Pakistan strikes $4b deal to sell weapons to Libyan force

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. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Pakistan faces entrenched corruption risks across key state institutions and must urgently implement a sweeping set of reforms to strengthen transparency and governance. 

Pakistan’s military said on Tuesday that 15 militants were killed in two intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between Nov. 15 and 16, according to a report by Dawn. 

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned that Islamabad may launch cross-border strikes inside Afghanistan following a string of terrorist attacks in the capital and tribal regions, accusing the Afghan Taliban of providing safe havens to militants responsible for the violence.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to begin the third round of high-stakes negotiations in Istanbul today, seeking to end cross-border terrorism, uphold the fragile ceasefire agreed after deadly border clashes last month, and establish a permanent framework for security cooperation.

The Pakistan Army has firmly rejected reports suggesting that the United States is conducting drone operations in Afghanistan from Pakistani territory, calling such claims “baseless and misleading.”

Pakistan’s first Chinese-designed Hangor-class submarine is expected to enter active service by 2026, marking a significant milestone in the country’s $5 billion defense partnership with Beijing, according to Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf.

India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) earlier this year has pushed Pakistan into an acute water security crisis, according to the Ecological Threat Report 2025 published by the Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).