KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has canceled all flights for the next 12 hours, a spokesperson announced on Wednesday, as tensions escalated sharply with neighboring India following missile strikes.
The move comes as Pakistan’s military said at least 26 civilians had been killed and 46 injured in Indian attacks on six locations inside Pakistani territory.
India said its forces had launched “Operation Sindoor,” targeting sites it claimed were linked to a recent attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir which it blamed on Pakistan despite Islamabad’s repeated denials.
Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the Pakistani military had downed five Indian jets in retaliation for the late-night strikes.
“PIA has currently canceled flights for next 12 hours. Passengers are requested to keep in contact with PIA,” Abdullah Khan, the PIA spokesperson, told Arab News.
He added that flights already airborne had been diverted to Karachi while all ground operations were put on hold.
Despite the cancelations, a source within the Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) told Arab News the country’s airspace remained open.
“The latest NOTAM cancels previous NOTAM which has closed airspace,” the source said, sharing the latest Notice to Airmen.
Meanwhile, several Asian airlines said they were rerouting or canceling flights to and from Europe because of fighting between India and Pakistan, according to Reuters.
Taiwan’s EVA Air said it would adjust its Europe-bound flights to avoid airspace affected by the conflict.
One flight from Vienna was diverted back, while a Taipei–Milan flight was rerouted to Vienna for refueling before continuing to its destination, the airline said in a statement to Reuters.
Korean Air began rerouting its Seoul Incheon-Dubai flights on Wednesday, opting for a southern route over Myanmar, Bangladesh and India instead of Pakistani airspace.
Thai Airways said flights to Europe and South Asia would be rerouted from early Wednesday morning, warning of potential delays.
Taiwan’s China Airlines also said it had activated its contingency plan and taken measures to ensure passenger and crew safety, though it did not elaborate.
-With Input from Reuters
PIA grounds flights for 12 hours amid India-Pakistan military escalation
https://arab.news/zr4ee
PIA grounds flights for 12 hours amid India-Pakistan military escalation
- A latest Notice to Airmen circulated by authorities indicates Pakistan’s airspace remains open
- Several Asian airlines are still rerouting or canceling their flights amid India-Pakistan tensions
Pakistan’s Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to present budgets 2025-26 today
- Pakistan’s federal government announced its budget 2025-26, with total outlay of $62 billion, on Tuesday
- Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, who also holds finance portfolio, will present budget at 3:00 pm, says state media
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces will present their annual budgets for the fiscal year 2025-26 today, Friday, in their respective assemblies, state-run media reported.
The development will take place a few days after Pakistan’s central government announced the federal budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 with a total outlay of Rs7.57 trillion ($62 billion). Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented the budget in parliament on Tuesday, which allocates Rs2.55 trillion ($9 billion) for defense spending in FY26, compared to Rs2.12 trillion in the fiscal year ending this month.
Pakistan’s provincial governments announce their annual budgets typically a few days after the federal government. KP Minister for Finance Aftab Alam Afridi will present the budget in the KP Assembly at 3:00 pm, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“In Sindh, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the portfolio of finance will present the budget in Sindh assembly in Karachi at three in the afternoon,” the report said.
The state media said Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province will announce its budget on Monday.
The federal government announced a significant income tax relief for the salaried class in its budget earlier this week, aiming to ease the burden on people amid high inflation and economic uncertainty. The income tax rate for individuals earning between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2 million ($2,128–$4,255) annually would be cut from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.
“For those earning up to Rs22,000,000 [$7,788], the tax rate has been proposed at 11 percent instead of 15 percent. Similarly, those who earn a higher salary, there is a proposition of tax reduction,” Aurangzeb said.
“For those who are earning between Rs22,000,000 [$7,788] up to Rs32,000,000 [$11,328], the tax rate has been proposed to be reduced from 25 percent to 23 percent,” he added.
For high-income earners making over Rs10 million ($35,460) annually, a 1 percent reduction in the additional surcharge has been recommended to help curb the ongoing brain drain, the minister said.
