The federal government on Friday reduced petrol and diesel prices by Rs5, according to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division.
According to the notification, the revised prices will take effect from May 16.
Following the decrease, the price of petrol stands at Rs409.78 per litre and that of HSD at Rs409.58.
Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and has a direct bearing on the budget of the middle and lower-middle class. High-speed diesel is mainly used in the heavy transport sector and for large generators.
The government has been revising petroleum prices every week on Friday night following the now-paused US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28. The war also led to a global fuel crunch caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s supply of oil and gas used to pass in peacetime.
Last week, the government approved a hike of Rs14.92 per litre in petrol and Rs15 on HSD prices.
In the following weeks, PM Shehbaz said he had rejected recommendations to increase fuel prices despite an increase in the global market on three occasions.
But on April 2, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced an unprecedented increase of 43 per cent and 55pc in the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel, respectively. The ministers had also announced a targeted fuel subsidy programme.
However, just a day later, PM Shehbaz slashed the petroleum levy by Rs80 per litre and brought the price of petrol down to Rs378 per litre.
On April 10, PM Shehbaz further decreased diesel prices and petrol prices by Rs135 and Rs12 per litre, respectively.
PAKISTAN’S latest GDP figures offer a picture of modest recovery. A projected growth rate of 3.7pc for the current fiscal falls short of the government’s original 4pc target. This is slightly less than even the lower bound of the State Bank’s projected range of 3.75-4.75pc. But it is still an improvement over the previous year’s 3.18pc expansion. Thankfully, the SBP anticipates growth, albeit tepid, during much of next year in case energy prices stay elevated and the Gulf crisis lingers.
That said, the numbers show that the economy continues its struggle to break out of the low-growth trap. Structural issues are constraining long-term, faster growth prospects without overheating the economy. In this context, even modest growth is welcome after four years of economic instability, external financing crises and inflationary shocks, and despite oil price hikes triggered by the Gulf conflict.
The economy’s size has increased to over $452bn while per capita income has edged up to $1,901. Large-scale manufacturing has rebounded while services remain the dominant contributor to growth. Agriculture, which employs much of the workforce and supports rural incomes, on the other hand, has underperformed. A growth of 2.89pc is hardly robust for a sector seen as the economy’s backbone.
The composition of growth is also of concern. Much of the industrial rebound has come from a low base after years of contraction. Automobile production rising by over 61pc sounds impressive, but it reflects recovery from previously depressed levels caused by import curbs and supply disruptions. Services-led growth, meanwhile, reflects the continued expansion of consumption and state expenditure rather than a shift towards productivity-driven development.
Pakistan lacks the export-oriented industrial expansion that has driven sustained high growth in other economies. The disconnect between growth and living standards is another concern. Per capita income has increased in dollar terms. But much of the population continues to struggle with a high cost of living, stagnant wages and declining purchasing power. A rise from $1,824 to $1,901 does little to alter the daily realities facing lower-middle-income homes.
The bigger implication is that recovery remains heavily cyclical rather than structural. The economy may have stabilised after avoiding default and restoring IMF-backed discipline, but stabilisation cannot be a substitute for growth. We still face low investment, weak exports, poor tax mobilisation and human capital deficits. What these numbers show is that while Pakistan now has some breathing space, a durable growth path is still not in sight.
A 3.7pc growth rate may be enough to signal recovery, but is insufficient for a country with Pakistan’s development needs. Without sustained reforms in productivity, education, energy, exports and governance, modest recoveries will continue to alternate with crises. The challenge is not merely to increase growth figures, but to change the quality of growth too.
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday said that IMF-mandated asset declarations of civil servants would be made publicly accessible in a redacted form to ensure both transparency and personal privacy.
The declaration of government officials’ assets is required under IMF governance and corruption-related benchmarks.
Establishment Division Secretary Nabeel Awan testified before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, which ordered full investigations into two major scams involving the disappearance of over 400 kilogrammes of silver and a major portion of 2,000 bags of skimmed milk from the custody of Pakistan Customs.
The meeting of the senate panel, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, took up the status of asset declarations by government servants, and Awan reported that the government had revised the Civil Servants Conduct Rules and was in the process of digitising the asset declaration system through the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) platform.
He said, “Declarations would be publicly accessible in a redacted form to ensure transparency while safeguarding personal privacy,” adding that the objectives of asset declarations and income tax returns were distinct in nature and governed under separate legal frameworks.
