Occupied Kashmir’s ruling party is cracking over a promise it cannot keep
Aga Ruhullah’s exit is about Article 370, but also about how little power an elected government holds in Srinagar. Pakistan should read it carefully, and not overread it
Top stories
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EDITORIAL
The Fa’az shows what Pakistan can do when it stays the course
The first homegrown air-to-air missile is a real achievement. On the day gas went on a timetable, its lesson of patience belongs in the energy sector too
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EDITORIAL
Twenty years is long enough to wait for $800m
Pakistan is still owed about $800m for PTCL, over 32 properties worth a fraction of that. Arbitration is the right step, if the state fixes its own file and sets a deadline
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ECONOMY
Missed the tax deadline? Form ATL-U can save you the Rs25,000 charge
The catch: you cannot buy property for six months after signing the undertaking
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NATIONAL
Pakistan’s first robotic telesurgery performed in Islamabad, university says
A surgeon at a conference removed a gallbladder by remote control, with a team at the patient’s side
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CULTURE
Lahore Fort’s Akbari Gate restored after being shut since British rule
The gate is to reconnect the fort with the Walled City once a ticket office is in place
US midterms 2026
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The seven Senate toss-ups
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Seats follow race calls by US election desks and are not official results. The Senate count starts from the 65 seats not on the ballot. Democrats include independents who sit with them. Poll-closing times are Pakistan time, Wednesday. Full results and coverage
Ask Pakistan. Get the proof.
- What did the budget change for salaried workers?
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Every answer from Thursday Times reporting and the official record. On WhatsApp too.
Featured
FIA can’t pursue wilful default until a banking court rules, LHC says
The Lahore High Court says lenders cannot use criminal probes as a shortcut to recovering loans
Blue whale found dead on Gwadar’s East Bay after two days off the coast
WWF-Pakistan is investigating, and its adviser says shallow water may have thrown the whale off course
Preservation work finished at Islamabad’s Shah Allah Ditta Buddhist caves
Officials hope the ancient site in the Margalla foothills will draw families and foreign visitors
More stories
The Fa’az shows what Pakistan can do when it stays the course
The first homegrown air-to-air missile is a real achievement. On the day gas went on a timetable, its lesson of patience belongs in the energy sector too
“Until now, this was a weapon Pakistan had to obtain from someone else.”
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Twenty years is long enough to wait for $800m
Pakistan is still owed about $800m for PTCL, over 32 properties worth a fraction of that. Arbitration is the right step, if the state fixes its own file and sets a deadline
9 min read
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Ten years on, Modi’s note ban has little to show for the pain
A decade after 86% of India’s cash was cancelled overnight, its own figures show cash, corruption and election money are all still there
4 min read
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A falling oil price is not an energy policy
Oil’s sharp fall on hopes of an Iran deal is a welcome reprieve. Pakistan should spend it on storage, a pricing rule, a fairer levy and the solar shift its people have already begun.
7 min read
Why Congress changing hands won’t rewrite US-Pakistan ties
A Republican still walks the White House corridors and America’s shared interests with Pakistan have not moved. Any promise of relief for Imran Khan from a Democratic majority will fail, just as the last one did.
“What moved policy each time was what Washington needed in the region, and whether Pakistan could help provide it.”
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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.
9 min read
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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.
4 min read
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With Badr, four Muslim powers bet on building their weapons together
Signed in Doha with little fanfare, the Badr memorandum joins Turkish factories, Qatari capital, Pakistani scale and an Indonesian market. Read as industrial policy rather than a pact, it may matter more than it looks.
7 min read
Words by
Dr Muhammad Bux Dharejo
Sehat Dehleez is Balochistan’s healthcare breakthrough
Free consultations, e-prescriptions, referrals and family health records on one public platform: Balochistan has built a model the rest of Pakistan can learn from.
Words by
Abdullah Esquire
Rethinking Musharraf
I grew up in a PML-N house where the general was the villain of every story. Fifteen years on, I've stopped believing it.
