Center sets up panel to probe use of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial resources for Islamabad protest

Supporters and activists of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) block a road during a protest in Islamabad on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 06 October 2024
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Center sets up panel to probe use of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial resources for Islamabad protest

  • Ex-PM Khan supporters this week marched toward Islamabad from different parts of the country, mainly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where his party rules
  • Clashes erupted between Khan supporters and police when they were prevented from entering capital, with one cop killed and dozens of others injured

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal government has constituted an inquiry committee to probe the use of resources of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government for this week’s protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Sunday.
Supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Friday marched toward Islamabad from different parts of the country, mainly the neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, to protest the government’s proposed constitutional amendments that it claims are aimed at curtailing the independence of the judiciary, the government denies this. They also aimed to mount pressure for the release of their leader who is in jail since August last year.
Clashes erupted as police tried to prevent the protesters from entering the Pakistani capital, with federal officials accusing KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of firing tear gas at police while leading caravans of protesters from the neighboring province ruled by the PTI. They said Gandapur was accompanied by serving police officers as well as heavy machinery to remove road blockades.
“An inquiry committee is hereby constituted to probe the use of government resources and manpower by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in the rally, for sit-in at Islamabad, by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on 4th and 5th October 2024,” the Pakistani interior ministry said in a notification.




A supporter of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), throws back a tear gas shell during an anti-government rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, October 5, 2024. (REUTERS)

The three-member committee comprises Additional Interior Secretary Riffat Mukhtar, Additional Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Munir Masood Marath, and a representative of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), according to the notification.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday evening and praised him, the Islamabad administration, and police for maintaining law and order in the capital, despite two days of clashes that killed at least one policeman and injured dozens of others, and prompted authorities to seal almost all roads and suspend mobile phone services.
Federal authorities said on Sunday they had rounded up nearly 900 protesters, while there had been no clue of the whereabouts of CM Gandapur, who led thousands to Islamabad, since arriving in the capital on Saturday. The PTI said Gandapur had been “kidnapped,” and that police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at its supporters in “excessive” use of force.
Khan’s party says it is facing an over-year-long crackdown since protesters allegedly linked to the PTI attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after the former premier’s brief arrest the same day in a land graft case.
Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military, which says Khan and his party were behind the attacks, has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Khan, who has been in jail since last August, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.


India lost fighter jets in recent conflict with Pakistan, Indian defense chief confirms

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India lost fighter jets in recent conflict with Pakistan, Indian defense chief confirms

  • On May 7, Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called ‘terrorist infrastructure’ sites across the border
  • Pakistan has said it downed six Indian planes, including at least three Rafale fighters, in initial clashes

SINGAPORE: India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of conflict with Pakistan earlier this month and established a decisive advantage before the neighbors announced a ceasefire three days later, India’s highest ranking general said on Saturday.

The heaviest fighting in decades between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan was sparked by an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on “terrorists” backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.

On May 7, Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called “terrorist infrastructure” sites across the border. Pakistan has said it downed six Indian planes, including at least three Rafale fighters, in the initial clashes.

The ceasefire was announced on May 10 after bitter fighting in which both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery.

General Anil Chauhan, India’s chief of defense staff, said in an interview that India suffered initial losses in the air, but declined to give details.

“What was important is, why did these losses occur, and what we’ll do after that,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, referring to the Pakistani claim of downing jets.

“So we rectified tactics and then went back on the 7th, 8th and 10th in large numbers to hit air bases deep inside Pakistan, penetrated all their air defenses with impunity, carried out precision strikes.”

The Indian air force “flew all types of aircraft with all types of ordinances on the 10th,” he said.

India has previously said its missiles and drones struck at least eight Pakistani air bases across the country that day, including one near the capital Islamabad.

The Pakistan military says that India did not fly its fighter jets again in the conflict after suffering losses on May 7.

India’s director general of air operations, Air Marshal A.K. Bharti, had told a press conference earlier in the month that “losses are a part of combat” and that India had downed some Pakistani jets.

Islamabad has denied it suffered any losses of planes but has acknowledged its air bases suffered some hits although losses were minimal.

NO NUCLEAR WORRIES

Some of the attacks were on bases near Pakistan’s nuclear facilities, but they themselves were not targeted, media reports have said.

“Most of the strikes were delivered with pinpoint accuracy, some even to a meter, to whatever was our selected mean point of impact,” Chauhan said.

Chauhan, and Pakistan’s chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, have both said there was no danger at any time during the conflict that nuclear weapons were considered.