Mandviwalla appreciated the initiative and directed that the revised conduct rules be shared with the committee for detailed review and possible refinement.
He also suggested exploring amendments to the Election Act for parliamentarians regarding the submission of asset declarations to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The committee also deliberated on the case of missing silver during transportation after its confiscation by Customs authorities.
It was reported that approximately 698kg of silver had been confiscated in various cases in Balochistan. However, during transport, it was found that the consignment allegedly contained only 298kg of silver, while the remaining 400kg consisted of lead.
Customs officials informed the committee that the matter appeared prima facie to be an insider job and that an inquiry had already been initiated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
Mandviwalla directed the FBR to ensure recovery of the missing silver, identify those involved and submit a comprehensive report. The matter was also referred to the interior sub-committee for further investigation.
The committee also considered the ‘Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2026’. Mandviwalla questioned the timing and broader implications of the proposed amendments amid the ongoing budget exercise for the upcoming financial year.
Officials said the amendments were intended to improve governance, operational efficiency and the management of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and were not directly linked to the federal budget process.
Committee members, however, expressed concerns over delays in development funding and cautioned that the proposed amendments should not adversely impact SOEs.
The amendments also proposed mandatory briefings to parliamentary standing committees on SOE performance.
The matter was deferred for further debate, and the ministry was asked to submit a clause-by-clause rationale for each proposed amendment before the next meeting.
In November 2025, the government agreed to the publication of asset declarations of high-level public officials in 2026 and their risk-based verification to improve the country’s accountability and integrity standards against widespread corruption..
According to IMF’s Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA), released by the Ministry of Finance as a structural benchmark of the ongoing $7 billion loan programme, the two sides agreed under a short-term action plan to “strengthen accountability and integrity among high-level federal civil servants by initiating the publication of asset declarations in 2026, and introduce risk-based verification of asset declarations”.
(LEFT to right) President Asif Ali Zardari confers the Sitara-i-Shuja’at upon the mother of Liaqat Ali, a former railway employee who thwarted a suicide attack in Attock; the Hilal-i-Imtiaz upon playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed, and cricketer Shahid Afridi at an investiture ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadr.—X/@PresOfPakistan
ISLAMABAD: Muhammad Liaqat, a railway employee who thwarted a suicide attack in Attock, was among several Pakistani nationals and foreigners who were conferred civil awards by President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday in recognition of their outstanding services in various fields.
President Zardari posthumously awarded the Sitara-i-Shujaat to Liaquat for his extraordinary bravery and sacrifice, following the recommendations from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider. The civil gallantry award was received by the deceased’s mother.
Liaqat embraced martyrdom after courageously intercepting a suicide attacker near the Mankoor check post in the Jand tehsil of Attock district, preventing what officials described as a major tragedy and saving numerous lives.
The investiture ceremony was held at Aiwan-i-Sadr, where various personalities were conferred with civil awards in recognition of their services in health, education, literature, journalism, public service, research, diplomatic affairs, sports and the economy.
President Zardari confers civil awards on prominent Pakistani and foreign nationals
The ceremony was attended by First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, federal ministers, the Senate chairman, parliamentarians, members of civil society, diplomats, media representatives and a large number of guests.
Nishan-i-Imtiaz (posthumous) was conferred upon late Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, and late Irfanul Haq Siddiqui in recognition of their outstanding services to the country.
The recipients of Nishan-i-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Imtiaz included Attaul Haq Qasmi, Shahid Khan Afridi, Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, Muhammad Ali, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Senator Taj Haider (posthumous), Moazzam Jah Ansari, Engineer Jamaluddin Ahmed, Mirza Rizwan Baig, Muhammad Yousuf Khan, Dr Ameer Muhammad, Professor Dr Ikram ul Haq, Zahra Majid Ali, Shehroz Kashif, Malik Ata Muhammad Khan (posthumous), Ehtesham ul Haq, Azeezuddin, Bahraini diplomat Mohammad Ebrahim and Mohammad Abdul Qadir.
