August | Pakistan

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast another monsoon spell across Islamabad and several other parts of Pakistan from August 27, with strong winds also expected during the period.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday approved summaries forwarded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including one for the summoning of the National Assembly and the Senate on August 17. In a post on the social media platform X, the President’s Secretariat said, “The president has approved the awarding of military honours to 1,172 personnel from the armed forces and civil armed forces.” “The president has approved summoning the National Assembly session on August 17 at 5pm and the Senate session at 4pm,” it added. President Zardari has also approved a special 100-day remission in the sentences of eligible prisoners on the occasion of Independence Day and Eid Miladun Nabi, the statement said. The president has also approved the awarding of national honours to citizens from various civil sectors. Earlier this week, the president gave his assent to the appointment of 19 additional judges for five high courts, along with confirmation of another five as permanent judges, ending a weeks-long deadlock between the Pre...

The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee has announced that the moon for Rabi-ul-Awwal 1448 AH was not sighted in Pakistan on Thursday, making Saturday, August 15, the first day of the Islamic month.

LAHORE: A sessions court on Tuesday summoned TikToker Rajab Butt and four other suspects to frame charges against them in a case of alleged sexual assault of a social media influencer. Additional District and Sessions Judge Zafaryab heard a private complaint filed by the social media influencer against Butt and four others and directed all five suspects to appear before the court on August 18 for indictment. The social media influencer had filed the private complaint in 2025, alleging that she was subjected to sexual assault and subsequent blackmailing by the suspects. She claimed to have evidence for the allegations, including WhatsApp conversations, a medical report and her statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The suspects, who rejected the charges against them, had secured pre-arrest bail from a sessions court. Last month, Nawab Town police registered a case against Butt and his accomplices for allegedly attacking some women and opening fire during an altercation at a caf...

The government has decided to launch the Vision Pakistan 2047 programme on August 12, with the goal of transforming Pakistan into a trillion-dollar economy.

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf has announced that applications for the first instalment of Hajj 2027 expenses will be accepted from August 17.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has announced that it will hold sit-ins across the country from August 16, instead of August 9, citing plans to mark Independence Day on a larger scale.

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday notified an additional burden of Rs9.8 billion on electricity consumers for the August billing period due to a fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of 75 paisa per unit. The net average fuel cost in August would be around 41 paisa per unit higher than in July, when the FCA stood at Rs0.34 per unit. In its notification, Nepra said it had decided that the positive FCA for June 2026, amounting to Rs0.7503 per kWh, would apply to all consumer categories that opted for prepaid tariffs, except lifeline consumers, electric vehicle charging stations and prepaid electricity consumers. The adjustment applies to K-Electric (KE) as well as power distribution companies (Discos) that originated from Wapda. The regulator said the adjustment would also apply to consumers under the incremental consumption package. Discos and KE are required to reflect the fuel charges adjustment for June 2026 in the billing month of August 2026. The FCA is reviewed every mont...

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast that the crescent moon marking the beginning of Rabi ul Awal 1448 AH is unlikely to be sighted on the evening of August 13.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has announced that the party will launch a formal movement for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi from August 5.

KARACHI: The Sindh Department of School Education has announced a holiday for all public and private schools across the province on August 4 on the occasion of Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.

Announces the opening of schools across the province from August 1

A fresh spell of rainfall is expected in the country from July 29 to August 5, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Tuesday as several parts of the country reeled from a preceding spell and subsequent flooding. “Monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are likely to penetrate upper and central parts of the country from July 29,” the Met Office said in its forecast, adding that a westerly wave currently affecting northern areas would likely strengthen from August 1 and affect most of the upper and central parts of the country. PMD warned that heavy rainfall may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Nowshera, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad from July 30 to August 4. It also warned of landslides in KP, particularly in Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Buner, Battagram, Mansehra, Haripur and Abbottabad, as well as in GB, Murree, Galliyat and AJK from July 30 to August 5. According to the advisory, heavy rainfall may also p...

ISLAMABAD: Power companies on Friday sought a Rs1.20 per unit increase in fuel cost charges for consumers across the country in August, primarily due to the use of expensive imported fuels. The request comes despite around 75pc of electricity generated in June having come from cheaper domestic sources, predominantly those with zero fuel costs. Once approved, the power companies would charge consumers of all power utilities, including ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (Discos) and K-Electric, an additional Rs15.7 billion through August bills. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has called a public hearing on July 29 to examine the request for a fuel cost adjustment (FCA). The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), which filed the petition seeking a higher FCA for June, said power consumption was slightly lower than in June 2025. It reported electricity consumption of 13,066bn units in June this year, compared to 13,310bn units in the same month last year. The increase in fuel costs was prim...

ISLAMABAD - Electricity tariff is likely to go up by approximately Rs1 per unit from August 1 as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved National Grid Company’s three-year Use of System Charges (UoSC) at an average Rs515.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Wednesday forecast below-normal rainfall and above-normal temperatures across most parts of the country during the months of June to August. The PMD said in its outlook that the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is currently in a neutral phase and is expected to shift to a positive phase by July 2026, while the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has moved into a positive phase (El Nino) and is expected to strengthen further during the season. In view of these conditions, the PMD said that “normal to below-normal” rainfall was expected over most parts of the country during the June–July–August (JJA) season, with the largest negative departures likely over the northeastern parts of Punjab. The findings were reinforced by the Met Office’s probability outlook, which indicated a high probability of below-normal rainfall across most of Pakistan, particularly Punjab, Sindh, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and most of Balochistan. “In contrast, near-normal to slightly above-normal...

Hamas’s armed wing confirmed on Monday the death of its spokesperson, Abu Obeida, months after Israel announced he had been killed in an air strike in Gaza. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades released a video statement on its Telegram channel, saying: “We pause in reverence before … the masked man loved by millions … the great martyred commander and spokesperson of the Qassam Brigades, Abu Obeida.” Israel previously announced it had killed Abu Obeida in a strike on Gaza on August 30. During the war, Abu Obeida, whose real name was Hudhayfa Samir al-Kahlout, emerged as a central figure eagerly awaited by Palestinians in Gaza, as well as by Arab and international media, for official statements from Hamas’s military wing, particularly those related to prisoner-exchange operations. Born on February 11, 1985 and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Abu Obeida joined Hamas at an early age before becoming a member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He later became the group’s sole spokesman, delivering...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday announced a major relief measure for flood-hit people, directing electricity distribution companies to immediately stop the collection of August 2025 electricity bills in flood-affected areas.

Pakistan witnessed an alarming spike in militant violence in August this year, registering a 74 per cent increase in militant attacks compared to July, becoming the “deadliest month in over a decade”, according to data released by the Islamabad-based think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) on Monday. In July, PICSS documented 82 militant attacks across the country, resulting in 101 fatalities and 150 injuries, a 5pc rise in militant attacks compared to June. According to the think tank, those killed in July’s militant attacks included 47 civilians, 36 security personnel, and 18 militants. Among the injured were 90 civilians, 52 security personnel, seven militants, and a member of a peace committee. “With 143 militant attacks recorded, August became the deadliest month in over a decade, surpassing all monthly figures since February 2014, as per the PICSS Militancy Database,” the think tank’s latest report read. The wave of violence left 194 people dead, including 73 security for...

Sialkot Airport has been inundated with floodwater, leading authorities to suspend flight operations until 10 PM on August 31.