ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Division announced this week it had increased the prices of petrol by Rs1 per liter and high-speed diesel by Rs7 per liter for the next fortnight, saying the decision was taken due to fluctuations in the international oil market.
This is the second consecutive hike in prices of petroleum products by the government as Pakistan increased the per-liter rates of petrol and diesel by Rs3.47 and Rs2.61 on Jan. 15.
The new price of petrol will be Rs257.13 per liter while that of high-speed diesel will be Rs267.95 per liter, a notification by the Finance Division said on Friday.
“The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (0GRA) has reviewed and adjusted consumer prices for petroleum products in view of recent fluctuations in the international oil market,” the notification said.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are reviewed and adjusted fortnightly, based on fluctuations in international energy markets and the rupee-dollar exchange rate.
The mechanism ensures that the net impact of changes in import costs is passed on to consumers, helping to sustain the country’s fuel supply chain.
Fuel price increases typically push consumer prices higher across sectors, causing economic strain and fueling popular resentment among the masses.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will face off New Zealand today, Saturday, in the opening match of a Tri-Nation one-day international (ODI) series at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium.
The series between Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa is taking place from Feb. 8 till Feb. 14 at the newly renovated Lahore and Karachi stadiums, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The opening match between Pakistan and New Zealand will begin at 2pm Pakistan time.
“We are excited to be playing again in front of our home crowd and the newly constructed stadiums in Lahore and Karachi,” PCB quoted Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan as saying.
“The preparations have gone well so far with the players looking to give their best in the tournament leading up to the ICC event.”
The Tri-Nation series will help prepare the Pakistani side for the upcoming eight-nation International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025, which Pakistan will be hosting from Feb. 19 onwards.
The PCB has renovated its stadiums in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi in anticipation of the 50-over tournament that will be the first global competition held in Pakistan in 28 years.
New Zealand will take on South Africa in Lahore on Feb. 10. The third match will be played in Karachi between Pakistan and South Africa on Feb. 12, while the final will be played on Feb. 14.
ISLAMABAD: Two policemen were killed and two others wounded after militants attacked a police check-post in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a police official said on Saturday.
Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the state broke down in November 2022.
In 2024 alone, the military reported that 383 soldiers and 925 militants were killed in various clashes.
The latest incident occurred in the Bannu district of the province when militants attacked the police post in Fateh Khel, a rundown locality on the outskirts of Bannu, according to local police officer Nadir Khan.
“Terrorists mounted the attack at midnight, leaving two police officers, Rahimullah and Ziaullah, dead and two others injured,” Khan told Arab News.
“The terrorists, who used heavy weapons in the attack, were forced to flee after the police retaliated.”
While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, who have frequently targeted security forces and police convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Saturday’s attack comes days after a Pakistani soldier and 12 militants were killed in a counterterrorism operation in the restive region that borders Afghanistan.
Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy on Afghanistan, accusing it of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan has engaged in a series of high-profile meetings in Jeddah and invited leading Saudi businesspersons to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan’s energy, agriculture, information technology (IT), health care, infrastructure and consumer goods sectors, the Pakistani government said on Saturday.
The discussions were held during the first-ever “Made in Pakistan” exhibition, held in Jeddah on Feb. 5-7, which focused on business collaborations, investment opportunities and Saudi brands entering the Pakistani market.
In a key meeting with prominent Saudi businessmen, Khan highlighted growth in Pakistan’s exports to Saudi Arabia by 22 percent to $700 million last year, assuring Saudi investors of a business-friendly environment with tax exemptions, investor protection laws, and access to a 240-million-strong consumer market.
“Saudi business leaders expressed keen interest in collaborating with Pakistani counterparts, particularly in construction materials, textiles, and food industries,” the Pakistani government’s Press Information Department (PID) said in a statement.
Jeddah Chamber Chairman Muhammad Yusuf Naghi gestures during a meeting with Pakistan Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan (2R) in Jeddah on February 6, 2025. (Photo courtesy: X/@JeddahChamber)
“Several proposals were discussed to enhance trade partnerships and industrial investment, with the minister extending an invitation for them to visit Pakistan and participate in trade exhibitions like TEXPO, Food-AG, and the Healthcare & Mineral Show.”
The discussions touched on Pakistan’s recent ease-of-doing-business initiatives, including Pakistan Single Window (PSW) and the National Compliance Center, aimed at streamlining trade regulations and enhancing export standards.
Pakistan Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan (2R) gestures during a meeting Abdul Aziz Omar Alsakran, deputy governor of international relations in foreign trade authority, and the Council of Saudi Chambers Chairperson Hassan Moejeb Alhwaizy and other delegates in Jeddah on February 6, 2025. (Photo courtesy: X/@jam_kamal)
Saudi Arabia presents a key export opportunity for Pakistani businesses, given its strong consumer demand, large expatriate workforce and ambitious Vision 2030 economic reforms that emphasize diversification and foreign investments.
Pakistan has sought to strengthen business-to-business (B2B) ties with the Kingdom, with both sides announcing during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh last October that they had signed 34 memorandums of understanding and agreements worth $2.8 billion to enhance private sector collaboration and commercial partnerships.
Pakistan’s trade volume with Saudi Arabia reached $5203.19 million in fiscal year 2023-24, marking an increase from $5010.47 million in the previous year, according to the Pakistani mission in Riyadh. Khan said Pakistanis living in the Kingdom sent a total of $7.4 billion in remittances to the South Asian country in the last fiscal year.
