Pakistan

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has stated that there is no deadlock over the 27th Constitutional Amendment, emphasizing that the constitution is a living document that continues to evolve.

A group of senior lawyers and retired judges have written a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, urging him to convene a full court meeting to deliberate on the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which they described as posing an unprecedented challenge to the judiciary’s independence.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has strongly opposed the 27th Constitutional Amendment, declaring that granting judicial immunity to any individual is un-Islamic and contradicts the foundational principles of Pakistan.

Pakistan mourns the loss of Dr.

A case has been registered against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) after videos of his alleged remarks against state and national security institutions surfaced on social media.

Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra, a human rights activist, poet and education expert, died on Monday. The author’s niece, Ameena Kamal, confirmed to Dawn that Zehra had passed in Lahore at age 83. “Dr Arfa will be buried in her family graveyard, Cavalry Ground, Lahore, tomorrow, and the time of her funeral will be announced at a later time,” Kamal said. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed “profound grief” over the educationist’s passing, the PPP posted on the social media platform X. “The demise of Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra is an irreparable loss for Pakistan’s academic and literary circles,” he said, adding that the intellectual had dedicated her life to knowledge, research, and service to humanity. He said she had “set a shining example”, adding, “Her scholarly contributions and efforts for the promotion of the national language will always be remembered.” Zardari expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the deceased’s family, students, and academic community. Dr Zehra was recognised for her knowledge of Urdu litera...

In the race for AI dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power. “The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it’s the power and…the ability to get the builds done fast enough close to power,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged on a recent podcast with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. “So if you can’t do that, you may actually have a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that I can’t plug in,” Nadella added. Echoing the 1990s dotcom frenzy to build internet infrastructure, today’s tech giants are spending unprecedented sums to construct the silicon backbone of the revolution in artificial intelligence. Google, Microsoft, AWS (Amazon), and Meta (Facebook) are drawing on their massive cash reserves to spend roughly $400 billion in 2025 and even more in 2026 — backed for now by enthusiastic investors. All this cash has helped alleviate one initial bottleneck: acquiring the millions of chips needed for the computing power ...

Inspector General of Punjab Police Dr.

Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar will table the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Senate today (Monday) as the upper house session convenes at 11:00 a.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not planning to join the international stabilisation force for Gaza because it lacks a clear framework, a senior official said on Monday. “The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably not participate in such a force,” Emirati presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate forum. The US-coordinated international force has been seen as likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, as well as the UAE. Last week, US President Donald Trump said he expected the force to be in Gaza “very soon”, as a fragile ceasefire holds following two years of war. The oil-rich UAE is one of the few Arab nations with official ties to Israel after signing the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term in 2020.

The US Senate on Sunday moved forward on a measure aimed at reopening the federal government and ending a now 40-day shutdown that has sidelined federal workers, delayed food aid and snarled air travel. In a procedural vote, senators advanced a House-passed bill that will be amended to fund the government until January 30 and include a package of three full-year appropriations bills. If the Senate eventually passes the amended measure, it still must be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days. Under a deal struck with a handful of Democrats who rebuffed their party’s leadership, Republicans agreed to a vote in December on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. The subsidies, which help lower-income Americans pay for private health insurance and are due to expire at the end of the year, have been a Democratic priority during the funding battle. The vote to advance the bill passed by a 60-40 margin, the mini...

The Federal Shariat Court, located opposite the Supreme Court building, will house the new FCC.—Tanveer Shahzad/White Star • Constitutional Bench head Justice Aminuddin Khan among leading candidates for top slot • Federal court will have exclusive jurisdiction over constitutional matters ISLAMABAD: With the 27th Constitutional Amendment progressing smoothly through parli­ament, the government has begun restructuring the superior judiciary, shortlisting seven judges for appointment to the proposed Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) — an institution designed to deal with constitutional interpretation and intergovernmental disputes. Official sources said the government has initiated consultations on the composition of the new court, and Justice Amin­uddin Khan, who presently heads the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench, is being considered for appointment as the chief justice of the FCC. The names of Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Mus­arrat Hilali, Justice Aamer Farooq, and Justice Ali Baqar Najafi fr...

