatened energy supplies and disrupted global energy sea lines of communication, so Pakistan acted. The operation secures national sea lines of communication, protects critical energy supplies, escorts Pakistan-flagged merchant vessels and coordinates with Pakistan National Shipping Corporation. As of late 2026, seventy-six transits have been escorted through the Gulf and the Red Sea, making Pakistan the first nation in the region to commence such escorts. This is implementation in motion. The Pakistan Navy has also maintained a continuous presence in the North Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, which reassures international maritime traffic and contributes to regional stability. Pakistan has also joined the Saudi-led Multinational Maritime Defence Coalition, which aims to strengthen security in the Bab el-Mandeb–Red Sea–Gulf of Aden corridor, actively participating in this burden-sharing and burden-bearing effort. The Pakistan Navy's sustained presence and escort operations have become a visible expression of Pakistan's commitment to keeping the region's sea lanes open and secure. Implementation requires more than operations because it also requires aware-
ness. Pakistan Navy is playing a key role in the Maritime Awareness Campaign Plan, which seeks to generate maritime awareness, channel efforts to reap the full potential of Pakistan’s maritime sector and promote the Blue Economy. The campaign conducts an annual Maritime Security Workshop, briefs government officials and policymakers, raises awareness about marine pollution, engages the business community and supports domain-specific research at the Maritime Centre of Excellence (MCE). These are capacity-building measures that build the human capital implementation requires. Pakistan International Maritime Exhibition and Conference is another pillar and its second edition was held in November 2025 under the patronage of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs. It received an overwhelming response, with one hundred and thirty-three international delegations attending and forty-four countries represented. Exhibitions and conferences build networks, share knowledge, attract investment, and showcase capability. They do not by themselves build shipyards or cut port turnaround times, but they are necessary conditions, because they create the connections that later become contracts, signal intent and open doors. Pakistan’s exclusive economic zone is a frontier and Pakistan Navy is pursuing its exploration with China Geological Survey and National Institute of Oceanography. Three expeditions have been conducted within Pakistan’s EEZ and they have mapped various zones and identified oil and gas reserves whose preliminary estimates rank them sixteenth and fifth largest in the world respectively. If fully realised, these resources could be a game changer by reshaping Pakistan’s energy import bill
and anchoring a new industrial base. But identification is not extraction and estimates are not production, because a survey finding is a precondition for success rather than success itself. The task ahead is to convert potential into practice. World Maritime Day 2026 should be read as an audit rather than a celebration. Pakistan can point to real outcomes, including the Lloyd’s delisting, Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr, PIMEC and scientific exploration. These are not declarations but actions. The harder half of the equation remains: regulatory enforcement must be embedded in domestic law, blue-economy potential must be converted into functioning industry, port infrastructure must keep pace with ambition, human capital must be deepened and regional stability must hold. These are long-term tasks that require sustained attention, resources and political will. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has framed the stakes by stating that the goal is “ensuring regulations are put into action” so that global rules “lead to safer, more secure and environmentally sound shipping worldwide.” Pakistan’s 2026 record shows that it is moving in the direction from policy to practice. World Maritime Day 2026 calls on states to move beyond signature, to enforce, to build and to deliver. Pakistan has answered part of that call by showing that diplomacy can lower costs, navies can protect trade, campaigns can build awareness, exhibitions can build networks and science can map resources. The rest is work of legislation, infrastructure, industry, and time, because the theme “From Policy to Practice” is not a slogan but a standard and Pakistan’s 2026 record suggests it understands the standard while the challenge is to meet it fully.
Gazans shelter in unsafe buildings as reconstruction remains stalled GAZA
AGENCIES
Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are living in damaged buildings at risk of collapse as reconstruction remains largely stalled and safe housing remains scarce. Many families have moved back into partially destroyed homes because they have nowhere else to go, despite warnings that weakened structures could collapse without notice. Residents say they are living with cracked walls, exposed reinforcement bars, damaged ceilings and unstable floors while trying to protect themselves from the weather. Some buildings have already suffered further collapses, particularly after rain or
strong winds. The scale of destruction across Gaza has left many people choosing between overcrowded tents, makeshift shelters and damaged homes that may no longer be structurally safe.
Reconstruction has been slowed by restrictions on the entry of building materials, shortages of heavy machinery and the wider political and security situation. Engineers and local officials have
warned that many damaged buildings need urgent assessment before residents can safely return. Families, however, say they often have little choice because rental options are scarce and temporary shelters offer limited protection.The situation has become especially difficult for children, the elderly and people with disabilities, who face greater risks in unstable structures. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that the housing crisis cannot be resolved through temporary shelter alone and requires large-scale reconstruction. For many Gazans, the absence of rebuilding means daily life continues amid ruins, with families forced to live inside homes that could become dangerous at any moment.
