Pakistan

Yemen’s internationally recognised government said it struck Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport on Monday, its biggest flare-up in years with the rebels, who blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack and threatened retaliation. The government said it had wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in the capital, after failing to convince a Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late Iranian supreme leader’s funeral to board a Yemenia flight instead. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of “ending the de-escalation phase” and warned that “this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished”. The latest escalation threatens to unravel a truce that has been holding since 2022 despite expiring, and comes at a time of heightened tensions as the United States and Iran trade attacks impacting the Gulf and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Smoke rises following an airstrike after Yemen’s defence ministry said that its armed forces had targeted the runway at Sanaa International Airport, in Sana...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of threatening American sovereignty and “waging a war” against the country. “The ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country — not with bullets or missiles but with statutes, compacts and the force of so-called ‘international law’“. He further said the court had “become the unaccountable arbiter of a new global law — empowered to prosecute and arrest our citizens at will”. Rubio described the court as “far more radical and extreme” than it had initially promised to be, saying it was “staffed by unelected globalist bureaucrats who claim their power is almost unlimited”. “The danger of this global court has only continued to grow.” “The American people never agreed to any of this,” he said. “And they never will.” Rubio’s remarks come after the Trump administration launched an effort to dismantle what it describes as the threat posed by the ICC to US sovereignty, according to a State Department official. Presi...

A high-level delegation, led by the Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division), Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, on Monday held a meeting with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Energy Working Group in Riyadh, reaffirming the longstanding brotherly ties between the two nations and charting a course for enhanced bilateral cooperation in the.

The Middle East has been rocked by US and Iranian attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire, as fighting over the strategic Strait of Hormuz threatened to derail efforts to permanently end the war. As the US attacks on Iran continued on Monday, Tehran said it would stop complying with a framework agreement signed in June to halt the fighting if Washington failed to meet its commitments. It also responded with attacks of its own targeting Gulf nations, with the powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) announcing new strikes on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Oman. “There is no doubt that this document is in crisis,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. “Each time that the other party has failed to meet its obligations, we did not uphold ours,” he added. “We will continue to act in this manner.” He nonetheless added that Tehran was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent any further escalation. The US Central ...

Children should have “phased and gradual access” to social media, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, as experts recommended under 13s only use online platforms under supervision. The European Union has been mulling a social media ban since a push by EU states, including Greece and France, for limiting access, with pressure intensifying for a bloc-wide ban like Australia. To help the EU take decisions based on evidence, von der Leyen tasked an expert panel of doctors, academics, youth representatives and parents to give their advice. They delivered their recommendations on Monday. “What we already have is a consensus that there needs to be a start date for the age children can join social media,” von der Leyen said, calling for “age-appropriate restrictions”. “This is not about whether children can access social media. It is about whether and when social media can access our children.” A legal proposal will come in the second half of the year, von der Leyen added, but she is expected to give an indi...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Monday set aside a Supreme Court (SC) judgment from August 2024 that had paved the way for the demolition of infrastructure developed by the Monal Group of Companies, La Montana and Gloria Jeans inside the picturesque Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP). The SC had ordered the closure of Monal and the adjacent La Montana restaurant on August 21, 2024, and they were closed the next month to protect the park’s biodiversity. A bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah had taken up review petitions filed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI). The petitions challenged the SC’s directions to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to take possession of the restaurants — namely Monal, La Montana and Gloria Jeans — located inside the park. The CDA and the Islamabad Capital Territory Police were also directed to assist the wildli...

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, challenged in the Supreme Court on Monday the registrar’s decision to return a set of petitions that contested the high court’s refusal to suspend their sentences in the £190 million Al-Qadir Trust case. Imran and Bushra Bibi were convicted and sentenced in January 2025 in the corruption case, in which an accountability court found them guilty of obtaining billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from a real estate firm for legalising Rs50bn that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government. The court verdict had said that funds from foreign bank accounts, previously frozen by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), were repatriated to settle the liabilities of Bahria Town instead of being added to the national kitty. The court had found that Imran, when he was the prime minister, gave a nod to a confidential deed for the illegal transfer of funds to settle Bahria Town’s liability. Imr...

Last week, the European Parliament, after a five-year lull, adopted a resolution on Pakistan — this time condemning alleged abductions, forced conversions, and child marriages among Hindu and Christian minority communities. Citing the case of 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz, the text warns that human rights violations could endanger Pakistan’s preferential market access to the EU, known as GSP+ (General System of Preferences). It may make for strong headlines, but a closer look at how this resolution came to be — and who actually holds the authority over trade sanctions — reveals a process far more performative than substantive. Procedural perplexities First, the legal reality. The European Parliament has no authority over GSP+. That power rests exclusively with the European Commission, the bloc’s executive power. The resolution is non-binding — a political statement, not a policy instrument. Its real purpose is to signal displeasure and influence Commission thinking, but it carries no immediate consequences. Secon...

