ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue this week urged the government to withdraw a proposed 18 percent general sales tax (GST) on imported solar panels, saying some stakeholders were stockpiling equipment ahead of the federal budget to avoid the new levy.
Under the proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2025–26, the government has included the 18 percent GST on the import and local supply of solar panels and related equipment. The plan has raised concerns among industry players and clean energy advocates who warn that higher costs could slow the rapid uptake of household and commercial rooftop solar systems and undermine national targets for increasing renewable energy’s share in Pakistan’s power mix.
So far this year, solar has provided 25 percent of Pakistan’s grid electricity, placing the country among fewer than 20 worldwide that generate at least a quarter of their monthly power from solar farms.
Pakistan imported 17 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels in 2024 — double the previous year’s volume — to meet surging consumer demand, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025.
“The committee strongly recommended withdrawing the proposed 18 percent GST on solar panels,” the Senate secretariat said in a statement released on Tuesday after the standing committee’s fifth session to review the budget for fiscal year 2025–26.
“Members observed that ahead of the budget, certain stakeholders had imported and dumped solar equipment in anticipation of the tax hike.”
Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the chairman of the committee, called the government’s move “discriminatory” in nature.
“The committee rejects the sudden imposition of GST on solar imports and urges immediate withdrawal,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Sharmila Faruqui, a member of the National Assembly’s finance committee, also echoed the Senate panel’s call to scrap the proposed tax.
“I’m in the finance committee and the members have unanimously rejected this tax,” she told Arab News.
Pakistan increased its solar electricity generation at a rate more than three times the global average in 2025, driven by a surge in solar capacity imports that were over five times higher than in 2022, according to data from Ember, a UK-based energy think tank.
This rapid growth in both capacity and output has propelled solar energy from being the country’s fifth-largest power source in 2023 to the top spot in 2025.
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump will host Field Marshal General Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, at a White House lunch, according to the president’s daily public schedule for today, Wednesday.
The gathering comes amid heightened Middle East tensions and will be a rare direct engagement that signals a cautious thaw in ties between the two countries under Trump’s second presidency. After years of strained relations mainly over counter‑terrorism disagreements, both nations appear keen to rebuild military and economic ties.
Under Trump’s renewed outreach, Washington has praised Pakistan’s leadership and reinstated military cooperation previously curtailed over Afghanistan-related concerns. Islamabad, in turn, seeks to balance its longstanding partnership with China, including arms supply and defense infrastructure, with growing engagement with the United States
“The President has lunch with the Chief of Army Staff of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” Trump’s daily public schedule for Wednesday released by his office read.
This will be the first time in several years that a Pakistani army chief is hosted by a sitting US president at the White House. The last publicly known high-level visit was by the then-army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who met senior Pentagon and State Department officials in Washington in 2022 but did not have an appointment with Joe Biden who was the president at the time.
In May, Trump lauded Pakistan’s “very, very strong” leadership, and the White House described Pakistan as a “major non‑NATO ally,” signaling deeper security alignment. Last week, the head of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), General Michael Kurilla, praised Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner” in counterterrorism efforts, citing continued operations against militant groups and active intelligence-sharing between the two countries.
Pakistan’s powerful military plays a central role in shaping the country’s foreign and security policies. Direct outreach to its top commander reflects Washington’s effort to manage key regional security issues, including the aftermath of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, tensions between Pakistan and India after their brief but deadly military exchanges last month, and the broader fallout of the escalating Israel-Iran confrontation.
Security analysts say today’s meeting also reflects Washington’s renewed effort to maintain its influence in a region where Beijing’s footprint is steadily expanding through infrastructure investment and defense ties with Islamabad.
India’s PM Modi maintains there was no US mediation in ceasefire with Pakistan
Trump had said last month the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US
Pakistan has previously said ceasefire happened after its military returned a call the Indian military had initiated on May 7
Updated 18 June 2025
Reuters
NEW DELHI: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintained in a conversation with US President Donald Trump late on Tuesday that a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day conflict in May was achieved through talks between the two militaries and not US mediation, India’s senior-most diplomat said
Trump had said last month that the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war.
“PM Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-US trade deal or US mediation between India and Pakistan,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a press statement.
“Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasized that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do,” he said.
Misri said the two leaders spoke over the phone at the insistence of Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada which Modi attended as a guest. The call lasted 35 minutes.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Modi-Trump call.
Pakistan has previously said that the ceasefire happened after its military returned a call the Indian military had initiated on May 7.
KARACHI: A large fire that ripped through the Aamir Electronics Market in Karachi’s Saddar area this week and destroyed more than 40 shops and several warehouses has caused financial losses estimated at over Rs1 billion ($3.6 million), according to the president of a local association.
