Weekly current affairs Pakistan: the main politics, economy, provincial, foreign affairs, security and sports news of the week, each checked against two outlets, with key facts and MCQs for PPSC, FPSC and CSS.
The week’s biggest Pakistan news: the IMF opened its fourth review of the $7 billion loan programme, the prime minister opened a London Stock Exchange session, Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi became president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and PTI moved its Islamabad march to 4 October amid talk of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A suicide attack in Darazinda killed 14 people, petrol fell to Rs387.54 a litre and Abrar Ahmed became the world’s top-ranked T20I bowler.
Each summary below is written by our editors from at least two reliable outlets; the links after every item go to the original reports. Dates are the dates of the event or announcement (Pakistan time).
25–29 Sep: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on 25 September that PTI’s political committee had pushed the party’s march on Islamabad back from 27 September to 4 October, with Peshawar as the starting point. On 29 September he said the march would still go ahead on 4 October in two stages: first to Swabi, then on to Islamabad.
28 Sep: Federal minister Amir Muqam said on 28 September that, in his view, the conditions for imposing governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been met and that consultations were taking place. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also issued a warning to the provincial government. No such order had been issued by the end of the week.
25 Sep: IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said more than 5.8 million people had signed up for the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme by 25 September. The scheme is meant for owners of motorcycles, rickshaws, Qingqis and cars of up to 800cc.
24 Sep: Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Syed Naveed Qamar, on 24 September that the IMF wants 174 changes to Pakistan’s laws. He said the amendments would be placed before parliament for approval.
27 Sep: The Islamabad High Court held that the second part of Rule 22(2)(b) of the Passport Rules 2021 is unconstitutional. That clause had allowed agencies to have a person’s name put on the Passport Control List without a decision by a competent authority or proper safeguards. The judgment was written by Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas.
28–29 Sep: An IMF staff mission headed by Iva Petrova began formal talks on 28 September on the fourth review of Pakistan’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb led the opening session on 29 September. A successful review could release about $1.2 billion ($1bn under the EFF and $200m under the RSF); the mission is due to stay until the first week of October.
29–30 Sep: For 29 September the government lowered petrol by Rs2.27 to Rs389.03 a litre and high-speed diesel by Rs3.56 to Rs404.97. For 30 September petrol fell a further Rs1.49 to Rs387.54 and diesel Rs2.73 to Rs402.24. Prices are now set daily by the Petroleum Division using a rolling seven-working-day average calculated by OGRA.
24 Sep: The State Bank said on 24 September that its own foreign reserves rose by $11 million to a record $21.4 billion in the week ending 18 September. The country’s total liquid reserves stood at $26.81 billion, of which commercial banks held $5.41 billion.
25 Sep: SBP Governor Jameel Ahmad launched the bank-funded Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme on 25 September, with Rs16 billion in prizes a year (Rs4 billion each quarter for 2,521 winners, top prize Rs100 million). People who receive at least $100 in each of three months through formal channels qualify; cash-over-counter and Roshan Digital Account remittances are excluded. The first draw is set for 15 January 2027.
25 Sep: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported that the Sensitive Price Indicator for the week ended 24 September was 11.92% higher than a year earlier and 0.99% higher than the previous week.
29 Sep: The Annual Borrowing Plan for FY27, released on 29 September, put total public debt at Rs86.7 trillion at the end of June 2026 (Rs59.4tr domestic and Rs27.3tr external), about 76% more than the Rs49.3tr of June 2022. It puts this year’s gross financing needs at Rs28.647tr and the fiscal deficit at Rs7.02tr.
29 Sep: On 29 September Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif became the first Pakistani prime minister to open a trading session at the London Stock Exchange. He also marked the listing of Pakistan’s $3 billion two-tranche Eurobond.
29 Sep: The Finance Ministry announced a strategic action plan, linked to the IMF programme, to develop the local-currency bond market and make government securities easier for ordinary savers to buy through the stock exchange and banks.
27–28 Sep: In the 27 September by-election for NA-168 Bahawalpur-V, the provisional Form-47 result gave PML-N’s Malik Munir Iqbal Channar 87,789 votes against 39,888 for independent candidate Wali Dad Cheema, on a turnout of 29.46%. The seat had fallen vacant after the death of MNA Malik Muhammad Iqbal Channar in August; PTI stayed out of the contest.
23 Sep: Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the Sindh Transport Department had sent the provincial cabinet a summary for buying 500 electric buses. He added that 50 double-decker buses are expected by 30 November.
29 Sep: A 17-month-old girl from union council Khandar Khankhel in Bannu became Pakistan’s fifth confirmed polio case of 2026. Four of this year’s five cases are from Bannu division and one from Sindh. Pakistan recorded 31 cases in 2025 and 74 in 2024.
23 Sep: The Balochistan government imposed Section 144 across the province for 30 days from 23 September. It bars gatherings of five or more people, the display of weapons and covering the face in public.
29 Sep: Balochistan’s first mass-transit service, the Jinnah Peoples Train, runs 32 km between Kuchlak and Sariab with seven stations. It was built for about Rs3 billion in 120 days and was launched by Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi and Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti.
24 Sep: PML-N’s Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi was elected President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on 24 September, winning 32 votes to 13 for PPP’s Chaudhry Latif Akbar. AJK Chief Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan administered the oath the same day.
24 Sep: A prime minister’s subcommittee on Gilgit-Baltistan, chaired by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, decided on 24 September to set up a larger committee to widen consultations on a constitutional amendment giving GB provisional-province status and representation in parliament. GB Chief Minister Amjad Hussain and opposition leader Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman attended.
