Month: October 2026

Pakistan’s power sector circular debt has reached Rs1.675 trillion, while capacity payments to electricity producers rose to Rs1.711 trillion in the fiscal year 2025-26, according to written replies submitted to the National Assembly. Energy Minister Awais Leghari informed the House on Thursday that capacity payments stood at Rs1.672 trillion in FY2024-25 before increasing to Rs1.711 trillion in the following fiscal year. The government attributed the circular debt to high transmission and distribution losses, low bill recoveries by power distribution companies and financial costs. The National Assembly was also informed that…

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The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday questioned the police investigation into the murder of Hina Javed, as her family expressed serious dissatisfaction with the handling of the high-profile case. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi assured the committee that a fresh inquiry would be conducted to address the family’s concerns, adding that a senior Punjab police officer would lead the investigation. The meeting in Rawalpindi heard a briefing from police officials on the progress of the investigation. However, the victim’s family challenged the findings presented by investigators, while committee…

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Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a grim search ​for victims of Spain’s second fatal high-speed train crash this year, as the death toll rose to 69 and hopes of finding further survivors faded. After ‌cranes worked through the night to lift parts of the wreckage of Wednesday’s crash, emergency workers were seen carrying what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in the central Spanish province of Toledo. Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said the death toll had risen to 69…

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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has claimed that three oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while attempting to pass through an ‘unauthorised route’ south of the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC Navy said the vessels had ignored warnings, switched off their radar and navigation systems and attempted to leave through the restricted route. The tankers were subsequently abandoned off the southern coast of the strategic waterway, according to the statement. The IRGC Navy warned that unauthorised routes through the strait were mined…

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Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has rejected JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s criticism over a recent meeting in Tehran, saying Field Marshal Asim Munir went to help pave the way for regional peace, not to negotiate a defence agreement. Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, Asif said that Pakistan’s defence was neither discussed nor was a defence pact under consideration at the meeting, adding that his participation was therefore unnecessary. Fazlur Rehman had criticised the defence minister in the assembly a day earlier, questioning his absence while a purported defence…

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday approved plans to expand Lahore and Karachi airports, directing authorities to complete the projects within the set timeframe. The development came during a meeting held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Shehbaz regarding the improvement of services at Pakistani airports. The meeting was briefed on the expansion projects of Karachi and Lahore airports, besides upgradation of various airports and ongoing development works by the Civil Aviation Authority across the country. The meeting was briefed on the master plans of Lahore and Karachi airports and…

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