ISLAMABAD, March 17: A fashion show held in Indian occupied and held Kashmir recently by a prominent Indian brand Shivan & Narresh at a ski resort in Gulmarg has sparked a major controversy. The clothes showcased were hugely anti-Kashmir traditional suiting leading the show to draw a serve outrage. Moreover, it was the fasting month of Ramdhan. The event, which was intended to showcase the brand’s skiwear collection, quickly became the center of a heated debate and anger due to the appearance of models wearing bikinis and underwear. This upset many locals, religious leaders, and politicians in the predominantly Muslim…
Author: Ahmad Mukhtar
ISLAMABAD, March 17: Mari Energies Limited formerly known Formerly Mari Petroleum Company has discovered hydrocarbons reserves in its exploratory well Spinwam-1 (Kawagarh Formation) in Waziristan Block of the KP Province. A statement from the company says, “By the grace of Almighty Allah, Mari Energies Limited (formerly Mari Petroleum Company Limited) is pleased to announce second gas condensate discovery in Spinwam-1 exploration well in Kawagarh formation, drilled in Waziristan Block, located in North Waziristan district, KP Province”. This follows the earlier announcement dated 25th February 2025 of the first hydrocarbon’s discovery in the same well in SumanaSukh formation. The post acid…
Special Report, March 17: Mysterious radio pulses originating from the Milky Way have recently been detected, and they are described as being “unlike anything we knew before.” These pulses, known as fast radio bursts (FRBs), have long been a topic of intrigue for astronomers. Typically, FRBs are brief, high-energy bursts of radio waves that last only a fraction of a second, and their origins are still not fully understood. A recent breakthrough in astrophysics has uncovered mysterious long-duration radio pulses originating from the Milky Way. These pulses, which repeat every two hours, resemble a cosmic heartbeat and last from 30…
ISLAMABAD, March 17: Power generation in Pakistan saw a significant decline in February 2025, falling to 6,945 GWh, a sharp 15% decrease from the previous month, signaling a potential slowdown in economic activity. For comparison, power generation in January 2024 was 8,153 GWh. On a year-on-year basis, power generation was down by 3% from 7,130 GWh in February 2024, according to data from Arif Habib Limited (AHL). In the first eight months of the fiscal year 2025 (July-February), total power generation also fell by 3% compared to the same period last year, with 81,739 GWh generated, down from 84,426 GWh…
ISLAMABAD, March 17: In 2024, the 20 listed banks recorded both gross and net markup incomes to Rs7 trillion and Rs1.9 trillion, respectively. This growth can largely be attributed to two factors: a high interest rate environment and a large proportion of current and savings accounts. These conditions helped boost a combined net income of Rs579 billion, a 6.1% increase from the previous year. In Pakistan’s banking sector, a key focus should be on investments, which reached Rs27.9 trillion by 2024, accounting for 93% of total deposits. This reflects the symbiotic, yet often toxic, relationship between the government and banks.…
ISLAMABAD, March 17: In Pakistan fertilizer sector, for sales the sluggish trend continues, though the analysts believe sector players would pass on the impact of hike in gas prices along with any inflationary pressures which would keep profitability intact. With the Rabi season ending and no major sowing being done, fertilizer offtake continues its sluggish trend. In February 2025, Urea sales recorded a decline of 36 month on month and 22% year on year to 347,000 tons. Company wise analysis reveals that FATIMA urea offtake improved 42/24% YoY/MoM to 69KT in Feb’25, whereas FFC/EFERT recorded a decline of 35/52% YoY to…
ISLAMABAD/London March 17: The establishment of a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” by the United States has sparked both support and concern, with some praising it as a step toward legitimizing the cryptocurrency sector. While others express unease, particularly regarding the handling of bitcoins seized from hacks. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the reserve, which White House crypto chief David Sacks described as “a digital Fort Knox,” drawing parallels to how gold is stored at the U.S. military base. Just as gold has been held in reserves globally as a safe-haven asset to shield against financial…
ISLAMABAD, March 17: National Highway Authority (NHA) is grappling with severe financial challenges, as its net deficit for the fiscal year 2024-25 has surged past Rs318 billion. This has pushed the authority’s total losses and loans to alarming levels, with the combined figure for both now exceeding Rs1.82 trillion and Rs3.1 trillion, respectively. Meanwhile, its annual revenues are a modest Rs54.15 billion. NHA’s total assets, valued at Rs5.8 trillion, have been on a downward trajectory for the past two years. In FY22, the value stood at Rs5.9 trillion, while it decreased further to Rs5.84 trillion in FY23. Communications Minister Abdul…
ISLAMABAD March 15: Despite a stable monetary policy, the Rupee weakened due to few key factors like historically, volatility has been observed during IMF reviews. Secondly, foreign exchange reserves remain under pressure, though they are stable around $16 billion. Lastly, regional currencies are weakening, with the Indian Rupee briefly touching 87/$. Market Situation: Remittance inflows have surged due to Ramadan and are expected to continue until Eid, improving dollar liquidity and boosting forward premiums. Import pressure has also eased, thanks to lower oil prices and reduced cotton imports. Outlook: Analysts expect the IMF Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) to be finalized by the…
ISLAMABAD, March 15: A comprehensive global study has highlighted the severe and wide-reaching negative impacts of pesticides on biodiversity, contributing significantly to the ongoing biodiversity crisis. The study suggests that pesticides are not only harmful to target pests but also have pervasive negative impacts across all organisms, threatening ecosystem integrity and biodiversity. This is a chief cause of the killing the natural biodiversity in biological circle of all livelihood, from insects to the cattle, animals and humans. The study shows around 800 small and large species are hit by the huge use of pesticides on farm productions. There were 471…
