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, FRI., OCT. 9, 2026No. 5 · Morning, 6:00 a.m. PKT6 a.m. PKT
KSE-100167,441.91▼0.68%10/8USD/PKR277.01－0.00%10/8S&P 5007,765.36▼0.47%10/8WTI$91.50▲3.60%10/8Gold$4,157.00▲0.20%10/8
Politics · PTI long marchPress ✓ 4 outlets · schedule as announced by PTI

PTI redraws the march: Peshawar on Thursday night, then Charsadda, Mardan and Swabi, with a “final plan” promised on 11 October

New since Wednesday: the Khairabad gathering is no longer the decision point. Afridi’s revised schedule stretches the march to Swabi on Sunday, and the announcement moves with it.

PTI has announced a revised schedule for its long march, ARY News, Minute Mirror and The Pakistan Connect reported. The convoy is due to reach Peshawar from Khyber on Thursday night, 8 October, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi expected to address gatherings in the city. It moves to Charsadda on Friday 9 October, where participants will spend the night, then to Mardan on Saturday 10 October and Swabi on Sunday 11 October. Afridi has said the party will unveil its “final plan” after Swabi, and that it will put pressure on its opponents.

The change replaces the earlier plan, under which all caravans were to gather at Khairabad on 8 October and Afridi was to announce his next course of action there. Dawn’s headline on the fifth day said the convoy had entered Peshawar. The Pakistan Connect carried a journalist’s claim that about 3,000 workers had entered the city; DailyDrop could not confirm the figure. The government line is unchanged: no march on Islamabad.

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In numbers
11 OctSunday: Swabi, where PTI says it will announce its final plan
4 stopsPeshawar, Charsadda, Mardan and Swabi in the new schedule
3,000workers said to have entered Peshawar, per one unconfirmed claim
Economy · ReservesPress ✓ 3 outlets · figures from the State Bank of Pakistan weekly release

State Bank reserves edge up $15 million to $21.45 billion; total liquid reserves near $26.8 billion

The State Bank of Pakistan’s own foreign-exchange reserves rose by about $15 million in the week ended 2 October to roughly $21.45 billion, pkrevenue.com and Mettis reported on the basis of the central bank’s weekly release published on Thursday 8 October. Mettis put the gain at $14.5 million, or 0.07%. Total liquid reserves, including commercial banks’ holdings of about $5.34 billion, were around $26.80 billion, according to pkrevenue.com.

The State Bank’s holdings were $21.439 billion a week earlier, ProPakistani reported, and Mettis said they are up about $2.98 billion, or 16%, in the current fiscal year. The cushion matters because oil imports are costing more with the Strait of Hormuz shut and the IMF programme sets reserve targets.

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Word of the day
Liquid reserves · economy

The sum of foreign-currency holdings of the central bank and of commercial banks. The central bank’s own reserves are the figure used to judge import cover.

World · LiteraturePress ✓ 5 outlets · citation from the Swedish Academy

Anne Carson wins the Nobel prize in literature for an “inventive oeuvre” in dialogue with the classics

The Swedish Academy announced on Thursday 8 October that the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature goes to the Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson, for a “bold and inventive oeuvre” that creates new forms for contemporary literature in dialogue with the classical tradition, according to nobelprize.org, blue News, Il Foglio and charter97. Carson teaches Ancient Greek.

She is best known for the 1998 verse novel Autobiography of Red, which retells a Greek myth in a modern setting. The prize is 12 million Swedish kronor, a million more than in recent years. Last year’s laureate was the Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai. The ceremony is on 10 December.

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Markets · KarachiSingle outlet for the index: ARY News · rupee per Business Recorder and Daily Times

KSE-100 falls 1,138 points to 167,441 on Thursday, giving back Tuesday’s rebound

The KSE-100 index closed on Thursday 8 October at 167,441.91, down 1,138.50 points or 0.68% from Wednesday’s 168,580.41, ARY News reported. That takes it below Friday 2 October’s 168,155.49 and about 2,500 points under the end-of-September level of 169,969.32. DailyDrop has seen no second outlet’s report on the session or an explanation of the fall.

In the interbank market the rupee closed at 277.01 to the dollar, a gain of one paisa on Wednesday’s 277.02, according to the previous-day reference in Daily Times’ APP report on Friday and Business Recorder’s closing table. Traders are likely to be watching the new march schedule and the oil price.

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World · Saudi Arabia and PakistanPress ✓ 5 outlets · NYT claim denied by Islamabad

Houthi missiles hit Riyadh and Abha airports; Islamabad calls a New York Times report of Pakistani air strikes on the Houthis “fake and fabricated”

Saudi civil aviation authorities reported three people killed and dozens injured in Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and the airport at Abha this week, according to Arab News Pakistan and the Associated Press, which also reported a fresh Houthi claim of an attack near the capital’s airport on Thursday 8 October. The Houthis claimed the strikes; the claims were not independently verified. Debris from an interception damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex in Riyadh, Khaleej Times reported.

The New York Times reported on 7 October, citing an unnamed senior Pakistani military official, that Pakistan Air Force jets were being used against the Houthis. Pakistan’s Information Ministry rejected the report as “fake and fabricated” in a fact-check on X and asked international media to avoid speculation about the use of Pakistani forces under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, Tribune, ARY News and Pakobserver reported. Pakistani forces are in Saudi Arabia, the military has confirmed, but their numbers and roles have not been disclosed.

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In brief
  • Total liquid reserves near $26.80 billion, including $5.34 billion with commercial bankspkrevenue.com
  • State Bank reserves $21.439 billion a week earlier, $21.45 billion nowProPakistani, Mettis
  • Nobel literature: Anne Carson, Canada, “bold and inventive oeuvre”blue News, Il Foglio
  • S&P 500 7,765.36 (−0.47%); WTI $91.50 (+3.60%); gold $4,157.0 (+0.20%)Market closing data
  • Interbank rupee 277.01 at Thursday’s closeDaily Times (APP), Business Recorder
  • PTI also changed its plan: Khairabad is no longer the single gathering pointARY News, Minute Mirror
  • Nobel peace prize announced today; economics on Monday 12 OctoberNobel Prize schedule
Seven minutes every morning, one page — see About

Unverified — what we cannot confirm

“Pakistani fighter jets are bombing the Houthis in Yemen.” The New York Times reported this on 7 October citing an unnamed Pakistani military official; Pakistan’s Information Ministry called it “fake and fabricated” (Tribune, ARY News, Pakobserver).
“About 3,000 workers have entered Peshawar.” The figure comes from a senior journalist quoted by The Pakistan Connect. No other outlet DailyDrop saw gave a number, and turnout counts at marches are usually disputed.
Glossary · dotted words — economic, legal, security and science terms explained in context. The list grows every day.
INSIDEPTI redraws the march: Peshawar on Thursday night, then Charsadda, Mardan and Swabi, with a “final plan” promised on 11 OctoberPolitics · PTI long marchState Bank reserves edge up $15 million to $21.45 billion; total liquid reserves near $26.8 billionEconomy · ReservesAnne Carson wins the Nobel prize in literature for an “inventive oeuvre” in dialogue with the classicsWorld · LiteratureKSE-100 falls 1,138 points to 167,441 on Thursday, giving back Tuesday’s reboundMarkets · KarachiHouthi missiles hit Riyadh and Abha airports; Islamabad calls a New York Times report of Pakistani air strikes on the Houthis “fake and fabricated”World · Saudi Arabia and Pakistan