KARACHI: A young doctor practicing at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) was shot dead during a robbery near Clifton on Monday, according to police. South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the incident occurred near Teen Talwar, where a young doctor, identified as Akash Kumar, lost his life. He said Dr Kumar was present outside a bank along with his father and cousin when armed suspects attempted to rob them. “During the course of the incident, firing took place, resulting in fatal injuries to the doctor. It is reported that the bank security guard also opened fire, leading to a crossfire.” “The suspects fled the scene following the incident after looting approximately Rs2.5 million,” the South DIG said. He further said that Dr Kumar was unmarried and had been serving at JPMC for the past two years. His body was shifted from JPMC to the Chhippa morgue after completion of legal formalities. The senior police official added that CCTV footage from the vicinity had ...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast hot and humid weather in most parts of the country on Tuesday, with rain accompanied by wind and thunderstorms expected at isolated places in Kashmir, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeast Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be jailed if she returns from self-imposed exile in India, a senior official said on Monday, days after Hasina told Reuters she planned to go back in December and surrender to a court. Hasina faces a death sentence in Bangladesh and her party is banned following a popular uprising against her long rule in 2024, which the United Nations said killed 1,400 people. She has been living in New Delhi since August of that year. “Sheikh Hasina is a convicted criminal. If she surrenders, action will be taken against her as per the laws of Bangladesh,” Shama Obaed Islam, Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign affairs, told reporters. “She will have to go to jail and further proceedings will follow as per the provisions of the law.” The country’s war-crimes court sentenced Hasina in November to death in absentia for ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising. She has denied the charges from exile. Bangladesh is now governed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’...

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Monday reviewed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s preparedness for the ongoing Monsoon 2026 during a high-level virtual meeting, assessing contingency plans, resource deployment, emergency coordination and district-level response measures to strengthen.

Oil prices surged more than three per cent on Monday after renewed military strikes between the United States and Iran reignited concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures were up $2.47, or 3.25pc, to $78.48 at 4:45pm PKT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.35, or 3.29pc, to $73.76 a barrel. “The focus will remain on the number of inbound tankers as a lower number could impact production, so currently we see a risk premium but as well a disruption risk supporting prices,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. Fresh US and Iranian strikes over the weekend fueled fears of a renewed escalation. Tehran targeted US facilities across the Gulf on Sunday and said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had attacked US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Some 20pc of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited the strait before the war began at the end of February. “Shipping operators are adopting a cautious a...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday said the 'Apna Rozgar Programme' was envisioned to help women achieve economic independence, describing the initiative as a key step towards strengthening their role in society.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, on Monday, strongly condemned a terrorist attack targeting police personnel in District Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Security forces have killed another eight terrorists during the ongoing Operation Shaban in Balochistan, following which the total number of terrorists killed in the operation reached 79, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Monday, citing security sources. Operation Shaban is being jointly carried out across the province by the army, Frontier Corps (FC) and Balochistan Police following the terrorist July 7 attack in the Mangi Dam area, in which 27 police personnel were martyred. Security forces are targeting the terrorists through both aerial and ground operations, the Radio Pakistan report said. It further quoted security sources as saying that a total of 117 terrorists had been killed during Operation Shaban and other intelligence-based operations in Balochistan since July 5. Separately, a statement shared on the interior ministry’s X account said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi commended the army and Balochistan FC and police for killing five more terrorists. “He commended the professional capabili...

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began the week in the red, with the benchmark index plummeting 2,300 points on Monday amid ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. The KSE-100 index touched an intraday low of 179,448.52 points soon after opening, down 2,793.25 points from the previous close of 182,241.77. It then reversed some of its losses by 2:30pm, reaching an intraday high of 181,148.26 points. However, the index witnessed further selling pressure as it declined to close at 179,927.04 points — down 2,314.73 points (1.27 per cent) from the previous close. Mettis Global, a web-based financial portal, and Topline Securities Ltd said market sentiment remained under pressure after the US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes in an escalating contest over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices also jumped more than three per cent on Monday due to the renewed fighting. Topline Securities said the US-Iran exchanges “reignited concerns over a broader regional conflict, pushing international crude oil prices highe...

Beijing says restoring navigation through strategic waterway serves interests of all sides

LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Monday granted Defence C police a further four-day physical remand of four suspects, including one related to a senior political figure, in the case involving the alleged abduction and rape of two foreign women. Five suspects were booked for alleged abduction and sexual assault earlier this month after the women — nationals of the Netherlands and Venezuela — were rescued. Four of them were arrested and later sent on a five-day physical remand. The suspects were produced before Judicial Magistrate Azhar Mehmood at the Cantonment Courts upon the expiry of their previous remand. The investigating officer (IO) sought further custody of the suspects to complete the investigation. He said police had recovered the suspects’ mobile phones and the vehicle allegedly used in the commission of the offence. However, the recovery of money allegedly linked to the case was still pending. Advocate Salman Shahid appeared on behalf of three of the suspects, while no counsel appeared for the prim...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday met Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and offered his condolences on the passing of his father and former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Sheikh Tamim received PM Shehbaz at Lusail Palace in Doha, where the latter extended his condolences on Sheikh Hamad’s demise, a statement released by the Qatari leader’s office said. PM Shehbaz, who reached Qatar on a one-day visit earlier on Monday, is accompanied by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar are also accompanying the prime minister. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also shared updates from the premier’s visit to Qatar on X, saying he was in Doha to “personally convey condolences on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan to the leadership and people of the state of Qatar on the passing away of Sheikh Hamad”. In his meeting with Sheikh Tamim, he “conveyed heartfelt condolences on the s...