NATIONAL

Dec. 16: Former CM Punjab Manzoor Wattoo passed away.

Dec. 17: The Gilgit-Baltistan government imposed a ban on establishment of all seasonal hotels and other commercial activities within Deosai National Park area.

Dec. 17: The Balochistan government approved the use of hydroponics technology across the province.

Dec. 17: The fourth Hangor class submarine of Pakistan Navy named 'Ghazi' was launched.

Dec. 17: The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed its first loan agreement with Pakistan in a decade, supporting the delivery of clean drinking water in Karachi.

Dec. 17: Former foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood was designated to be the secretary general of D-8, also known as Developing-8.

Dec. 17: Syed Abrar Hussain (PAS) was appointed as Director General Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency.

Dec. 17: Information Group Officer Shahab Hamid was appointed as the new Chairman of the Central Film Censor Board.

Dec. 18: President Zardari approved the denotification of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri as a judge of the Islamabad High Court, on the advice of the Prime Minister, in compliance with the decision of the IHC.

Dec. 18: PMSS approved a comprehensive national outreach and preparatory programme for CSS aspirants from Balochistan.

Dec. 18: Pakistan's NAB signed an MoU with Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Dec. 18: Pakistan's intelligence agencies arrested Daesh-Khorasan spokesperson and media wing founder Sultan Aziz Azam.

Dec. 18: The European Union (EU)-Pakistan 15th Joint Commission was held in Brussels.

Dec. 18: MNA Syeda Amnah Batool was appointed as a member of the prestigious FIFA Institutional Reforms Committee.

Dec. 19: The UN General Assembly stamped its approval on a Pakistan-backed resolution that reaffirms the right to self-determination for people being subjected to colonial, foreign and alien occupation.

Dec. 19: CM Punjab appointed Shoaib Mirza as her Special Assistant.

Dec. 20: A special court sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to a total of 34 years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs32,851,300 in the Toshakhana-II case.

Dec. 20: Vice Chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, (VBMP), Mama Qadeer Baloch, passed away.

Dec. 20: The World Bank approved $700 million in financing for Pakistan under a multi-year initiative aimed at supporting the country's macroeconomic stability and service delivery.

Dec. 21: The Balochi Academy Quetta launched the first-ever comprehensive online dictionary for the Balochi language, titled 'Labzganj'.

Dec. 21: The commissioning ceremony of 2nd Pakistan Navy MILGEM class ship PNS Khaibar was held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard, Turkiye.

Dec. 21: Pakistan completely outclassed arch-rivals India to clinch the Junior Asia Cup title for the first time.

Dec. 21: President Zardari met his Iraqi counterpart Dr Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid at the Baghdad Palace.

Dec. 22: A US military upgrade package for Pakistan's F-16 fighter fleet, worth $686 million, was cleared through a statutory congressional notification process.

Dec. 22: Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir was conferred upon the King Abdulaziz Medal of Excellent Class, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's highest national honour.

Dec. 22: Pakistan reached a deal worth over $4 billion to sell conventional military equipment to the Libyan National Army.

Dec. 22: Squash legend Jahangir Khan disassociated himself from the One World Squash Foundation.

Dec. 22: The 2nd Lok Sahaita International Marathon held in Sukkur was won by Morocco's Youssef Abdul Majid, While Kenya's Meuni Mutuku won the 10-kilometre women's marathon.

Dec. 23: Pakistan struck its most consequential privatization deal in two decades, selling a 75 percent stake in loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for Rs135 billion (around $480 million) to an Arif Habib-led consortium. Under the transaction, only Rs10.125 billion — 7.5% of the proceeds — will go directly to the national exchequer, while Rs124.875 billion will be reinvested into the PIA to fund its turnaround.

Dec. 23: Pakistan's promising junior tennis player Shayan Afridi won the El Paso Sports Commission Junior Open Tennis Tournament (14 & Under Category).

Dec. 24: PMSS approved recommendations from a high-level committee to exempt income tax, sales tax and federal excise duty on goods imported from China through the Khunjerab Pass by residents of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

Dec. 24: The 273rd Corps Commanders' Conference was held at the GHQ, Rawalpindi.

Dec. 25: Pakistan and the ADB signed financing agreements for two major initiatives involving a combined amount of $730 million.

Dec. 25: The Lahore High Court (L HC) set aside the federal government`s power to inactivate a citizen's passport and impose a travel ban of five years or more by placing a person on the Passport Control List (PCL) adjudicating that this authority was beyond the scope of the parent law.

Dec. 26: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed held substantive talks with PMSS on his maiden visit to Pakistan.

Dec. 26: The KP government appointed Eng Anwarul Haq as new Chief Executive Officer of Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (Pedo).

Dec. 27: Dr Shamshad Akhtar, former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and ex-caretaker federal finance minister, passed away at the age of 71.

Dec. 29: Pakistan's Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem received the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Sports Award in the Global Breakthrough Athlete category.

Dec. 30: Pakistan launched its first-ever private-capital-funded Pakistan Skills Impact Bond.

