<p>THE national discourse on the <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2010463">budget </a>has been dominated by what is in the document for the business community, exporters and salaried employees. And the theme is to celebrate the 10 to 15 per cent tax relief given to salaried employees — taken as proxies for common Pakistanis. These beneficiaries earn more than Rs200,000 a month. But 80pc of Pakistani households spend less than Rs100,000 a month, according to last year’s <a href="https://www

<p><strong>• Raja Pervez Ashraf confident of party’s victory in coming polls<br>• Warns India will ‘pay a heavy price’ if it attempts to stop Pakistan’s share of water</strong></p> <p>LAHORE: The issue of<a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2011453"> refugee seats </a>is constitutional in nature and would be decided by the upcoming Azad Jammu &amp; Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Thursday.</p> <p>Addressing a press conference, the PP

<p>The family of Faisal Jatoi, the co-pilot missing with four others after their cargo plane crashed into the Arabian Sea, faced an agonising wait for news on Thursday, as rescuers continued their search.</p> <p>Jatoi was co-piloting a <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1737485">K2 Airways</a> Boeing 737 freighter from Sharjah in the UAE to Karachi on Tuesday night when it went down off Pakistan’s southern coast.</p> <p>Rescuers <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2014012/wreckage-of-missing-ca

<p>The Pakistan Navy (PN) and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) rescued 20 crew members from a sinking cargo dhow east of Ormara, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.</p> <p>The military’s media wing said the vessel was experiencing severe flooding, adding that all crew members were successfully rescued in a “swift and coordinated emergency response”.</p> <p>The PNS Hunain and aerial assets were diverted for the operation upon receiving a distress call at the

<p>Pakistan received a record $41.6 billion in workers’ remittances in the last fiscal year (FY26), up by around 8.6 per cent compared to <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1923214/remittances-hit-historic-383bn-in-fy25">FY25</a>, according to <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://easydata.sbp.org.pk/apex/f?p=10:211:8064818680885::NO:RP::&amp;cs=3wbZv7TVXMyzyFYGSIEmZCwhVu8H00XYi8ImMNN7HC4FSWYeHBD3cf9dOsaNjO8iZb_cDY_3x66RB4XKeN0yBBg">data</a>

<p>The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index tumbled by over 4,600 points on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was “over”.</p> <p>The KSE-100 index dropped by 4,626.19 points, or 2.48 per cent, to close at 181,629.36 points from the previous close of 186,255.55.</p> <p>The market saw a sharp decline after 1:30pm, reaching an intraday low of 179,504.34, down by 6,751.21 points compared to the previous close.</p> <p>The decline followed Tru

<p>• NA panel seeks cheaper financing for Lyari freight corridor<br>• Voices concern over K-IV delays, funding shortfall</p> <p>ISLAMABAD: The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on Wednesday warned a parliamentary panel that any <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/2013927/pakistan-urges-us-iran-to-exercise-restraint-after-overnight-strikes">renewed US-Iran escalation </a>could adversely affect Pakistan’s economy through higher energy costs, inflation, increased external financing needs and slo

<p>WASHINGTON: Pakistan and the United States will begin two days of trade negotiations in Washington on Thursday, with tariffs expected to dominate the agenda as Islamabad seeks relief from new US import duties while pursuing a broader bilateral trade agreement.</p> <p>The talks, which were held on Wednesday as well, follow extensive negotiations over the tariff regime announced by President Donald Trump on April 2, 2025, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which init

<p>• Report alleges state capture of superior judiciary<br>• Calls for repeal of 26th, 27th amendments<br>• Favouritism, nepotism cited as major concerns</p> <p>LAHORE: A new <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="link--external" href="https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/fidh_rapport_corruption_pakistan_web.pdf">report </a>by the International Federation for Human Rights and one of its member organisations, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, has pointed out widespread and syste

<p>Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday said the armed forces remained fully aware of state-sponsored attempts by hostile intelligence agencies to destabilise Pakistan, adding that terrorism originating from across the border would be crushed with the “full might of the state”.</p> <p>In a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the CDF reiterated that such proxy networks would not be allowed to undermine th