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Found 5467 news

  • Pakistan, Saudi Arabia military leaders discuss advancing mutual defence pact
    Dawn - 14:18 Nov 14, 2025
    Chief of General Staff (CGS) Lieutenant General Aamer Raza met his Saudi counterpart, General Fayyadh Bin Hameed Al-Rowaily, in Riyadh to discuss broadening strategic ties and strengthening the mutual defence agreement signed by the two nations, the military’s media wing said on Friday. The two countries have long shared a multifaceted relationship rooted in strategic military cooperation, mutual economic interests, and shared Islamic heritage. These ties have encompassed economic assistance and energy supplies, with Riyadh being a significant source of financial aid and oil for Islamabad. According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “matters of mutual strategic interest” were discussed during the meeting, including strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, enhancing interoperability and advancing collaboration under the mutual defence agreement. “Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further deepening the long-standing fraternal ties between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Sau...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • President Zardari accepts resignations of SC judges Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah
    Dawn - 13:28 Nov 14, 2025
    President Asif Ali Zardari has accepted the resignations of Supreme Court judges Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah, a post on the President’s official X account said on Friday. The two judges had handed in their resignations yesterday, hours after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law by the president, describing the legislation as an affront to the judiciary and the 1973 Cons­titution. “I therefore resign as the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, in full awareness of the reasons that compel it and in loyalty to the Constitution that has guided every step of my judicial life,” Justice Shah wrote in his 13-page resignation letter, issued in both English and Urdu. The letters were addressed to the president. Justice Shah had described the amendment as a “grave assault on the Constitution” and said the 27th Amendment dismantled the Supreme Court of Pakistan, subjugated the judiciary to executive control and struck at the “very heart of our constitutional democracy”....
    Tags: Mansoor Ali Shah Athar Minallah
  • India’s Modi celebrates as party set for big win in Bihar state vote
    Dawn - 13:19 Nov 14, 2025
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hailed a “resounding” victory for his party and its allies in a key local election in the country’s poorest state of Bihar. The eastern state of 130 million people was widely seen as a bellwether and a test of Modi’s ability to translate New Delhi’s booming economy into gains for its poorest citizens. Counting is still ongoing and the final tally may not be out until Saturday, but the election commission said partial results and projections suggested a solid majority for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the state assembly. Modi called the win a “victory of good governance”. “This resounding public mandate will empower us to serve the people and work with new resolve for Bihar,” he said in a post on social media. Bihar is the only state in the Hindi-speaking north where Modi’s party has never ruled alone. This time too, it is unlikely to secure a majority by itself but appears set to emerge as the single largest party ahead of...
    Tags: Bihar Modi
  • Jordan’s King Abdullah II to arrive in Pakistan for two-day state visit
    Dawn - 13:09 Nov 14, 2025
    Jordan’s King Abdullah II will arrive in Pakistan for a two-day state visit on Saturday at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during which he is expected to hold high-level meetings with the prime minister and the president, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) on Friday. The Jordanian monarch’s last visit to Pakistan was at the invitation of former president Mamnoon Hussain. Two memoranda of understanding were signed by both nations, with one related to cooperation in civil protection and defence and the other to cooperation in the housing sector. According to the FO, Saturday’s high-level visit reflects the “longstanding, fraternal relations” between Islamabad and Amman. “It will serve to further strengthen the strategic direction of Pakistan–Jordan relations and place them on a higher trajectory, encompassing a comprehensive and broad-based partnership in the political, economic, and cultural spheres,” the statement read. “During his visit … King Abdullah II … will hold ...
    Tags: Pakistan King Abdullah Jordan
  • Pakistan will not hold talks with any terrorist group: FO
    Dawn - 12:10 Nov 14, 2025
    Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi asserted on Friday that Pakistan had never eschewed dialogue with any government in Kabul but would not hold talks with any terrorist groups. The spokesperson’s speech came in the context of the third round of talks that concluded on November 7 in Istanbul between Pakistan and Afghanistan, aimed at ending cross-border terrorism and consolidating a fragile ceasefire that was initially agreed upon after border clashes last month. Since the skirmishes, representatives of the two countries held two rounds of talks — first in Doha and then in Istanbul — but a final agreement could not be achieved. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that a ceasefire, however, was still in place “for the time being”. “Pakistan has never eschewed dialogue with any government in Kabul. However, Pakistan will not hold dialogue with any terrorist groups, be it Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA),” he said while addressing his weekly press briefing. ...