BUDGET 2025-26 HIGHLIGHTS:
GDP/DEFICIT
* GDP growth projected to be 4.2 percent
* Nominal GDP seen at 129.57 trillion rupees
* Fiscal deficit expected to be 3.9 percent of GDP
* Targets primary surplus of 2.4 percent of GDP
INFLATION
* Targets inflation at 7.5 percent
EXPENDITURE
* Total spending seen at 17.57 trillion rupees
* Defense expenditure of 2.55 trillion rupees targeted
* Interest payments projected at 8.21 trillion rupees
REVENUE
* Total gross revenue of 19.28 trillion rupees targeted
* Targets total tax revenue of 14.1 trillion rupees
* Aiming for net external receipts of 106 billion rupees
($1 = 282.0000 Pakistani rupees)
In a Pakistan valley, a small revolution among women
- Woman-led carpentry shop in Hunza Valley has trained around 100 women since 2008, employs 22 people
- Experts say high literacy rate driving socio-economic progress of women in Hunza compared to rest of Pakistan
KARIMABAD, Pakistan: In a sawdust-filled workshop nestled in the Karakoram Mountains, a team of women carpenters chisel away at cabinets — and forge an unlikely career for themselves in Pakistan.
Women make up just a fraction of Pakistan’s formal workforce. But in a collection of villages sprinkled along the old Silk Road between China and Afghanistan, a group of women-led businesses is defying expectations.
“We have 22 employees and have trained around 100 women,” said Bibi Amina, who launched her carpentry workshop in 2008 at the age of 30.
Hunza Valley’s population of around 50,000, spread across mountains abounding with apricot, cherry, walnut and mulberry orchards, follow the Ismaili branch of Shiite Islam.
Ismailis are led by the Aga Khan, a hereditary position held by a family with Pakistani roots now living in Europe.
The family opened a girls’ school in Hunza in 1946, kickstarting an educational investment that pushed the valley’s literacy rate to 97 percent for both men and women. That rate far outstrips the country average of around 68 percent for men and 52.8 percent for women.
As a result, attitudes have shifted, and women like Amina are taking expanded roles.
“People thought women were there to wash dishes and do laundry,” Amina said of the generation before her.
Trained by the Aga Khan Foundation to help renovate the ancient Altit Fort, Amina later used her skills to start her own business. Her carpenters are currently at work on a commission from a luxury hotel.
Only 23 percent of the women in Pakistan were officially part of the labor force as of 2024, according to data from the World Bank.
In rural areas, women rarely take on formal employment but often toil in the fields to support the family’s farming income.
In a Gallup poll published last year, a third of women respondents said their father or husband forbade them from taking a job, while 43.5 percent said they had given up work to devote themselves to domestic tasks.
Cafe owner Lal Shehzadi spearheaded women’s restaurant entrepreneurship in Hunza.
She opened her cafe at the top of a winding high street to supplement her husband’s small army pension.
Sixteen years later, her simple set-up overlooking the valley has become a popular night-time tourist attraction. She serves visitors traditional cuisine, including yak meat, apricot oil and rich mountain cheese.
“At the start, I used to work alone,” she said. “Now, 11 people work here and most of them are women. And my children are also working here.”
Following in Shehzadi’s footsteps, Safina quit her job to start her own restaurant around a decade ago.
“No one wanted to help me,” she said. Eventually, she convinced family members to sell two cows and a few goats for the money she needed to launch her business.
Now, she earns the equivalent of around $170 a month, more than 15 times her previous income.
The socio-economic progress of women in Hunza compared to other rural areas of Pakistan has been driven by three factors, according to Sultan Madan, the head of the Karakoram Area Development Organization and a local historian.
“The main reason is the very high literacy rate,” he told AFP, largely crediting the Aga Khan Foundation for funding training programs for women.
“Secondly, agriculture was the backbone of the economy in the region, but in Hunza the landholding was meager and that was why women had to work in other sectors.”
Women’s increased economic participation has spilled into other areas of life, like sports fields.
“Every village in the valley has a women’s soccer team: Gojal, Gulmit, Passu, Khyber, Shimsal,” said Nadia Shams, 17.
On a synthetic pitch, she trains with her teammates in jogging pants or shorts, forbidden elsewhere by Pakistan’s dress code.
