The way out for India
Elections cannot end India’s poverty and division, the former Supreme Court of India judge argues. Only a united people’s struggle can
Top stories
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HEALTH
27 bottled water brands failed safety tests. Check yours against the list
The government’s water research council tested 223 brands from 20 cities between July and September. Most failures were bacterial, and several have names close to big brands that passed
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INTERNATIONAL
Eisenkot proposes a ‘national emergency government’ to replace Netanyahu
In a statement before Shabbat, the former army chief backed by 67 lawmakers said he hopes to get the mandate early next week and set four conditions for any party that wants to join
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INTERNATIONAL
Bomb threats force RTÉ and other Irish media to evacuate newsrooms
Ireland’s government calls the hoax threats very serious and says they look like part of a co-ordinated campaign of disruption that has already hit flights across Europe
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NATIONAL
Shehbaz orders a roadmap for 100% digital payments in Pakistan
Government cheque payments through Asaan Assignment Accounts are to end on November 15 and move to Raast, and bill payers are being urged to use the QR code on their bills
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INTERNATIONAL
Indian bot accounts boosted El-Sayed’s rival as anti-Muslim abuse soared
Researchers found for-hire accounts in India pushing his primary rival’s videos, while posts attacking him for his faith rose twentyfold after his win
US midterms 2026
Live resultsSenate51 for control, 50 for Republicans
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The seven Senate toss-ups
Michigan6am
Abdul El-Sayed
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Dan Sullivan
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?
- Why did the State Bank hold the rate?
- How much have remittances risen?
Every answer from Thursday Times reporting and the official record. On WhatsApp too.
Featured
Seven in 10 Karachi buildings failed fire checks this year. Is yours safe?
Rescue 1122 audited about 1,900 buildings and more than 70 per cent fell short. Here is what to check in your own block, and what to do if fire breaks out
National CERT warns banks AI attacks could show customers fake balances
The cyber agency’s advisory also flags risks to power grids, pipelines and water plants, and tells banks to check their apps against core records
India eases passport rules for some Pakistanis living in the country
Pakistani nationals who settled in India by 2009 and cannot renew their passports without a CNIC are exempted under a Home Ministry order that also covers minority migrants, Sri Lankan Tamils and Tibetans
More stories
Close the scam centres, and the doors that keep them open
Karachi’s biggest raid yet shows the scale of a racket that steals from the world in Pakistan’s name. Arrests are not enough without the money and the protectors
Scam call centres are organised crime, and they steal from the world in Pakistan’s name.
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One Constitution Avenue needs more than a hotel
The government has taken back the towers and promised a five-star hotel. Refunds, a published report and a reformed CDA matter more
7 min read
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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
7 min read
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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
Record reserves, rolled-over loans: how Pakistan’s external sums work
Reserves are at a high and bond markets have reopened, but about a third of this year’s bill still rests on friendly rollovers
People reading only the reserves number and people reading only the rollover number often seem to be describing different countries.
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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
7 min read
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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.
5 min read
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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
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 352.59Down from Rs 362.006 Nov 2026
- Foreign reservesDollars the State Bank holds$21.52bnUp from $21.49bn23 Oct 2026
- Dollar rateRupees for one US dollarRs 276.56Down from Rs 276.755 Nov 2026
- Stock marketThe KSE-100 index173,887Down from 175,3806 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
UAE’s new traffic rules from January: five-car cap, child seats, nine-hour limit
What changes for drivers, delivery riders and e-scooter users under regulations taking effect on January 1
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
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.
Shehbaz orders a roadmap for 100% digital payments in Pakistan
Government cheque payments through Asaan Assignment Accounts are to end on November 15 and move to Raast, and bill payers are being urged to use the QR code on their bills
PTA and Meta block 176,000 WhatsApp accounts on recycled SIM numbers
Old accounts stay live after a SIM is cancelled and the number reissued. Here is what the move means and what you should do
Upwork freelancers can now withdraw straight to JazzCash and Easypaisa
NayaPay, SadaPay and Finja are also on the list, and the money usually lands within minutes, Upwork says. Here is how to set it up
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.
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.
Cristiano Ronaldo retires from Portugal after 23 years, 234 caps and 146 goals
The 41-year-old hands back the number 7 shirt, weeks after walking out of the national camp
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
From the paper’s own studio
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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
Most read, all time
- World Bank places Pakistan in MENA, ending South Asia classification
- Islamabad beats New York, London and Paris in quality of life index
- Jemima Goldsmith finds love again with Irish financier Cameron O’Reilly
- Cristiano Ronaldo wins his first Saudi Pro League Title with Al Nassr
- COMMENTARYThe Superstar Playboy Politicians
- OPINIONThe reality of Dr Shahbaz Gill
- ANALYSISA detailed guide to Maryam Nawaz’s first 100 days as Punjab’s Chief Minister
- TORQUEPlanning a motorway trip? Here’s how to get your M-Tag, and what happens if you don’t
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