LAHORE: The Pakistan Banks Association (PBA) on Sunday announced that the second edition of the Pakistan Banking Summit (PBS’26) will be held in Karachi on July 7 and 8.

The annual summit will bring together more than 1,200 participants, including policymakers, regulators, banking executives, corporate leaders, academics and development partners to discuss key issues affecting Pakistan’s financial sector.

According to the PBA, the two-day event will feature nine sessions covering the domestic and global economic outlook, digital banking and payments, Islamic banking, climate finance, capital markets, and financing for agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and low-cost housing.

More than 15 international speakers and over 20 local experts are expected to participate, alongside representatives from over 48 financial institutions.

Confirmed keynote speakers include Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad, and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani.

Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, PBA Chairman Zafar Masud said the summit would provide a platform for policymakers, regulators and the banking industry to discuss policy priorities and strengthen collaboration aimed at supporting the country’s financial sector and long-term economic growth.

PBA said the summit seeks to promote policy dialogue, industry collaboration and the exchange of global best practices to help build a more resilient, inclusive and future-ready financial system.

LAHORE – The federal government has reduced the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs1.97 per litre for the next seven days.

According to a notification issued by the Petroleum Division, the price of petrol has been lowered from Rs299 to Rs297.53 per litre, while the price of HSD has been reduced from Rs311 to Rs309.50 per litre.

The revised prices came into effect immediately and will remain applicable for one week.

The latest adjustment follows the government’s previous fuel price review on June 26, when the prices of both petrol and diesel were left unchanged at Rs299 and Rs311 per litre, respectively.

Earlier this week, the government also imposed a climate support levy of Rs5 per litre on petrol and diesel under the Finance Act, 2026.

KARACHI – A three-year-old girl from Orangi Town has tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), raising the total number of infected children in the area to 107, health authorities and the child’s family said.

According to the family, the diagnosis was confirmed through three separate laboratory tests: Rapid Detect, Uni-Gold, and HIV Combo (Ag/Ab), all of which returned positive results.

The girl’s parents said she had received treatment at the government-run Kulsum Bai Valika Social Security SITE Hospital, commonly known as Valika Hospital. They alleged that her health began to deteriorate after the treatment, prompting them to have her tested for HIV.

The latest case comes amid an ongoing investigation into an HIV outbreak involving children who reportedly received treatment at Valika Hospital in Karachi’s SITE Town.

Health officials have confirmed that 107 children from Orangi Town have so far tested positive for HIV. The death toll among infected children in Zia Colony has reached nine.

Several affected families have alleged that contaminated syringes were reused on multiple patients at the hospital, leading to the spread of the virus.

In February, Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal said the outbreak had been caused by the reuse of contaminated syringes at Valika Hospital.

Addressing the National Assembly on June 10, the minister said the federal government had banned five types of syringes following a rise in HIV cases across the country. He added that increasing numbers of infections had also been reported in Islamabad and Taunsa.

The Sindh Health Department has also reported an increase in HIV cases across the province during 2026.

According to the minister, around 366,000 people in Pakistan are living with HIV/AIDS. He said the disease is treatable if diagnosed early and managed appropriately.

He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a special committee to help contain the spread of HIV, while the federal government was coordinating with provincial authorities to strengthen prevention and control measures.