From Netanyahu’s remarks to Lindsey Graham’s criticism, Indian media amplification, and renewed attacks inside Pakistan, a pattern is emerging: Islamabad’s rising diplomatic visibility has triggered a contest over narrative and power. Our editorial: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/13/e...

The State Bank of Pakistan’s Half Year Report shows stronger growth, lower inflation, rising reserves, and a rare fiscal surplus, but warns that weak exports, low investment, climate shocks and Middle East instability could still test transformation. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/12/a...

A resolution submitted in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Al Green has directly praised Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate peace between the United States, Israel, and Iran, placing Islamabad at the centre of a historic push for peace. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/08/n...

Donald Trump has cooled expectations of an imminent Islamabad signing ceremony, telling Caitlin Doornbos it was “too soon” to pack her bags for Pakistan despite U.S. and Iranian negotiators moving closer to a possible peace framework. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/06/n...

Pakistan’s cybercrime agency has arrested 13 suspects in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan over anti-state online campaigns, marking a more assertive move from the unit under NCCIA Punjab Director Muhammad Ali Waseem, who recently took charge. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/06/n...

The U.S. will close its Consulate in Peshawar, transferring diplomatic engagement to the US Embassy in Islamabad. Peshawar’s proximity to Afghanistan made it a key diplomatic post, playing an important role during and after the 2001 US-led war. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/06/n...

Pakistan's ongoing war on terror continues to confront terrorists targeting security forces and civilians alike; yet while the world speaks loudly for other states' victims, Pakistani suffering too often receives silence or indifference. Our editorial: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/06/e...

Jemima Goldsmith has found love again after getting engaged to Irish financier Cameron O’Reilly after a year-long relationship, marking a new chapter after years of publicity surrounding her marriage to Imran Khan and relationship with Hugh Grant. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/05/03/n...

U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth has promised a full and historic review of Joe Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal, examining the decisions leading to Abbey Gate, the Fall of Kabul, and what he described as a wider loss of American deterrence after 2021. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/24/n...

Donald Trump has said the U.S. will not use nuclear weapons on Iran, insisting Tehran has already been badly weakened by conventional military force. He also said the U.S. wants a peaceful agreement with Iran. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/24/n...

Levi's has bet on a three-year regenerative agriculture programme in Pakistan’s cotton belt to future-proof its denim, where water stress, degraded soil and climate volatility are reshaping one of the country’s most important farming sectors. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/24/n...

Trump rarely admires foreign figures by accident. His praise for Asim Munir points to something deeper than protocol: a recognition of the kind of charismatic presence Trump has always found irresistible—a tenet dating back to his days with Roy Cohn. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/23/w...

Keir Starmer came to office as a chaos antidote. Yet as Labour faces scandal after scandal, the snap-election conversation no longer feels fanciful. If Britain is herded to the polls, the beneficiary may not be who Westminster once assumed. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/w...

Will there be a second Islamabad Talks? Undoubtedly. The notion of an Islamabad Talks 2 have not materialised on cue, but that doesn't mean the process is dead. It means Pakistan holds the only channel both the U.S. and Iran can still use. Our editorial: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/e...

A senior adviser to President Trump has used a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to publicly praise Pakistan’s role in mediation, regional stability and ongoing peace efforts. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/n...

Pakistan is launching the second phase of the Pakistan–Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor, offering 500 scholarships to Bangladeshi students for higher studies at top universities across Pakistan. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/n...

Fly Jinnah will operate double daily flights between Lahore and Islamabad, adding fresh capacity to a key domestic route used heavily by lawyers, business travellers, patients and government officials. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/n...

China has selected Pakistani astronauts Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud for training linked to a future space mission, with one expected to become the first foreign astronaut to enter the Chinese space station after completing evaluations in China. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/n...

Donald Trump has said that a new round of U.S.-Iran talks could take place by Friday. In Islamabad, where diplomats are working back channels, Pakistan is trying to turn a brief pause in fighting into a second chance for negotiations. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/n...

The twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are trapped in a strange political theatre: roads sealed, schools disrupted, businesses hit and ordinary routines broken, all in anticipation of delayed talks between the U.S. and Iran. ✍️ Mahwish Fakhar thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/o...

Donald Trump says he has extended the United States' ceasefire with Iran after requests from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/n...

Pakistan has condemned the entry of Israeli settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the raising of Israeli flags inside its courtyard, calling the act a violation of international law and warning that such provocations further inflame regional tensions. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/22/n...

With a fragile truce's deadline looming, Pakistan is mounting an urgent diplomatic push to bring Iran back into talks with the United States, battling the clock even as naval tensions, public threats and deep mistrust threaten to close the peace window. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/a...

Azerbaijan’s state energy company, SOCAR, says it is prepared to supply LNG to Pakistan as soon as Islamabad makes a formal request, offering a new source of fuel as Pakistan faces declining domestic gas production and pressure on energy imports. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/n...

Zohran Mamdani is not Pakistani, yet he has stirred a rare intimacy in us. His Urdu, his visible Muslim identity and his wider Subcontinental cultural ease make him feel less like a foreign politician and moreso someone many Pakistanis understand. The Long Read: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/t...