UMT, Pakistan Kisan Ittehad agree on MoU for agricultural research LAHORE
STAFF REPOERT
University of Management and Technology (UMT) President Ibrahim Murad and Pakistan Kisan Ittehad President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar have agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote agricultural research and extension, transfer research-based solutions to farmers and advance modern agricultural technologies. The understanding was reached during a meeting between the two leaders, who discussed agricultural development, farmers’ issues, food security, productivity and the adoption of modern farming technologies. Ibrahim Murad said university research must be translated into practical solutions and taken to the fields to directly benefit farmers. He stressed stronger linkages among universities, industry and policymakers to increase agricultural productivity and promote value-added products. “Modern technology and effective policies can significantly enhance the agricultural sector,” Murad said, adding that prosperous farmers were essential for a stronger agricultural and national economy.
Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves for state visit to US BEIJING
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Chinese President Xi Jinping left Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit to the United States at the invitation of US President Donald Trump. Xi's entourage includes his wife, Peng Liyuan, Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and foreign minister. During the visit, Xi and Trump will have an in-depth exchange of views on major issues concerning China-US relations and world peace and development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular news briefing on Monday. Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance for China-US relations, and the exchange of visits between the two heads of state within six months marks a historic milestone, Guo said. China is ready to work with the US side to enrich the connotation of the constructive relationship of strategic stability, enhance dialogue and cooperation, properly manage differences, and continuously contribute to the well-being of both peoples and global peace, stability and prosperity, he added.
Xie Feng calls for action to build stable China-US ties ahead of Xi visit BEIJING
STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng has called for concrete action to advance a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability”, saying President Xi Jinping’s upcoming state visit to Washington should be used to set the right direction for bilateral ties and expand cooperation. In an essay published in the People’s Daily on Wednesday, Xie quoted President Xi as saying that building such a relationship was not a slogan but required both sides to “act in the same direction”. Xi is scheduled to visit the United States from September 23 to 25 at the invitation of US President Donald Trump. Xie urged Beijing and Washington to use the visit to strengthen consensus, remove distractions and accelerate efforts to advance bilateral relations. “Head-of-state diplomacy is the ‘anchor’
of and ‘compass’ for China-US relations,” he said, describing 2026 as a pivotal year for the relationship. The ambassador said the two countries should work under the guidance of their leaders to build relations based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. Xie described Xi’s upcoming visit as a milestone in China-US relations and international relations, noting that the two presidents were expected to complete reciprocal visits within six months. It will be Xi’s second state visit to the United States, following his first such visit 11 years ago. Xie highlighted Xi’s long-term commitment to China-US relations, saying the Chinese president had charted a new direction and injected fresh momentum into bilateral ties. He said the past 11 years had demonstrated that efforts to decouple from China and sever supply chains were impractical, while confrontation and conflict should be
avoided. With global changes accelerating and the international environment becoming increasingly volatile, Xie said the world needed a stable, sound and sustainable China-US relationship more than ever. The ambassador recalled that when Xi hosted Trump in Beijing in May, the two leaders agreed on a vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability over the next three years and beyond. According to the Chinese side, the concept means positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, healthy competition within proper limits, constant stability through manageable differences and lasting stability with expectable peace. Xie described the understanding as the “most important political consensus” reached by the two presidents at the Beijing summit, saying it offered a new framework for major-country relations. He urged both sides to focus on cooperation and build on their common interests. China and the United States, he said,
should implement understandings reached by their leaders and make greater use of existing mechanisms for political, diplomatic, economic and trade engagement. He also called for expanded exchanges in military affairs, law enforcement, health, agriculture, tourism, science and technology, as well as people-to-people and cultural fields. The two countries should “keep lengthening the list of cooperation and shortening the list of problems”, Xie said, urging them to work together on issues that could produce benefits for both countries and the wider world. He said competition should be managed in a constructive manner, with both sides drawing on each other’s strengths rather than pursuing a zero-sum approach. Xie also highlighted artificial intelligence as an area where China and the United States should focus competition on innovation, safety and global governance. Given AI’s potential impact on humanity, he said both countries should work to ensure that the technology is developed for the
benefit of society. “There must be no new ‘Silicon Curtain’, still less an AI version of the ‘Star Wars’ program,” he said. On bilateral differences, Xie called for constructive management based on mutual respect and good faith. He cited progress made during several rounds of economic and trade consultations as evidence that the two sides could address their concerns through equality, respect and mutual benefit. “Once something is agreed, it must be acted upon, and one must not say one thing and do another,” he said. Xie also urged Washington to stop using what he described as pretexts such as national security, economic imbalance and forced labour to impose restrictions on China. He stressed that China and the United States both benefit from cooperation and suffer from confrontation, urging the two countries to avoid the “Thucydides Trap” and the risks associated with greatpower rivalry.
