Pakistan

The federal government on Tuesday promoted Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir to the rank of Field Marshal, recognising his exceptional leadership during Operation Bunyan-un-Mursoos.

Hamed Yaqoob, a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Works, effective from May 23, 2025 and until further orders.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested 14 people involved in cheating citizens outside the Gujranwala Passport Office.

The federal government has ramped up preparations for the upcoming monsoon season, warning of higher-than-usual temperatures and increased flood risks due to glacial melt.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal met with Chief Minister of Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Bugti here on Tuesday and discussed the ongoing development projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh has reiterated commitment of the Pakistan’s government to further deepen Pak-US trade volume in coming years to the mutual benefit of both countries.

Pakistan on Tuesday said that the expansion of Israeli ground operations in Gaza, as well as its announcement to “take control of all” of Gaza, posed a grave threat to efforts aimed towards achieving peace and stability in the region.

A Lahore police team led by DSP Asif Javed visited Adiala Jail to question Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan in connection with the May 9 incidents.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of Zahir Jaffer for the brutal murder of Noor Mukadam, while altering some of the other charges in its final verdict on the widely followed case.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the immediate and effective implementation of ongoing reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), with a strong focus on digitization and automation of the tax system.

In a significant development following the US-brokered ceasefire between Pakistan and India, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from both countries held fresh contact on Monday, agreeing to a phased withdrawal of troops to peacetime positions by May 30.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that nuclear talks with the United States were unlikely to yield any results, amid a diplomatic standoff over the Islamic republic’s enrichment activities. “We don’t think it will lead to any outcome. We don’t know what will happen,” said Khamenei during a speech, adding that denying Iran’s right to enrich uranium was “a big mistake”. Iran and the US have held four rounds of Omani-mediated nuclear talks since April 12, the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord. The two sides had confirmed plans to hold another round of discussions during the latest meeting on May 11, which Tehran described as “difficult but useful”, while a US official said Washington was “encouraged”. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60per cent, far above the 3.67pc limit set in the 2015 deal but below the 90pc needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire ato...

The federal government has officially declared May 28 a public holiday in observance of Youm-e-Takbeer, commemorating Pakistan’s historic nuclear tests conducted in 1998 at Chagai, Balochistan.

The Government of Pakistan is working on a plan to raise $4.

Excavation work has resumed at the ancient archaeological site of Mohenjo Daro, a UNESCO World Heritage site located near Larkana in Sindh, after a gap of 18 years.

The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday rejected the claim made by India that Pakistan had attempted to attack the Golden Temple in Amritsar — one of the holiest sites in Sikhism — during the recent tensions with the neighbouring country. New Delhi had accused Islamabad, without evidence, of orchestrating last month’s deadly attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Pakistan had strongly denied the allegations and called for a neutral probe. As the situation turned into a military confrontation between the nuclear powers, it took American intervention for both sides to agree to a ceasefire. A day earlier, the Indian army claimed that Pakistan had attempted to target the Golden Temple and the attacks were “successfully thwarted”, The Hindu reported. The management of the temple was allowed to deploy guns to “counter potential drone and missile threats from Pakistan”, a senior army official told ANI. He was quoted as saying, “Fortunately, we visualised what they [Pakistan] were capable of doing … They were more interes...

Punjab Minister for Education Rana Sikandar Hayat has announced summer vacation for all schools across the province from May 28 amid an intense heatwave. In a statement issued by the education ministry, Hayat also announced revised school timings due to the rising temperatures. The new school timings will be observed from 7:30am to 11:30am effective from May 21 (tomorrow) until the start of the summer vacations. The Punjab government has decided to give the summer vacation just a few days earlier than the scheduled date of June 1 due to the extreme heatwave prevalent in the province like elsewhere in the country. The minister earlier said that consultations are underway regarding the announcement of the summer vacation and the decision will be made in a few days. He said efforts are being made to overcome the academic losses due to the closure of schools while ensuring the safety and well-being of students. Hayat said safety instructions have been issued by the concerned departments amid the severity of the h...

ISLAMABAD: The government got an apathetic response to its auction for three inefficient power plants, compelling it to go for a second round of bidding by the end of this month. Only a single bidder — Siddiqsons from Karachi — came up with a bid for Jamshoro Power Company Ltd (JPCL). Two other plants — Muzaffargarh and Faisalabad — did not fetch even a single offer. The government set a combined reserve price of Rs26.625 billion for the three plants with 2,362MW of cumulative generation capacity. The auction was called through a ‘single-stage two envelop’ bid to ensure transparency, said the Ministry of Energy (Power Division), adding the bidding date was set for May 19. “Only one company, Siddiqsons, submitted a bid for JPCL. No company submitted any bid for Muzaffargarh and Faisalabad Power plants”, the Power Division said. The date for opening bids has been extended till May 30, it said in a statement. The government held open bidding for the disposal of three old and defunct power plants on an “as-is, wh...

Pakistan has categorically denied Indian allegations that it attempted to target the Golden Temple in Amritsar through drone and missile attacks during the night of May 7-8.

Fareeha, 43, who lives in Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi with her family, remembers all too well what it feels like to walk on water, or wade through it. For generations, her family relied on Badin’s salty waters for fishing, but seawater intrusion turned freshwater ponds brackish and fertile lands barren. This change, steady but not slow, left Fareeha in dire financial straits, forcing her husband and sons to work at brick kilns. But this wasn’t a permanent solution, she says. “The sea took our nets, then our dignity … we were eventually forced to move out.” Fareeha’s plight resonates with almost 80 per cent of other fishing families in Badin, where, without compensation or adaptation, climate poverty has pushed hundreds into a chaotic storm of displacement. While climate change is a global issue, its impacts, unfortunately, are spread disproportionately across the world. Despite having minimal contributions towards global greenhouse gas emissions, low-income countries tend to be extremely vulnerable to the disast...