Shehbaz Sharif

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to loan Pakistan $7 billion to bolster its faltering economy, approving a relief package the government said would not have been possible without the support of China.

A bus carrying Shiite pilgrims from Pakistan to Iraq crashed in central Iran, killing at least 28 people, an official said on Aug. 21.

The crash happened Aug. 20 night in the central Iranian province of Yazd, said Mohammad Ali Malekzadeh, a local emergency official, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 3 met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, where he traveled for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

Amid a surge in violence targeting Chinese interests, a devastating suicide bombing struck a convoy of Chinese engineers in northwestern Pakistan, claiming the lives of six individuals. This latest attack marks the third significant assault on Beijing-linked projects in the country within a week, raising alarm over the security of foreign investments in Pakistan.

Two Pakistan parties have reached a power-sharing agreement that will return Shehbaz Sharif to the premiership, leaving out politicians loyal to jailed former leader Imran Khan despite winning the most seats in this month's vote.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $3 billion loan agreement for Pakistan, unlocking crucial funding for the troubled South Asian economy.

In a statement, the IMF said its executive board gave the green light to the nine-month standby arrangement, in order "to support the authorities' economic stabilization program."

Pakistani authorities have arrested 14 people in connection with the alleged trafficking of several migrants who drowned last week after their overloaded boat capsized in the sea off Greece, police said.

Hundreds of people, including from Pakistan, are thought to have died when the vessel capsized and sank in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters in recent years.

Pakistan has reported around 300 of its citizens who died when a ship carrying illegal migrants from Libya to Europe capsized last week.

"Senate President Sadiq Sanjrani deeply mourns the tragic loss of nearly 300 Pakistanis following a boat accident off the coast of Greece," Sanjrani's office said in a tweet, as quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency on Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with the leaders of 8 countries on the occasion of Eid al-Adha on July 9. 

Turkey and Pakistan have vowed to further strengthen their bilateral ties in all fields during Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to Ankara as two states celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.