Pakistan

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Saturday extended his heartfelt condolences to Mazhar Abbas, Prime Minister’s beat reporter for PTV News, on the passing of his father.

Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday clarified that the government has no intention of ending provincial autonomy, emphasizing that the ongoing constitutional amendment aims to strengthen the country rather than benefit any political party.

The government presented the much anticipated draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Senate on Saturday afternoon. The far-reaching legislative proposal, among other changes, rewrites Article 243 of the Constitution, creating the post of Chief of Defence Forces and abolishing the long-standing office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC). It also vests broader, constitutionally protected powers and privileges in the country’s top military leadership. Article 243 governs the relationship between the prime minister (as head of the federal government) and the president (as the head of state) in relation to the control and command of the armed forces. Key changes proposed to Article 243: Army chief to be recognised as Chief of Defence Forces, positioned at top of Pakistan’s armed services Office of CJCSC to be abolished Establishing a Commander of National Strategic Command position President to appoint army, naval, air chiefs on advice of premier Life-long constitutional ...

“The judiciary must be independent of every other power; otherwise, there is no liberty, no security, no justice.” — John Adams Centuries after John Adams spoke these words, their resonance feels almost prophetic today, as the government tables the 27th Constitutional Amendment. For those who have witnessed the slow, deliberate erosion of judicial independence in Pakistan, this moment feels less like reform and more like resignation. The judiciary, already weakened and weary after the 26th Amendment, now stands on the precipice of collapse. What is being framed as an administrative restructuring — the creation of a separate constitutional court — in truth, threatens to hollow out the very authority of an institution that has long stood as the final line of defence between power and the people. It is not merely an amendment to a document; it is an assault on the idea that justice must stand apart from politics. The judiciary is not an accessory to government; it is the conscience of the nation. When that consc...

The federal cabinet on Friday approved the draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment during a special session chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif via video link from Baku.

Key features of the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment have surfaced, unveiling the government’s plan to establish a Constitutional Court dedicated exclusively to handling constitutional matters.

The three-day celebrations marking the 556th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji commenced at the Kartarpur Corridor on Friday, drawing thousands of Sikh pilgrims from across Pakistan and around the world.

The sense of fear is palpable in parts of northern Japan, where some locals have fastened bells to their bags hoping the noise will keep bears away, while signs warn people to be on guard. The animals have killed a record 13 across the country since April, with a steady flow of reports of bears entering homes, roaming near schools and rampaging in supermarkets. “We hear news almost every day about people being attacked or injured,” said 28-year-old Kakeru Matsuhashi, a traditional “Matagi” hunter, as he walked through a forest clutching a knife. “It’s becoming something that feels personal, and it’s simply frightening,” he added in the northern prefecture of Akita, an area hit by a series of attacks. This year, the number of fatalities is double the previous record of 2023-24, with five months of the fiscal year still to go. Data is patchy from certain regions, but in recent years, Japan has seen among the highest number of fatal attacks globally. Bells used for warning bears of approaching hikers are seen at...

Indonesian police found possible explosive powder as they investigated explosions at a mosque in the capital Jakarta, and the suspected perpetrator is recovering, the police chief said on Saturday. Explosions that injured dozens of people during Friday prayers could have been an attack, officials said, with a 17-year-old student the suspected perpetrator. “Several pieces of supporting evidence were found,” police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a press conference after visiting the victims at a hospital. “There were written materials and some powder that could have potentially caused an explosion,” he said. “We are gathering other records, including examining social media and family members to gather all the information.” The suspected perpetrator, a student at a school next to the mosque, was recovering after undergoing surgery on Friday, Listyo said. “The suspect’s condition is improving, and hopefully this will make things easier for us when needed,” he said.

ISLAMABAD - Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry strongly rejected the negative and misleading propaganda circulating on social media regarding alleged discriminatory treatment of citizens from Azad Kashmir.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that the talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan on addressing cross-border terrorism are “over” and have “entered an indefinite phase” as negotiators failed to bridge deep differences between the two sides, adding that the ceasefire stands for the time being. “Right now, as we speak, negotiations are over,” said the defence minister while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’. Earlier, officials and sources said the talks stalled without any agreement. “The talks in Istanbul are deadlocked,” a senior security source told reporters, confirming that the third round of discussions — which had began on Thursday in the Turkish capital — had hit an impasse. The defence minister added that the Afghan Taliban delegation again came to Istanbul “without any programme” and that they were not willing to sign a written agreement. “They said that they would only respect the verbal agreement, but there is no room to do that.” Asif elaborated that during t...

North Korea’s defence minister warned on Saturday of more “offensive action”, as Washington and Seoul criticised Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile launch. North Korea’s missile launch on Friday came just over a week after US President Donald Trump — on a tour of the region — expressed interest in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Pyongyang did not respond to the offer. Pyongyang’s defence minister No Kwang Chol said Washington “has become brazen in its military moves to threaten the security” of the North, and that it was “intentionally escalating the political and military tension in the region”. “We will show more offensive action against the enemies’ threat,” he said, according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Earlier in the week, before Friday’s launch, US Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and his South Korean counterpart visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) where they “reaffirmed the strong combined defence posture and close cooperation” between their countries. On Wedn...

