NEW YORK: Elon Musk became the world&#39;s first trillionaire Friday following a surge in SpaceX shares in its Wall Street trading debut, according to US media. Shares of the tech and artificial intelligence enterprise vaulted more than 21 percent in early trading, lifting Musk&#39;s estimated wealth to above $1 trillion, according to Bloomberg and CNBC. Musk&#39;s fortune is heavily composed of equity or &quot;paper&quot; holdings, rather than cash.

Business

Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire Friday following a surge in SpaceX shares in its Wall Street trading debut

Elon Musk world's first trillionaire after SpaceX debut: Bloomberg

HERAT: Afghans scrapped protest plans in Herat on Friday as heavily armed security forces were deployed in the city, after an earlier rally against tightening restrictions on women was violently dispersed. An AFP journalist saw military vehicles stationed around the city and patrolling the area where a demonstration had been called for Friday afternoon. &quot;People gave up on the demonstration today to prevent more bloodshed,&quot; said a 34-year-old teacher, who along with other residents AFP is not naming for safety reasons. The deployment followed a crackdown launched by the morality police on Saturday, during which dozens of women were arrested for not wearing the body-cloaking chador or burqa. At least two people were killed and more than 20 wounded in a protest held by residents days later, a group of UN experts said. Police have denied that any weapons were used during the demonstration. On Friday, the AFP journalist also saw armed police officers patrolling on motorcycles and additional checkpoints where intelligence agents were present. &quot;Even the movement of a small number of people from one area became difficult due to these security measures,&quot; said the teacher. &quot;The atmosphere is very bad.&quot; Herat police did not comment on the increased security when asked by AFP. A 27-year-old resident said &quot;there were a lot of armed forces roaming around. It was horrible.&quot; &quot;On every street there is a suspicious private car with (people wearing) casual clothing, sitting in their cars and observing people,&quot; he said. Women detained over clothesTaliban authorities rule according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law, and have gradually tightened restrictions on women since returning to power in August 2021. Across Afghanistan, women must be almost entirely covered when they leave home, with many wearing a flowing abaya robe, a Muslim headscarf and a face covering. The UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented the arrest of at least 30 women in Herat over the dress code on Saturday and Sunday. They included a hospital worker employed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), who the organisation said was held for two days. Before her release, the medic, her husband and relatives had to sign a written commitment to wear clothing mandated by the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice authorities. MSF said it was &quot;outraged&quot; by its employee&#39;s detention. Calls for a demonstration against the crackdown circulated on social media, with residents reporting a significant deployment of security forces since Thursday. A 33-year-old woman told AFP the security forces were checking people&#39;s phones. &quot;Due to high security, people weren&#39;t able to mobilise: there is no protest,&quot; she said. Demonstrations are incredibly rare in Afghanistan, with a Herat rally held by dozens of men on Tuesday dispersed by live fire, two witnesses told AFP. Police denied using weapons and accused those protesters of seeking &quot;to disturb public order&quot;. Herat&#39;s Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice wing published a list of rules for women on Wednesday, which included a ban on wearing make-up or having any hair visible, and an order to wear socks and face masks. Failure to comply may result in &quot;detention and imprisonment&quot;, the notice said. Across the country, women are banned from a host of public places, including parks and gyms, while girls&#39; education stops at age 12.

Afghanistan

Afghans scrapped protest plans in Herat on Friday as heavily armed security forces were deployed in the city, after an earlier rally against tightening restrictions on women was violently dispersed

