Politics

22 September 2025
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a 'Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement' in Riyadh on Sept. 17. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
Defense

Pakistan seen as net security provider in Gulf after Saudi agreement

Strategic pact gives Islamabad access to Saudi advanced weaponry

19 September 2025
Soldiers from the Pakistan Army following a militant attack in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan on Sept. 2. At least 19 Pakistani soldiers and 45 TTP militants were killed in multiple clashes earlier this month.
International relations

Pakistan urges Afghan Taliban to choose a side: Islamabad or militants

Warning comes after recent deadly clashes and China's failure in mediation

19 September 2025
A woman in India-administered Kashmir watches a Pakistani drama on YouTube. Indians have been looking to virtual private networks to get around government restrictions on content from Pakistan. (Photo by Quratulain Rehbar)
Media & Entertainment

Indian viewers turn to VPNs for their fix of Pakistani drama

Fans of hugely popular serials use tech to skirt ban amid geopolitical tensions

18 September 2025
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace after signing a defense agreement in Riyadh on Sept. 17. (Saudi Press Agency via Reuters)
Defense

Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan sign mutual defense pact

Gulf Arab states wary about US security commitment to region

18 September 2025
Canadian mine developer Barrick Mining's Reko Diq Project in Balochistan, Pakistan.
Materials

Pakistan copper-gold mine Reko Diq wins $6bn in pledges after Saudi pullout

Canada's Barrick Mining leads project, expected to be one of world's largest copper mines

8 September 2025
People board an overcrowded passenger train at a railway station in Lahore on March 29. A formerly China-funded railway project in Pakistan has a new lease on life now that the Asian Development Bank has stepped up with a lending package.
Belt and Road

ADB to fund Pakistan's core Belt and Road project as China steps aside

Islamabad's serial design changes to Main Line-1 railway have frustrated Beijing

2 September 2025
A worker moves a gas cylinder at a workshop, in Lahore, Pakistan, February 14, 2023.
Energy

Pakistan to renegotiate LNG deals with Qatar amid chronic oversupply

Surplus imports estimated to have caused annual loss of $400m to domestic gas industry

27 August 2025
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets perform to commemorate Pakistan Air Force's "Operation Swift Retort" in Karachi, Pakistan, on Feb 27, 2020.
Opinion

Pakistan is strong in the skies but weak on the ground

Military success papers over climate change and economic challenges

25 August 2025
Pakistani paramilitary troops gather after an attack on China's consulate in Karachi on Nov. 23, 2018.
Terrorism

US designates anti-China militants in Pakistan as terrorist group

Move could aid efforts by Beijing and Islamabad to protect Belt and Road projects

20 August 2025
Pakistan wants Chinese partners to invest more in developing Gwadar Port and free zone. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by AP)
Belt and Road

Pakistan presses China for more Belt and Road investment in Gwadar

Geopolitics, lack of strong business case and security complicate issue, experts say

19 August 2025
Trucks are seen at the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Oct. 30, 2023. (Photo by The Norwegian Refugee Council/Handout via Reuters)
International relations

Pakistan expels Afghan refugees despite thaw with Taliban

Islamabad introduces new 'refugee-free' policy to repatriate 1.4m people

14 August 2025
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jet performs during the Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad, March 23, 2022.
10 August 2025
Pakistani Rangers in Islamabad after security forces launched a raid on supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in November last year. PTI has been planning a countrywide protest on Aug. 5 to mark the second anniversary of Khan's jailing.
Politics

Pakistan police arrest 120 Imran Khan party activists ahead of protest

Raids launched before planned demonstrations to mark second anniversary of former leader's jailing

5 August 2025
Imran Khan, Pakistan's former prime minister, completes two years in prison on Aug. 5. His incarceration has rendered the opposition ineffectual in the face of an intransigent military establishment.
Politics

Imran Khan's two years in prison has stalled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party

Incarceration of popular former prime minister on graft charges has severely hampered opposition

5 August 2025
A Pakistani government official said that Trump's interest in Pakistan's untapped oil reserves, mineral resources and potential crypto regulation played a significant role in the bilateral trade deal.
Trump tariffs