• Okays Rs960bn sovereign guarantee for Rs1.225tr loans from local banks • Says remittance incentives to be phased out with caution • Gas allocated to fertiliser sector; LNG cost adjustments cleared for tariffs ISLAMABAD: The Econo­mic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Fri­day approved an inter-corporate circular debt settlement plan, including tariff rationalisation for all six operational nuclear power plants in line with other power producers, thus also paving the way to wind up Power Holding Ltd (PHL), a shell company created to park old circular debt. The meeting of the ECC, pre­­sided over by Finance Mi­­nister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also approved about Rs660 billion in sovereign guarantees for Rs1.225 trillion in commercial loans from local banks for circular debt settlement and the diversion of gas for fertiliser plants. As finalised by the military-led task force on power sector reforms in line with similar previous renegotiations with private and government-ow­ned power plants earlier this...

WASHINGTON: The United States accused Iran on Friday of “plotting to assassinate” Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, in what would be the latest attempt to take the two countries’ conflict to another region. A US official said the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force initiated the plot late last year and that it was disrupted this year. “The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat,” the US official said. The US official did not provide detailed evidence or say how the plot was contained. The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment. According to the US official, the alleged plot would have taken place after April 1 last year, when Israel attacked the Iranian embassy complex in Damascus, killing several top officers of the Revolutionary Guards. Israel carried out a much more extensive bombing campaign in Iran this year that killed more than 1,000 people. The United States joined by bombing key nuclear sites. Iran has been a critical supporter of Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Stri...

ISLAMABAD: The number of Afghan nationals arrested and detained in Pakistan surged by 146 per cent in a single week, a spike linked to the reopening of border crossings, according to a joint report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). A total of 7,764 Afghan nationals were arrested and detained in the week ending Nov 1, a significant increase from the previous week, the report said. Of those arrested between Oct 26 and Nov 1, Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and undocumented Afghans accounted for 77pc, while Proof of Registration (PoR) card holders represented the remaining 23 pc, it added. The report noted that 86pc of the arrests and detentions occurred in Balochistan. Across the country, the top three districts for arrests and detentions between Jan 1 and Nov 1, 2025, were Chagi, Attock and Quetta. Links the surge to reopening of border crossings; reveals Balochistan is epicentre of the crackdown The rate of returns and deportations also rose sharply in ...

• Muslim diplomats parsing US resolution carefully, expect it to ‘evolve’ • Azerbaijan will only send peacekeepers ‘if fighting stops’ WASHINGTON: President Don­ald Trump said on Thursday that he expects a US-coordinated International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to be on the ground in Gaza “very soon”. The multinational force — likely to include troops from Mus­lim countries such as Egypt, Qat­ar, Turkiye, etc — is part of Trump’s post-war governance plan for Gaza. The plan helped lead to a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 10, but the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has not abated. “It’s going to be very soon. And Gaza is working out very well,” Trump said at a White House fun­ction with Central Asian leaders. “You haven’t been hearing too much about problems, and I’ll tell you, we’ve had countries that have volunteered if there’s a problem with Hamas.” The force is supposed to train and support vetted Palestinian police in the Gaza Strip, with backing from Egypt and Jordan. It also will be tas...

ISLAMABAD: The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) have raised urgent concerns over Pakistan’s escalating climate vulnerability and environmental degradation, warning that unchecked population growth and dwindling natural resources could deepen the country’s fragility. These observations and recommendations emerged during the closing plenary of the 28th Sustainable Development Conference held on Friday, where experts — including representatives from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — underscored the need for immediate action. World Bank Country Director Dr Bolormaa Amgabazar said that Pakistan faces alarmingly high vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters, compounded by escalating air and water pollution. At the same time, the country’s rapid population growth — among the highest globally — is placing immense strain on its already depleting natural resources, posing serious long-term risks to environmental and economic stability. She said that the Climate and Count...

ISLAMABAD: Backed by record interest income of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), a 30 per cent surge in petroleum levy collection and strong provincial cash surpluses, the government on Friday reported one of its rare fiscal surpluses — at 1.6pc of GDP — in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, slightly below last year’s 1.7pc. According to the Ministry of Finance’s fiscal operations report for July-September 2025, the overall budget balance showed a surplus of Rs2.12 trillion in absolute terms, up 10pc from Rs1.896tr in the same period last year. As a share of GDP, the surplus slipped marginally from 1.7pc to 1.6pc. Last year eventually closed with a 5.4pc deficit, as rising expenditures gradually offset the one-time impact of SBP profits. The primary balance — the difference between total revenue and expenditure, excluding interest payments — stood at 2.7pc of GDP this year, slightly lower than last year’s 2.8pc. In absolute terms, however, the primary surplus grew 8.4pc to Rs3.497tr, compared to Rs...

PESHAWAR: ‘Dispara­ging’ remarks from Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Soh­ail Afridi, regarding ongoing security operations in the province, drew strong condemnation from politicians, religious leaders, and journalists on Friday. The offending remarks came during CM Afridi’s interaction with the media outside Adiala jail a day earlier, after he was once again denied an audience with PTI founder Imran Khan. During his media talk, he alleged that the sanctity of worship places was violated when sniffer dogs were brought there, while also making disparaging remarks about security personnel. However, he claimed that despite everything, they still supported the security forces. Reacting to the statement, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned Mr Afridi’s words, while Awami National Party (ANP) chief Senator Aimal Wali Khan termed it an “attempt to incite religious sentiments”. “I condemn any rhetoric that seeks to undermine the honour and sacrifice of our armed forces,” the governor wrote on X. He sa...

DG ISI-led delegation heads back to country; Minister says Pak concerns centred on security; Turkiye, Qatar lauded