Pakistan strikes Afghan base after drone attacks

Pakistan launched airstrikes on a military site in Kandahar after authorities said drones linked to the Afghan Taliban targeted civilian areas and military installations inside the country, intensifying tensions along the volatile border.

Pakistani fighter jets carried out pre-dawn airstrikes in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan on Sunday, targeting what Islamabad described as militant bases. Afghan authorities, however, said civilians were killed in the attacks and warned of retaliation.

Pakistan has prolonged its ban on Indian aircraft using its airspace for another month, extending the restriction until March 23 amid continuing diplomatic strain between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Pakistan’s government has decided to transfer jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to hospital for urgent eye treatment.

Pakistani security forces say they have killed at least 145 militants in Balochistan during an intensified security operation launched after a wave of coordinated gun and bomb attacks that killed nearly 50 people across the province.

Pakistan’s military on Saturday said it killed at least 92 militants during large-scale security operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan.

A massive fire tore through a busy shopping mall in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, killing at least six people and injuring around 20 others.

Pakistan has struck a weapons sale agreement worth more than $4 billion with Libya’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), Pakistani officials said.

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has called on supporters to prepare for nationwide protests after he and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 17 years in prison in the Toshakhana-II corruption case, vowing to challenge the ruling in the Islamabad High Court.

The political crisis in Pakistan escalated further on Wednesday after the Punjab Assembly approved a resolution demanding a complete ban on former prime minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. 

An Islamabad-based security think tank has warned that India’s evolving `new normal` military doctrine is undermining strategic stability in nuclear-armed South Asia, arguing it risks provoking dangerous escalation during any future confrontation between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Pakistan is moving ahead with plans to privatise its loss-ridden national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), with a public auction scheduled for 23 December 2025. a make-or-break step for the country’s ongoing $7 billion bailout programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A discreet round of talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Saudi Arabia`s Riyadh failed to produce any progress. with both sides holding firmly to their long-standing positions amid rising security and diplomatic friction. 

The sons of Pakistan’s imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan have raised alarm over what they describe as an `information blackout` surrounding his wellbeing, saying authorities have provided no evidence for more than three weeks that he is still alive.

Pakistan and Bahrain have pledged to further strengthen their bilateral partnership, with both countries expressing a firm commitment to expand cooperation in economic, defence, and political spheres during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s official visit to Manama on Wednesday.

A coordinated suicide attack on the headquarters of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary in Peshawar left six people dead on Monday, including three security personnel.