Sindh plans drive to clear encroachments from Karachi’s main roads
University Road and People’s Bus Service routes come first, and illegal bus terminals such as Sohrab Goth’s are to move out of the city, a meeting chaired by Sharjeel Memon decided.
Top stories
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FOOTBALL
Arda Guler stunner not enough as Belgium beat Turkiye 2-1
Kevin De Bruyne and Charles De Ketelaere scored three minutes apart in Izmir, handing Sergen Yalçın defeat in his first match in charge.
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ECONOMY
Oman’s wealth fund signs what it calls its biggest China deals package
The Oman Investment Authority calls it its largest-ever package with Chinese partners, from an $800 million Silk Road Fund vehicle to a $1 billion battery storage deal.
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INTERNATIONAL
US says nearly all of $12bn in Venezuela oil money went to Caracas
A State Department review says the Treasury-run account took in $12.26bn from January to September and paid out about $12.11bn to Venezuela's interim government.
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FOOTBALL
Pio Esposito double hands Zidane first France defeat as Italy win 3-1
Michael Olise put France ahead after a Donnarumma error, but Italy hit back at San Siro to go top of their Nations League group.
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ECONOMY
PTA tells internet firms not to sell bandwidth to unlicensed providers
The regulator says bandwidth may go only to licensed operators, and that internet bills must be issued by a licensed company.
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Every answer from Thursday Times reporting and the official record. On WhatsApp too.
Featured
Türkiye ready to co-produce arms with Saudi Arabia, defence chief says
Haluk Görgün cited a $120 billion portfolio of 1,400 projects at a Turkish-Saudi defence industry meeting in Istanbul, as Riyadh pushes to make half its defence equipment at home.
US seizes $1.2bn of crypto it says North Korea stole from Binance
The Justice Department says more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds has been frozen. It also seized servers behind a deepfake scheme it says took $400 million.
Kane marks record 126th England cap with winner against Croatia
The captain passed Peter Shilton and scored a 64th-minute penalty in a 2-1 win at Wembley that put England into the Nations League quarter-finals.
More stories
Pakistan’s Sukuk issuance passes Rs10tr as Aurangzeb courts foreign buyers
Socceroos’ friendly with Jordan moved from Amman to Doha over security
Pope Leo tells Peru’s bishops the Church must make amends for abuse
Iran war cuts visits to Emaar malls by 10%, Alabbar says
Jensen Huang agrees to testify to Congress, House chair says
CEC accuses federal government of trying to sabotage Islamabad local polls
Imran tells the PTI to stand firm on its ideology, Raja says
Iranian media say ‘enemy’ strike hit Sirik near Strait of Hormuz
Ukraine says it hit Russian warship in Baltic, Finland confirms strike
Maanum earns Arsenal 1-1 draw at Barcelona in Women’s Champions League
Nine-month-old baby dies of cold in Gaza tent as 53 states and groups urge aid
Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines signs deal to explore copper and gold in Chagai
Naqvi flies to Nawabshah for hour-long talks with Zardari
Formula E moves Jeddah season opener to April, citing regional developments
Iran’s army says two more tankers hit mines east of Hormuz
Wangchuk says armed police keep him confined to his home in Leh
Netanyahu briefs Eisenkot on Iran as row over new strike deepens
Eleven killed as passenger van plunges into Yasin River in Ghizer
Radio Pakistan Peshawar has new walls. Now find its lost voices
The trial over the 2023 arson must run its course. The state need not wait for a verdict to search for surviving copies of decades of Pashto and Hindko music, drama and speech.
A rebuilt studio can broadcast tomorrow. A burned recording of a singer who died decades ago cannot be made again.
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Pink buses are a good start. Every bus should be safe for women
The CDA’s 30 women-only electric buses deserve a quick launch. But Peshawar shows that making every bus safe does more for women than a separate fleet, and Islamabad should do both
9 min read
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Give KP’s daughters the cervical cancer jab, and the facts with it
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s drive to protect 2.93 million girls deserves every parent’s support. Its success will depend on trusted women at the door, honest answers on safety and a plan for the girls it misses.