    Tags: Pakistan
  • US announces new military operation in Latin America
    Dawn - 11:54 Nov 14, 2025
    US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday a military operation to “remove narco-terrorists,” amid growing concerns that a US naval build-up in Latin American waters could presage land strikes and a wider conflict. “Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,” Hegseth posted on social media platform X. “This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people,” he said. The post gave no details of what the operation would entail or how it might differ from military actions already being undertaken. President Donald Trump’s administration is conducting a military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, deploying naval and air forces for what it calls an anti-drugs offensive. US forces have carried out strikes on about 20 vessels in international waters in the region since early September, killing at least 76 people, according to US figures. Asked for clarification on the precise nature of Operati...
  • PHC bars KP govt from employing official vehicles for ‘personal or political use’
    Dawn - 11:44 Nov 14, 2025
    The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday imposed a ban on the use of government resources, such as vehicles, by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for personal or political use. According to a court order available with Dawn, the provincial administration was banned from using official vehicles without authorisation, stating that it amounted to “misconduct and abuse of authority”. “This court is of the view that the use of official vehicles, machinery, or any other government resources for participation in, or facilitation of, political gatherings, protest rallies, or long marches constitutes a blatant misuse of public property and authority,” the PHC ruled. The order added that this practice was not only violating public trust but also undermining the concept of neutral governance. “Public resources, including official vehicles and heavy machinery, are procured and maintained from the public exchequer for the sole purpose of performing official duties and providing services to the citizens in accordance with l...
  • Justices Shah and Minallah — Guardians of the Constitution
    Dawn - 11:37 Nov 14, 2025
    One of the most striking moments in A Man for All Seasons comes when Thomas More debates his hot-headed son-in-law, Roper, who insists that the law should be swept aside to catch the “devil”, meaning anyone dangerous or politically threatening. More responds with a powerful image: England is planted thick with laws, “like a forest”, and those laws protect everyone, even the people we despise. Then More asks a piercing question: if you cut down every law to hunt your enemies, what will protect you when power turns and comes for you? Without the law, More warns, you will be standing in an open field with the winds blowing from every direction, completely defenceless. This scene captures the core of the play: the rule of law is not a tool for the powerful but a shield for everyone, and once it is weakened for expedience, no one can control what comes next. Yesterday, Pakistan lost two of its most brilliant jurists — Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah. Why that happened remains for history to answe...
  • Justice Aminuddin Khan sworn in as first chief justice of Federal Constitutional Court
    Dawn - 11:34 Nov 14, 2025
    Justice Aminuddin Khan on Friday was sworn in as the first chief justice of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) after the 27th Amendment was enacted into law a day earlier. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza were also present for the ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad. Meanwhile, Supreme Court Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sat alongside Justice Aminuddin on the stage. View this post on Instagram PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, his sister Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gillani, and members of the federal cabinet were also in attendance. The ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, following which President Zardari administered the oath to Justice Aminuddin in English. In his oath, Justice Aminuddin vowed to discharg...
    Tags: Federal Constitutional Court Justice Aminuddin Khan
  • Khawaja Asif assails SC judges for stepping down, says ‘conscience awakened only after monopoly curtailed’
    Dawn - 11:22 Nov 14, 2025
    Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday criticised two Supreme Court judges for tendering resignations following the passage of the 27th constitutional amendment a day earlier, saying their “consciences only awakened after their monopoly was curtailed.” Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah handed in their resignations, hours after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly today, Asif accused the judges of having “selective amnesia”, saying that they had “forgotten their past” and were now becoming “guardians of democracy”. “Four to five years ago — in fact, eight to 10 years ago — when the process to remove Nawaz Sharif from his post started, I want to tell you about the history of our SC judges at that time. The conspiracy created against Nawaz before that and the role our judiciary played in turning that conspiracy into reality,” Asif said, amid chants of ‘kon bachayega Pakistan; Imran K...