The recipients of Sitara-i-Shujaat (posthumous) are: Javedullah Khan Mehsood, Nawab Ali, Senator Hidayatullah, ASI Muhammad Akram, SI Taj Meer Shah, Constable Abdullah, Constable Samand Khan, Constable Zameel Badshah, Abdul Hameed, Constable Muhammad Siraj, Constable Muhammad Javed, Hafeezullah, Inspector Shariq Rizwan, Jawad Qamar, Naek Gulzar Ali, Sepoy Uzair Khan, Sepoy Khatab ul Rehman, Sepoy Gul Umarzai, Sepoy Abdul Sameed, Sepoy Imran Khan, Naib Subedar Muhammad Jan, Lance Naek Syedur Rehman, Sepoy Hazratullah, Sepoy Khunzada, Sepoy Mushtaq Ahmed, Sepoy Baseerullah, Sepoy Mehtabur Rehman, Sepoy Sher Rehman, Sepoy Fazal Kareem and Sepoy Syed Amin, Sepoy Muhammad Yousaf, Constable Muhammad Shehryar, Faisal Ismail, Abdul Wakeel, Fazal Manan, ASI Noor Hakeem, Constable Zahidullah and Liaqat Ali.
The recipients of Hilal-i-Shujaat (posthumous) included Shah Wali Khan, ASI Muhammad Ejaz Khan, SI Laiq Zada, Constable Alam Zeb, Constable Muhammad Ejaz, Waseem Ahmed Khan and Sepoy Azhar Mehmood.
The personalities who received Sitara-i-Imtiaz included Interior Secretary Muhammad Agha, Dr Muhammad Fakhar-i-Alam, Nabeel Munir, Iftikhar Amjad, Sohail Ashraf, Dr Naseem Faraz, Javed Akbar Riaz, Brigadier Faisal Shaukat Jehangiri, Ahmed Abdul Moeez Khawaja, Irfan Ahsan, Hamza Tabani, Dr Arshad Rehan (US/Pakistani), late Munir Ahmed Chaudhry, Muhammad Yaseen Khan, Arshad Wali Muhammad, Ahmed Raza, Prof Sarwar Muhammad Khawaja, Hamra Abbas, late Justice Syed Deedar Hussain Shah, Nadeem Hussain and Nadeem Mehboob.
Rashid Waheed Khawaja and Zahid Ahmed received Pride of Performance award, while Muhammad Saeed Sheikh received Sitara-i-Khidmat and Shahid Hussain received Tamgha-i-Shujaat.
Those who received Tamgha-i-Imtiaz included Sindh IGP Javaid Akhtar Odhoo, Nadir Shafee Dar, Dr Muhammad Shahbaz Chaudhry, Muhammad Kashif Ashfaq, Ch Amanat Hussain Mahr, Dr Farhat Akhtar Raja, Dr Khurum Hayat Khan, Dr Muhammad Shabi Ahmed, Dr Zeeshan Ali, Syed Zahid Hussain Shah, Raja Suleman Raza, Sajid Abbas, Naveed Anwar Chaudhry, Abdul Waheed Khan, Abdul Wahab Sheikh, Waqasul Hassan, Shazia Sikandar Rana, Mohsin Nawaz, Muhammad Arsalan Zafar, Abdul Muhai Shah, Dr Rao Kamran Ali, Dr Imran Syed, Dr Muhammad Naeem Malik, Nasir Aftab, Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Marri, Aamir Javed Sheikh, Dr Anam Fatema, Qazi Ali Raza, Chaudhry Awais Afzal, Sahibzada Muhammad Yousuf, Waseem Ahmed, Professor Muhammad Tayyeb, Nadia Jehangir Seth and Ziaul Hassan Lanjar.
Amjad Iqbal in Taxila also contributed to this report
A major-ranked officer was among five soldiers martyred during an area sanitisation operation in Balochistan’s Barkham district, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday.
At least seven terrorists were also killed during the operation.
According to a statement by the military’s media wing, the operation, carried out by the Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps Balochistan, took place in Barkham district’s Nosham area and targeted members of Fitna al Hindustan — a term used by the state to designate terrorist organisations in Balochistan.
“During the operation, a group of terrorists was located and engaged by troops. During [the] fire exchange, seven terrorists of Indian-backed Fitna al Hindustan were sent to hell,” ISPR said, adding that weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed terrorists.
“However, during intense fire exchange, five brave sons of soil, including a field officer, met the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat (martyrdom),” ISPR added.
The martyred personnel were identified as Major Tauseef Ahmed Bhatti, 31, from Pakpattan; Naik Fida Hussain, 36, from Sukkur; Sepoy Zakir Hussain, 32, from Skardu; Sepoy Suhail Ahmed, 21, from Khanewal; and Sepoy Muhammad Ayaz, 24, from Rahim Yar Khan.
