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Pakistan’s foreign minister says ‘happy’ to reach India to participate in regional moot

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Updated 04 May 2023
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Pakistan’s foreign minister says ‘happy’ to reach India to participate in regional moot

  • Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari hopes the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Goa is ‘very successful’
  • The conference comes over three years after Pakistan downgraded ties with India due to situation in Kashmir
Updated 04 May 2023
WAJAHAT ALI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday said he was “happy” to be in India to participate in the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) while expressing hope that the regional gathering would be “very successful.”

The Pakistani minister, along with his delegation, arrived in India on Thursday morning to attend the two-day meeting.

The development is thought to be significant since Pakistan downgraded its relations with the rival South Asian nuclear-armed nation after New Delhi revoked the special constitutional status of Indian-administered Kashmir in August 2019 to integrate the Muslim-majority disputed Himalayan territory with the rest of the Indian union.

Bhutto-Zardari’s visit is the first one by a high-profile Pakistani official since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended Indian PM Narendra Modi’s swearing-in in 2014 and de facto Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz went to Amritsar in December 2016 to attend the Heart of Asia conference.

“I am very happy to reach Goa today to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) [meeting] and to lead the Pakistani delegation,” he said in a video message from India.

“I hope that the SCO’s CFM meeting will be very successful,” he added.

Prior to his departure, the Pakistani minister said his participation in the moot sent out a “clear message that Pakistan attributed tremendous significance to the SCO and seriously took its membership [responsibilities].”

He added that during the two-day trip, he would engage bilaterally with other countries which were part of the organization.

The foreign minister is attending the SCO’s CFM meeting at the invitation of the current SCO chair, Dr. S. Jaishankar, who is also India’s minister for external affairs.

The foreign office said Pakistan had been actively and constructively contributing to all SCO activities to realize its multi-sectoral aims and objectives in a mutually beneficial manner since becoming a member in 2017.

“The Foreign Minister will also meet with his counterparts of friendly countries on the sidelines of the CFM,” said the statement.

Speaking to Arab News after the announcement of the foreign minister’s visit, international affairs analyst Dr. Huma Baqai referred to the development as a “positive” one and urged political parties to refrain from indulging in politics since it was a national issue.

“We have been hostage to the Kashmir conflict for decades now, and people on both sides [Pakistan and India] remain at the losing end,” she said.

“Both countries should move on to normalize their relations for the benefit of their people,” she added.

Topics: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26

Updated 6 sec ago
Reuters
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Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26

  • Media reports say government likely to present Rs17.6 trillion ($62.45 billion) budget for budget 2025-26
  • Analysts expect increase of around 20 percent in defense budget likely offset by cuts in development spending
Updated 6 sec ago
Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will unveil its annual federal budget for the coming fiscal year later on Tuesday, seeking to kickstart growth while finding resources for an expected hike in defense expenditure following the conflict with India last month.

Islamabad will also have to contend with remaining within the discipline of its International Monetary Fund program and the uncertainty from new trade tariffs being imposed by the United States, its biggest export market.

Media reports say the government is likely to present a 17.6 trillion rupee ($62.45 billion) budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, down 6.7 percent from this fiscal year. It has projected a fiscal deficit of 4.8 percent of GDP, against a targeted 5.9 percent deficit in 2024-25, the reports say.

Analysts said they expect an increase of around 20 percent in the defense budget, likely offset by cuts in development spending.

Pakistan allocated 2.1 trillion Pakistani rupees ($7.45 billion) for defense in the outgoing fiscal year, including $2 billion for equipment and other assets. An additional 563 billion rupees ($1.99 billion) was set aside for military pensions, which are not counted within the official defense budget.

India’s defense spending in its 2025–26 (April-March) fiscal year was set at $78.7 billion, a 9.5 percent increase from the previous year, including pensions and $21 billion earmarked for equipment. It has indicated it will step up expenditure following the May conflict with Pakistan.

