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Pakistan's military said on Thursday that the country has signed a contract to sell JF-17 Block III fighter jets to Azerbaijan. The aircraft is co-produced by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and developed jointly with China, with whom Islamabad has grown increasingly close as ties with traditional military ally the United States have weakened over the last few years. The military did not provide the cost or quantity of jets agreed to, but said in a statement that the sale was part of Islamabad's efforts to enhance defence cooperation with friendly countries and bolster the air power capabilities of Azerbaijan.

Pakistani officials say the executive board of the International Fund has approved a new $7 billion loan for the country

International Monetary Fund has approved a new $7 billion loan for cash-strapped Pakistan, authorities said Wednesday, more than two months after the two sides said they had reached an agreement. The loan — which Islamabad will receive in installments over 37 months — is aimed at boosting Pakistan's ailing economy, officials added. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a statement hailed the deal that his team had been negotiating with the IMF since June. He thanked Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the IMF and her team, for the approval.

improvised explosive device, targeting a convoy of foreign diplomats, killed a policeman and injured three others in Pakistan's restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday. The blast triggered through a remote hit the convoy that was travelling to the scenic mountainous Malam Jabba in Swat district from Islamabad. A senior police officer said that all the diplomats were safe. The convoy included diplomats from Russia, Vietnam, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Portugal.

Pakistan’s leader says the country has met all the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund to qualify for a new $7 billion loan to help prop up its economy

Sajad Lone on Thursday released a party manifesto promising to fight for the restoration of Article 370, 35 (A), statehood and setting up a judicial commission to probe into the rigging of 1987 elections. Lone released a 12 point manifesto here is Srinagar and claimed that the party plans to field its candidates on 20 to 25 seats in the upcoming three-phased assembly elections in 90 constituencies, starting from September 18. Lone himself is likely to fight on two constituencies of Handwara and Kupwara in northern Kashmir. “Our main focus of the manifesto is dignity and development. We will undertake all exhaustive measures to pursue the cause of restoration of Article 370, 35 (A) and statehood,” said Lone. He further said that the political parties will have to unitedly agitate for restoration of Article 370. “I also feel that Article 370 has been defamed and blemished for ever. I hope that a day will come when J&K will have a solution at par with Article 370,” he said.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with terrorist groups, former US National Security Advisor Lt Gen (retd) H R McMaster has said, revealing that during his tenure under then President Donald Trump, the White House faced resistance from the state department and Pentagon over providing security aid to Islamabad. Despite directions from Trump to stop all aid to Pakistan till it stops giving safe havens to terrorists, McMaster in his latest book 'At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House' says that the then Defence Secretary Jim Mattis was planning to deliver a military aid package to Islamabad that included over USD 150 million worth of armoured vehicles. However, the aid was stopped after his intervention, McMaster writes in the book that hit the bookstores this week.

India confirmed on Friday that it has received an invitation from Pakistan for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's (SCO) Council of Heads of Government meeting to be held in Islamabad in October. Pakistan invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to the SCO's Council of Heads of Government meeting. «Yes, we have received an invitation from Pakistan for the SCO's Council of Heads of State that is to happen. We do not have an update on that,» a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in response to a reporter's question during his media briefing here. Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) and in that capacity, will be hosting the two-day in-person SCO Heads of Government meeting in October.

Traders in Pakistan are observing a daylong strike by shutting down their businesses in all major cities and urban areas to protest a rise in electricity costs and new taxes imposed on shop owners

Imran Khan's trial in cases concerning the violence on May 9 last year might go to the military courts, a government spokesperson has said. The events and vandalism on May 9 last year invited the application of the Army Act since military installations were attacked and damaged, Government spokesperson for legal affairs Barrister Aqeel Malik was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper. On May 9 last year, violent protests erupted after the arrest of 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party founder Khan by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in connection with an alleged corruption case. His party workers allegedly vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander House), the Mianwali airbase and the ISI building in Faisalabad. A mob also attacked the Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan has extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), for the upcoming Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting in October this year, reported The Times of India. However, it is unlikely that Modi will visit Islamabad, though it remains to be seen if he will delegate a minister to represent India, as has been done in the past, considering the strained relations between the two nations, the report added. Pakistan is set to host the CHG meeting on October 15-16, as it currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the council, the second most important decision-making body within the SCO, following the Council of Heads of State. While Modi regularly attends the heads of state summits, he skipped the recent one in Kazakhstan due to a scheduling conflict with a Parliament session in early July.

