In Pakistan, the security environment has deteriorated rapidly, especially in the few months, as the country sees a spike in violence, including bombings. Last month, three Chinese nationals were among four dead when a Baloch female suicide bomber detonated herself just outside the Karachi University (KU) Campus

For months, the government has been in talks with the IMF not only for the revival of the $6 billion bailout package but also for extending the program's scope to $8 billion and period. After coming to power in April and promising to prioritize the economy, the new government led by Shehbaz Sharif now appears reluctant on tough measures, possibly due to the prevailing uncertain political environment

The penalized diplomat retired from the service last year and is now the president of the Institute of Regional Studies, a think tank of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry

“Natural pastures are depleting which has led to many species of animals, birds, and moths becoming extinct,” Ashiq Ahmed, a Pakistani wildlife expert, was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune. “Butterflies used to be common but they are rarely seen now.”

Earlier this week, Islamabad had cleared the appointment of a trade minister at its High Commission in New Delhi but stressed that there was no change in its trade policy with India. The appointment had raised the hope for the revival of trade ties which remains stalled since August 2019 when Pakistan suspended ties after New Delhi ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir

In recent months, several prominent people in Pakistan, including officials and businessmen, have been advocating the resumption of trade ties with India which, they said, could greatly help the country’s ailing economy

Calling the practice of unsubstantiated, defamatory, and provocative statements/remarks “extremely damaging”, the Army said it expected everyone to abide by the law and keep the armed forces out of political discourse in the "best interest of the country". The statement came hours after Imran Khan, in a public rally in the northwestern city of Abbottabad, questioned the army’s alleged “neutrality”

Islamabad alleged that the exercise was done in a way to “disincentivize” the state’s majority Muslim population. Terming the exercise “farcical”, Pakistan said it was yet another step to lend “legitimacy” to what it called the “illegal actions” of August 2019, a reference to New Delhi’s move of ending the special status of the state

“Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are teetering on the brink of a major crisis,” Afandyar Mir, a senior expert at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a Washington-based US government think tank, noted in a recent commentary. “After taking over the country, the Taliban gave the TTP de-facto political asylum. The TTP has used its improved political status in Afghanistan to step-up cross-border attacks and is now regularly sending fighters into Pakistan,” Mir said

The new government, which came to power only last month, has squarely blamed former prime minister, Imran Khan, for the mismanagement of the economy. Ismail said Khan had left the fastest growing inflation in the history of Pakistan, and took record loans during his tenure, reported The Express Tribune.

"Pakistan fell 12 points on [the] Press Freedom Index during [the] last year of Imran Khan's government and 18 points during his tenure. It not only earned him [the] shameful title of 'press freedom predator' but also placed our democracy in [a] bad light," PM Sharif said in a tweet.  

The 72-year-old Nawaz Sharif, elder brother of Pakistan’s current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is currently residing in Landon. In 2017, senior Sharif was removed from the position of the prime minister by the country’s Supreme Court after his name surfaced in the Panama Papers, leaked documents that exposed the alleged illegal assets in offshore havens of the rich and influential across the world.

Usually, the visits of the prime minister are covered by a specialized crew equipped with high-end gadgets and computers. However, during the Lahore visit, the local team was asked to cover it. The headquarters failed to provide them with the necessary equipment in time.

For Pakistan, the US and western countries are important, given Islamabad’s dependence on their markets for exports. China’s billions of investments under the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the last seven years have done little good to its economy, which now mostly banks on the IMF bailout package and concessionary loans from Saudi Arabia

For Beijing, the growing attacks put a question mark on Pakistan’s ability to secure its interests and huge investments, around $70 billion, in the country. If the trend continues, Beijing may well start relooking at its plans for future investments