  • Govt says 4 TTP terrorists arrested for involvement in Islamabad suicide attack
    Dawn - 09:53 Nov 14, 2025
    Four terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested for their involvement in the suicide blast in Islamabad earlier this week, the government said on Friday. “In a joint operation conducted by the Intelligence Bureau Division and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), four members of the TTP/Fitna al-Khawarij terrorist cell involved in the suicide attack at the Judicial Complex G-11, Islamabad have been apprehended,” the government said in a post on social media platform X. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the TTP. The government said that during the investigation, the handler of the suicide bomber, identified as Sajidullah alias Sheena, confessed that TTP Commander Saeedur Rehman alias Daadullah contacted him through the Telegram app to carry out a suicide attack in Islamabad to cause maximum casualties of law enforcement agencies. The government said that the TTP commander sent pictures of the suicide bomber, identified as Usman alias...
    Tags: Islamabad
  • Following NA approval, Senate also passes bill for resetting COAS Munir’s tenure after appointment as CDF
    Dawn - 08:38 Nov 14, 2025
    The Senate swiftly passed four bills related to the recently approved contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment on Friday, including one that seeks changes to the Army Act and resets the tenure of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir after his appointment as the chief of the defence forces (CDF). As explained by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in the National Assembly (NA) yesterday, this means that the five-year tenure of the chief of the defence forces would commence from the date of his notification of the appointment. The four bills were passed by the Senate today — a day after their hurried passage in the National Assembly — without debate and with little resistance from the opposition. Apart from the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2025, the bills also included the Pakistan Air Force Amendment Bill 2025, the Pakistan Navy Amendment Bill 2025, and the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Amendment Bill 2025. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar tabled the Pakistan Army Amen...
    Tags: Senate
  • Fresh US draft on Gaza mentions path to Palestinian statehood while Russia submits counter proposal
    Dawn - 08:00 Nov 14, 2025
    The United States circulated a second revision of its draft resolution on Gaza at the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday, even as Russia countered with its own text calling for the preservation of the current ceasefire and a renewed commitment to a two-state solution. Senior UN diplomats told Dawn that Washington placed “Revision 2” of its draft under a silence procedure until 6:30pm New York time on November 13, a step intended to indicate that the negotiation phase was nearly complete. Under this procedure, the absence of objections signifies consent. “But China and Russia broke the silence,” one diplomat said, noting that both delegations submitted formal objections shortly before the deadline. “Once silence is broken, other member states may also submit comments — and some did — although Pakistan did not,“ the diplomat added. Following the break, Russia swiftly distributed its own draft resolution to UNSC members. Breaking silence means, the US may now be forced to resume negotiations. Washington may ...
    Tags: Gaza Russia
  • Focus back on cricket as Pakistan eye series triumph over Sri Lanka
    Dawn - 07:48 Nov 14, 2025
    RAWALPINDI: After a day and a night of chaos, focus will finally shift back to cricket when Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the second One-day International at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday. The encounter — Pakistan’s opportunity to wrap up their second successive ODI series — comes after a turbulent 48 hours that threatened to overshadow the cricket itself. The match was originally slated for Thursday, but the schedule was thrown into disarray after a terror attack in Islamabad on Tuesday sparked understandable concern within the Sri Lankan camp. Reports soon emerged that several visiting players were contemplating abandoning the tour altogether. The uncertainty prompted urgent intervention from Pakistan’s interior minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who, along with the country’s top security officials, held lengthy discussions with the Sri Lankan delegation to assure them of their safety. By late Wednesday night, the situation had stabilised. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) rea...
    Tags: Pakistan Sri Lanka
  • PTI parliamentary body suggests holding countrywide protests
    Dawn - 03:00 Nov 14, 2025
    • Proposals to be considered in TTAP meeting today • Achakzai wants demos on Fridays • KP CM stopped from meeting Imran for sixth time ISLAMABAD: Appre­ciating the resignations of the judges of the top court and urging the judiciary to stand on its feet, the PTI’s Parlia­mentary Commi­ttee has suggested holding countrywide protests against the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment. However, the suggestions will be discussed in a meeting of the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Friday (today), followed by a press conference. The parliamentary party’s meeting was chaired by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief and TTAP chairman, and attended by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser and other members of the National Assembly. Former NA speaker Qaiser, while talking to Dawn, said during the meeting, proposals were sought to devise a strategy after the passage of the 27th Amendment. “The participants [of the meeting] unanimously agr...