Thursday, 24 September, 2026 | KARACHI
CORPORATE CORNER
PAEC Foundation signs contract for 5MW hydropower project at Chashma ISLAMABAD
STAFF REPORT
PAEC Foundation has signed a contract for the establishment of its fifth hydropower plant, Foundation Hydel Power Plant Unit-05 (FHPP-05), a 5MW project to be constructed at the outfall of the Chashma-5 Nuclear Power Plant. Once operational, the plant is expected to generate approximately 30.66 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually for the national grid. The project will harness the available hydropower potential at the site, contributing to the efficient utilisation of water resources and sustainable power generation. Electricity generation from the plant is expected to commence by September 2029. The contract was signed between PAEC Foundation and a joint venture comprising China Ocean Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd., Ningbo Water Conservancy and Hydro Power Planning and Design Institute Co., Ltd., and Habib Rafique Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd. at PAEC Headquarters.The project will complement PAEC’s broader contribution to Pakistan’s energy sector. PAEC’s six nuclear power plants currently generate 3,530MW of clean, sustainable and lowcost electricity for the national grid, while the new hydropower project will further expand PAEC Foundation’s renewable energy portfolio and contribute an additional 5MW of clean electricity.
Fly Jinnah commences Karachi-Riyadh service further expanding Saudi Arabia reach KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
Pakistan, September 19, 2026: Fly Jinnah, Pakistan's leading budget carrier, Celebrated the launch of its new non-stop service between Karachi and Riyadh, departed on Friday 18 September, marking the airline’s third destination in Saudi Arabia from Karachi, following its existing services to Dammam and Jeddah. The inaugural flight, departed from Karachi Jinnah International Airport to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, was marked by ceremonies at both airports, bringing together airline representatives, airport officials and other stakeholders to celebrate the new connection between the two cities. The new route currently operates three weekly non-stop flights between Karachi and Riyadh, with the frequency scheduled to increase to daily by next month, providing passengers with greater flexibility and convenient travel options between Pakistan and the Kingdom. Fly Jinnah’s spokesperson commented: “The launch of our new Karachi-Riyadh service marks another important step in strengthening Fly Jinnah’s presence in Saudi Arabia and expanding connectivity between Pakistan and the Kingdom. Riyadh joins Dammam and Jeddah as our third destination from Karachi, giving our customers more choice and flexibility when travelling between the two countries.”
Standard Chartered Foundation Announces women in tech accelerator winners KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
Standard Chartered Foundation, in partnership with INNOVentures Global and Village Capital, has concluded the eighth cohort of the Women in Tech Accelerator for Pakistan, awarding three women-led start-ups equity-free grant funding totalling PKR 10.5 million at the graduation ceremony in Karachi. The winners will also receive an additional six months of hand-holding and financial oversight and a lifelong membership to the Women in Tech Alumni Network. The Accelerator started with 30 Founders undergoing an intense 6day bootcamp, followed by 10 women entrepreneurs supported through 3-months of tailored investment-readiness support, expert mentorship and opportunities to strengthen their business models, competitive advantage, scalability and funding strategies and a two-stage funding intervention, along with two-stage funding for high-potential startups from the cohort. The first prize of PKR 5 Million was awarded to EV Square founded by Aimen Shafique; the second prize of PKR 3 Million went to Blusha App founded by Minahil Zafar; and the third prize of PKR 2.5 Million was awarded to Zvolta, founded by Anusha Shahid. Adil Salahuddin, CEO & Head of Coverage, Standard Chartered Pakistan, said: “Congratulations to the remarkable founders of the Women in Tech Accelerator for Pakistan Cohort 8 on reaching this important milestone. Over the past several months, you have demonstrated tremendous commitment to building solutions that create meaningful impact. Through access to mentorship, business advisory support, industry connections, and capacity-building opportunities, the Women in Tech Accelerator has been designed to help entrepreneurs strengthen their business models and accelerate their growth journey.