“I think there’s a lot of space before that nuclear threshold is crossed, a lot of signalling before that, I think nothing like that happened,” Chauhan said. “There’s a lot of space for conventional operations which has been created, and this will be the new norm.

“It’s my personal view that the most rational people are people in uniform when conflict takes place,” he added. “During this operation, I found both sides displaying a lot of rationality in their thoughts as well as actions. So why should we assume that in the nuclear domain there will be irrationality on someone else’s part?“

Chauhan also said that although Pakistan is closely allied with China, which borders India in the north and east, there was no sign of any actual help from Beijing during the conflict.

“While this was unfolding from (April) 22nd onwards, we didn’t find any unusual activity in the operational or tactical depth of our northern borders, and things were generally all right.”

Asked whether China may have provided any satellite imagery or other real-time intelligence to Pakistan during the conflict, Chauhan said such imagery was commercially available and could have been procured from China as well as other sources.

He added that while hostilities had ceased, the Indian government had made it clear it would “respond precisely and decisively should there be any further terror attacks emanating from Pakistan.”

“So that has its own dynamics as far the armed forces are concerned. It will require us to be prepared 24/7.”


Pakistan national airline resumes direct flights from Dubai to Skardu to boost tourism

Updated 21 min 26 sec ago
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Pakistan national airline resumes direct flights from Dubai to Skardu to boost tourism

  • Skardu lies in the heart of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, home to five of the world’s 14 tallest peaks and a major tourist destination
  • The development comes days after PIA announced the launch of direct flights from Lahore to Paris, with the first flight taking off on June 18

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed direct flights between Dubai and Pakistan’s mountainous Skardu district, the Pakistani consulate in Dubai said on Friday, in a bid to boost tourism.

The Skardu district lies in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which is home to five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters and a major tourist destination. In Jan., CNN declared the scenic region among top 25 destinations in the world that are particularly worth visiting in 2025.

To mark the resumption of PIA’s Dubai-Skardu flights, initially launched in Aug. 2023, a ceremony was held at the airline’s office in Dubai, which was attended by Pakistani Consul General Hussain Muhammad and other officials.

“PIA Regional Manager Mr. Sarmad Aizaz and his team hosted the event, celebrating this significant step toward boosting tourism and strengthening people-to-people ties between the UAE and Pakistan,” the Pakistani consulate said.

“The event also welcomed members of a foreign tourist group traveling on the inaugural flight, underscoring the growing interest in Pakistan’s scenic northern areas.”

The development comes days after PIA announced the launch of direct flights from Lahore to Paris, with the first flight taking off on June 18.

In January, PIA resumed flights to Europe after a four-and-a-half-year ban was lifted by EU regulators, becoming the only carrier to offer a direct route to and from the European Union.


Kabul, Islamabad to appoint envoys in apparent thaw in relations

Updated 31 May 2025
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Kabul, Islamabad to appoint envoys in apparent thaw in relations

  • Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have long been restrained over a surge in militancy in Pakistan’s border regions
  • The decision to appoint envoys comes days after trilateral talks in China where both countries agreed to upgrade relations

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it would appoint an ambassador to Pakistan after Islamabad announced its decision to upgrade diplomatic relations by appointing an envoy to Kabul, in an apparent warming of ties between the two neighbors.

The development comes amid prolonged tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad repeatedly accusing the Afghan Taliban administration of “facilitating” cross-border attacks by militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

Kabul has denied the allegations and insisted that Pakistan’s security challenges are its internal issue. Relations further deteriorated after Islamabad launched in late 2023 a nationwide deportation drive targeting undocumented foreigners, the majority of whom are Afghan nationals. Pakistani authorities maintained that some of them were linked to a spate of militant attacks in the country.

Both countries have sought to improve their strained relations in recent months and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in April led a delegation to Kabul and later participated in trilateral talks with Chinese and Afghan foreign ministers in Beijing earlier this month.

“This elevation in diplomatic representation between Afghanistan & Pakistan paves the way for enhanced bilateral cooperation in multiple domains,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

It came hours after Dar said on X that Pakistan-Afghanistan relations were on a positive trajectory after his “very productive visit” to Kabul last month.

“I am confident this step would further contribute toward enhanced engagement, deepen Pak-Afghan cooperation in economic, security, CT [counterterrorism] & trade areas and promote further exchanges between two fraternal countries,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s appointment of an ambassador to Kabul.

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have yet to announce names of their respective envoys.

Earlier this month, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to the expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to Afghanistan after the recent trilateral meeting in Beijing, where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said both Pakistan and Afghanistan had “clearly expressed” a willingness to elevate their diplomatic ties.