The government of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has projected 4.2 percent economic growth in 2025-26, saying it has steadied the economy, which had looked at risk of defaulting on its debts as recently as 2023. Growth this fiscal year is likely to be 2.7 percent, against an initial target of 3.6 percent set in the budget last year.
Pakistan’s growth lags far behind the region. In 2024, South Asian countries grew by an average of 5.8 percent and 6.0 percent growth is expected in 2025, according to the Asian Development Bank.

RATE CUTS NOT ENOUGH

Expansion of the economy should be aided by a sharp drop in the cost of borrowing, the government says, after a succession of interest rate cuts by the central bank. But economists warn that monetary policy alone may not be enough, with fiscal constraints and IMF-mandated reforms still weighing on investment.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Monday that he wanted to avoid Pakistan’s boom and bust cycles of the past.

“The macroeconomic stability that we have achieved, we want to absolutely stay the course,” he said. “This time around we are very, very clear that we do not want to squander the opportunity.”

The budget is expected to prioritize expanding the tax base, enforcing agriculture income tax laws, and reducing government subsidies to industry, to meet the terms of a $7 billion IMF bailout signed last summer. Just 1.3 percent of the population paid income tax in 2024, according to the tax authorities, with agriculture and the retail sector largely outside of the tax net.

The IMF has urged Pakistan to widen the tax base through reforms which include taxing agriculture, retail, and real estate.

Ahmad Mobeen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that he expected the revenue target for 2025-26 will be missed.

“The shortfall will mostly be owing to lack of optimal implementation of announced measures as well as absence of meaningful structural reforms to widen the tax net in general,” said Mobeen.

 ($1 = 281.8400 Pakistani rupees)
 

Topics: Pakistan Budget 2025-2026 Pakistan's defence budget Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb

Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday

Updated 16 min 49 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday

  • Pakistan ranks among top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, faces irregular weather patterns
  • Heat wave may be severe in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan, says state broadcaster
Updated 16 min 49 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Pakistan’s Punjab said this week that the ongoing heat wave in the country’s most populous province is likely to continue till Thursday. 

Pakistan’s Meteorological Department last week forecast that the ongoing heat wave in the country will continue throughout the Eid Al-Adha holidays . It said day temperatures are likely to remain 5°C to 7°C above normal in the upper half (central & upper Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan).

Pakistan ranks among the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change and has faced increasingly frequent extreme weather events in recent years, including deadly heatwaves and devastating floods.

“Provincial Disaster Management Authority Punjab has cautioned that current heat wave will likely to continue in the province till Thursday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said in a report on Monday. “He said that the heat wave may be severe in Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan of South Punjab.”

Director General of PDMA Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia said that under the chief minister’s directions, the supply of water is being ensured in the Cholistan desert region located in southern Punjab. He warned that special care of the children, elderly and the sick should be taken during this time period.

Pakistan experienced its most recent heatwave in May but no loss of life was reported.
In June 2024, nearly 700 people died in less than a week during a severe heatwave in the country, with most fatalities reported in the port city of Karachi and other parts of the southern Sindh province.

A similar heatwave in 2015 claimed over 2,000 lives in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi alone, while catastrophic floods in 2022 left more than 1,700 people dead and displaced over 33 million across the country.

Topics: heatwave in Pakistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority heatwave in Punjab

From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion

Updated 30 min 10 sec ago
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From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion

  • Cultural overlaps, thirst for diverse aesthetics reshaping industries in Gulf are offering vast opportunities for Pakistanis, Ali says
  • Artist says felt “empowered” while directing Pakistani fashion and Sufi music show at Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in January
Updated 30 min 10 sec ago
Fatimah Amjad

LAHORE: When one of Pakistan’s most renowned art directors Hashim Ali landed in the Qatari capital of Doha earlier this year, he wasn’t quite prepared for how much the city and its creative scene had transformed since he last visited around seven years ago.

Ali, who directed a Pakistani fashion and Sufi music show at Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art in January, was mesmerized by the cultural transformation in the Gulf nation, balancing its traditional heritage with modernization and global influences. 

