At the time of writing, the people of Pakistan are united in their pride of their armed forces, particularly the air force. The most hard-core critics of military spending have seen the wisdom of a high defence budget when we have a hostile nation as a neighbour. But in the end, who does war benefit? Not the civilians who fear for their lives and livelihoods while mourning those who are lost to
India and Pakistan have been effectively at war since last Wednesday. And the war takes its toll on all involved: both the aggressors and their targets. The ongoing military conflict between India and Pakistan will indeed leave an adverse impact on the latter’s fragile, recovering economy, but it will not spare India’s either. The heavy costs of the conflict for India will extend far beyond
The government only managed to spend around 41 per cent of the development funds allocated for the fiscal year despite the passage of 10 months, the planning ministry has said. The development spending stood at Rs448.6bn in the first 10 months (July-April) of fiscal year 2025, accounting for less than 41pc of Rs1.1 trillion revised budget allocation for the whole year. The lack of spending s
The United States and China announced on Monday an agreement to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, de-escalating a trade war that has roiled financial markets and raised fears of a global economic downturn. After their first talks since US President Donald Trump launched his trade war, the world’s two biggest economies agreed in a joint statement to bring their triple-digit tar
Oil prices climbed about two per cent to a two-week high on Monday after the US and China agreed to temporarily slash tariffs, raising hopes of an end to the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. Brent crude futures rose $1.35, or 2.1pc, to $65.26 a barrel by 11:39am EDT (1539 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.40, or 2.3pc, to $62.42. The US and Chin