8 min read
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Terrorists who turn mosques into bomb stores have told us who they are
Security forces found explosives and torture cells inside two mosques in Mir Ali. The terrorists who did it have no claim on Islam. Pakistan should back the soldiers who cleared them, restore the mosques quickly and make every pulpit part of the fight
8 min read
Sixteen memorandums later, what Pakistan’s minerals forum must show
Last year’s forum produced 16 memorandums. Since then Reko Diq has slowed and its financing is unfinished, while security and a railway have moved up the agenda. PMIF26 will be judged on whether signatures are turning into mines
An estimate of what lies underground says little about what can be extracted at a profit.
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The KSE-100 is back at 180,000. Staying there is the hard part
Pakistani shares have regained the level where they ended the last fiscal year. Cheaper oil, record reserves and remittances drove the rebound; rising interest rates, foreign selling and the Strait of Hormuz will decide what comes next.
8 min read
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Abu Dhabi talks put Europe’s security, not just Ukraine’s, on the table
The first three-way talks in nine months moved from the front lines to security guarantees and Europe’s future order. Territory still blocks a deal, and the Gulf keeps becoming the place where wars are negotiated.
9 min read
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What it would take to give Pakistan 12 provinces
Ministers keep floating new provinces. The Constitution sets the bar at two-thirds in Parliament and in the province being divided, and the Senate and NFC sums turn every map into a fight
9 min read
Words by
Justice Markandey Katju
Great injustice to Urdu in India
“This great language, which has produced perhaps the best poetry in modern India … and which is a shining gem in the treasury of Indian culture, is today neglected, and by some people even looked at with suspicion,” writes former Supreme Court of India Justice Markandey Katju.
Words by
Abdullah Esquire
The tailor’s son who dreamed of another age: the life of Allama Iqbal
From Sialkot to Cambridge, Heidelberg and the mosque at Cordoba: how a poet who argued with God came to imagine Pakistan. A Big Read in eleven chapters
Words by
Justice Markandey Katju
The significance of Abdul El-Sayed’s victory
“Dr El-Sayed’s victory is a message not only for America but also for India and the whole world,” writes former Supreme Court of India Justice Markandey Katju.
Words by
Dr Yasir Arafat
Pakistan’s mineral ambitions need more than mines
As global investors gather for PMIF26, Pakistan must look beyond mineral extraction and invest in the infrastructure, skills and industries that can turn its geological wealth into lasting prosperity
Pakistan in Numbers
The prices and figures behind your bills and savings, kept up to date.
See all the numbers- InflationHow fast prices are rising, over a year10.3%Down from 11.1%Sep 2026
- PetrolPrice of a litreRs 335.00Down from Rs 338.0012 Nov 2026
- Foreign reservesDollars the State Bank holds$21.52bnUp from $21.49bn23 Oct 2026
- Dollar rateRupees for one US dollarRs 276.72Up from Rs 276.6611 Nov 2026
- Stock marketThe KSE-100 index179,084Down from 179,33511 Nov 2026
- Load-sheddingPower shortfall, as reported4,000 MWUp from 3,600 MW6 Oct 2026
How Pakistan lives.
Westline
How markets and wars dictate society.
Read Westline
The backlog Britain built
Ministers of both parties have spent a decade blaming the people in the queue. The numbers point at the people running it.
Abdullah Esquire
The Tories edge past Reform, but credibility is the real fight
Abdullah Esquire
Trump’s infatuation with Munir is a love letter to charisma
The Editorial Desk
Every Starmer stumble brings Kemi closer
TT Monitoring Desk
Iran war cuts visits to Emaar malls by 10%, Alabbar says
Hotel occupancy has fallen to about 65% from 80%, the Emaar founder told an investment conference in Dubai, but he said building was on schedule and dismissed talk of a property bubble.