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CM PUNJAB LAUNCHES GREEN TRACTOR SCHEME’S FOURTH PHASE
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LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
M Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday launched the fourth phase of the Green Tractor Scheme through a digital balloting process and opened the application portal for its fifth phase, as the provincial government announced plans to provide 19,500 tractors to farmers during the current fiscal year. The chief minister pressed a button to conduct the digital balloting, with the first tractor under Phase IV going to Masood Khan, son of Lal Khan, from Attock. According to a briefing, 10,000 tractors with 50 to 65 horsepower will be provided under Phase IV, with the Punjab government offering a subsidy of Rs750,000 per tractor. Under Phase V, 9,500 high-powered tractors ranging from 75 to 125 horsepower will be offered with a subsidy of Rs1 million each. The government has allocated Rs17.6
billion for the Green Tractor Scheme, while 24,000 tractors have already been provided to farmers under the programme with a subsidy of Rs1 million per tractor, the briefing said. The chief minister congratulated the successful applicants and expressed good wishes for them. She also inspected tractors being offered under the scheme, including locally manufactured 90-horsepower and locally assembled
100-horsepower models. The briefing highlighted the scale of the provincial government’s spending on agricultural mechanisation. It said only 10,000 tractors had been provided to farmers over the previous 20 years, while 35,000 tractors had been distributed during Ms Nawaz’s two-and-a-half-year tenure. Similarly, Rs3 billion had been spent on agricultural mechanisation over two decades compared with Rs20 billion
during the last two-and-a-half years. Punjab has also witnessed, for the first time, local manufacturing of 90horsepower tractors and assembly of 100-horsepower tractors, according to the briefing. More than 213,637 farmers applied for the Green Tractor Programme, of whom 128,757 were declared eligible for the balloting after verification through the Punjab Land Records Authority and Nadra. The briefing said farmers owning five acres or more of agricultural land were eligible to apply. District-wise tractor quotas had been fixed according to the proportion of cultivated land, with districts including Bhakkar, Jhang, Lodhran and Vehari having relatively higher shares. Five locally manufactured tractor models have been included in the scheme, while the initiative has also contributed to an increase in tractor manufacturing and sales in Punjab, provincial Agriculture Minister Ashiq Kirmani said in his briefing.
CDA committed to provide Water Supply to Citizens by utilising all resources ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
Under the vision of Federal Minister for Interior Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi and the able supervision of Chairman CDA, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring a supply of water to the citizens of Islamabad, by utilising all available resources to meet the city’s growing water requirements while conserving existing water resources, improving their efficient utilisation and exploring additional and sustainable sources. CDA is taking comprehensive measures to improve the existing water supply infrastructure, strengthen the distribution network, reduce water losses and ensure efficient management of available water resources. Efforts are also being made to enhance water storage capacity and identify additional sustainable water sources to meet the requirements of Islamabad’s growing population. Islamabad Water, CDA, is making every possible effort to ensure the provision of clean, safe and hygienic drinking water to the residents of Islamabad. As part of its routine water quality, maintenance and disinfection measures, CDA carried out cleaning of the water reservoirs at G-10 Water Works. The cleaning and disinfection of water reservoirs is undertaken regularly as part of CDA’s routine policy to maintain hygienic conditions and ensure the quality and safety of drinking water supplied to residents.
DIB opens a new branch at Sarai Alamgir to a strong welcome from the leading local community figures KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
In continuation of its Monumental Expansion initiative to extend its footprint across the nation, DIB Pakistan has inaugurated a branch at New Metro City, Sarai Alamgir. This new branch in an exclusive location has been well received by leading figures of the local community opened resulting in a strong momentum from day one. The continuing expansion underlines DIB Pakistan’s commitment to scaling its presence across fast-growing commercial centers, expanding its physical reach to complement its digital capabilities, and bringing international banking closer to communities across the country. The branch was inaugurated by Muhammad Ali Gulfaraz, CEO, DIB Pakistan, in the presence of business leaders, community representatives, and key stakeholders from Sarai Alamgir and surrounding areas. Speaking on the occasion he said, “DIB is expanding at a remarkable pace. Building on our strong momentum from last year, we are on track to open another 75 branches this year.
CDA is continuously monitoring and maintaining its water supply facilities to ensure that citizens receive clean and safe drinking water. The Islamabad Water Team remains committed to serving citizens and taking all necessary measures to safeguard the quality of the city’s water supply. As part of its long term water management strategy, CDA is promoting rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge as important measures for conserving and replenishing water resources. Residential, institutional and commercial buildings are being encouraged to adopt scientifically designed systems, where technically feasible, to collect and conserve rainwater and support groundwater recharge. Appropriate filtration systems will also be encouraged to help protect groundwater from contamination. CDA is also focusing on the timely identification and repair of leakages in the water supply network. Citizens are requested to promptly report water leakages and unnecessary water wastage to the relevant authorities so that timely corrective action can be taken. CDA has also appealed to citizens, educational institutions, housing societies, offices, markets and commercial establishments to use water responsibly, repair leaking taps and pipelines, avoid unnecessary washing of vehicles and paved areas, and adopt waterefficient practices. Where feasible, harvested rainwater can be used for gardening, landscaping, cleaning and other non potable purposes.
