Blaze News - Pakistan

The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Saturday warned individuals involved in disturbing peace, violence, damaging government property and causing loss of human lives to immediately surrender and present themselves before the law, while assuring full legal assistance to those who do so. Tensions have been rising in AJK following recent deadly clashes that have led to competing narratives over casualties, governance grievances, and political legitimacy. Official sources have confirmed at least seven deaths. Officials said that despite claims of peaceful intent, certain elements have continued to engage in violent activities. The same elements, they added, have previously been involved in damaging public property and attacks that resulted in the martyrdom and injuries of security personnel. Read: AJK reinstates 177 FIRs against JAAC members over breach of Oct '25 agreement In a statement issued by AJK SCBA President Raja Aftab Ahmed Advocat...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Friday said the government had not imposed any new taxes in the federal budget for FY2026-27 and would instead focus on broadening and deepening the tax net through improved compliance and enforcement measures. The finance minister unveiled the Rs18.8 trillion budget for FY2026-27 and set an economic growth target of 4% earlier today, while describing the budget as anchored in “stabilisation, reform and growth”. Speaking on private television programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath, Aurangzeb said the government's strategy was aimed at curbing tax evasion, leakages, corruption and collusion. Read: Budget 2026-27: FinMin projects 4% growth as govt unveils fiscal, tax and reform agenda “Deepening means addressing areas where there is tax evasion, leakage, corruption and collusion. We have to stop that, especially in the sales tax regime,” he said. He added that plugging leakages through stronger compliance a...

The first-ever international agreement on safeguarding digital platform workers in the gig economy was adopted on Friday at the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO). The Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention is aimed at extending labour protections to hundreds of millions of people worldwide who work through digital platforms, in areas like food delivery and car services. The convention applies to "all digital labour platforms" and "all digital platform workers ... whether they are in the formal or informal economy", according to the text adopted by ILO members. Historic moment at the International Labour Conference. ILO Member States have adopted a new Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy. The first international labour standard for a rapidly evolving area of the world of work. #ILC2026 pic.twitter.com/K3mxHTow1g — International Labour Organization (@ilo) June 12, 2026 Until now, labour practices have struggled t...

A global economic shock emerging from the Iran conflict is rapidly evolving into a new kind of inequality shock that is being felt unevenly within and between countries around the world. The economic consequences of geopolitical instability are producing a distributional crisis enabling a small number of corporations and investors to reap substantial gains while ordinary households are finding it increasing difficult to make ends meet. A limited number of energy companies, financial institutions and defence contractors have emerged as major beneficiaries of the uncertainty and volatility accompanying this latest Middle Eastern crisis. Recent Oxfam analysis estimates that six of the world's largest fossil fuel companies are on track to generate extraordinary windfall in 2026, amounting to roughly 100 billion dollars in annual gains. Therefore, the current crisis is rewarding powerful actors that thrive on price instability. Conversely, the costs of conflict are being transmit...

Funeral prayers for army personnel who were martyred in the crash of a Pakistan Army Aviation Mi-17 helicopter near Muzaffarabad were offered on Thursday, the military’s media wing said. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the funeral prayers were offered at Chaklala Garrison in Rawalpindi. They were attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, senior civil and military officials, relatives of the martyrs and members of the public. #Breaking Namaz Janaza for Shuhada, who embraced Shahadat yesterday in tragic MI-17 helicopter crash in Muzaffarabad, was offered today at Chaklala Garrison, Rawalpindi which was attended by the PM Shehbaz Sharif, CDF Syed Asim Munir, ministers, senior civil and military… pic.twitt...

Workers' remittances surged to an all-time monthly high of $4.3 billion in May 2026, supported by Eid-related inflows, underscoring the continued and robust contribution of overseas Pakistanis to their homeland economy. The latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shows that inflows during the month registered double-digit growth. According to the SBP's provisional figures for May 2026, remittances stood at $4.251 billion, marking a 15.4% increase compared with May 2025. On a month-on-month basis, the inflows also posted strong growth. This performance caps a solid run for the fiscal year so far. "This is the highest ever monthly remittance number, led by an increase in migrant workers and Eid-related inflows," noted Nasheed Malik, Growth Securities Head of Research. "Only remittances from the United States have declined by 3% year-on-year in the first 11 months of FY26." Cumulatively, during the first 11 months of FY26 (July-May), wo...