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GB unveils Rs20.48bn first quarter budget

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government on Monday presented a Rs20.478 billion interim budget for the first quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal year, while urging the federal government to allocate Rs258.95 billion for the full fiscal year to address the region’s growing development and infrastructure needs. The three-month budget was presented in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Mohammad Ali Akhtar during a session chaired by Speaker Imran Nadeem Shigri. Presenting the interim budget, Mr Akhtar said the federal government had earmarked Rs158.54 billion for Gilgit-Baltistan in the current fiscal year, an amount he described as insufficient to meet the region’s pressing requirements. He explained that the interim budget had been prepared to ensure the continuity of government operations until the presentation of the full annual budget for 2026-27. According to the budget proposals, Rs88bn has been allocated for non-development expenditures, whi...
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Pakistan allows 26 World Food Programme containers to enter Afghanistan via Torkham

KHYBER: Pakistani customs authorities on Monday issued gate passes to as many as 26 World Food Programme (WFP) containers carrying food and essential supplies at the Torkham border to cross into Afghanistan. Since October 2025, the Torkham border — a key trade route between Pakistan and Afghanistan — has been closed due to the “escalating security situation” along the border. Customs clearing agents, who had earlier in the day submitted Goods Declaration (GD) documents to the customs authorities, told Dawn that the containers were issued gate passes for crossing into Afghanistan late in the evening, despite the fact that the gates had officially been closed for any cross-border movement. The agents said that the containers were made to wait throughout the day as officials awaited a final “nod” from the higher authorities after the containers arrived at the Torkham import terminal early on Monday morning. They said that the authorities had informed them that all cleared vehicles w...
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Financing consumption through SMEs

Pakistan counts 7.14 million business establishments in its Economic Census, and only 9.8 per cent of them sit in manufacturing. Wholesale and retail trade accounts for 45.1pc, nearly five times as many. Twenty-seven years of measuring small and medium enterprises (SME) policy success by headcount and GDP share, never by whether small firms are actually financed for production, has led the government to finance consumption. Trade and consumption-facing services recycle domestic demand; they do not build export earnings, productivity growth, or foreign exchange. An SME policy that channels financing toward that segment by default, because it is sector-blind, not because it is deliberate, is financing consumption growth and calling it SME development. This is in a scenario where consumption as a percentage of GDP has consistently exceeded 97 per cent, while investment as a percentage of GDP has lagged at an average of 12pc over the last five decades. There does not exist a single exa...
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Sinner fends off Zverev in power battle to retain Wimbledon crown

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Italian top seed Jannik Sinner resisted an all-out onslaught by an inspired Alexander Zverev to retain his Wimbledon crown in a thunderous final and claim a fifth Grand Slam title on Sunday. Zverev, in his first Wimbledon final hot on the heels of winning the French Open, threatened an upset after taking an intense opening set, but eventually ran out of firepower as Sinner found another gear to win 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 ‌6-4. The destiny of the title was still on a knife edge nearly three hours into an absorbing contest but second seed Zverev’s resistance finally cracked after a nasty tumble in the third set and Sinner surged on to the title. Sinner, 24, became the first Italian to win a Wimbledon singles title last year by beating Carlos Alcaraz , and now joins an elite list of 10 men to successfully defend it in the professional era. It was a 10th successive victory for Sinner over Zverev but this time he was pushed to the limit by the 29-year-old who had been bidding to become the f...
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'We will not give up Indus': PPP holds Sindh-wide rallies condemning India's threats to Pakistan's water share

HYDERABAD/KARACHI: PPP on Sunday staged rallies across Sindh to condemn India’s unilateral attempt to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) and its plans to divert Pakistani waters in the Indus river system. Water and the IWT remain a contentious issue between India and Pakistan, following New Delhi’s unilateral abeyance of the accord last year — a move that was followed by a brief military conflict between the two sides in May 2025. PPP activists held demonstrations in several districts and cities, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Thar , Mirpurkhas , Larkana , Shikarpur , Naushahro Feroze and Dadu . They gathered under the slogan ‘ marsoon marsoon, Sindhu na desoon ’ (We will die, but we will not give up the Indus). Leading a rally in Hyderabad, PPP Sindh chapter president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had raised the issue at global forums and would take it to a logical end. The rally started from Shahbaz Building ...
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'Architect of wars': Netanyahu gears for what could be his political life's defining contest

He has led multiple wars, outlasted several American presidents, and watched his political obituary written — only to be shredded — more times than any other leader in modern Israeli history. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, faces an international arrest warrant over alleged war crimes in Gaza, a long-running corruption trial, and a spiralling multi-front conflict that has dragged on for nearly three years and has seen his country’s first direct military confrontations with arch-foe Iran. Now the silver-haired 76-year-old, nicknamed “Bibi”, is staring down an election that many believe could finally draw the curtain on one of the most consequential and contested careers in Israeli politics — or extend it once again. Netanyahu has declared that he “intends to win” in the election scheduled for October 27, setting the stage for what could be the defining contest of his political life. Shattered image of ‘Mr Security’ Netanyahu built his entire career ...
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Bellingham double fires England past Norway into World Cup semis

Jude Bellingham scored twice, including the extra-time winner, as England ground out a 2-1 victory over a battling Norway side at Miami Stadium on Sunday to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time. The teams were locked up ​1-1 at the end of regulation time after Andreas Schjelderup had opened the scoring for Norway with a wonder strike in the 36th minute and Bellingham skipped ‌into the area to equalise just before halftime. Three minutes into extra time, though, Morgan Rogers fired a long-range shot at the Norwegian goal that Orjan Nyland could only parry and Bellingham stole in to bury the rebound, delighting the white-shirted fans in the crowd of 64,478. England will face Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday in their fourth semi-final in their last five major championships, looking to stay on course for a repeat of their sole World ​Cup triumph of 1966. “The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but I’m not happy with the performance...
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