“Sanitisation operations in the surroundings continue to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorists present in the area,” the statement adds.
“[The] relentless counter-terrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out [the] menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” ISPR concludes.
In March, at least 15 terrorists were killed in Harnai and Basima districts of Balochistan during two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs).
Earlier in February, security sources killed 10 terrorists during an operation in Balochistan’s Zhob.
There has been a resurgence in terrorism in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned TTP. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.
The European Union’s health agency (ECDC) said on Wednesday there was nothing to suggest that the Andes strain of hantavirus had mutated following a deadly outbreak of the illness on a cruise ship.
The deaths of three passengers from a rare hantavirus outbreak on a cruise from Argentina to Cape Verde sparked international alarm.
Seven other passengers are confirmed to have the virus, including a French woman in a critical condition, while an eighth case is considered “probable”, according to an AFP tally. All of the passengers have been evacuated and are now in quarantine.
“Preliminary investigations based on the whole genome sequencing that is available to us suggest that there are no indications that this virus is acting any differently from the known virus circulating in some regions of the world,” Andreas Hoefer, of the Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, told journalists.
“All sequences obtained to date are virtually identical, which means that there is likely only a single transmission event from an infected animal to a human,” Hoefer, a microbiologist and molecular epidemiologist, added.
The disease is usually spread from infected rodents, typically through urine, droppings and saliva.
Laboratory testing in South Africa and Switzerland confirmed the virus to be the Andes strain — the only hantavirus strain known to pass between humans.
There are no vaccines or specific treatments for hantavirus. Both ECDC and World Health Organisation guidelines include a 42-day quarantine and constant monitoring of high-risk contacts because the incubation period can take six weeks.
“Due to the long incubation period, it is still possible that more cases among the passengers who are now actually in quarantine will occur,” ECDC director Pamela Rendi-Wagner said.
“This cannot be excluded.” Gianfranco Spiteri, ECDC’s head of global epidemic intelligence and health security, said the risk of transmission was greatest for those who showed symptoms of the illness.
But he acknowledged that people might be contagious in the first couple of days before symptoms appear.
“So in terms of taking a preventive and highly precautionary approach, we recommend, for example, that contact tracing should be done for two days before [the] onset of symptoms as well,” he said.
GLOBAL suffering continues as uncertainty over the fate of the war in the Middle East refuses to dissipate. Market analysts and decision-makers have repeatedly warned that the economic damage already wrought — and worsening daily as vital shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz remain closed — could take months, in some cases years, to reverse.
Every day that passes without clarity on how and when the war will end introduces fresh intensity to the uncertainty roiling global markets and adds to the economic turmoil the world must bear because of it. Iran may have been pummelled militarily but refuses to accept defeat.
The consensus in foreign intelligence circles is that it may be able to endure for a lot longer before economic pressure forces it to reconsider its position. The US, for its part, seems to be losing the endgame, with its leadership’s obduracy drawing it deeper into a quagmire which is not easy to exit.
Thankfully, the diplomatic process continues even as both sides, at least publicly, continue to signal that they are still far from arriving at any amicable settlement. Pakistan continues using its good offices in both capitals to coax them towards a mutually acceptable agreement. Other countries, notably Qatar, have also lent their weight to the efforts to mediate the crisis. Recent signals from regional powers, most notably Saudi Arabia, indicate that key stakeholders remain wary of this conflict’s actual goals and possible outcomes, and are likely to keep their distance from it.
Taken together, these may be healthy signs for those still hoping for peace despite Washington’s rumblings about the ceasefire being on “life support”. Still, the threat from spoilers remains, and recent efforts to bring Pakistan’s role into question, such as news reports casting aspersions on its neutrality, should prompt Islamabad to tread with care and defend itself forcefully wherever it can.
It is hoped that both Iran and the US can soon reach some sort of agreement. In Iran, things seem to have been complicated by hard-line factions’ efforts to assert themselves more forcefully in the talks with the US. Meanwhile, in Washington, US President Donald Trump seems to want to claim complete victory without any acknowledgement of how limited America’s gains have been. A workable settlement will require concessions from both — Tehran accepting limitations on its nuclear capabilities and Washington accepting that total capitulation is not on offer.
Neither will get everything it wants, and the sooner each accepts that, the less damage the world will have to absorb. They would also do well to remember that the longer the stalemate drags on, the more goodwill they will lose in world capitals, including in those countries otherwise sympathetic to their positions. It is best they end this quickly, before more is lost.