Afghans scrap protest plans as Herat city under tight security

LONDON: Wall Street opened mixed on Friday, when SpaceX was set to begin trading following world&#39;s largest initial public offering, while oil prices slid on hopes of an agreement to end the Middle East war. SpaceX priced more than 555 million shares at $135 each in a filing with the US markets regulator on Thursday, placing the company in the top 10 of Wall Street&#39;s biggest firms with a valuation of just under $1.8 trillion - ahead of Tesla, Facebook-owner Meta and Walmart. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O&#39;Hare said before markets opened that the SpaceX shares were expected to soar from the IPO price when they begin trading later in the morning, because the offer was heavily oversubscribed. &quot;But just how high it goes is the great unknown, along with how the performance of the stock might direct things for the broader market,&quot; he said. The Nasdaq, on which SpaceX shares are listed, dipped at the start of trading, while the Dow and S&amp;P 500 edged higher. The drop in oil prices to under $90 per barrel also helped boost sentiment in equities markets. US President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday an agreement to end the Middle East war could be signed in days and cancelled threatened strikes, although Iran&#39;s position remained unclear. Iran&#39;s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran &quot;had not reached a final conclusion on the agreement&quot;. The country&#39;s state media said that under a draft agreement with the United States, Tehran would not give up control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Europe&#39;s main markets gained more than one percent in afternoon trading, following big gains in Asia. &quot;Investors were in a buoyant mood as hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran were revived, having seemingly dropped off the table earlier in the week,&quot; said&nbsp;Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell. &quot;Whether momentum can be sustained depends on positive noises about a resolution translating into something more solid in the coming days,&quot; he added. The international benchmark Brent crude was down more than two percent at around $88 a barrel. &quot;Oil markets may be breathing a little easie, but the path back to smoother flows could take us into the latter part of the year,&quot; said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. &quot;Even if a deal is reached, getting supply back to normal will not be as simple as flicking a switch, with mines in the Strait of Hormuz to clear, idled production fields to restart and damaged energy infrastructure to repair,&quot; he said. In Asia, Japan&#39;s Nikkei closed up almost three percent on Friday,&nbsp;while Seoul&#39;s chip-heavy Kospi gave back earlier gains to end the day more than four percent higher. The Hang Seng and Shanghai also rallied. Key figures around 1330 GMTBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN&nbsp;2.4 percent at $88.18 a barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.8 percent at $85.26 a barrel New York - Dow: UP 0.7&nbsp;percent at 51,180.18 points New York - S&amp;P 500: UP 0.2&nbsp;percent at 7,405.84 New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.2&nbsp;percent at&nbsp;24,524.64 London - FTSE 100: UP 1.2 percent at 10,426.86 Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.7 percent at 8,339.10 Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.3 percent at 24,524.64 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.8 percent at 66,020.04 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.9 percent at 24,718.10 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 4,031.51 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN&nbsp;at $1.1578 from $1.1579 on Thursday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3414 from $1.3418 Dollar/yen: UP at 160.21 yen from 159.78 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.32 pence from 86.29 pence

Wall Street opened mixed on Friday, when SpaceX was set to begin trading following world's largest initial public offering, while oil prices slid on hopes of an agreement to end the Middle East war

Wall Street wobbles as SpaceX shares launch, oil slides on Mideast deal hopes

Faraz Saeed

Economy

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presents his third federal budget, proposing tax cuts, higher salaries and pensions, export incentives and development spending as the government seeks to support investment, economic growth and fiscal stability.

Pakistan proposes $66.6 billion budget with tax relief and growth measures

WELLINGTON: New Zealand&#39;s most prolific run-scorer and arguably greatest-ever batsman Kane Williamson announced his immediate retirement from international cricket on Friday. The 35-year-old former skipper announced his exit ahead of the second Test against England at The Oval next week. He played in the Black Caps&#39; defeat in the first Test at Lord&#39;s, making 0 and 18. &quot;I&#39;ve thought about it for a while, but over the last few days it&#39;s become clear now is the right time,&quot; he said. &quot;I&#39;ve always felt a strong drive and hunger for international cricket, and I take pride in knowing I&#39;ve given it my all in every match I&#39;ve played for New Zealand. &quot;Continuing with anything less wouldn&#39;t be right and I feel fortunate to step away on my own terms. &quot;I leave feeling optimistic about where this group is heading,&quot; he added. &quot;There&#39;s a huge amount of talent and a real desire to do something special with this New Zealand team.&quot; Williamson made his international debut in 2010 and played 378 games for his country, finishing as New Zealand&#39;s all-time leading run-scorer with 19,346 including 48 centuries and six double-centuries. He played 110 Tests, smacking 33 centuries, in his way to 9,515 runs at an average of 54.06. His leadership style was much admired as he captained the side in all three formats during a golden period from 2016 to 2024. During that time, they made two World Cup finals, three semi-finals, and won the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021.

Cricket

The 35-year-old former skipper announced his exit ahead of the second Test against England at The Oval next week; He played in the Black Caps' defeat in the first Test at Lord's, making 0 and 18.

