Day: March 10, 2026

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday unveiled several energy conservation and austerity measures to preempt fuel shortages and declared that he would not further increase the prices of petroleum products, seeking to pacify an unnerved public while shouldering the cost of rising prices. The measures announced by the prime minister in a pre-recorded nationally televised speech are aimed at saving fuel and raising funds to partially offset any further increase in the prices of diesel and petrol. The remaining gap is expected to be filled by the Finance Ministry’s…

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TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Iran signalled a defiant stance with a senior leader saying that he sees no room for diplomacy in the ongoing conflict triggered by joint United States and Israeli strikes, while President Donald Trump insisted that the war was pretty much over. Iranian officials said that ceasefire mediation efforts were irrelevant as long as military confrontations persisted, while the leadership insisted that the country had no intention of harming ordinary Americans even as they warned Washington against targeting civilians. Trump said in an interview with CBS that the US-Israeli…

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the US-Israel war against Iran would not significantly impact its economy, projecting that the current account deficit may remain around $2 billion and fuel price hike impact on inflation could hardly be 0.3%. The government also does not see any impact on foreign remittances, which have been projected to grow to $43 billion even after war expansion to Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the largest sources of remittances for Pakistan. The macroeconomic assumptions are…

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ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the opposition alliance and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday urged the government to immediately withdraw from the Board of Peace, avoid becoming a party to the Iran war and reverse the steep increase in petroleum prices. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, senior party leader Babar Awan and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas made the demand while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. Raja said the Gulf region was facing an extraordinary situation and warned that “barbarity” had been imposed…

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RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has started distributing Nighaban Cards among members of the minority community. Member of the National Assembly Tahira Aurangzeb distributed the cards. Beneficiaries will be able to withdraw Rs10,500 every three months through the card to meet their needs. Aurangzeb said 1,000 Nighaban cards had already been prepared and the number would be increased gradually. She said the Punjab government under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was striving to provide facilities at the doorsteps of people and urged other provinces to also take care of…

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