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Four policemen abducted in Gwadar near Pak-Iran border

Armed assailants abducted four police officers in the coastal town of Gwadar, located near the Pakistan-Iran maritime border, police confirmed on Thursday. The kidnapped personnel have been identified as Niaz Ahmed, Shoaib, Ehsan and Sajid Ali. According to initial reports, the officers had intercepted a vehicle carrying Afghan nationals who were attempting to enter Pakistan illegally the previous day. The suspects were travelling in a Zambad (a type of vehicle commonly used for smuggling). Police officials said the officers on duty immediately informed the in-charge of the Kantani post, ASI Musaddaq Ali, about the situation. The ASI instructed them to transport the detained individuals to the police station. However, soon afterwards, all communication with the four policemen was lost. Authorities believe the officers were taken hostage by armed men. Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to recover the missing personnel. No group has claimed...
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Shadab, Samad rescue Pakistan as hosts seal ODI series against Australia

Shadab Khan and Abdul Samad held their nerve with an unbeaten partnership to rescue Pakistan from a middle-order collapse as the hosts beat Australia by four wickets in the third and final one-day international in Lahore on Thursday to seal the three-match series 2-1. Chasing a modest target of 158, Pakistan got off to a shaky start when opener Sahibzada Farhan fell in the third over. Maaz Sadaqat and Babar Azam then steadied the innings, taking the score to 41 before Sadaqat was trapped lbw by Matthew Short after scoring 27. Wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori was dismissed for eight, while Babar and Salman Ali Agha added valuable runs as Pakistan moved to 93. However, with victory in sight, Agha departed for 15. Babar, who top-scored with 40, and Arafat Minhas took Pakistan to 112 before Matthew Kuhnemann struck a crucial blow by bowling the former batter. Minhas also departed soon afterwards, leaving Pakistan in trouble at 112-6 and still needing 46 runs for victory. Pakistan...
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'True and special relationship': PM Shehbaz lauds 8 decades of Pak-US ties on America's 250th anniversary

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday lauded longstanding Pakistan-United States ties spanning over eight decades, describing them as a “true and special relationship”, at an occasion marking the latter's 250th anniversary of independence. The event was held at the US Embassy in Islamabad. Addressing the ceremony, which was also attended by US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker, the prime minister congratulated the US people and leadership on the 250th anniversary and lauded the Pakistan-US partnership spanning over eight decades. Read: Trump says US to remove Iran's high-level enriched uranium in ‘near future’ He said that as Pakistan marked two and a half centuries of the US, it was also time to celebrate the longstanding partnership between them. “Ours is a true and special relationship spanning nearly eight decades,” he said, adding that it encompassed not only security and counterterrorism cooperation, but als...
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Trade deficit narrows 39% as imports fall

Pakistan's merchandise trade deficit narrowed by 39.46% month-on-month in May 2026, driven by a sharp decline in imports and a rise in exports, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The trade deficit stood at Rs721.6 billion in May 2026, compared with Rs1.19 trillion in April 2026. This represents an improvement of around Rs470.4 billion over the previous month, reflecting a significant easing of external sector pressures on a monthly basis. Exports increased to Rs753.7 billion in May from Rs688.7 billion in April, registering a 9.45% month-on-month increase. Imports, meanwhile, fell by 21.55% to Rs1.48 trillion from Rs1.88 trillion in April. This combination of rising exports and falling imports helped narrow the trade gap substantially during the month. On a year-on-year basis, the trade deficit contracted by 14.35% from Rs842.5 billion in May 2025 to Rs721.6 billion in May 2026. Exports remained largely flat, edging up just 0.18% from Rs752.4 b...
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JAAC boycotts APC as parties reject refugee seats proposal for AJK Assembly

The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on Wednesday boycotted an All Parties Conference (APC) convened by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government to discuss its demands, as the participants unanimously rejected its proposal to abolish refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The APC held at the Prime Minister’s House in Muzaffarabad lasted for more than six hours and was attended by almost all political and religious parties of the region, except the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the JAAC leadership, who boycotted the meeting despite being invited. A joint statement, based on a resolution adopted by consensus, was later read out by AJK Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore before the media. The JAAC confirmed that it had received an invitation from the AJK prime minister to attend the all-parties consultative meeting. However, it decided not to attend after the government rejected its proposal, which it termed an injustice to the people of the re...
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K-P govt, dissident PTI lawmakers fail to reach reconciliation ahead of budget

Reconciliation efforts between the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and its dissident lawmakers in the provincial assembly have failed, as the disgruntled members have adopted a hardline stance and decided not to support the upcoming budget without prior consultation with PTI founder Imran Khan. In a meeting held in Peshawar, the dissident lawmakers linked their movement to the campaign for Imran’s release. A statement issued by the group said the participants discussed the prevailing political situation and various other matters in detail during the meeting. The statement strongly condemned the denial of a meeting between the founder and his family once again, calling it a violation of basic human rights, the law, and the Constitution. “We strongly condemn this move,” the statement read. Also Read: Afridi displays majority amid PTI dissent The dissidents warned that unless a comprehensive and workable strategy is adopted for the former prime minister’s rel...
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Bangladeshi FM elected president of UN General Assembly

Bangladesh's top diplomat was elected president of the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday in a vote that, unusually, featured more than one candidate. Khalilur Rahman won 99 votes in the secret ballot compared to 91 for Cypriot diplomat Andreas Kakouris. He will succeed the outgoing president, Germany's former foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, in September. “This landmark victory is a strong testament to the confidence and trust that the international community places in Bangladesh, as well as to the country’s growing diplomatic stature and constructive engagement within the multilateral system,” said Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry in a statement. Calling it a “historic achievement”, the ministry said it also constituted a “significant international recognition of Bangladesh’s longstanding commitment to multilateral diplomacy, international peace and security, sustainable development, and globa...
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