Insurance growth can boost actuarial careers in Pakistan KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
Pakistan currently has an insurance rate of 0.7pc of national GDP, pointing to significant room for growth in the insurance sector and opportunities for actuaries. This was among the key takeaways from the Society of Actuaries’ (SOA) Actuaries Connect in Karachi, which brought together hundreds of actuarial students, university faculty and industry experts from consulting, finance and insurance. Zain Ibrahim, ASA, SOA Regional Director, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, , said awareness of actuarial science remains a challenge despite greater access to information and education. “Lack of awareness around actuarial sciences is still low – even today, despite greater opportunities to access knowledge around actuarial sciences, the students still do not know enough about actuarial sciences. The SOA is trying to change that by enabling students, faculties, and educational systems to know about the highly rewarding career that students can pursue as actuaries.
MG Pakistan marks CKD line-off of all-new MG ZS as locally assembled units head to customers LAHORE
STAFF REPORT
MG Pakistan has marked another milestone in its local manufacturing journey with the CKD line-off ceremony of the All-New MG ZS, as trailers carrying locally assembled units depart the MG Lahore Plant for customer deliveries. The milestone fulfils MG Pakistan’s commitment to begin deliveries of the All-New MG ZS by the end of September, reflecting the brand’s global commitment to delivering on its promises to customers. Following its recent introduction in Pakistan, the All-New MG ZS brings together modern design, advanced safety, intelligent technology, everyday practicality and efficient performance for customers seeking a more complete B-SUV experience. The line-up comprises three variants: Vibe Petrol, Hybrid+ Excite and Hybrid+ Essence. The Vibe Petrol features a 1.5L naturally aspirated petrol engine with CVT transmission, while the Hybrid+ variants feature MG’s advanced 1.5L Hybrid+ system with a oneof-its-kind 3-speed hybrid transmission. The Hybrid+ powertrain delivers 158 kW of combined power and 465 Nm of combined torque, offering an electric-first driving feel, responsive performance and improved efficiency.
AKUH urges women to see PMOS (Formerly PCOS) as a whole-body health issue KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) marked PMOS Awareness Month this September by hosting a media roundtable titled "PMOS: Beyond Periods and Pregnancy." With a 2026 study revealing that an alarming 48.5% of women in Pakistan suffer from PMOS (Noland et al, 2026), AKUH specialists gathered with health journalists to unpack this common, yet widely misunderstood, hormonal disorder. Previously known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), the condition was proposed to be renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) in 2026 following a consensus led by global reproductive and endocrine experts. This new name deliberately places the metabolic and hormonal drivers of the condition front and center.
Innomate, Pakistan’s first ATM monitoring and management solution, wins P@SHA ICT award 2026 KARACHI
STAFF REPORT
Innovative Pvt Ltd (IPL), Pakistan’s No.1 Self-Service Banking and Currency Technology provider, has won the P@SHA ICT Award 2026 in the Business Services – ICT Services Solutions category for Innomate, Pakistan’s first and only ATM monitoring and management solution. Innomate allows banks to monitor multi-vendor ATMs, cash recyclers, deposit machines and kiosks under its interactive and user-friendly dashboard. Its mobile application provides instant alerts and notifications giving preemptive visibility of issues such as cash outages or technical problems before they
happen. It also enables remote actions to proactively resolve challenges – reducing the need for manual intervention. Through its powerful features and unmatched accessibility banks can ensure higher ATM uptimes which directly impacts access to financial services.
“For years, the software that watched over Pakistan’s ATMs was written somewhere else,” said Naveed Ali Baig, CEO – Innovative Pvt Ltd. “Innomate was built here, by our own engineers, for the conditions our banks actually operate in. Most monitoring
tools give you a window. Innomate gives you meaningful controls. A bank can control its entire fleet from a phone, from anywhere, at any hour. This award recognises innovation and value our clients have been relying on every day.” The win is Innomate’s first national recognition and IPL’s fourth consecutive year of honours at the P@SHA ICT Awards, after three successive FinTech category wins from 2023 to 2025 — and the first time IPL has been recognised outside FinTech. It caps a landmark year where our Founder-Chairman Mr. Amir Wain was conferred the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in August 2026 and named Fintech Leader of the Year at Juniper Research’s 2026 Future Digital Awards.