A major highlight of Khan’s visit was his meeting with Rami Abu Ghazala, the owner of Saudi food chain Albaik which is set to make a debut in Pakistan after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Oct. last year. The minister was given a tour of Albaik’s operations, where he met Pakistani employees working at the fast-food giant.
Pakistan Minister of Commerce Jam Kamal Khan (R) gestures with Rami Abu Ghazalah, CEO and co-owner of Saudi fast food chain AlBaik, during a visit to an outlet in Jeddah on February 7, 2025. (Photo courtesy: X/@jam_kamal)
“During the discussions, Albaik confirmed its expansion into Pakistan, stating that the process is in its final stages following the signing of an MOU,” the PID said.
“The first Albaik branches in Pakistan are expected to open soon, creating new job opportunities and strengthening economic ties between the two nations.”
In another significant meeting, Khan met with Pakistani investors and business leaders based in Jeddah. He said that 1.7 million Pakistanis traveled to Saudi Arabia in the past five years, making it the top destination for Pakistani emigrants.
Khan noted that the Pakistan Investor Forum, recently established in Jeddah, was playing a key role in guiding new market entrants and fostering Pakistani-Saudi business collaborations.
KARACHI: Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and another opposition faction, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), are set to stage protests today, Saturday, to mark the first anniversary of the last general elections in the country, which they claim were rigged.
Last month, Khan called on PTI leaders and supporters to mark Feb. 8 as a “Black Day” and hold protests across the country to raise their voice against alleged election irregularities. The national polls were marred by a countrywide shutdown of cellphone networks and delayed results, leading to widespread allegations of election manipulation by opposition parties like PTI and JI.
The caretaker government, which oversaw the electoral exercise, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), deny the charges. However, the US House of Representatives and several European countries have called on Islamabad to open a probe into the allegations — a move Pakistan has thus far rejected.
After Khan’s protest announcement, JI leader Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman also called for demonstrations on Feb. 8, calling the election a “stolen mandate.”
PTI leaders circulated video messages Friday evening, urging their supporters to mobilize. One of them, Meher Bano Qureshi, daughter of Khan’s close aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said people came out in large numbers to vote for her party last year before its candidates were made to lose.
“Today, we have an opportunity to once again remind everyone that the people of Pakistan stand exactly where they did on February 8, 2024, even on February 8, 2025,” she said. “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will reclaim its mandate and will not allow the sanctity of its votes to be trampled upon. If we remain silent today, we will lose the value of our votes forever.”
Khan’s PTI planned to hold a protest rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, a historical monument in Lahore symbolizing the country’s independence, but it was denied official permission by the Punjab provincial administration led by the rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The PML-N administration also imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, banning large gatherings across the province to prevent political demonstrations. The PTI is now expected to hold a rally in Swabi, located in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the party remains in power.
Meanwhile, JI plans to stage a protest outside the ECP office in Karachi. The party did not win any National Assembly seats in the general elections but secured two provincial seats in the Sindh Assembly and one in the Balochistan Assembly.
Khan’s PTI candidates contested the Feb. 8 elections as independents after the party was barred from the polls. While they won the most seats, they fell short of the majority needed to form a government, which was instead formed by a coalition of rival political parties led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
KARACHI: An American woman, who remained in the public eye for months since traveling to Karachi last year in pursuit of a Pakistani man, finally left Pakistan by boarding a flight to New York on Friday, police said, ending her more than three-month stay in the South Asian country.
Onijah Andrew Robinson, 33, had arrived in Karachi in October last year to meet 19-year-old Nidal Ahmed Memon, who she had befriended online, but Memon later abandoned her saying his family was not agreeing to their marriage. Memon’s whereabouts remained unknown during Robinson’s stay in his country.
Robinson’s story came to light after local activist Zaffar Abbas publicized it on social media, with Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori intervening to extend her expired visa and arrange a flight home.
Robinson finally left Pakistan on Friday night following her discharge from a government-run medical facility in Karachi, according to Karachi South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Asad Raza.
“The American woman, Onijah Andrew Robinson, was discharged from the hospital today,” DIG Raza told Arab News. “She has left Pakistan for her home in the US“
Robinson was admitted to the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center on Feb. 1 and was discharged from there on Feb. 7, according to the hospital report. Doctors at the hospital had diagnosed the US woman as having bipolar affective disorder (BPAD), in which a person experiences periods of extreme mood changes.
The American woman, who remained in media glare and previously refused to leave Pakistan on multiple occasions, had not filed a formal complaint against Memon, according to Karachi authorities.
A spokesperson for the US consulate in Karachi said late last month the mission was aware of the situation, but could not comment due to privacy laws. Shafqat Ali Khan, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign office, said it was a matter for local authorities in the Sindh province to deal with.
During her months-long stay in Pakistan, a number of Pakistani men had also come forward with marriage proposals for Robinson.
“If she wants to settle here, then I’ve bought a new house in Gulshan-e-Maymar [neighborhood]. I will accommodate her there and also give her $5,000,” Muhammad Ismail, one such contender, told reporters in Karachi last month.
“She has been betrayed and cheated. A promise has been broken, but we welcome the guest.”
