Pakistan

A District and Sessions Court in Islamabad has acquitted Senator Azam Swati in two cases filed against him over his controversial tweets.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday termed population and climate change as “existential issues” that Pakistan must address to realise its potential. Pakistan is home to a vast population of over 251 million, according to the World Bank. The Bank states the annual population growth rate for 2024 at 1.5 per cent, with the government’s 2023 census showing that the population grew by 2.55pc from 207.7m in 2017 to 241.5m in 2023. “I am very clear: we cannot realise the potential of this country unless we address two existential issues — population and climate change,” Aurangzeb said while addressing a gathering of the business community in Karachi. “Only saying that we do not make emissions but have to adapt, so demonstrate it,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s oft-repeated argument that the country contributes less than 1pc to global carbon emissions but faces catastrophic climate change-induced events. “We have funding. First utilise the funding we have,” the finance minister stressed as he respond...

The Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) has officially launched its live E-challan system in Gujranwala, aiming to strengthen traffic law enforcement through advanced technology.

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was barred from travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah on Wednesday, despite directives from the Lahore High Court (LHC) allowing him to travel abroad. According to an October 30 court order — a copy of which is available with Dawn — the AML leader’s name had been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL), following involvement in several May 9 cases. The court had directed relevant authorities to allow him to travel. However, in a video message posted on the social media platform X, Rashid alleged: “Today, I was stopped from going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, despite having permission from LHC’s Rawalpindi bench under Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan.” The AML leader recalled that the “court had directed relevant authorities — who were present in the hearing — to comply and strictly adhere to the directives, yet I have been told that I can not go.” Rashid alleged that two airport officers told him he “could not go and refused to obey the court order”. Rashid vowed to fi...

The protest by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft engineers over unpaid salary increments and administrative pressure entered its second consecutive day on Wednesday, disrupting the national carrier’s flight operations.

The government is set to table the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Senate on Friday, where it will be immediately referred to the Senate Committee for review, sources confirmed.

The air quality in Lahore showed signs of improvement on Wednesday, with a significant drop in smog as the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 163, according to air monitoring data.

United States President Donald Trump speaks often with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and trade teams from both countries continue to hold talks, the White House said on Tuesday. “The president and his trade team continue to be in very serious discussions with India,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “I know the president has great respect for Prime Minister Modi, and they speak pretty frequently.” Trump said last week in South Korea that he wanted to reach a trade deal with India — signalling a thaw in relations that soured to their lowest point in decades after the US president doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50 per cent as punishment for India’s purchases of Russian oil. Indian refiners cut Russian oil imports after Washington imposed sanctions last week on Moscow’s top two crude exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil. Earlier this month, Trump claimed that Modi has agreed to cut Russian oil imports — something New Delhi has not commented on. A White House official said New Delhi h...

A fresh spell of snowfall and rain has gripped the northern regions of Pakistan, deepening the cold and disrupting travel across parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said. A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal earlier this year to US President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, one of the people and a US official said. The Pentagon is now weighing a potential sale of 48 of the advanced aircraft, the US official and the person familiar with the talks told Reuters. The size of the request and its status have not been previously reported. The US official and a second US official, who acknowledged the weapons deal was moving through the system, said no final decision has been made and...

Karachi police said on Wednesday that a man had been arrested for allegedly firing on citizens who had torched a heavy vehicle that had struck a young man and injured his wife a day earlier. Angered citizens on Tuesday had set a dumper truck on fire in the city’s Garden area after it crashed into a couple on a motorcycle, killing 23-year-old Shahzeb Shahid and injuring his wife Misbah. A case was also registered against Liaquat Mehsud, the Sindh president of the All Dumper Truck Owners Association, and other suspects for firing on the enraged protesters at the scene. South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza on Wednesday said that police had arrested one suspect, identified as one of Mehsud’s gunmen, on charges of firing on the protesters. The weapon used in the incident was also recovered, he said in a statement. “Raids are being conducted to arrest the president of the dumpers association, Liaquat Mehsud,” he added. Ex-MQM-P lawmaker booked under Peca for threatening Mehsud Separately, Garden poli...