KP CM VOWS PEACEFUL PROTEST, ALLEGES CRACKDOWN AHEAD OF PTI MARCH NEWS
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HYBER Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Wednesday said staging a peaceful protest was a legal and constitutional right, vowing that the province’s government would proceed with the PTI’s planned long march to Islamabad on September 27 despite what he alleged was a crackdown on the party’s workers and leaders. Addressing a provincial cabinet meeting, Mr Afridi alleged that “plainclothes individuals” had been targeting PTI workers, officebearers and elected representatives over the past three to four days. He alleged that Communications and Works Minister Shakil
Erdogan raises Kashmir issue at UNGA; calls for resolution as per UN resolutions UNITED NATIONS
Khan had survived an assassination attempt as well as an attempt to abduct him. The chief minister further alleged that Public Health Engineering Minister Fazal Shakoor had been abducted by plainclothes individuals, who also opened fire on his vehicle. “If a minister, a provincial cabinet member is not safe from these thugs, then what about the common man?” he asked, describing the alleged treatment of provincial ministers as unacceptable. Mr Afridi also criticised PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah over his reported remarks about the people of KP and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz over her comments concerning the threat of terrorism from other provinces. The chief minister said the province would be “cut off” from the rest of
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once again raised the Kashmir issue during his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), stating that the resolution of the Kashmir issue must be in accordance with UN resolutions. Stating that the resolution of the Kashmir issue is indispensable for peace in South Asia, President Erdoğan urged that all disputes, including Kashmir, should be resolved under the UN Charter, while stressing meaningful dialogue for the resolution of India-Pakistan disputes. Reflecting the aspirations of the Kashmiri people once again, the Turkish President lent strong support to Pakistan’s stance and active diplomacy, winning the hearts of Pakistanis with his forceful stance presented in the presence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Reiterating Türkiye’s solidarity, President Erdoğan emphasized that Türkiye stands with its Kashmiri brothers today as always. According to political analysts, the Turkish President presented the case of all oppressed nations, including Palestine, at the General Assembly, while highlighting the inability of the United Nations to play its role.
IHC examines SC order in Imaan Mazari's controversial tweets case
He urged government officials and police personnel not to be intimidated and said they should not obey what he described as unlawful orders from any institution or department if the provincial government had not directed them to do anything illegal. Turning to the PTI’s planned protest, Mr Afridi said peaceful demonstrations were protected by the Constitution. “Protesting is everyone’s legal and constitutional right. We will stage a peaceful protest because we are not being heard anywhere,” he said, adding that his government would continue with peaceful protests as long as the constitutional right existed. He also urged the people of KP and the rest of the country not to panic or be afraid. Meanwhile, preparations in Rawalpindi
India's unilateral attempt to suspend IWT has introduced 'dangerous dimension': FM Dar ISLAMABAD neWs Desk
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Pakistan from Wednesday, with all routes into and out of KP closed. “The rest of Pakistan will remain open, but no one will be able to enter or leave KP,” he said. Questioning the rationale behind closing routes to the province, Mr Afridi asked whether a conspiracy was under way and whether there was an attempt to repeat the “East Pakistan tragedy”. “Whatever conspiracy is being hatched, and whoever is behind it, our clear message to them is: Pakistan belongs to us,” he said, adding that KP was and would remain part of Pakistan. The chief minister also alleged that people in plain clothes were intimidating and threatening bureaucrats, police officials, deputy commissioners and district police officers.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said India’s unilateral attempt to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance had introduced another “dangerous dimension”, adding that international obligations cannot be set aside when they become inconvenient. “India’s unilateral attempt to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance has introduced another dangerous dimension. The Treaty is a binding international agreement and contains no provision permitting its unilateral suspension,” FM Dar said while addressing the OIC Contact Group’s ministerial meeting on Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. He said the Court of Arbitration had reaffirmed that unilateral action by one party could not deprive the court of its competence and had underscored the continuing force of the Treaty’s obligations, including those governing the Western Rivers. “International obligations cannot be set aside when they become inconvenient. India cannot invoke domestic law to negate Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, any more than it can resort to unilateral measures to evade its binding obligations under the Indus Waters Treaty,” the foreign minister said.