IMF's approval. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team had a virtual meeting with Dr Adnan Chilwan, Group CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank, on Thursday, the Dawn newspaper reported on Friday. On Wednesday, a similar interaction was held with Mashreq Bank President and Group CEO Ahmed Abdelaal. Both meetings had been arranged to «discuss the economic outlook and explore investment opportunities in Pakistan». For the current fiscal year, Pakistan has pitched about USD 20 billion in foreign borrowing in the budget, besides another USD 3 billion rollover from the UAE that was reported separately for the balance of payments. With this much borrowing, Pakistan's reserves are estimated to grow to about USD 19-20 billion by the end of the current fiscal year.

Bangladesh will travel to Pakistan ahead of schedule to hold practice sessions in Lahore before their two-test bilateral series, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said late on Saturday. Ongoing political turmoil in Bangladesh has disrupted the team's training, local media reported. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country following weeks of protests, with an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus taking charge. The Bangladesh Cricket Board did not immediately reply to a request for comment on reports practice session has been disrupted by the unrest.

Bangladesh has accused the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka of interfering in the internal affairs of the country through its tacit support and active guidance to the radical student protestors in the country. This comes as the movement led by radical Jamaat-e-Islami and the opposition BNP intensified in Bangladesh. Several reports suggested that the Pakistan mission is in touch with a section of student protesters belonging to pro-Pakistan Jamaat, which is banned in Bangladesh. The country has seen weeks of often violent protests over Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government's decision to offer quota in government jobs to children of 1971 freedom fighters as opposed to family members of pro-Pakistan and anti-liberation figures during the country's freedom struggle.

Balochistan province over the administration’s decision to turn the area around the China-built Gwadar port into a military installation zone.

Even something as mundane as job hunting can become a terrifying ordeal for women. A job seeker in Pakistan was subjected to sexual harassment when she applied for a trainee position at Giga Group, an Islamabad-based firm. The woman, a young graduate named Adina Hira had applied T for an entry-level trainee and office assistant position through the Indeed app.

Khawaja Asif, has confirmed that the country will persist in launching military strikes against Afghanistan to counter terrorism. Speaking to BBC, he emphasized that these operations are a necessary response to attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, stating, «We won’t serve them with cake and pastries.» Instead, he said, Pakistan is prepared to retaliate forcefully against any aggression. The aerial strikes, part of a broader military campaign called «Resolve for Stability,» are aimed at militant groups that Pakistan accuses of operating from Afghan soil. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of not doing enough to curb these militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban or TTP, which allegedly have sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Pakistan's government maintains that its military actions are justified and necessary to safeguard its national security. Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan alleges that despite its repeated requests, the Afghan Taliban has been reluctant to take action against the TTP, which has been using Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan. Asif asserted that Pakistan's strikes are a direct response to these threats, dismissing concerns over the legality of the operations and stating that informing the Taliban of impending attacks would compromise the element of surprise.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry says authorities will expel hundreds of thousands more Afghans who have been living in Pakistan for years, the latest in a monthslong government clampdown on undocumented migrants

Imran Khan, a Pakistani court on Thursday acquitted the jailed former premier, his aide Shah Mehmood Qureshi and former minister Sheikh Rashid in a case of vandalism. The case was registered in 2022 at Islamabad's I-9 police station and based on the alleged involvement in acts of vandalism and violation of Section 144 of the Pakistan Penal Code which had banned rallies. Judicial Magistrate Malik Muhammad Imran issued the verdict, acquitting the three senior leaders along with two more leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf — Sadaqat Abbasi and Ali Nawaz Awan.

The World Bank has approved $1 billion for the construction of Pakistan’s biggest Dasu hydropower project, which is being built in the country’s northwest with China’s help

A new study by the United Nations children’s agency says developing resilient energy systems to power health facilities in Pakistan could avert over 175,000 deaths by 2030