  • COAS Munir’s tenure to reset with CDF appointment after NA approves army act changes
    Dawn - 18:57 Nov 13, 2025
    Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir is set to have his tenure reset upon his appointment as chief of the defence forces (CDF), after the National Assembly approved amendments to laws governing the three branches of the armed forces shortly after the government tabled them. The amendments were tabled soon after President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent to the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment, enacting it into law. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif introduced the Pakistan Army Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, the Pakistan Air Force (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Pakistan Navy (Amendment) Bill 2025, which were passed with a majority vote. Meanwhile, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar introduced the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2025, which was also passed with a majority vote. Tarar said the four bills, which were passed in nine minutes without any debate, were meant to harmonise the existing laws with the recently signed 27th Constitutional Amendment Act. “These are not ne...
  • All terrorists in Wana attack Afghan nationals; orchestrated by TTP from Afghanistan: information ministry
    Dawn - 18:46 Nov 13, 2025
    The information ministry on Thursday said that all terrorists involved in the attack on Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan were Afghan citizens. Security forces confirmed a day ago that they had successfully foiled a terrorist attack on Cadet College Wana, killing all the attackers after an intense clearance operation. The attackers had targeted the main gate of the college on Monday evening and gained entry to the educational institution, but a timely response from security forces averted a major tragedy. Government ministers had linked the attack to Afghanistan and said it was orchestrated from there. “The attack on Cadet College Wana was planned and controlled from Afghanistan. The attack was planned in Afghanistan by kharji Zahid and the final approval was given by kharji Noorwali Mehsud. All the khwarij who attacked Cadet College Wana were Afghan citizens. The equipment for this attack was provided from Afghanistan, which included American-made weapons,” said the information ministry in a statement t...
    Tags: Afghanistan Afghan
  • ‘Flagrant attack on independence of judiciary’: jurists’ body assails newly enacted 27th Amendment
    Dawn - 18:34 Nov 13, 2025
    The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Thursday issued a statement assailing the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, calling it a “flagrant attack” on judicial independence and the rule of law. Last year, the ICJ similarly derided the 26th Constitutional Amendment being signed into law as a “blow to judicial independence”. ICJ Secretary-General Santiago Canton was quoted as saying: “The changes made to the judicial system in the 27th Amendment are alarming …They will significantly impair the judiciary’s ability to hold the executive accountable and protect the fundamental human rights of the people of Pakistan.” The jurists’ body expressed concern over several main points, namely the formation of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), the appointment of judges and chief justices to the Supreme Court and the FCC, the composition of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), the transfer of high court judges and the immunities granted to the president and the military leadership. “The FCC w...
    Tags: Amendment
  • Justice Aminuddin appointed first chief justice of Federal Constitutional Court
    Dawn - 18:01 Nov 13, 2025
    Justice Aminuddin Khan was on Thursday appointed the inaugural Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). The development comes hours after the 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari and shortly after Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah resigned from their offices in protest. A notification from the law ministry said President Zardari made the appointment under clause (3) of Article 175A read with Article 175C of the Constitution, adding that it would come into effect from the date that Justice Khan took his oath. The judge will take the oath at the Presidency tomorrow at 10am. The chief justices and judges of superior courts, high-ranking officials have been invited to participate in the oath-taking ceremony Justice Khan was born in Multan in 1960. A second-generation lawyer, he earned his LL.B from University Law College, Multan, in 1984 and began practice under his father, Khan Sadiq Muhammad Ahsan. He became an advocate of the L...
    Tags: Federal Constitutional Court
  • India inaugurates new military airbase close to China border, source says
    Dawn - 17:52 Nov 13, 2025
    India’s air force chief made the inaugural landing of a military transport aircraft at a new airbase capable of fighter jet operations close to the disputed Himalayan border with China, a defence official said on Thursday. The move comes amid a thaw in ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours, following a milestone pact last October to ease military tension along their de facto border and a visit this year to China by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh landed the C-130J aircraft on Wednesday at the Mudh-Nyoma air force station in Ladakh, perched at a height of about 4,000m, added the official, who sought anonymity as the matter is a sensitive one. The Indian Air Force and the defence ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The new airbase, the region’s third such key station, is just 30 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. “This new airfield in Ladakh, capable of fighter operations, will add a new challenge for both of our adversari...
    Tags: China India

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