Words by
Raza Butt
Fazl’s quarrel with the establishment: principle, or political exclusion?
He spent a career negotiating at the table of power. Now, locked out of the room, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has begun to sound like the man he helped remove.
Words by
Raza Butt
The politics of collective security
The strongest defence of the Haramain would be one that keeps the turbulence of the region far from their gates. That is more than deterrence; it is stewardship of a trust larger than any single state.
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 362.00Down from Rs 369.065 Nov 2026
- Foreign reservesDollars the State Bank holds$21.52bnUp from $21.49bn23 Oct 2026
- Dollar rateRupees for one US dollarRs 276.66Down from Rs 276.754 Nov 2026
- Stock marketThe KSE-100 index175,380Up from 172,0135 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
Hormuz crisis has drained nearly a billion barrels from world oil stocks, ADNOC chief says, as shipping hits 30% of a barrel’s cost
“The world has eroded its supply buffers,” Sultan Al Jaber tells the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi, with diesel stocks at a 35-year seasonal low in some markets
AI now ‘mostly smarter’ than top scientists, Sam Altman tells ADIPEC as ADNOC signs OpenAI deal
OpenAI chief says there must be “no room for debate” over human control, and names energy as the one challenge he faces today
Binance freezes assets after $6.3 billion breach in what may be biggest crypto heist ever
The exchange suspended deposits and withdrawals and says it will cover all losses, as an analytics firm blames North Korea’s TraderTraitor unit and bitcoin slides to a six-week low.
Aramco profit jumps 34.5% to $36.25bn despite attacks and lower output
Higher oil prices and a joint venture exit lifted the Saudi oil giant’s earnings, even as the Iran war cut its output and its facilities came under fire.
Saudi-led coalition intercepts Houthi ballistic missile after strikes on Yemen’s Ras Isa port, as Houthis threaten Aramco
Civil defence alerts were issued and lifted across southern Saudi cities, while Houthi media say seven people were wounded in coalition strikes in Hodeidah province.
Huge fire at Dammam industrial complex after reported Yemeni strike, Iranian state media says
Saudi authorities have not commented on the claim about a strike in the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province.
Missed the tax deadline? Form ATL-U can save you the Rs25,000 charge
The catch: you cannot buy property for six months after signing the undertaking
Pakistan’s first robotic telesurgery performed in Islamabad, university says
A surgeon at a conference removed a gallbladder by remote control, with a team at the patient’s side
No, the PTA has not banned TikTok: viral notification is fake, regulator says
The regulator says it issued no such order and urges people to check its official channels
Asim Munir and Maldives’ Muizzu agree to deepen defence cooperation
The army chief met the Maldivian president in Islamabad on the second day of the first visit by a Maldivian head of state in 11 years, as the two countries signed a defence and maritime security pact.
Makkah defence pact text shows a ten-year lock-in and a Pakistani first in line to run its secretariat
The 16-article agreement between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia treats an attack on one as an attack on all, bars withdrawal for a decade and gives Pakistan the first turn as secretary-general.
Türkiye plans parliamentary mandate to deploy military personnel to Saudi Arabia
An AK Party lawmaker told Reuters the request would follow ratification of the Makkah defence pact, which Ankara sent to parliament on Tuesday. There has been no official confirmation from Ankara, Riyadh or Islamabad.
Hunza’s Maliha Ali stuns Russian champion at MMA World Championships
The 24-year-old won by split decision to reach the quarter-finals in Tbilisi, where her twin sister Manesha is also chasing a world title
Saudi Pro League postpones all this weekend’s matches after Asian Cup move
The league is reviewing its fixtures after the tournament was pushed back by almost a year because of the attacks on the kingdom
De Miguel’s death: Police open inquiry, but prosecutor doubts a case
Goalkeeper Jesus Owono has faced abuse since the collision, as Messi and Mbappe lead tributes to the Tenerife striker
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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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- TORQUEPlanning a motorway trip? Here’s how to get your M-Tag, and what happens if you don’t
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