New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) Pakistan’s central government debt rose by over Rs 7 trillion in 2025 marking an increase of nearly 10 per cent — a trend that risks diverting resources away from private investment, job creation and public services, a report said on Friday.An editorial in The Express Tribune warned that at the current rate Pakistan will become “a perennial contender for the world’s worst-run country,” without a quick resolution.”Without a relatively quick resolution, debt manageme…
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New Delhi, March 13 (IANS) Pakistan is facing a serious shortage of essential medicines as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East disrupts the import of pharmaceutical raw materials and other critical supplies, according to a new report.The neighbour nation’s existing stock of pharmaceutical raw materials is sufficient for only about one-and-a-half months, according to the report in The Express Tribune.The conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States has led to the suspension of seve…
Islamabad, March 10 (IANS) People living in a coastal village in Badin district of Pakistan’s Sindh province have voiced concern over the closure of a government primary school for the past five years, resulting in local children not having access to even basic education, local media reported. The Government Primary School in Sheikh Qarehio Bhandari village, the last settlement of Union Council Bhugra Memon in the coastal belt of Badin, remains non-operational for years. Local residents have sai…
Islamabad, March 10 (IANS) Facing a worsening fuel crisis triggered by rising global oil prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia, the government of Pakistan has announced a series of austerity measures, exposing the country’s deep dependence on imported energy and fragile economic position.In a pre-recorded televised address on Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif unveiled measures aimed at conserving fuel and raising funds to offset the impact of the crisis. The move comes after Pakist…
Islamabad, March 6 (IANS) Leaders of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) have warned that petrol pumps across the country may start shutting down within the next few days after several petroleum firms have cut their supplies, local media reported. Addressing media at the Lahore Press Club, the association’s Central Secretary General Chaudhry Irfan Elahi stated the situation had become alarming due to reducing supply of fuel, Pakistan’s leading daily ‘The Express Tribune’ reported. …
Islamabad, March 4 (IANS) The United States has ordered non-emergency government employees and family members of staff at its consulates in Lahore and Karachi to leave Pakistan, citing safety concerns, according to an official statement.In a statement issued on Wednesday, the US Embassy in Pakistan said the US State Department had directed the departure of non-essential personnel and their families from the two missions. It added that there has been no change in the status of the US Embassy in I…
Islamabad, March 4 (IANS) An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Daulat Khan, was killed in a sniper attack by unknown assailants on the Badan police post in Wara Mamond tehsil of Bajaur district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, local media reported, citing police. Following the attack, police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to find the suspects, Pakistan’s leading daily The Express Tribune reported. Attacks on security personnel have occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa…
Islamabad, March 2 (IANS) Even though prisoners are entitled to adequate living arrangements that are hygienic – including food, clothing and medical care – in Pakistan, they are being treated like chicken coops with no introduction of reform or rehabilitation. The current situation in prisons of Pakistan makes the protection of these rights almost impossible, a report has stated. According to a prison data report for 2024, prisons in Pakistan are functioning at 152.2 per cent capacity on averag…
Islamabad, Feb 28 (IANS) Pakistan is grappling with a worsening crisis of youth drug abuse and rising suicide rates, according to local media reports citing a 2025 systematic review of rehabilitation cases. The study found that heroin accounts for 48 per cent of substance abuse cases among young users, while cannabis makes up 28 per cent, underscoring the alarming scale and severity of addiction among the country’s youth population.According to the study, thirty-five per cent began using drugs…
Islamabad, Feb 24 (IANS) Citing a new report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) which reveals that the Punjab province’s Crime Control Department (CCD) might be more violent than any other specialised squads in the country, a report has stated that policing in Pakistan cannot improve if contempt for human life goes unpunished. The CCD’s first year of operations saw at least 670 encounters that claimed lives of 924 suspects between April-December 2025. During the same period, only …