Former minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed on Wednesday that the “impacts” of the efforts of a trio — comprising him and other ex-PTI leaders — for political stability in the country and the release of political prisoners, including PTI founder Imran Khan, would start bearing fruit in the next 10 to 15 days. Fawad, along with fellow former PTI leaders Mehmood Moulvi and Imran Ismail, has been insisting on talks between the government and the PTI, in what they say is an effort to bring the political temperature down and pave the way for Imran’s release, who has been in jail since 2023. “I am very pleased that the efforts for political stability and to secure the release of political prisoners, including Imran, have resulted in significant initial successes, and their impact will start becoming evident in the next 10 to 15 days,” Fawad posted on social media platform X. He reiterated that himself, Moulvi and Ismail were making these efforts for “political stability in Pakistan”, expressing the optimism that differe...

One of the 13 people injured in a gas blast at the Supreme Court’s canteen a day earlier succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, according to hospital officials. Dr Abdul Khaliq, the head of the Burn Care Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, said that 19-year-old Asad Muneeb, who was a air conditioner technician (AC), did not survive. He said that the victim had sustained burn injuries on 80 per cent of his body. The doctor also said that another person injured in the incident had been discharged. “Out of the 11 remaining patients, four are critical. Five of them will have plastic and skin surgeries within the next two weeks,” he said. Talking about the gas blast, he said that in such cases hot air enters the lungs, severely damaging them in the process. He said that chemicals were also released in such a situation, which could further exacerbate one’s injuries. “Our plastic surgery team for burn injuries is doing their best,“ he said. As many as 13 people were burnt, two of them...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday extended heartfelt congratulations to the Sikh community in Pakistan and around the world on the 556th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, being observed on November 5, 2025.

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called on President Asif Ali Zardari in Doha today.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday issued a strong condemnation of violations of the Indus Waters Treaty, urging the international community to take notice and intervene.

Awami Muslim League chief and former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was stopped from flying abroad on Wednesday, despite possessing a Lahore High Court order permitting him to travel for Umrah.

BERLIN: Berlin is offering cash to Afghan refugees in Pakistan if they agree to give up their places on a programme for resettlement in Germany, activists said on Tuesday. The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government but around 2,000 have been stuck in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the programme. According to the initiative Airbridge Kabul, refugees have been sent a letter offering them money and other support in return for exiting the resettlement programme. In the case of a single woman, the payments would be an initial 1,500 euros (about $1,700) in Pakistan and a further 5,000 euro payment if she travels to Afghanistan or a third country. A spokeswoman for the interior ministry said that “there are offers within the framework of a voluntary return programme to Afghanistan or departure to another third country”. Single woman may get 1,500 euros in Pakistan and a further 5,000 euros if she travels to Afghanistan...

ISLAMABAD: The government has given an undertaking to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will publish the much-delayed Governance and Corruption Diagnostic (GCD) Assessment Report before the Fund’s upcoming executive board meeting that will consider a $1.2 billion disbursement for Pakistan. Under the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF), publication of the IMF-prepared GCD report and a subsequent action plan to address governance weaknesses across federal and provincial tiers is a key structural benchmark. The deadline, initially end-July and then reset to end-August and end-October 2025, remains unmet owing mainly to technical and factual disagreements between Pakistani authorities and the IMF team. “We have reaffirmed the structural benchmark and, with mutual understan­ding with the IMF, have committed to publish the report before the [IMF exe­­­c­utive] board meeting” later this mo­nth or early next month, an official said. Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment is a structural benchmark u...

• Insists proposed 27th Amendment to be tabled ‘soon’, won’t be rushed • Says bill may originate in Senate instead of NA • Stresses govt will consult allies as opposition warns of ‘constitutional crisis’ • PTI’s Ali Zafar brands move a ‘conspiracy’, claims devolution at risk • Upper house passes Asaan Karobar Bill, extends Virtual Assets Ordinance by 120 days ISLAMABAD: As the opposition in the Senate raised alarm over the proposed 27th constitutional amendment, Deputy Pri­me Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday confirmed the bill would be brought bef­o­re parliament “soon” but insisted it would not be rus­hed and denied “external hand” in the amendment. “We will try to present it in accordance with the Constitution. I assure this will not be put to a vote in a flash,” he told the upper house while responding to PTI parliamentary leader Barrister Syed Ali Zafar. Mr Dar’s remarks came amid a sustained protest by opposition senators over the delay in appointing the leader of the opposition. He said that after the PPP,...