In recent years, Qatar has established numerous museums, art galleries, and heritage centers, including the Museum of Islamic Art, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, and the National Museum of Qatar. The country has also emerged as a major player in the global art world, with significant investments in the arts and culture sector. 

Looking at the transformation, Ali said the time was ripe for Pakistani designers and artists to expand their reach to the Gulf, where cultural overlaps and a hunger for diverse aesthetics are reshaping creative industries.

“Everybody who asks me that we want to expand our business, I say expand to the Middle East because the way that region is growing, it’s not just the buildings, it’s the mindset and the heart,” Ali, who provides production design, art direction and styling services to various industries in Pakistan, told Arab News.

The 34-year-old art director, who graduated in Visual Communication Design from Lahore’s National College of Arts (NCA), said his experience in Doha was quite “empowering” as he was able to present his hometown of Lahore to the world.

“You had this showcase of Pakistan, and the entire space was turned into a Chahar Bagh [Persian quadrilateral garden] for the night with oil lamps and flowers, all the napkins were hand-done from Lahore, we got block printers involved who did the Mughal motifs on them,” Ali said. 

“The entire experience was so almost empowering that you are bringing parts of Lahore to the world and you’re showing the world that we just not only do Sufi music, we do great fashion of different kinds.”

Ali, known for creating intricate and stunning sets, said Middle Eastern creatives responded to Pakistani culture because of the cultural and religious similarities between the two regions.

“So, the collaboration, it’s set in stone that it’s going to happen,” he added. 

Topics: Pakistani art director Hashim Ali Art Direction in Pakistan Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art

Sana Mir becomes first Pakistani woman to be inducted in ICC Hall of Fame

Updated 53 min 47 sec ago
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Sana Mir becomes first Pakistani woman to be inducted in ICC Hall of Fame

  • Mir inducted alongside former greats Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Matthew Hayden, Daniel Vettori and Sarah Taylor
  • Mir played over 200 white-ball matches for Pakistan, picking up 150 wickets in 121 ODIs and 89 wickets in 106 T20Is
Updated 53 min 47 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Former Pakistan cricketer Sana Mir made history this week when she became the first woman from her country to be inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame alongside other cricket greats. 

ICC announced the names of the inductees which included Mir, former South African batters Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla, Matthew Hayden of Australia, Daniel Vettori of New Zealand and England’s Sarah Taylor on Monday. 

The ICC Hall of Fame pays tribute to the extraordinary achievements of cricket legends who have shaped the sport’s rich history with players inducted only five years after they have played their last international match. 

“A veteran in over 100 matches in both formats of white-ball cricket, Sana Mir becomes the first Pakistan woman cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame,” the ICC said in a post on its website on Monday. 

Mir has several accolades under her belt. The cricketer remains the highest wicket-taker in ODIs and the second-highest in T20Is among Pakistani women. Mir was also the first Pakistani woman cricketer to pick up 100 ODI wickets.

The former off-spinner has remained a prolific cricket voice off the field as well, amplifying a strong stance on body shaming, prioritizing mental health and helping people affected by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Mir played international cricket for 15 years, captaining Pakistan for eight of those. She picked up 150 wickets in 121 ODIs and 89 wickets in 106 T20Is, scoring 1630 and 820 runs respectively. Her best year was 2014 in which she collected 21 wickets in 11 ODIs while leading the team to an Asian Games gold medal, a feat she had achieved in 2010 as well, one year after being appointed as captain.

In 2018, Mir became the first Pakistani woman to reach the top of the ICC ODI Player Rankings. She was also the first Asian woman cricketer to play 100 T20Is, along with being the first Pakistan woman cricketer to play 100 ODIs.

She was also the first Pakistani woman cricketer to win the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Cricketer of the Year award and now is the first Pakistani woman to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

The ICC credited Mir for speaking up for women’s rights and pushing women’s cricket in Pakistan. In 2019, she was included in the ICC Women’s committee as one of the three player representatives and was named the ambassador of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in 2024.