Nurmagomedov barred from RAF Abu Dhabi after brawl with Dvalishvili
RAF’s chief executive said Nurmagomedov will not attend Saturday’s event, after Abu Dhabi police arrested 10 people over a hotel fight in which footage appeared to show him striking Merab Dvalishvili.
Tanker struck off Ras Al Khaimah catches fire as crew of 22 evacuated
The UAE Coast Guard took all 22 crew, 19 of them Indian, off the Liberia-flagged MT Dominica Prosperity after a projectile set its engine room alight, India’s shipping minister and maritime agencies said.
Formula E moves Jeddah season opener to April, citing regional developments
The two Saudi races, due on December 18 and 19, will now be held on April 16 and 17, leaving Mexico City to open the first season of the Gen4 cars.
Houthis say they hit Saudi East-West pipeline and Yanbu oil site
The group said it carried out two operations on Thursday. Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm the claim, after a week of strikes on its energy network.
Saudi Arabia raises Saudization of 94 engineering jobs to 35%
Private firms with five or more workers in the covered jobs must meet the quota from May 2027, the labour ministry says, narrowing openings for foreign engineers, including Pakistanis.
PTA tells internet firms not to sell bandwidth to unlicensed providers
The regulator says bandwidth may go only to licensed operators, and that internet bills must be issued by a licensed company.
Pakistan’s Sukuk issuance passes Rs10tr as Aurangzeb courts foreign buyers
Issuance has more than doubled this year, the finance minister said, but foreign investors have been slow to buy the government’s Islamic bonds.
CEC accuses federal government of trying to sabotage Islamabad local polls
Sikandar Sultan Raja said the government had barred teachers from poll duty, and insisted the December 20 elections would go ahead.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards unveil new underground missile city
Footage released on Tuesday shows ballistic and cruise missiles and their launchers in a tunnel complex. Iran has not said where it is, and the claims cannot be independently checked
Why Afghanistan is called a global hub of terrorism
UN monitors, US intelligence and Russia all warn of terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan, as Pakistan becomes the country most affected by terrorism.
Through the Maldives, Pakistan stakes a claim to a bigger Indian Ocean role
A maritime security pact signed during President Muizzu’s visit gives Islamabad a foothold in waters New Delhi has long treated as its own backyard.
Arda Guler stunner not enough as Belgium beat Turkiye 2-1
Kevin De Bruyne and Charles De Ketelaere scored three minutes apart in Izmir, handing Sergen Yalçın defeat in his first match in charge.
Pio Esposito double hands Zidane first France defeat as Italy win 3-1
Michael Olise put France ahead after a Donnarumma error, but Italy hit back at San Siro to go top of their Nations League group.
Socceroos’ friendly with Jordan moved from Amman to Doha over security
Jordan agreed to Football Australia’s request after the squad and staff made clear they did not want to play in Amman. Australia meet Qatar in Doha on Friday.
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The names and the hits
The people who have written for The Thursday Times, and the stories readers came for most.
Written for The Thursday Times
Reham KhanBroadcaster, formerly of the BBCCelebrity sufferings
Mohammad Ishaq DarDeputy Prime Minister and Foreign MinisterPurchasing power is being squeezed from the common man
Mian Javed LatifPML-N member of the National Assemblyعمران خان کا ایجنڈا
Absar AlamFormer PEMRA chairmanجنرل باجوہ کا بیٹا اور میرا بیٹا
Hina Parvez ButtPML-N, Punjab Assemblyلوٹ کے بدھو گھر کو آ رہے ہیں
Ahmad JawadFormer PTI information secretaryقیامت سے قیامت تک
Ammar MasoodChief editor, WE Newsاک نئی قرداد پاکستان
Hammad HassanColumnist, Jangثاقب نثار کے جرائم
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