The blaze broke out unexpectedly on Monday afternoon and quickly engulfed large parts of the electronics hub, reducing inventories of batteries, solar panels, and other high-value goods to ashes. Traders said they were unable to save most of their merchandise as the fire spread rapidly.
“The government should immediately compensate the affected shopkeepers and work with the association to help them restart their businesses,” said MinHajj Gulfaam, President of the Karachi Mobile and Electronics Dealers Association (KMEDA).
“We also demand that trade associations be equipped with their own firefighting systems, just like some industrial associations. Preventive measures are urgently needed.”
Initial reports suggest an electrical short circuit may have caused the fire, though some eyewitnesses claimed it started in an adjacent empty plot where garbage was being burned and later spread to the market. Authorities have not issued an official cause.
Traders said fire brigade teams arrived late at the scene, by which time the blaze had intensified, adding that they tried to extinguish the flames themselves but the damage was already extensive.
Affected traders are calling for stronger enforcement of fire safety regulations and dedicated fire response units for high-density commercial zones.
Fires in commercial markets have become alarmingly common in Karachi. In April 2023, a fire at the city’s Cooperative Market destroyed dozens of shops, and in August 2022, a multi-story mobile phone market near Saddar also caught fire.
Many old commercial markets in Karachi have outdated electrical infrastructure and shopkeepers often add extra appliances, fans, lights, and unauthorized connections, leading to short circuits and electrical fires. Building codes and fire safety rules exist but are rarely enforced. Most markets don’t have proper fire exits, fire alarms, or functional extinguishers. Many are overcrowded with encroachments and illegally added stalls.
Karachi’s wholesale and retail markets, like Empress Market, Bolton Market, and Cooperative Market, often sprawl into narrow lanes with flammable goods stacked in unsafe conditions. Unauthorized mezzanines and storage units block escape routes and complicate firefighting.
Karachi’s fire brigade has also long struggled with outdated equipment, an insufficient number of vehicles, and poor access to congested market streets. Fires sometimes rage for hours before being brought under control.
Occasionally, traders or shop owners have also been suspected of starting fires intentionally to claim insurance money or erase debts, though proving this is challenging.
PIA repatriates more Pakistanis stranded in Iran as regional tensions ground flights
Iranian airspace shut to commercial traffic last week after Israeli airstrikes on Iran and a military confrontation that has entered sixth day
Foreign office official says Pakistan has started evacuating families of its diplomats and staff and some members of non-essential staff
Updated 18 June 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR
ISLAMABAD: A special PIA flight carrying 107 Pakistanis who had been stranded in Iran landed in Islamabad early Wednesday, the national carrier said, after regional airspace disruptions forced days-long travel delays and overland detours.
Flight PK-9552, arranged under government instructions, departed from the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat and arrived at Islamabad International Airport at 3am, PIA said in a statement.
The passengers had crossed into Turkmenistan by road after being unable to depart directly from Iran due to ongoing airspace restrictions following the start of a war between longtime Middle Eastern enemies Israel and Iran, since Friday. The two rivals launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between them entered a sixth day despite a call from US President Donald Trump for Tehran’s unconditional surrender.
“Due to the closure of Iranian airspace, Pakistani nationals in Iran had to reach Turkmenistan through ground routes,” PIA said, adding that the repatriation was coordinated by Pakistan’s embassies in Tehran and Ashgabat.
“Our missions in Iran and Turkmenistan played a key role in facilitating this process,” PIA added.
Passengers stranded in Iran were mostly short-term visitors, religious pilgrims and workers caught in the fallout of recent regional hostilities.
Iranian airspace was shut to commercial traffic last week amid rising military tensions, following Israeli airstrikes on Iran and heightened fears of a wider conflict. Several international carriers, including PIA, suspended or rerouted flights passing through Iranian airspace. Pakistani citizens thus found themselves unable to return home through normal flight routes.
An elderly Pakistani pilgrim who has been evacuated from Iran walks at the Pakistan-Iran border in Taftan on June 17, 2025. (AFP)
A PIA spokesperson said the national carrier took action “in continuation of its decades-long tradition of serving national interest in difficult times.”
Pakistan also repatriated 268 nationals from Iraq via two flights on Monday and 450 nationals from Iran on Sunday.
Pakistan has condemned Israel’s strikes, calling them an unjustified violation of Iranian sovereignty, and has urged the international community to help de-escalate tensions through dialogue.
While no official figures have been released on how many Pakistanis remain in Iran, foreign ministry officials have confirmed that further evacuations would be arranged if the situation worsens. The foreign ministry has also said diplomatic missions were “in close contact with local authorities” to ensure the safety of all nationals.
Separately, a senior foreign office official said on Monday Pakistan had started evacuating families of its diplomats and staff as well as members of some non-essential staff from Iran.
“The foreign ministry is moving out families of diplomats and staff and some non-essential staff from Iran,” a foreign office official said in a statement.