• K-IV pipeline work seals off stretch between Nipa and Hassan Square till Dec 30 • Traffic police advise motorists to use Rashid Minhas Road via Aladdin Park KARACHI: A new wave of road closures is set to cripple Karachi once again as after the much-delayed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project turned major arteries into construction zones, the Karachi Water and Sewerage System Improvement Project (KWSSIP) is bringing fresh digging, roadblocks and traffic congestion to one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares — University Road. “The closure is necessary for laying new 96-inch and 72-inch pipelines as part of the K-IV augmentation plan,” said a senior official. “This stretch, which is roughly 2.7 kilometres long, will form part of a new network that’s crucial for improving the city’s water supply.” Digging work has already started on a section of the University Road between Nipa Chowrangi and The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast). The second phase will extend from Hasan Square...

RAWALPINDI: Flights cancellations that occurred over the weekend were due to “schedule rationalisation, weather conditions, or other operational reasons”, PIA said on Sunday, refuting claims that a strike by engineering staff was hampering its operations. In a statement, a PIA spokesperson also disputed claims about aircraft safety put forward by the Society of Aircraft Eng­ineers of Pakistan (SAEP), which had maintained that its personnel could not compromise on safety and airworthiness. “The body responsible for air safety in Pakistan is the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), which regulates all airlines, including PIA, under the strictest international stan­dards and procedures. All matters concerning the use and replacement of parts, the fitness of aircraft for flight, and the routes, sche­dules, or changes thereto are under the direct purview of the PCAA and are executed only after seeking their approvals,” the spokesperson said. Referring to images of damage to an aircraft win­dscreen that circul...

LAHORE: The Punjab government has extended the ban on protests, rallies, sit-ins, and public gatherings for the fourth consecutive time for a week owing to perpetual concerns over terrorism and public order and threat perceptions. As the third order term expired on Saturday, the Punjab home department on Sunday yet again notified imposition of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, across the province for another seven days. The Punjab government had initially imposed the ban on Oct 8 for 10 days and then notified extensions on Oct 18, Oct 25, Nov 2, and eventually on Nov 9 for one week ban each. The home department has extended the ban on rallies, gatherings, carrying of arms, use of loudspeakers and spreading of provocative material. The home department in its order says review of the latest reports and threat assessments shared by law enforcement and intelligence agencies explains the threat perception to public peace, tranquillity and law and order has not abated. Extending the ban for the f...

• Officials concerned by soaring prices • Senate body to question industry on steep hikes KARACHI: Prices of more than a hundred commonly used medicines have increased by an average of 32 per cent since February last year, after the caretaker government lifted price controls under its deregulation policy, prompting concern among officials and calls for the pharmaceutical industry to explain the steep hikes, according to officials and industry sources. The steep rise has not only fuelled public anger but also caught the authorities off guard, as they had expected that price deregulation would promote competition and eventually bring down costs for consumers. However, the outcome appears to be quite the opposite. The surge in medicine prices came to light through recent findings of an ongoing national survey ordered by the prime minister, following complaints from citizens, hospitals, and provincial health departments about soaring drug costs. Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Service...

ISLAMABAD: Calling the proposed 27th Constitutional Amen­dment a “9/11 on Pakistan”, Tehreek Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai announced a nationwide protest, arguing the measure would “shatter the foundation of the country”. Mr Achakzai said the peaceful protest would be held under the slogan of a Habib Jalib ghazal: “Aise Dastoor Ko, Subh-i-BeNoor Ko, Me Nahi Manta, Mai Nahi Janta”. Speaking at a news conference at the National Press Club, he anno­unced two additional slogans: “death for dictatorship and democracy live long” and “free the prisoners”. Mr Achakzai described himself as a “true patriotic” who has taken the oath to protect the country five times, noting that the current National Ass­embly speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, administered two of those oaths. Opposition alliance announces nationwide protests; plans to observe ‘Black Day’ He recalled an exchange from 1993 with then-speaker Gohar Ayub Khan. “I spoke to the speaker that he has taken an oath of protecting the Const...

FO ‘appreciates sincere mediation efforts’ by Turkiye and Qatar

Shehbaz says elected leaders must stay ‘fully accountable’

The Asian Cycling Confederation and the Saudi Cycling Federation today officially signed the Host City Agreement