Dec. 31: PMSS called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reiterating Pakistan's full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and emphasising dialogue and diplomacy for maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Dec. 31: A double-decker bus service was once again introduced for the people of Karachi after a gap of 65 years.

Dec. 31: The federal government amended the National Identity Card Rules, expanding the definition of biometrics to legally recognize facial and iris scans as valid identifiers besides fingerprints.

Jan. 01: Javed Alam Odho was appointed as Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP).

Jan. 01: PMSS appointed Maulana Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi as his Coordinator for Religious Harmony and Diaspora in the Middle East and Muslim Countries.

Jan. 01: PML-N's Osama Abdul Karim was elected unopposed as an MPA.

Jan. 02: The Punjab government renamed the Price Control and Commodities Management department as Food Safety & Consumer Protection (FS&CP) department.

Jan. 02: The Gilgit-Baltistan Council notified a 14-member caretaker cabinet, including two advisers.

Jan. 02: Dr Faiqa Qureshi, the daughter of Air Marshal Nur Khan, passed away in USA. She was 75.

Jan. 02: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) handed down two life sentences to Wajahat Saeed Khan, Shaheen Sehbai, Haider Raza Mehdi, Adil Raja, Moeed Pirzada, Akbar Hussain and Sabir Shakir for their involvement in “digital terrorism” against the state institutions.

Jan. 02: Former information and broadcasting secretary Ms Ambreen Jan was named as Pemra chairperson.

Jan. 02: The federal government appointed Nadia Jahangir Seth as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA).

Jan. 02: The Pakistan Navy's three officers, Rear Admiral Abdul Munib, Rear Admiral Syed Ahmed Salman and Rear Admiral Faisal Amin, were promoted to vice admiral.

Jan. 03: The Pakistan Air Force successfully conducted the flight test of the indigenously developed Taimoor Weapon System that is capable of engaging both land and sea-based enemy targets with high precision at a range of up to 600 kilometres.

Jan. 04: PMSS constituted a 15-member committee, to be chaired by the federal finance minister, to improve economic governance.

Jan. 04: The seventh round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue was held in Beijing.

Jan. 04: Israr Khattak won the world-class BYD Karachi Marathon after completing the full 42.1-kilometre race in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 58 seconds.

Jan. 04: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) announced to provide policy advisory and technical support to energy financing to assist Pakistan in the development of its Energy Transition Investment Plan.

Jan. 05: Renowned Islamic scholar and Patron-in-Chief of Jamia Ashrafia, Maulana Fazlur Rehman Ashrafi passed away.

Jan. 05: Ruhail Mohammad was elected chairman of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (PSX) Board of Directors.

Jan. 05: The Balochistan High Court suspended a provincial government notification giving justice of peace powers to divisional and district administration officials.

Jan. 06: Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan of Bangladesh Air Force called on Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, in Islamabad.

Jan. 06: Shahzad Iqbal was appointed as Member (Gas) in the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

Jan. 06: Members of the caretaker cabinet of Gilgit-Baltistan took oath of their offices.

Jan. 06: Balochistan government formally merged the Levies Force into the Balochistan Police, and abolished all 'B' areas across the province.

Jan. 07: Saudi Arabia’s top air force commander met PAF chief in Saudi Arabia.

Jan. 07: Pakistan inaugurated its first ship recycling facility certified under the Hong Kong International Convention (HKC).

Jan. 08: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) reached a historic milestone as two new franchises, Hyderabad and Sialkot, were formally inducted into the league.

Jan. 10: The 13th Pakistan-US bilateral joint military exercise 'Inspired Gambit 2026' kicked off with a focus on counterterrorism.

Jan. 10: Pakistan and Indonesia signed an MOU to establish Indonesia-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee to strengthen trade dialogue, facilitate cooperation and address opportunities and challenges in bilateral trade.

Jan. 10: The federal government approved the appointment of Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu as new Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

Jan. 12: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan made recommendations for confirmation of additional judges of BHC and IHC.

Jan. 12: President Zardari promulgated the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Ordinance 2026, which replaces the 'metropolitan corporation' model with the structure of three 'Town Corporations'.

Jan. 12: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) was shifted to the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) building opposite the Supreme Court building situated on the Constitution Avenue.

Jan. 12: Former Pakistan Test opener and ex-chief selector Mohammad Ilyas passed away. He was 79.

Jan. 12: The LHC ordered the restoration of Nasir Bagh Park.

Jan. 12: A special song titled “Dosti Ka Jashan – Celebration of Friendship” was officially released commemorating the 75th year of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.

Jan. 12: Lieutenant General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (Retd), Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia, called on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, at GHQ.

Jan. 13: The JCP recommended the confirmation of 12 additional judges as permanent judges of the SHC and approved the reconstitution and six-month extension of its Constitutional Benches.

Jan. 13: The government of Pakistan and Japan signed a grant agreement worth JPY 2.91 billion (US$18.62 million) for improving Child health.

Jan. 14: Pakistan signed an agreement with a firm connected to World Liberty Financial, the main crypto business of US President Donald Trump's family, to explore using World Liberty's $1 stablecoin for cross-border payments.