Speaking to TT in Islamabad, Caitlin Doornbos described her visit to Pakistan as warm and memorable, praising the curiosity and openness of local people while cautioning no reporter covering a high-intensity conflict can predict where the talks lead. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/n...

Today is Allama Iqbal's death anniversary. It is worth asking what his ideas demand of Pakistan now; as Islamabad keeps diplomacy alive between Iran and the United States, Iqbal’s poetry feels less like memory and more like instruction. Our editorial: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/n...

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty have stressed the importance of dialogue and continued engagement in a high-level call on regional tensions, as Islamabad expands consultations with key Arab powers. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/n...

Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, told the American chargé d’affaires in Islamabad that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only workable path to regional stability, urging Washington to consider extending the ceasefire. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/n...

Saudi Arabia has publicly backed Pakistan’s diplomatic push for dialogue and stability between the United States and Iran, with Prince Faisal bin Farhan reaffirming the Kingdom's support over a call with Ishaq Dar. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/n...

Pakistan said late Tuesday that it is still awaiting formal confirmation from Iran on whether Tehran will attend the proposed Islamabad peace talks as the US-Iran ceasefire nears expiry. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/21/n...

The Israeli military has said it confirmed the veracity of a viral photograph which appeared to show one of its soldiers smashing a statue of Jesus Christ to pieces with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/20/n...

Pakistan has said it will repay the last $1.5 billion balance of its $3.5 billion loan from the United Arab Emirates within the next three days, a move underscoring the country’s financial discipline. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/20/n...

Sohail Afridi, the Chief Minister for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has claimed that Imran Khan first proposed the US-Iran peace talks now taking place in Islamabad, Pakistan more than two decades ago. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/19/n...

Donald Trump has long favoured high-profile diplomacy and may want to fly to Islamabad himself if offered the chance for a final deal or landmark announcement, meaning JD Vance would likely need to stay home in Washington or return from Islamabad first. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/19/a...

Menswear commentator Derek Guy (@dieworkwear) praising Shehbaz Sharif’s tailoring has thrown Pakistan into the menswear style spotlight, igniting debate on why some non-Western leaders may now wear classic suits better than the West itself. thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/19/n...

Pakistan reportedly launched a major air operation to escort Iran’s negotiators home amidst an Israeli terror threat after the Islamabad Talks, reflecting the danger hanging over Pakistan's diplomatic track in keeping US-Iran dialogue alive. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/19/n...

A prominent Turkish parliamentarian has called for Pakistan to become a full member of the Organization of Turkic States, saying centuries of cultural links and growing geopolitical cooperation have created a bond deeper than ordinary diplomacy. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/19/n...

After decades of debt scares, Pakistan now has renewed market access, stronger investor confidence, diplomatic relevance and momentum that isn't stopping anytime soon. We are moving beyond survival. Pakistan is beginning to believe again. Our editorial: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/e...

Ishaq Dar has said that India remains the principal obstacle to regional cooperation for SAARC as Pakistan steps up efforts to build alternative links through travel, trade and tourism while calling for dialogue from Kashmir to Palestine. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/n...

Indian defence analyst Pravin Sawhney has argued that Pakistan could play a major role in the emerging new world order, describing a multipolar system in which each region is shaped by a key state that acts as a centre of balance, wisdom and influence. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/n...

Pakistan is seeking early approval of its next IMF tranche ahead of a new review as officials hope uninterrupted support will help turn recent stability into a broader recovery. An IMF team is expected next month in Pakistan to unlock $1.2 billion. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/n...

Pakistan’s electricity shortages have eased after a sharp rise in hydropower generation, cutting outages in some areas from around six hours a day to less than three. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/n...

Pakistan is re-entering international capital markets, with Finance Minister Aurangzeb using talks with Rothschild & Co in Washington to outline a diversified borrowing strategy built around Eurobonds, a Panda bond and liability management operations. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/n...

Britain is no longer advising against travel to Gilgit-Baltistan, easing a notable warning on Pakistan's mountainous north in a move positively affecting tourism, insurance and international perceptions of the region. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/n...

Pakistan has secured $500 million in a three-year Eurobond priced at 6.975 per cent in a high-stakes return to international debt markets, offering a fresh sign that investor confidence in the country’s near-term economic outlook is beginning to recover. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/18/n...

A once-unthinkable question is now being traded like a stock: will Donald Trump visit Pakistan before the end of May? Polymarket is now assigning a 1/3 chance that Donald Trump will visit Pakistan by May 31, highlighting Islamabad’s diplomatic relevance. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/17/n...

Saudi Arabia has announced an $8 billion financial support package for Pakistan, extending an existing $5 billion deposit and adding a further $3 billion, reinforcing Islamabad’s economic stability at a critical moment. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/16/n...

Pakistan is pushing to convert its US-Iran ceasefire mediation into something larger: progress on the nuclear issue at the centre of the Iran crisis, with some officials believing a nuclear breakthrough with the country may be close. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/16/n...

Pakistan is using its Washington meetings to push for more than diplomacy. Islamabad wants trade, investment and a larger economic role in a world being reshaped by war and supply chain disruption. Read more: thursdaytimes.com/2026/04/16/n...