FM Dar further said treaties and international commitments must be respected in good faith. FM Dar urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to intensify diplomatic efforts over IIOJK, saying the bloc’s “principled solidarity” needed to be translated into “sustained diplomatic action”. He urged OIC member states to maintain a “unified and visible OIC position” at the UN and other international forums. The foreign minister called for intensified efforts to implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions and urged the OIC to press India to reverse “illegal measures” taken since August 2019. FM Dar also called for the release of “all political prisoners and those arbitrarily detained” and demanded unrestricted access to the disputed territory for the OIC special envoy, fact-finding missions, UN special procedures, international media and independent observers. He said the people of IIOJK had waited for almost eight decades for the international community to honour what he called a “solemn promise” — their right to determine their own future through a free and impartial process under UN auspices. According to FM Dar, India, since August 2019, pursued measures to change the “demographic, political and cultural character” of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that political and civic space had been systematically restricted, with Kashmiri leaders, ac-
tivists, journalists and young people facing arbitrary detention and persecution under laws including the Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. FM Dar also said changes to domicile and land laws, electoral constituencies and voter rolls, along with property demolitions and measures affecting the region’s cultural and religious heritage, were used to alter “realities on the ground”. On media freedoms, he said journalists faced “intimidation, surveillance and detention”, while the Kashmir Press Club had been forcibly closed and social media accounts blocked. “These are not isolated violations. Taken together, they reveal a sustained effort to silence a people, transform the identity of their homeland and foreclose their right to self-determination and their own future,” he said. FM Dar cited a joint communication by UN special procedures in October 2025, which he said had referred to the detention of about 2,800 people, including journalists and human rights defenders, as well as home demolitions, the blocking of about 8,000 social media accounts and incidents of hate speech, intimidation and dehumanisation targeting Kashmiris and Muslims. He also referred to the PakistanIndia military conflict in May 2025 following the Pahalgam incident, saying it had highlighted the dangers of leaving the Kashmir dispute unresolved.
Punjab seeks Rangers deployment ahead of PTI march LAHORE
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The Islamabad High Court heard petitions seeking the suspension of sentences for human rights activist Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in the case concerning controversial tweets. Justice Azam Khan heard the case of controversial tweet case. During the proceedings, Faisal Siddiqui, the counsel for Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, requested that the petitions be disposed of in light of a recent Supreme Court judgment. "You have received relief now," Justice Azam Khan remarked to Faisal Siddiqui. "What exactly has the Supreme Court written regarding the hearing of the appeals" asked Justice Azam Khan. "No, nothing of that sort is written," replied Advocate Faisal Siddiqui. Justice Azam Khan directed Advocate Faisal Siddiqui "Read the Supreme Court's order". "The court has stated three things in its order," the Special Prosecutor noted. "Never mind; you weren't present, you were on leave, weren't you?" Faisal Siddiqui said to the prosecutor. Advocate Faisal Siddiqui read out the Supreme Court's order. "The appeals have been revived following the Supreme Court's extraordinary relief," the prosecutor observed. "Had the appeal died previously?" asked Advocate Faisal Siddiqui. "We will issue an order," remarked Justice Azam Khan, concluding the hearing.
The Punjab government has sought the deployment of Pakistan Rangers in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali from September 22 to October 5 to assist police in maintaining law and order ahead of the PTI’s planned long march to Islamabad on September 27. The request comes as the PTI and Kissan Ittehad have announced long marches and sit-ins in the federal capital in the coming week. The PTI has scheduled its march for September 27 to demand the release of party founder Imran Khan. According to a letter sent by the Punjab Home Department to the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control, three companies of Rangers have been sought for Rawalpindi — one for the city and two for Taxila. Five Rangers wings have been requested for Attock, while Jhelum and Mianwali have each been allocated one company. The proposed deployment would be made under Article 245 of the Constitution, Sections 4 and 5 of the AntiTerrorism Act, 1997, and Sections 7(b) and 10 of the Pakistan Rangers Ordinance, 1959. The letter said the matter was discussed at the 59th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Cabinet on Law and Order (SCCLO) of the Punjab government on September 20. The meeting reviewed the situation presented by police authorities, orders issued by the Islamabad High Court in
Writ Petition No. 4421/2026 and instructions issued by the Punjab government’s Services and General Administration Department. “After due consideration, it was authorised that the requisition be sent to the ministry of interior, for requisition of troops ensuring law and order in the districts mentioned above,” the letter stated. The ministry was requested to take further necessary action and inform the Punjab Home Department accordingly. Meanwhile, the Punjab government has imposed Section 144 across the province for 13 days, banning assemblies, processions and gatherings of five or more people in public places, highways and open spaces. The order also prohibits inciting people to participate in unlawful assemblies. Exemptions have been provided for wedding ceremonies, funeral prayers and burials, as well as gatherings at mosques and other places of worship. Official duties of courts and
government or semi-government organisations, along with events authorised by the deputy commissioner concerned, have also been exempted. The provincial government has separately imposed a complete ban on carrying or displaying weapons in public places. Personnel of law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies have been exempted while performing official duties. The Home Department said the restrictions had been imposed in view of serious threats to public peace and the lives and property of citizens. According to the order, intelligence agencies had issued multiple alerts about possible terrorist activities involving suicide bombers, vehicleborne improvised explosive devices and target killings during large public gatherings. It said rallies, public meetings, sit-ins, processions and demonstrations could become potential targets for terrorist attacks and pose a threat to public order.