Here, one name is on everyone’s lips: Malika-e-Noor, the former vice-captain of the national team who scored the winning penalty against the Maldives in the 2010 South Asian Women’s Football Championship.
Fahima Qayyum was six years old when she witnessed the killer kick.
Today, after several international matches, she is recruiting the next generation.
“As a girl, I stress to others the importance of playing, as sport is very good for health,” she told AFP.
“If they play well, they can also get scholarships.”
Pakistan eyes over $6 billion in Saudi support as top foreign financier in FY26
- China, Pakistan’s largest trading partner, projected to be second-biggest lender with $4.37 billion
- Budget documents also list smaller expected inflows from Kuwait ($21.4 million) and Oman ($5.14 million)
KARACHI: Saudi Arabia is expected to be Pakistan’s largest source of external financing in the upcoming fiscal year with over $6 billion in support as the South Asian country seeks to raise more than $20 billion from international lenders to uplift its fragile economy, official budget documents released this week showed.
In the 2025–26 fiscal year starting July 1, Pakistan aims to secure $6.46 billion from Riyadh, including $5 billion in time deposits, $1 billion in oil on deferred payments, and $46.4 million in economic assistance, according to the budget documents.
The financial support is intended to help stabilize the country’s external account and meet its balance of payments needs.
Islamabad has long relied on financial support from its Gulf and Chinese partners to shore up its foreign reserves and avoid default. In 2023, these inflows played a key role in helping Pakistan avert a sovereign debt crisis.
“The support from Saudi Arabia in the form of deposits and oil facility is undoubtedly the major source of the external stability,” said Shankar Talreja, head of research at Karachi-based Topline Securities.
Pakistan’s government unveiled a Rs17.6 trillion ($62 billion) federal budget on June 10, aiming to consolidate what it describes as fragile macroeconomic stability achieved under a $7 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Notably, Pakistan has not earmarked a specific amount under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its external financing estimates for 2025-26. The country is currently operating under a 37-month IMF Extended Fund Facility approved last year.
In total, Pakistan has budgeted for Rs5.78 trillion ($20.4 billion) in foreign assistance in FY26, including both loans and grants from bilateral and multilateral partners, to help shore up reserves and finance its current account. The country’s total external receipts for the year are budgeted at Rs20.3 trillion ($71.9 billion).
China, Pakistan’s largest trading partner and longtime ally, is projected to be the second-biggest lender after Riyadh with $4.37 billion, including $4 billion in “safe deposits,” a form of central bank support, and $37 million in economic assistance.
“China is a major bilateral partner… supporting Pakistan with both commercial loans and time deposits,” said Talreja. “Both types are refinanced and renewed annually.”
Pakistan’s multilateral lenders include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and others such as the United Nations, OPEC Fund, and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
SMALLER LENDERS AND REMITTANCES
Besides Saudi Arabia and China, Pakistan will also seek smaller amounts of aid and financing from countries including the United States, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Japan, and South Korea, according to the budget documents, which also list smaller expected inflows from Kuwait ($21.4 million) and Oman ($5.14 million).
However, a long-delayed Saudi oil facility, initially expected last year, has yet to materialize. Media reports have suggested Riyadh has linked its final approval to progress on Saudi investment in Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper and gold mining project.
State media reported in September that Saudi Arabia had offered a 15 percent equity stake in the multibillion-dollar Reko Diq mine in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province. The project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold reserves, is operated by Canada’s Barrick Gold.
Islamabad also plans to raise $1.3 billion in commercial loans and $400 million through international bond issuances, though the finance ministry has not specified the sovereign guarantees or instruments.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has separately said the government aims to issue Panda bonds, yuan-denominated debt instruments issued in China, to raise around $200 million from Chinese investors to boost foreign exchange reserves.
In addition to official financing, Pakistan continues to benefit significantly from worker remittances, particularly from the Gulf region.
According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024–25, released this week, Saudi Arabia accounted for $7.4 billion in remittances in the last fiscal year, about 25 percent of the national total.
Remittances from all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain — totaled $16.1 billion, or more than half of Pakistan’s total remittance inflows in 2024.
“In the GCC region, expanding Saudi mega-projects led to higher migrant employment, further contributing to inflows,” the economic survey said.