The BRI — China’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan — aims to build land and maritime trade routes linking Asia with Africa and Europe. CPEC, considered the flagship of the initiative, includes over $60 billion in Chinese investments in Pakistan’s energy, transport, and industrial sectors.


Pakistan weekly inflation down by 0.81% as prices of essential items remain largely stable

Updated 31 May 2025
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Pakistan weekly inflation down by 0.81% as prices of essential items remain largely stable

  • Annual inflation rate fell to 0.3% in April, well below the finance ministry’s estimate of 1.5-2%
  • The Pakistan Stock Exchange also recorded a 7.5% gain in May on a month-on-month basis

ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), lowered by 0.81% in Pakistan, the country’s statistics bureau said this week, as prices of most essential items remained stable.

The SPI, which comprises 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is computed on a weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at a shorter interval of time to review the price situation in the country.

While the SPI for the week ending on May 29 decreased 0.81% on a week-on-week basis, it recorded an increase of 0.41% when compared to the same week last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

“During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 14 (27.45%) items increased, 10 (19.61%) items decreased and 27 (52.94%) items remained stable,” the PBS said.

A decrease was observed in the prices of electricity charges for Q1 (10.10%), chicken (8.51%), LPG (2.67%), sugar (0.25%), powdered milk (0.20%), vegetable ghee 2.5Kg (0.17%), wheat flour (0.09%), rice (0.07%), garlic (0.05%) and pulse moong (0.01%).

The items whose prices increased during the week included tomatoes (4.54%), potatoes (2.94%), eggs (2.19%), onions (2.17%), gur (0.77%), bananas (0.73%), mustard oil (0.34%), pulse mash (0.22%), pulse gram (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.14%) and basmati rice (0.12%).

Pakistan’s annual inflation rate fell to 0.3% in April, well below the Ministry of Finance estimate of 1.5% to 2%. The central bank forecasts average inflation to be in the range of 5.5% to 7.5% for the fiscal year ending June.

Also, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) recorded a 7.5% gain in May on a month-on-month basis, according to the Karachi-based Topline Securities.

“This gain can be attributed to cut in policy rate by 100bps by SBP,” it said in its monthly review, citing improvement in inflation outlook and approval of first review of Pakistan’s $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program as well as the approval of another $1.4 billion under the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

“Average daily traded volume and value during the month stood at 566 million shares and PKR28 billion.”


Pakistan’s finance chief stresses apolitical funding approach in meeting with World Bank officials

Updated 31 May 2025
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Pakistan’s finance chief stresses apolitical funding approach in meeting with World Bank officials

  • Aurangzeb’s statement comes after India lobbied the IMF to halt a $1 billion disbursement in recent weeks
  • Minister meets the incoming World Bank country director, commends her predecessor in Islamabad

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday called for a merit-based approach to global development financing, urging international lenders to rise above political considerations during a meeting with incoming and outgoing World Bank country directors in Islamabad.

The meeting followed weeks of diplomatic friction between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan, which escalated into a four-day military standoff involving fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery fire.

Amid the tensions, Indian authorities lobbied the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to halt the disbursement of a $1 billion tranche to Pakistan, saying the funds could finance Islamabad’s military activities.

IMF officials later dismissed the concerns, emphasizing the disbursement mechanisms ensured transparency and that IMF support was intended to stabilize developing economies’ balance of payments, with the funds directed to central banks rather than governments.

“The Minister ... highlighted the recent successful completion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) review and the subsequent $1 billion disbursement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), along with additional resources made available through the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF),” said a statement circulated by the finance ministry after the meeting.

“He noted that development finance must be guided by merit and objective assessment, rising above political considerations to ensure sustainable progress,” it added.

Aurangzeb also praised the World Bank’s longstanding support for Pakistan’s economy, especially in times of fiscal stress, and reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to deepening collaboration with the institution.

He extended a warm welcome to Bolormaa Amgaabazar, the new World Bank Country Director for Pakistan, while commending her predecessor, Najy Benhassine, for his contributions during his tenure.

A key point of discussion was the World Bank’s 10-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF), a strategic agreement designed to guide development cooperation through targeted investments in Pakistan’s critical sectors.

The CPF, finalized during Benhassine’s tenure, will now be overseen by Amgaabazar and aims to unlock $20 billion for the country.

Aurangzeb highlighted the importance of effective implementation of the framework to fully leverage the Bank’s institutional, technical and financial support.

The meeting reaffirmed mutual commitment to strengthening Pakistan’s economic resilience and advancing inclusive development through strategic partnerships, the finance ministry said.