Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), gather during a protest demanding free and fair results of the elections in Karachi on Feb. 11.
Politics

Pakistan court nixes governing coalition's absolute majority

Supreme court ruling gives Imran Khan's opposition PTI blocking power

12 July 2024
Technicians work on solar panels installed on the roof of a house in Karachi on June 8. Solar panels, mostly from China, are spreading across Pakistan as residents seek solutions to outages and hefty bills.
Asia Insight

Pakistan's rooftop solar boom shines spotlight on power crisis

Blackouts, soaring electricity bills spur urban, rural residents to install own panels

9 July 2024
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inspects the honor guard at the Prime Minister's House in Islamabad on March 4. Pakistan has entered the category of being a middle power.
Opinion

Middle powers are the new architects of the world order

How emerging nations are bridging the deepening rifts between major powers

4 July 2024
Army soldiers stand amid the rubble, a day after explosions in the counter-terrorism office building in a town in Swat, Pakistan, in April 2023. 
Opinion

Pakistan should learn from Indonesia's counterterrorism strategy

Islamabad's overly militaristic approach is not working, and attacks are rising

3 July 2024
Pakistan's national soccer squad goes up against Jordan at Jinnah Sports Stadium in Islamabad on March 21. The country has been without a domestic pro league for five years.
Sports

Pakistan soccer league wins reboot from Premier League duo

Retired Liverpool strikers Owen and Heskey face pushback from domestic federation

29 June 2024
Pakistani police officers take position during a counterterrorism training session.
Terrorism

Pakistan eyes new counterterror operations as security deteriorates

Government unveils plan after Chinese official warns future investment at risk

27 June 2024
Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presents the government's proposed budget to the National Assembly in Islamabad, on June 12. (Pakistan Finance Ministry Press Service via AP)
Economy

Pakistan floats international travel ban for tax dodgers

Ambitious $67bn budget in line with IMF demands, experts say

13 June 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif greet each other at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 7.
International relations

China rebuffs Pakistan's Sharif on new BRI investment

Islamabad hoped Beijing visit would breathe new life into infrastructure deals

11 June 2024
A damaged bus at the scene of a suicide bomb attack that killed five Chinese nationals in Pakistan on March 26.  
Terrorism

Pakistan beefing up security after deadly attacks on Chinese workers

Islamabad under pressure to ease Beijing's concerns amid future investment fears

3 June 2024
 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters demonstrate in Karachi on March 2 against alleged vote rigging.
Opinion

Pakistani political parties have much to learn from Turkey's AKP

Ability to resist military interference depends on mass mobilization

29 May 2024
A Chinese-backed power plant under construction in Pakistan's southern Sindh province in 2018.
International relations

Pakistan scrambles for relief on $15bn energy debt owed to China

UAE surprises with $10 bn investment in promising sectors of economy

24 May 2024
The IMF has told Pakistan it must stop subsidizing money-losing entities, such as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as a condition for loans to help prop up its faltering economy. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images)
Asia Insight

Pakistan moves to sell national airline in test case for privatization drive

Dozens of state enterprises on auction block as IMF calls for end of subsidies

21 May 2024
Afghan cargo is loaded at Chabahar for shipment to India in 2019: Budding multilateral cooperation centers on the Iranian deep-water port.
Opinion

Pakistan's moves to further isolate Afghanistan are backfiring

Estrangement is driving the Taliban to work with Iran and India at Chabahar port

13 May 2024
Filling up at a petrol station in Karachi, the Pakistani commercial capital. Pakistan receives millions of barrels of smuggled Iranian finished petroleum products annually.
International relations

Iran smuggles $1bn worth of fuel into Pakistan annually: report

Traders sneak petrol and diesel across border in corruption-riddled trade

7 May 2024
Political veteran Ishaq Dar has become Pakistan's first deputy prime minister since 2013.
Politics

Pakistan appoints Ishaq Dar, close aide of elder Sharif, as deputy PM

First deputy in over a decade takes reins amid rift in ruling party

1 May 2024
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, right, walks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Islamabad on April 22. (prime minister's office handout via Reuters)
International relations

Pakistan and Iran agree to boost trade, but Washington casts long shadow

Sanction fears could make it tough for neighbors to expand bilateral business

25 April 2024
Volunteers carry the casket of a Chinese engineer killed in a suicide bombing in March in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 
Opinion

Security for Chinese workers in Pakistan will always be elusive

Closeness between neighbors remains somewhat superficial

23 April 2024
Pakistan needs to repay $75 billion in debt over the next three years, according to Lahore-based capital markets expert Abdul Rehman.
Economy

Pakistan bargains hard for larger IMF deal of up to $8bn

Struggling country must reform economy to survive, even after approval

22 April 2024
A police officer stands guard near a damaged vehicle at the site of a suicide blast in Karachi on April 19. 
Terrorism

Five Japanese targeted in Pakistan suicide blast

Reports of 1 injury in group after incident in commercial capital Karachi

20 April 2024
Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party and others demand free and fair results of the elections on Feb. 11 in Karachi. More recently Khan's PTI allied with five other opposition parties and now expects to speak with a louder voice.
Politics

Pakistan opposition forms six-way alliance to challenge government

With economy bringing consumer pain, anti-government campaign could accelerate

16 April 2024
Pakistan is setting up a cannabis regulatory body as it hopes that trade in the drug for medical and industrial purposes will help to improve its finances. (File photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Politics

Pakistan sets cannabis rules, eyes sales to help balance books

Country hopes trade in drug for medical and industrial uses will boost coffers

15 April 2024
Supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Karachi's streets in February after the former cricket star was jailed for leaking state secrets and illegally selling state gifts. 
Politics

Pakistan rocked by claims judges threatened in ex-PM Khan case

High Court jurists complain over threats of violence, secret surveillance

10 April 2024
A worker fills a sack with rice at a mill on the outskirts of Lahore in Pakistan.
International relations

India-Pakistan battle for basmati rice turns acrimonious

Nuclear-armed neighbors' clash over fragrant strain boils over

8 April 2024
Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party chant slogans during a protest demanding free and fair elections in Karachi on March 2. 
Politics

Has Pakistan cricket hero Khan opened political Pandora's box?

Jailed ex-PM champions renewal, reforms that resonate with younger voters

6 April 2024
An Afghan repairs a carpet in Kabul. Carpets are one of Afghanistan's primary items of exports to Pakistan.
International relations

Pakistan and Taliban to expand trade despite lingering tensions

Two countries agree on 'separation of business from politics'

5 April 2024