Pakistan

Tump Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Hanif Noorzai was abducted from Balochistan’s Kech district on Wednesday, an official told Dawn.com. According to Kech Deputy Commissioner Bashir Ahmed Barich, unidentified militants kidnapped the AC, who was posted at Tump, near the Iranian border. He said Noorzai was on his way from Quetta to Tump on Wednesday morning, but did not provide further details. Noorzai is from Quetta and has previously served as AC in different areas of the province. In September 2016, Asad Khan Tareen, son of then-Balochistan’s Minister for Local Government Sardar Mustafa Tareen — who had been kidnapped in May that year — was recovered from an area of Qila Abdulla district close to the Pak-Afghan border. Armed men kidnapped Asad Tareen in Pishin town on May 21 when he was returning from Cadet College Pishin, where he worked as a warden. He was reportedly taken across the border in Afghanistan. This is a developing story

The meteorological chief has said tremors will continue to be felt in Karachi for the next two to three days and the situation will improve as the intensity of the quakes will reduce, adding that residents of the city should not panic. Parts of Karachi experienced three more tremors on Tuesday morning, as the city has been shaken by 19 mild earthquakes over the past three days, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) officials said. The tremors, all classified as low to moderate in intensity, ranged from 2.1 magnitude to 3.6 on the Richter scale. The strongest tremor, measuring 3.6, was recorded on Sunday, while the weakest was of 2.1 magnitude. PMD Director General Mahr Sahibzad Khan, while speaking during Dawn News TV programme ‘Doosra Rukh’, said Karachi will face low-intensity quakes for the next couple of days. The Met chief claimed earthquakes are occurring in Karachi due to lack of ground water and illegal pumping by the so-called ‘tanker mafia’. “Karachi has small fault lines in areas of Korangi and ...

The prime suspect in the brutal murder of 17-year-old TikToker Sana Yousuf has been sent to jail for an identification parade.

More than a million pilgrims joined Islam’s most important rite under a beating sun on Wednesday, as the Haj kicked off with the Saudi hosts scrambling to avoid last year’s 1,000-plus deaths in sweltering heat. With the temperature expected to top 40 degrees Celsius, robed pilgrims slowly circled the Kaaba at the heart of Makkah’s Grand Mosque. State media reported that others had begun arriving in the tent city of Mina on Makkah’s outskirts where they will stay overnight before the Haj’s high-point on Thursday — prayers on Mount Arafat, where the Holy Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him) delivered his final sermon. About 1.4 million pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Haj. Authorities have ratcheted up heat protection measures such as extra shade to avoid a repeat of last year, when 1,301 people died as temperatures hit 51.8C. On Wednesday, pilgrims will perform the tawaf — walking seven times around the Kaaba. Pilgrims arriving on buses had begun already trickling into Mina on Tuesday afternoon, g...

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has granted Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, additional time to appoint legal counsel in connection with the disqualification reference filed against him.

Pakistan has effectively presented its position on escalating regional tensions during a high-level diplomatic visit to the United Nations, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has issued new guidelines for the safe installation of solar panel systems across the province, stressing the need for certified expertise and stricter safety oversight.

The federal government is expected to unveil the budget for the fiscal year 2025–26 on June 10, with an estimated outlay of Rs17.

A petition has been filed in the Federal Shariat Court challenging the recently passed Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2025, which prohibits the marriage of girls under the age of 18.

More than 200,000 Afghan nationals have left Pakistan since the government resumed its deportation campaign in April, Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior confirmed to AFP.

In a forceful press conference at the United Nations, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari launched a scathing critique of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of adopting Israeli-style occupation tactics in Kashmir and jeopardizing regional stability.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has paid tribute to Pakistan’s security forces for successfully eliminating 14 terrorists affiliated with the Indian-backed militant group "Fitna Al-Khawarij" during a security operation in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted hot and dry weather in most plain areas of the country during the upcoming Eidul Azha holidays, which will be observed from June 6 to 9, as announced by the federal government.

In a major step towards fully implementing the M-Tag system, the National Highways Authority (NHA) has announced that non-M-Tag and low-balance vehicles will be charged 50% additional toll tax on all motorways starting June 15, 2025.