New Zealand great Williamson retires from international cricket

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LA LAGUNA: Pope Leo XIV told migrants at a reception centre on the Spanish island of Tenerife on Friday that &quot;all of us are migrants&quot;, on the final day of a weeklong visit to Spain focused on the plight of irregular immigrants. Tenerife is one of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, which have become a gateway for tens of thousands of irregular arrivals seeking a better life in Europe. The leader of the world&#39;s 1.4 billion Catholics is concluding his trip with a call for more help for migrants and action against traffickers, at a time when immigration remains a hot topic of political debate. &quot;In a sense, all of us are migrants, for we are all pilgrims on our way to our heavenly homeland,&quot; he said in an address to hundreds of migrants at Las Raices (The Roots), a reception centre housed in a former military barracks that was initially heavily criticised for overcrowding. &quot;Let us help make this journey more humane for everyone by contributing in whatever way we can,&quot; he added. The US-born pope is then expected to celebrate an open-air mass in the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in front of tens of thousands of people. After visiting Madrid and Barcelona earlier in the week, the pope arrived in another island of the archipelago, Gran Canaria, on Thursday. He condemned &quot;indifference&quot; towards migrants and cast a wreath into the sea at the port of Arguineguin to honour the thousands who have died trying to reach the Canaries. &quot;Human dignity has no passport,&quot; he said on the dockside before blessing a faded blue cross made of wood from a boat that migrants arrived on. &quot;Monsters lurk in these seas... traffickers who enslave women and children, and those whose indifference allows the poor to be swallowed up by exploitation or forgetfulness,&quot; he said. &#39;Critical moment&#39;Nearly 1,200 people died or went missing travelling from Africa to the Canary Islands last year, according to the International Organization for Migration, making it one of the world&#39;s deadliest migration routes. Europe, where governments have toughened their policies under pressure from the far right, &quot;cannot claim to uphold human dignity while growing accustomed to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic becoming unmarked graves&quot;, he said. The pope said the tragedy must &quot;appeal to the conscience&quot; of nations of origin and transit where migrants flee poverty and conflict and fall prey to trafficking gangs. &quot;We really value this visit. It&#39;s very important for us at such a critical moment,&quot; Mohamed Amjahdi, who arrived in the islands from Morocco on a boat when he was 17, told AFP in Arguineguin. From Tenerife, the pope will fly to Rome and is expected to speak to reporters on the plane. On July 4, Leo is scheduled to visit another port of call for migrants entering Europe, the Italian island of Lampedusa, solidifying the plight of migrants as a hallmark of his papacy.

Pope Leo XIV meets organizations working for the integration of migrants in the Plaza del Cristo de la Laguna, in San Cristobal de la Laguna, outside Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Island of Tenerife on June 12, 2026. (AFP)

Europe

 Ends his Spain visit in Tenerife with a call for greater compassion toward migrants, saying 'all of us are migrants' and urging action against trafficking and migrant deaths on routes to Europe.

'All of us of are migrants,' Pope Leo XIV says in Canary Islands

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: A partial lockdown at the Pentagon was lifted on Thursday after testing found no hazardous material or air quality threat inside the building, officials said. Earlier, several sections of the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense (DoD),&nbsp;were placed under a shelter-in-place order after monitoring systems detected a possible air quality issue, prompting authorities to restrict movement on multiple floors and corridors as a precaution.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 642px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2065124744463057309&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=552b760487e1b8e392e1339bc76ab59200e0d96a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px"></iframe></div></div> Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said building monitoring systems had flagged a potential air-quality concern, leading officials to take preventive measures while they worked to identify the source and scope of the issue. In a later update, Parnell said further testing had confirmed there was no danger. &ldquo;Subsequent testing confirmed no hazard exists, and normal operations have resumed,&rdquo; he said.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 544px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2065082106326188488&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=552b760487e1b8e392e1339bc76ab59200e0d96a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px"></iframe></div></div> According to ABC News, authorities were investigating whether the alert was triggered by an actual hazardous air issue or a faulty sensor. Additional checks were carried out to verify the situation. A message sent to Pentagon employees earlier in the day advised staff in selected corridors and floors to remain in place while testing was underway.&nbsp; Employees were informed that results could take one to two hours. The Arlington County Fire Department said its hazardous materials team responded to the Pentagon to assist the Pentagon Force Protection Agency&rsquo;s Hazmat Team during the incident.

Americas

Pentagon authorities lifted a partial lockdown after testing found no hazardous air quality threat. The alert, triggered by monitoring systems, led to precautionary shelter-in-place orders before normal operations resumed.