25 Sep: In his UNGA speech on 25 September, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab to be kept open, pointed to Pakistan’s mediation between the United States and Iran, and cautioned India against diverting water meant for Pakistan.
28–30 Sep: Islamabad hosted the first meeting of the SCO Council of National Coordinators held under Pakistan’s 2026–27 chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, from 28 to 30 September.
23–24 Sep: Security forces shot down eight drones near Torkham and Kohat on 23 September. The next day Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced precision strikes on 10 locations inside Afghanistan.
26 Sep: A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden tractor-trolley struck the Aman Mela joint police and customs checkpoint in Darazinda, Dera Ismail Khan, on 26 September, and an ambulance that came to help was attacked afterwards. Fourteen people, including rescue workers, were killed and 35 injured; the CTD registered a case.
25 Sep: ISPR said security forces killed 33 militants in Balochistan between 21 and 25 September: 22 in Operation Shaban and 11 in Nushki.
28 Sep: Gunmen attacked a traffic police van in Wazirabad Bazaar, Tank, on 28 September, killing three policemen.
24 Sep: Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed moved to No. 1 in the ICC Men’s T20I bowling rankings with 736 rating points, passing Rashid Khan. He is the fifth Pakistani to hold the top spot, after Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi.
28–29 Sep: By 29 September Pakistan had won five bronze medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games: the women’s cricket team, Asim Khan (MMA), squash players Noor Zaman and Ashab Irfan, and the PUBG Mobile esports team. Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem finished fourth with 80.29m on 28 September. The hockey team meets India and the men’s cricket team meets Bangladesh in semi-finals on 1 October.
29 Sep: After a 4–0 defeat to Thailand on their debut in the FIFA ASEAN Cup, Pakistan came back to draw 2–2 with the Philippines in Bandung on 29 September, with goals from Ali Akbar Khan and Abdul Samad, for their first point.
28 Sep: Water managers expect a shortage of about 25% for the Rabi season, as reservoir carryover storage is below 9.5 million acre-feet; IRSA is to finalise provincial shares.
28 Sep: Suparco reported that the number of unfrozen glacial lakes in Pakistan’s north went up from 40 in July to 105 in August, increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
24 Sep: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission began computer-based testing with ETEA, holding its first tests on 24 September at the KPPSC IT Lab in Peshawar.
25 Sep: The Punjab School Education Department extended about 45,000 School Teacher Interns until 31 May 2027 through fresh agreements effective from 24 August 2026, according to a notification issued on 25 September.
Ten practice questions drawn only from the facts reported above. Open each answer to check yourself.
Who was elected President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on 24 September 2026?
(a) Chaudhry Latif Akbar
(b) Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi
(c) Raja Saeed Akram Khan
(d) Amjad Hussain
(b) Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi
Who headed the IMF staff mission for Pakistan’s September 2026 review talks?
(a) Kristalina Georgieva
(b) Nathan Porter
(c) Iva Petrova
(d) Gita Gopinath
(c) Iva Petrova
What was the petrol price in Pakistan for 30 September 2026?
(a) Rs389.03 per litre
(b) Rs402.24 per litre
(c) Rs387.54 per litre
(d) Rs404.97 per litre
(c) Rs387.54 per litre
SBP-held foreign reserves reached a record of how much in the week ending 18 September 2026?
(a) $21.4 billion
(b) $26.81 billion
(c) $5.41 billion
(d) $16 billion
(a) $21.4 billion
According to the Annual Borrowing Plan FY27, total public debt at end-June 2026 was:
(a) Rs49.3 trillion
(b) Rs59.4 trillion
(c) Rs86.7 trillion
(d) Rs28.6 trillion
(c) Rs86.7 trillion
Who became the first Pakistani prime minister to open a trading session at the London Stock Exchange?
(a) Imran Khan
(b) Nawaz Sharif
(c) Shehbaz Sharif
(d) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
(c) Shehbaz Sharif
Abrar Ahmed reached No. 1 in which ICC ranking in September 2026?
(a) Test bowling
(b) ODI bowling
(c) T20I all-rounders
(d) Men’s T20I bowling
(d) Men’s T20I bowling
The Jinnah Peoples Train in Quetta runs between which two points?
(a) Kuchlak and Sariab
(b) Quetta and Chaman
(c) Sibi and Quetta
(d) Pishin and Mastung
(a) Kuchlak and Sariab
The SBP’s new Pasban Remittance Reward Scheme offers prizes worth how much per year?
(a) Rs4 billion
(b) Rs16 billion
(c) Rs100 million
(d) Rs1.2 billion
(b) Rs16 billion
For how many days was Section 144 imposed across Balochistan from 23 September 2026?
(a) 7 days
(b) 15 days
(c) 30 days
(d) 60 days
(c) 30 days
The main stories were the start of the IMF’s fourth review of the $7bn loan programme, the prime minister opening a London Stock Exchange session, Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi’s election as AJK president, PTI moving its march to 4 October, the Darazinda suicide attack and Abrar Ahmed becoming the No. 1 T20I bowler.
Petrol was Rs389.03 a litre for 29 September and Rs387.54 a litre for 30 September. Prices are now revised daily, so check the latest Petroleum Division notification.
Dr Muhammad Najeeb Naqi of PML-N, elected on 24 September 2026 with 32 votes against 13 for PPP’s Chaudhry Latif Akbar.
Yes. Each item gives dates, names and figures that commissions ask about, and the Key Facts and MCQs sections summarise them for revision. Always confirm figures with the linked sources before an exam.
All reports consulted for this week’s page, in the order they are cited. Summaries are our own wording; please read the original reports for full detail.
Spotted an error? Tell us through the contact and corrections page. See all weeks on the Pakistan current affairs hub.