IMF mission begins review of Pakistan’s $7b EFF programme g
MISSION TO DISCUSS INFLATION, MONETARY POLICY AND EXCHANGE RATE IN KARACHI BEFORE TALKS WITH FINANCE MINISTRY, FBR AND OTHER MINISTRIES ON FOURTH $7 BILLION EFF REVIEW PROFIT
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission will begin negotiations with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday, starting discussions on the fourth review of Pakistan’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with a focus on inflation, monetary policy and the exchange rate. The mission will remain in Karachi this week for discussions with the central bank before arriving in Islamabad on Sep-
tember 28 for negotiations with the Ministry of Finance, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other ministries. The Islamabad leg of the talks is expected to go ahead provided the situation in the federal capital remains normal. The negotiations will cover the fourth review under the EFF, the third review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) and the Article IV consultation. The overall review process is expected to continue for around two weeks and assess economic developments and programme performance through June 2026.
The discussions are expected to assess the government’s performance against agreed programme targets, including structural benchmarks and tax reforms, as well as measures in the power and gas sectors. Other fiscal, monetary and structural issues will also form part of the negotiations. The Article IV consultation will be conducted alongside the programme reviews. The consultation involves an assessment of the country’s broader economic conditions and policies. The findings of the Article IV consultation are expected to be presented to the IMF Exec-
utive Board and subsequently made public alongside the IMF’s review report following completion of the fourth EFF review. Pakistan and IMF staff will also seek to reach a staff-level agreement on the fourth EFF review and third RSF review during the negotiations. Any staff-level agreement would subsequently require approval from the IMF Executive Board. Upon approval, Pakistan would gain access to around $1 billion under the EFF and another $200 million under the RSF. Pakistan has already received around $4.8 billion under the two arrangements.
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Division and the Islamabad Capital Territory have been stepped up to maintain security and deal with any emergency situation amid the planned PTI march and other protest activities in the federal capital. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had earlier warned the PTI against proceeding with the march, urging the party to reconsider its plans. He had also said the government would not “leave any loopholes” in its response if the PTI went ahead with the protest.
Eight drones shot down after entering Pakistan from Afghanistan: security sources KOHAT
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Pakistan’s air defence system shot down eight drones after they entered the country’s airspace from Afghanistan on Wednesday morning, security sources said. "Four of the drones were brought down in areas adjoining the Torkham border, while another four were shot down in mountainous areas near the border with Kohat," the sources said. The sources said the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had thwarted the attempt by the Afghan Taliban regime to target public places, adding that the country’s “active and alert air defence system” had detected and brought down all eight drones. The sources described the incursion as “further evidence” of what they said was the Afghan Taliban regime’s direct support and patronage of terrorists. “The Pakistan Armed Forces remain fully prepared at all times to defend Pakistan and its people,” the sources said. The sources said that the assessment and defence systems monitored by the PAF along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border remained operational and on alert at all times. It said the downed drones further demonstrated that the PAF were fully determined and capable of thwarting any ground, aerial or terrorist incursion by the Afghan Taliban regime. The wreckage of the destroyed drones was also being taken into custody, the sources said. The sources said that the developments reflect the Afghan Taliban’s “severe panic”. The sources added that the PAF’s surveillance and defence systems along the border remained fully operational to detect and respond to any further incursions. Earlier, security forces also foiled an infiltration attempt by terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij to cross into the Kurram sector from Afghanistan and responded promptly to firing by the Afghan Taliban. The term Fitna al-Khawarij is used by the state to refer to terrorists affiliated with the banned TTP. The sources added that the provocative firing in the Kurram sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border since Tuesday night, followed by Wednesday’s drone attack, came after Pakistani forces had destroyed terrorist hideouts operating under the Afghan Taliban regime.
UNSC condemns Kohat terrorist attack, calls for perpetrators to be held accountable KOHAT
Web Desk
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday condemned in the strongest terms a terrorist attack at a mosque in Kohat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province, describing it as a “heinous and cowardly suicide bombing terrorist attack”. At least 23 people, including 15 police personnel, were martyred in the blast at a mosque in Kohat’s Police Lines during Friday prayers on September 18. Eight terrorists were also killed during a subsequent search and clearance operation. Later, Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), led by Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing and rampage involving multiple attackers. According to a statement issued by Council President Jérôme Bonnafont (France), the members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the “heinous and cowardly suicide bombing terrorist attack” at a mosque in Kohat. "The members of the Security Council expressed their “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the families of the victims and to the government and the people of Pakistan and wished a “speedy and full recovery” to those who were injured," the statement added. "The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," it added. They underlined the need to hold “perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice”. They urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Pakistan in this regard.
Published by Asad Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-32640318 . Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk