ogood2054

Balochistan approves Rs1.189tr budget

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Sunday approved the provincial budget for the financial year 2026–27, amounting to Rs1,189 billion, after passing all 118 demands for grants and recording no cut motions from the opposition. The budget was passed during the closing sitting of the assembly, which met 40 minutes behind schedule under the chairmanship of…

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a key for rapid development

Activation of China route as energy corridor can prove to be windfall for Pakistan, complemented by 923-hectare free t ISLAMABAD: The idea of developing a modern port at Gwadar goes back to 1954, when a survey by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) convinced Pakistan of its strategic importance. However, it took us 54 years…

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India holds re-exam under tight security following leak

More than 200,000 officials, including police, deployed; Telegram messaging app restricted NEW DELHI: India’s 2.2 million aspiring medical students sit a re-examination under tight security on Sunday, after the last test was scrapped following a paper leak that triggered widespread outrage. The failure of the hugely competitive exam, along with a separate marking fiasco in…

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R-4 forum focuses on regional security concerns

ISLAMABAD: Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt gathered in Cairo on Sunday for the fourth consultative meeting of the R-4 grouping, at a moment when Iran and the United States opened a fresh round of talks in Switzerland aimed at consolidating the recently signed Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The meeting was…

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Vance praisesPakistan leadership’s ‘historic diplomacy’

Shehbaz hopes Switzerland talks will mark the beginning of a sustained diplomatic process BURGENSTOCK, SWITZERLAND: US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday described the Iran-US engagement in Switzerland as a “historic” diplomatic opening, while crediting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for their decisive leadership in bringing the negotiations to…

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NA passes Rs9.17tr demands for grants

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Sunday formally began passage of the federal budget for 2026–27, approving 125 demands for grants worth Rs9.171 trillion after rejecting 307 cut motions moved by the opposition through a majority vote. The House met with Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in the chair. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presented demands for grants…

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US, Iran hold firstround of ‘fragile’ talks

• Pakistan, Qatar host quadrilateral summit in Switzerland • Trump and Ghalibaf trade warnings • Iranian media sa US Vice President JD Vance speaks next to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani prior to a quadrilateral meeting between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar at…

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Israeli strikes kill 11 in Gaza City

. GAZA CITY: Gaza health officials said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 11 people, including four members of the same family, in the latest violence to rock the Palestinian territory despite a ceasefire. Israel and Hamas trade near-daily accusations of truce violations and the Gaza Strip remains gripped by bloodshed as progress on…

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