Beyond Today, Into Tomorrow
ISLAMABAD: The number of approved special economic zones has surged dramatically from seven to 44 in the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), including notification of 37 new SEZs through coordinated efforts led by the Board of Investment (BoI). The increase in approval rate was revealed on Friday during a briefing on Pakistan’s engagement with China…
ISLAMABAD: Despite over 35 years of ‘reforms’ and policy interventions, Pakistan’s power sector remains incapable of instilling confidence in the country’s economic growth and in consumers’ trust, leading to gains secured from power producers through renegotiations evaporating amid unending inefficiencies. This charge sheet has been framed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) against…
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday reaffirmed that pension is a vested constitutional right, not a bounty or a privilege granted at the discretion of the employer. Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, in a six-page judgment, emphasized that pension benefits are earned through long, continuous, faithful, and unblemished service, upholding the right of a former civil…
LAHORE: Police on Saturday submitted a report in the Lahore High Court (LHC) detailing the security plan for the upcoming three-day Basant festival. Basant will be celebrated in Lahore from February 6-8, following the passage of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025, that ended a suspension of the festival after almost two decades. The report…
Protests in Iran have subsided after a crackdown by security forces amid an internet blackout, monitors said Friday, a week after the start of the largest demonstrations in years challenging the country’s government. Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s late shah, however, said he was confident the Islamic republic would fall and called…
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed his hope for peace and stability in Iran on Saturday, the Foreign Office (FO) said. According to a post by the FO on X, Dar spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call in which the two diplomats discussed the current situation in…
The United States has announced the launch of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, shifting focus from ceasefire implementation to demilitarisation, technocratic governance and reconstruction. In a social media post, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that the high-profile ‘Board of Peace’ unveiled on Friday was a move “from ceasefire to…
Military-to-military ties between Pakistan and the United States appear to be strengthening, marked by renewed joint training, major defence sales and unusually warm rhetoric from President Donald Trump towards Pakistan’s military leadership. According to a statement issued by the US Central Command (Centcom), American and Pakistani troops this week concluded joint training at Pakistan’s…
KARACHI: Karachi police on Saturday claimed to have arrested two suspects, including a man allegedly involved in the assault of “over 100” boys. Officials, citing lab findings from seven such cases between 2020 and 2025, said boys were lured and kidnapped before being subjected to criminal assault, mostly in the Malir Nadi (riverbed) area. East…
Islamabad: At least 24 people were killed and more than 20 injured in two separate road accidents on Saturday, when a truck plunged into a dry canal in Punjab’s Sargodha district and a passenger coach overturned near Ormara tehsil in Balochistan. According to Beyond the Time News, in Sargodha, 14 people — including six children…