“Mir knew she was doing the right thing and continued to live by her words, inspiring thousands of girls in not just her country but across the globe,” the ICC said. 

Topics: Sana Mir ICC Hall of Fame Pakistan women cricket team

Pakistan to unveil national budget today as it eyes sustainable growth

Updated 10 June 2025
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Pakistan to unveil national budget today as it eyes sustainable growth

  • Pakistan released pre-budget document a day earlier which said economy expected to grow 2.7 percent in outgoing fiscal year
  • Budget comes as Pakistan undertakes efforts to navigate tricky path to economic recovery, guided by IMF-backed fiscal reforms
Updated 10 June 2025
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s coalition government will unveil the national federal budget today, Tuesday, for the fiscal year till June 2026 with Islamabad eyeing sustainable economic growth and vowing to continue ahead with painful fiscal reforms to ensure that. 

The budget comes a day after the government unveiled the annual Economic Survey, a pre-budget document assessing the economy’s trajectory over the past year, which said Pakistan’s economy is expected to grow 2.7 percent in the outgoing fiscal year, missing Islamabad’s 3.7 percent target. 

The budget every year highlights the government’s plans to raise revenue, outlines its expenditures, states inflation and growth assumptions as well as allocations for several areas such as defense, education, health and other sectors of the economy. 

“The Federal Budget for the next fiscal year will be presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported, adding that the lower house of parliament will meet at 5:00 p.m. for the session. 

“Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the Federal Budget in the National Assembly and later he will lay a copy of the Finance Bill, 2025, containing the Annual Budget Statement before the Senate.”

The budget comes as Pakistan undertakes efforts to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery. The South Asian country, which came to the brink of a sovereign default in June 2023, has since then undertaken painful macroeconomic reforms that it credits for gains such as a low inflation rate, increasing investors’ confidence in the stock market and current account surpluses. 

Pakistan has vowed to stay the course of long-term reforms, which include widening the tax net, taking steps to privatize loss-making state-owned assets, slashing subsidies and undertaking reforms in energy and other vital sectors.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team concluded its visit to Pakistan last month after discussions with authorities regarding the budget, broader economic policy and reforms under its ongoing $7 billion loan program for the country.

The IMF last month approved the first review of Pakistan’s loan program, unlocking a $1 billion payment. A fresh $1.4 billion loan was also approved under the IMF’s climate resilience fund. The IMF’s loan is vital for Pakistan which is trying to revive its debt-ridden economy. 

In a televised news briefing on Monday afternoon while releasing the Economic Survey, Aurangzeb reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing IMF-backed structural reforms to transform the fundamentals of Pakistan’s economy.

“The DNA of Pakistan’s economy has to be fundamentally changed through tax and energy reforms that have started showing remarkable results,” he said.

According to the survey, Pakistan’s revenues rose sharply over the past year. It said tax collections increased by 26.3 percent to Rs9.3 trillion ($32.9 billion), while total revenues stood at Rs13.4 trillion ($47.5 billion). The primary surplus also improved to 3.0 percent from 1.5 percent.

Government expenditure during this period rose to Rs16.3 trillion ($58 billion), with current and development spending increasing by 18.3 percent and 33 percent, respectively. On the external front, Pakistan recorded a sharp turnaround in its current account, moving from a $1.3 billion deficit to a $1.9 billion surplus, driven by improved exports and record remittance inflows.
 

Topics: Budget 2025 Pakistan Economic Outlook Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb

Latest updates

Pakistan likely to hike defense spending but slash overall budget in 2025-26
Pakistan’s Punjab says ongoing heat wave likely to continue till Thursday
From Pakistan to the Middle East: Art director Hashim Ali champions regional creative expansion
Sana Mir becomes first Pakistani woman to be inducted in ICC Hall of Fame
Trump must tell Netanyahu ‘enough is enough’: ex-Israeli PM

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