“However Pakistan embassy in Tehran and our consulates will continue to remain functional.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday Islamabad had not engaged in any new military cooperation with Tehran since Israel launched attacks on Iran last week and had not held specific talks with the United States over the escalating crisis in the Middle East.
Iran, which borders Pakistan, has hit back with strikes against Israel after it unleashed waves of attacks on Friday at Iranian nuclear installations, missile stockpiles, scientists, and military generals, among other targets, sparking global alarm that the conflict could erupt into a regional war.
The latest escalation follows months of hostilities between Israel and Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, which intensified after the war in Gaza was launched late in 2023. Regional powers fear a direct confrontation could spiral into a broader conflict involving major oil shipping lanes and global energy supplies. For Pakistan, a close Iranian neighbor and a longtime opponent of Israel, a prolonged conflict risks disrupting border security, inflaming sectarian tensions at home, and possibly putting it in a tight spot with other Arab allies and the West.
Speaking in an interview to Arab News, Asif said regular security cooperation was continuing with Iran along their shared border to combat militant groups, but no fresh operational coordination had been initiated in response to Israel’s attacks on Iranian territory since June 13.
“I don’t see any need of [it],” the defense minister said in response to a question on whether Pakistan’s military was coordinating with Iranian counterparts on the border or engaging in any fresh defense cooperation.
“We coordinate on a very regular basis as far as the Iran and Pakistan border is concerned because of terrorist activities… that sort of cooperation is already on. So I don’t see any new activity.”
Asked if Pakistan had held talks with Washington to discuss the fast-evolving situation, the defense minister said there had been no recent contact specifically on the crisis in the past five days:
“But we are in constant touch with the United States of America regarding the tense situation we have in this region.”
Asif said Pakistan’s leadership was instead focused on engagement with close partners like China and Muslim countries to press for calm, warning that the conflict risked engulfing the entire region.
“The countries who have religious affinity with us or geographical affinity, even China or other countries, because what we are pursuing is peace,” he said.
“And we would like to mobilize the countries of this region that this conflict can multiply and it can engulf the whole region into a situation which could be very, very disastrous.”
Smoke rises from a fire, as the Israel-Iran air war continues, in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released June 17, 2025. (Social Media via REUTERS)
NUCLEAR FACILITIES “MILITANTLY GUARDED”
Diplomatic and security experts warn that the Israel-Iran hostilities could affect Pakistan by destabilizing its western border with Iran, threatening energy imports as oil prices surge, and creating new pressures in Pakistan’s relations with the US and Gulf partners if Islamabad is seen as tilting too far toward Tehran. On the other hand, if Tehran were to fall or be severely weakened, analysts say Pakistan would likely side with the United States and its allies — despite being Iran’s immediate neighbor — to protect its strategic and economic interests.
Addressing concerns over past remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that have drawn parallels between Iran and Pakistan as so-called “militant Islamic regimes” that needed to be deterred, Asif rejected any immediate threat to Pakistan from Tel Aviv but stressed Islamabad would remain vigilant.
“If we are threatened by Israel, which I will discount at the moment… what happens in the coming months or years I can’t predict, but at the moment I discount [a threat from Israel],” he said.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif speaks with Arab News Pakistan in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 17, 2025. (AN photo)
He described Israel as a state with “hegemonic intent” whose recent actions in Gaza and against Iran were “extremely dangerous to the immediate region,” and said global public opinion was turning against Israeli policies despite support or muted reactions from many Western governments.
Asif declined to comment on reports that Pakistan had scrambled fighter jets near its nuclear sites and the Iranian border in response to Israel’s initial strikes on Iran but insisted that its nuclear security remained robust.
In addition to the Middle East tensions, Pakistan faced a major military standoff with India last month in which the two nations exchanged missile, drone and artillery attacks. Islamabad claimed to have shot down six Indian jets and struck back at military positions, triggering fears of a wider conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals before a ceasefire was announced by the President Donald Trump administration on May 10.
When questioned about any direct threat to Pakistan’s national security or strategic assets as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, the defense minister said Pakistan’s armed forces were already on high alert following the latest confrontation with New Delhi, describing the country’s nuclear facilities as “very militantly guarded, very grudgingly guarded” and fully compliant with international safeguards.
“Since our short war with India [in May], we have been on alert so we have not lowered guards… We can never take the risk of any attack on our nuclear facility from anywhere, that is something which is a lifeline as far as our defense is concerned,” he said
Asif said Pakistan’s performance in the recent fight with India was evidence of the country’s defense capability and national resolve, which would deter Israel from any adventurism.
“We have just had a bout with India and we clearly established our superiority, the superiority of our armed forces, Air Force, Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy and the determination of our people, the way the nation stood behind the armed forces,” the defense minister said.
“So I think Netanyahu or his people or his government will think many times before taking on Pakistan.”