“It’s not just deposits and oil facilities helping Pakistan,” added Talreja. “Remittances from Saudi Arabia alone are a quarter of Pakistan’s total remittances.”
“Saudi Arabia is a key nation for Pakistan in terms of foreign inflows, whether in the form of remittances or economic assistance,” Sana Tawfik, head of research at Arif Habib Ltd. said.
Pakistan’s Sindh to launch HPV vaccination drive for girls in September
- Human Papillomavirus, spread through sexual contact, is a very common virus that can cause cancers later in life
- Vaccination drive to target Sindh’s school-going girls aged 9-14, will cover all province’s districts, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s southern Sindh province will launch a Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination drive for school-going girls aged nine to 14 years in September, state-run media reported this month.
HPV is a very common virus that can cause cancers later in life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 13 million people, including teens, become infected with HPV each year. Medical experts recommend protecting children from these cancers through the HPV vaccine.
The HPV vaccine series, as per the CDC, is most effective when given before a person is exposed to the virus. It is a very common virus that is spread through sexual contact and can live in the skin for many years without causing symptoms. In some cases, HPV can cause genital warts or cervical cancer.
“Sindh government announced to launch vaccination campaign for school-going girls aged from nine to fourteen in September this year,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on June 4. “According to official sources, the Human Papillomavirus vaccination campaign will be launched in all districts of the province.”
Citing sources, the state media said vaccinations will also be eligible for “uneducated” girls.
According to UNICEF, cervical cancer claims the lives of 3,200 women in Pakistan each year despite being preventable with the HPV vaccine. Yet, awareness about HPV and the importance of vaccination remains alarmingly low in the South Asian country.
In 2025, UNICEF together with partners GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization, said it will support Pakistan to introduce the HPV vaccine to help protect millions of adolescent girls from cervical cancer.
It cited myths and taboos as one of the greatest challenges to HPV vaccine acceptance in Pakistan. These myths, it said, included ones that claimed vaccines cause infertility and another that the HPV vaccine is just for sexually active girls.
‘I can solve anything’: Trump offers to mediate Kashmir dispute between India, Pakistan
- Trump last month brokered a ceasefire between India, Pakistan after they engaged in four days of fighting
- India has always refused outside mediation on disputed Kashmir territory while Islamabad has welcomed it
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump this week reiterated his offer to mediate and resolve the longstanding dispute between India and Pakistan on the disputed Kashmir territory, as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors continue to simmer.
India and Pakistan pounded each other with artillery fire, missiles, drone strikes and fighter jets for four days before Trump announced a ceasefire between both sides on May 10. The US informed last month after the ceasefire announcement both India and Pakistan had agreed to meet at a neutral venue to address their differences, though New Delhi has so far publicly ruled out bilateral talks with Islamabad.
Trump said last month he used Washington’s trade ties with both countries to persuade them to back off from further military confrontation and agree to a ceasefire, taking the credit for preventing an all-out nuclear war. Speaking to reporters before signing a bill in the White House’s East Room on Thursday, the American president said Washington was “going to get those two getting together.”
“I told them, India and Pakistan — they have a longtime rivalry over Kashmir — I said, I can solve anything,” he told reporters. “I’ll be your arbitrator.”
India has always refused any outside mediation on Kashmir, the scenic Himalayan region which has a Muslim majority but a sizable Hindu minority. Both India and Pakistan claim the entire region but administer parts of it. The two countries have fought two out of three wars over the territory since 1947.
Trump reiterated his claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan last month through “phone calls and trade.”
“And India’s here right now negotiating a trade deal and Pakistan’s coming I think next week,” the US president said.
Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan on April 22 when gunmen attacked and killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir at the Pahalgam tourist resort. New Delhi, without offering proof, blamed Pakistan for the attack, alleging it had supported “cross-border terrorism.”
Pakistan denied the allegations and called for a credible, international probe into the incident. Following weeks of tensions, India struck multiple Pakistani cities with missiles on the night of May 6, claiming it had struck “terrorist” camps in the country.
Pakistan denied Indian allegations, saying the missiles had killed innocent children and vowed to retaliate.