Pakistan cheers 'better' US tariff deal even with likely fiscal risks

Trump's interest in oil, minerals and crypto played key role in breakthrough

2 August 2025
Two Pakistani TV news channels report that U.S. President Donald Trump would visit Islamabad in September and India afterward.
International relations

Trump set to visit Pakistan in September, reports say

U.S. president visit would be first in nearly two decades

17 July 2025
Issuances of panda bonds -- yuan-denominated bonds issued by foreign entities to raise money in China's domestic bond market -- hit $26.5 billion in 2024, marking an annual record, according to Deutsche Bank Research.
Bonds

Pakistan courts Chinese investors ahead of $250m panda bond debut

Move aims to cut borrowing costs and enter China's financial markets

14 July 2025
Pakistan Navy ships are docked at the port of Gwadar on Jan. 15. The port receives only one commercial ship per month on average, according to one government official.
Belt and Road

Pakistan aims to boost Gwadar port with new shipping lines, ferry

Critics fault expansion plan as vague, but say it could meet local demand

7 July 2025
The Indus River as it runs through Hyderabad, Pakistan, on April 25. Although the Permanent Court of Arbitration has issued a ruling in Pakistan's favor, the country's water treaty impasse with India is likely to continue as the court lacks enforcement powers.
India-Pakistan crisis

Pakistan urges India to abide by water treaty after Hague court ruling

Decision boosts Islamabad's legal position as New Delhi refuses arbitration

3 July 2025
Defense ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation nations meet in Qingdao, China, on June 26.
Opinion

China's SCO leadership is being tested by regional conflicts

Group coming under strain from internal fissures and external shocks

3 July 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are pictured in a mirror as they attend a joint press conference at the White House in Washington on Feb. 13.
Opinion

Cracks start to show in the US-India partnership

New Delhi's diplomacy tested by Trump's tariffs, Kashmir remarks and Islamabad outreach

30 June 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump is seen at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2020. His nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize by Pakistan has created a split in the country.
International relations

Pakistan split amid rising criticism over Trump Nobel nomination

Islamabad cites India truce for prize nod, but skeptics point to US Iran attack

27 June 2025
India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, left, attends the Defense Ministers' Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Members States in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province on June 26.
India-Pakistan crisis

India rejects signing Shanghai Cooperation Organization statement

The country said it was pro-Pakistan in not mentioning April terror attack on Indian tourists

26 June 2025
President Donald Trump had Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, over for lunch at the White House on June 18 to thank him for not prolonging a serious clash with India in May -- among other things. (Source photos by Reuters)
International relations

Wars and crypto bring Pakistan army chief to Trump's lunch table

President may also have probed possible options for US action in Iran

21 June 2025
Pakistani Shia Muslim supporters of the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen party mounted an anti-Israeli protest in Islamabad on June 17 after its strikes on Iran. 
Iran tensions

Pakistan fears risk of spillover from Iran-Israel conflict

Old sectarian rifts and border tensions with Tehran raise Islamabad concern

18 June 2025
Military vehicles carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Square in Beijing during a military parade in 2019. 
Defense

China adds 100 nuclear warheads in past year, report shows

SIPRI expert warns new atomic weapon race led by major powers is emerging

16 June 2025
A man catches fish in a village along the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India, in April 2024.
India-Pakistan crisis

India frets China may halt or divert Brahmaputra for Pakistan

Chinese scholar warns: 'Don't do onto others what you don't want done to you'

15 June 2025
A Pakistani Army soldier salutes while standing on an air defense missile system during a military parade in Islamabad on March 23, 2022.
Defense

Pakistan boosts defense budget by 17% after India clash

To meet IMF fiscal target, development spending slashed despite 'vast needs'

11 June 2025
A scale model of the J-35 stealth fighter is displayed at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in Zhuhai in November 2024. Pakistan's use of Chinese military equipment "could shatter the perception" that China's weapons are inferior.
Aerospace & Defense Industries

Chinese defense stocks face wild swings amid arms export speculation

Military equipment makers fall back after rally fueled by Pakistan purchase

10 June 2025