Partial Pentagon lockdown lifted after air quality scare

TOKYO: Asian and European stocks gained and oil dipped Friday after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of further strikes on Iran and said a deal could be signed in the coming days. Iran&#39;s position remained unclear however, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying Tehran &quot;had not reached a final conclusion on the agreement&quot;. He added that &quot;most of the text of the agreement was finalized, but the problem began when the US side made new demands and changed its positions&quot;. The mood on equity markets was also buoyant ahead of the market debut later Friday of Elon Musk&#39;s SpaceX, the biggest initial public offering in history. The $75-billion share sale puts SpaceX among Wall Street&#39;s 10 biggest companies with a valuation of just under $1.8 trillion ahead of Tesla, Facebook owner Meta, and Walmart. On Thursday Wall Street had rallied and oil prices tumbled after Trump&#39;s comments, with the broad-based S&amp;P 500 ending up 1.8%. &quot;Donald Trump&#39;s rhetoric flipped intraday from strike risk and hard military language toward no immediate attack, high-level diplomacy with Iran and talk of a deal being close enough to sign as soon as this weekend in Europe, with Vice President JD Vance expected to attend,&quot; said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. The European Central Bank raised interest rates on Thursday for the first time since 2023, after the Iran war sent oil and gas prices soaring. Markets see a rising chance that the Federal Reserve will also increase US interest rates. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) meets next week. &quot;(With) inflation pressures continuing to build, there will almost certainly still be a majority in favour of a (BoJ) rate hike,&quot; said Abhijit Surya at Capital Economics. The Nikkei on Friday closed up almost 3% while Seoul&#39;s chip-heavy Kospi gave back earlier gains to end the day 4.6% higher. The Hang Seng and Shanghai also rallied. In early trade, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.6 percent, the DAX 30 in Frankfurt added 1.4% and London&#39;s FTSE firmed by just under one percent. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate were down by more than 2%. Key figures around 0750 GMT&nbsp;Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 2.81% at 66,020.04 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.42% at 24,593.83 Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.12% at 4,031.51 London - FTSE 100: UP 0.88% at 10,394.93 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1559 from $1.1579 on Thursday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3386 from $1.3418 Dollar/yen: UP at 160.36 yen from 159.78 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.35 pence from 86.29 pence Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.53% at $88.09 a barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.45% at $85.56 a barrel

Pedestrians walk across a street next to an electronic sign board showing the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong on June 12, 2026. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)

Global stocks surge and oil prices fell as President Trump signal a possible Iran deal and eased military threats, boosting investor optimism despite lingering uncertainty from Tehran.

Stocks up, oil down on Mideast deal hopes

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Army team, represented by &nbsp;Pakistan Military Academy, clinched first position at the prestigious International Pacesticking Competition 2026 held at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, United Kingdom. The Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) team made a clean sweep at the competition, securing all major honors, that is 1st Overall Team Trophy, Best Pace Sticker and Best Driver awards, according to a statement released by Pakistan military&#39;s media wing the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday.&nbsp; A total of 16 international teams from different armies participated in the fiercely competed annual event.&nbsp; The Pakistan Army team&rsquo;s victory is reflective of the highest standards of professional training, excellence and dedication maintained by the Armed &nbsp;Forces of Pakistan, the statement said. The nine-member Pakistani contingent, led by Major Haider Gulzar (Adjutant, PMA), arrived in UK on June 5, 2026.

Security

The Pakistan Military Academy team makes a clean sweep at the competition, securing all major honors, that is 1st Overall Team Trophy, Best Pace Sticker and Best Driver awards. 

Pakistan Army secures first position at int'l drill competition in UK

ISLAMABAD: Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan increased by $25 million during the week ended June 5, 2026, the central bank said on Thursday. According to the weekly data released by the SBP, the central bank&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves rose to $17.215 billion, compared with $17.190 billion recorded a week earlier. The country&rsquo;s total liquid foreign reserves stood at $22.672 billion as of June 5, 2026.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 654px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2065118705567383728&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=552b760487e1b8e392e1339bc76ab59200e0d96a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&width=550px"></iframe></div></div> Of the total reserves, $17.215 billion were held by the State Bank of Pakistan, while commercial banks held net foreign reserves of $5.457 billion. &ldquo;During the week ended on 5-June-2026, SBP&rsquo;s FX reserves increased by US$25 million to US$17,215.2 million,&rdquo; the central bank said in its statement. The data showed that reserves held by commercial banks also increased by around $11 million during the week under review. Commercial banks&rsquo; reserves rose to $5.456 billion from $5.445 billion recorded in the previous week. <img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/3c2574a4-1cc8-4c16-ab35-228075e5290c.png" style="width: 763px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Pakistan&rsquo;s total liquid foreign reserves had stood at $22.636 billion during the week ended May 29, 2026. The latest increase reflects a modest improvement in the country&rsquo;s external account position. Foreign exchange reserves are closely watched by markets as they indicate the country&rsquo;s ability to meet external payment obligations and support currency stability. According to State Bank data cited by Trading Economics, Pakistan&rsquo;s foreign exchange reserves increased to $22.636 billion in May 2026 from $20.804 billion in April 2026. Pakistan&rsquo;s reserves averaged $16.360 billion from 1998 to 2026, reaching an all-time high of $27.068 billion in August 2021 and a record low of $1.974 billion in December 1999.

SBP’s foreign exchange reserves increase by $25 million to $17.215 billion, while Pakistan’s total liquid reserves reach $22.672 billion during the week ending June 5, 2026.

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