Minister of State for Crypto & Blockchain and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) Bilal Bin Saqib met with the Executive Director of US President Donald Trump’s Council on Digital Assets Robert ‘Bo’ Hines at the White House to discuss strategic alignment on digital assets, a press release said on Wednesday. During the meeting, the two officials also spoke about “Bitcoin integration, and the future of decentralised infrastructure”. Bo Hines was appointed by President Trump in January 2025 to lead the national policy development on digital asset innovation, regulation, and emerging financial technologies, according to the statement. In May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) Chief Executive Officer Bilal Bin Saqib as his special assistant on blockchain and cryptocurrency, with the status of a minister of state. Saqib is now responsible for developing a comprehensive, FATF-compliant regulatory framework for digital assets, launching Bitcoin mining initiatives, and over...

Fourteen terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij were killed in an operation by security forces in North Waziristan district’s Datta Khel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday. Despite heightened military tensions between Pakistan and India last month, militant groups were unable to significantly escalate their activities in the country, according to data released by an Islamabad-based independent think tank. The monthly security assessment issued by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) recorded 85 militant attacks in May as compared to 81 in April, resulting in 113 fatalities. These included 52 security forces personnel, 46 civilians, 11 militants, and four peace committee members. “On June 2-3 2025, an intelligence-based operation was conducted by the Security Forces in the general area Datta Khel, North Waziristan District, on the reported presence of khwarij belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna-al-Khawarij,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) ...

Security forces have killed 14 Indian-sponsored terrorists in a series of intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across North Waziristan and Balochistan, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD: The capital police on Tuesday announced the arrest of the suspect in the murder case of a social media influencer, who was gunned down at her house in G-13 on Monday. Addressing a hastily-called news conference, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said after the murder of 17-year-old Sana Yousuf, seven police teams were formed under the supervision of DIG Operations Jawad Tariq. These teams conducted a technical investigation, analysing social media accounts and more than 300 call records. Footage from Safe City Islamabad and private cameras was also obtained. The suspect was arrested from Faisalabad within 20 hours of the incident. Additionally, the victim’s mobile phone and the murder weapon were recovered from his possession. “The ruthless killer took the phone with him after the murder to destroy evidence. In order to apprehend the accused, raids were conducted at over 11 locations in three cities. The accused is a 22-year-old unemployed man who repeatedly attempted to contac...

ISLAMABAD: The Planning Commission has conceded that policy decisions and government measures at both the federal and provincial levels have caused a substantial contraction of 13.5 per cent in major crops this fiscal year, which may lead to increased food imports next year at the expense of precious foreign exchange. In a working paper for the federal budget 2025-26, the Planning Commission also attributed the lower-than-targeted GDP growth to a poor performance of the agriculture sector. “GDP growth for FY25 is recorded at 2.7pc against the target of 3.6pc, primarily due to a massive contraction in key commodity-producing sectors, including important crops, which witnessed a 13.5pc contraction due to adverse weather conditions, reduced rainfall, input challenges, and policy shift”, the Planning Commission candidly placed on record. Last year, the government announced a lucrative minimum support price (MSP) for wheat, but the Punjab government subsequently withdrew its support for farmers, leaving them at th...

• PM Shehbaz addresses Peshawar jirga, calls on authorities to fast-track work on Bhasha dam • NFC meeting in August, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to keep receiving funds to fight terrorism • CM Gandapur wants tribal districts’ share in finance award, KP’s input in talks with Afghanistan PESHAWAR: As India’s move to place the Indus Waters Treaty into abeyance puts Pakistan’s water security in peril, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asked authorities to speed up construction of the Bhasha Dam, while also hinting at inter-provincial consultations to increase the country’s storage capacity. The premier made these remarks while addressing a jirga at the Corps Headquar­ters Peshawar, in which he stressed the need for tough decisions for the development and prosperity of the country. PM Shehbaz, while talking about the hostile measures taken by the Modi government, said that under the Indus Waters Treaty, every drop of water was the right of the Pakistani people. He said that India had tasted its own medicine after a...