Jan. 14: The US State Department ordered an indefinite pause on immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries, including Pakistan, effective January 21, 2026.

Jan. 14: President Zardari met King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the Al-Qudaibiya Palace at Manama in Bahrain.

Jan. 14: The JCP recommended confirmation of six additional judges as permanent judges of the PHC and also recommended extension of terms of four Additional judges for six months.

Jan. 14: The AJK government abolished seven secretary-level posts, seeking a reduction in administrative expenditures.

Jan. 15: The JCP recommended confirmation of 11 additional judges as permanent judges of the LHC besides extending tenure of one additional judge for six months.

Jan. 15: Pakistan's passport ranking improved in the 2026 Henley Passport Index, climbing five places from 103 in 2025 to 98 this year.

Wearable health tech can increase CO2 emissions

The consumption of wearable healthcare technology, including blood pressure monitors and ultrasound patches, can increase 42-fold worldwide by 2050, approaching two billion units yearly and emitting 3.4 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to an analysis published in the journal Nature. China is projected to generate the most yearly greenhouse gas emissions from wearable healthcare electronics in 2050, followed by India.

The environmental footprint is estimated alongside ecotoxicity and e-waste issues posed by the devices. A kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent is a unit measuring the climate impact of greenhouse gases emitted by comparing their potential for warming to that of carbon dioxide.

Researchers from the US' Cornell and Chicago universities estimated that a wearable healthcare device could be emitting up to six kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent during its entire lifetime, from raw material extraction through manufacturing to disposal. The researchers also showed that the use of recyclable or biodegradable plastics offers only marginal benefits, whereas substituting critical-metal conductors and optimising circuit architectures can significantly reduce impacts without compromising performance.

Exchange of nuclear lists between India and Pakistan

In continuing an annual practice that began in 1992, India and Pakistan exchanged, on January 1, 2026, lists of their nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in the event of hostilities. The exchange of the details of the nuclear installations covered under a bilateral pact came notwithstanding ties between the two countries remained under deep freeze following the May 2025 military conflict. It was done simultaneously through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad. The two sides also exchanged lists of prisoners in each other's custody.

Pakistan in Sports during 2025

As for sports, the Pakistan cricket team may not have managed to win either the ICC Champions Trophy or the Asia Cup, but it did break the jinx of not winning a trophy at home by defeating Sri Lanka in the final of the tri-nation series, which also featured Zimbabwe as the third team.

Also, Pakistan`s Saud Shakeel found a place at number nine in the ICC Test rankings, Babar Azam remained at number six among ODI batters, while Sahibzada Farhan ended the year in the top five T20I batters in the world.

The presence of left-arm spinner Noman Ali at number four in Tests, Abrar Ahmed at number nine in ODIs and number four in T20Is, capped a good year for the Greenshirts.

Besides cricket, Pakistan had an impressive year in other sports. Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem won gold at the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea, and another at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, e-sports professional Arslan Ash became the only player in history to win EVO championships on three different continents Asia, North America and Europe. His wins at EVO France and EVO Las Vegas during the year helped him take his total EVO title count to seven, which is a major achievement.

Bulgaria becomes 21st country to join Euro

On New Year's Day, Bulgaria became the 21st country to join the euro currency union, furthering its integration into the European Union. Supporters of switching to the euro from the old currency, the lev, are praising the move as one of the greatest achievements since the 1989 transition from a Soviet-style economy to democracy and free markets. But many people are uneasy, in a country where corruption is rife and trust in the authorities is low. One fear is that merchants will round prices up or otherwise use the changeover to worsen inflation, at a time when inflation has rebounded to 3.7 percent.

Local economists, however, think that joining the euro will not bring dramatic changes to Bulgaria's economy. That is because the lev has been pegged since 1999 to the euro by law, at a fixed rate of 1 lev for every 51 euro cents. The lev and the euro will be in dual use for cash payments for the whole month of January, but people will receive only euros in change.

Shift of the accounting system

Pakistan's existing public sector accounting framework, known as the New Accounting Model (NAM), was introduced in 2000, and is based on a cash accounting system. Since its introduction, NAM has served as the national framework for government financial reporting.

However, in view of evolving international developments and global best practices in public financial management, the need for an updated accounting framework has become increasingly important.

Accordingly, the Auditor General of Pakistan has undertaken a revision of the New Accounting Model and the development of a new accounting framework based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) using an accrual basis. The reform is being carried out with technical assistance from the World Bank.

The transition to IPSAS accrual-based accounting is expected to strengthen Pakistan's public financial management system by enhancing transparency, improving the quality and reliability of financial reporting and providing a more comprehensive view of government assets, liabilities, revenues and expenditures.

The revised accounting framework will apply across federal, provincial and local governments, ensuring greater uniformity, comparability and fiscal transparency throughout the public sector. The reform is intended to align Pakistan's public sector accounting practices with internationally recognized standards.

World in Focus

World in Focus (Dec'25-Jan'26) - International

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World in Focus (Nov-Dec'25) - International