Pakistan

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday warned that the visa agent mafia, driven by greed, is jeopardizing the future of innocent Pakistanis and tarnishing the country’s reputation.

PAKISTAN captain Salman Ali Agha (L) and his Sri Lankan counterpart Dasun Shanaka pose with the T20 tri-nation series trophy ahead of the final on Friday.—Tanveer Shahzad/White Star RAWALPINDI: A confident Pakistan side take on Sri Lanka in the final of the T20 tri-nation series here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The Salman Ali Agha-led hosts, who won three out of the four round robin matches of the event that also featured Zimbabwe, will be looking to continue with their good show which was soured by a six-run loss to Sri Lanka on Thursday night at the same venue. Prior to the tri-series, Pakistan defeated South Africa 2-1 in a three-match home T20 series staged in Rawalpindi and Lahore. This series triumph showed some resurrection for the Green-shirts who lost the T20 Asia Cup decider to arch-rivals India in Dubai in September. Chasing 185 on Thursday under lights, Pakistan ended at 178-7 with number four batter Salman remaining unbeaten on 63 off 44 balls. Salman had useful partnerships wi...

Deputy Chairman NAB Sohail Nasir, Prosecutor General Accountability Ahtisham Qadir Shah, and Director General NAB Lahore Mirza Faran Baig conducted the bureau’s monthly Open Court on Saturday, directly engaging with citizens to address their grievances and expedite pending cases.

The Punjab government has set a new record by resolving 1,005 land disputes within just 48 hours under the newly introduced property ordinance, bringing long-awaited relief to more than 1,000 families.

No loss of life was reported after two separate blasts targeted a police checkpoint and a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) vehicle on Quetta’s Qambrani Road. Police said the first blast occurred near a police checkpoint in the area around Qambrani Road, when unknown motorcyclists hurled a grenade at the post. A second blast, carried out using an improvised explosive device (IED), took place in the same area as miscreants targeted a CTD vehicle that was heading towards the scene of the first explosion. However, the vehicle escaped the IED blast and all CTD officials remained safe, police said. Police added that the IED was fixed to a motorcycle, adding that a remote was used to detonate it. The security situation in Balochistan has worsened in recent months, as terrorists have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks. The banned so-called Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), in particular, has adopted new tactics to inflict higher casualties and directly target Pakistani security forces. Three e...

Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive fire at a high-rise apartment complex, a toll that is likely to rise with 200 others still unaccounted for days after the disaster. Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the city’s worst blaze in nearly 80 years as they investigate possible corruption and the use of unsafe materials during renovations at the Wang Fuk Court complex. Rescue operations at the site in the district of Tai Po, near the border with mainland China, concluded on Friday, though police say they may find more bodies as they search the burnt-out buildings as part of ongoing investigations. The fire started on Wednesday afternoon and rapidly engulfed seven of the eight 32-storey blocks at the complex, which were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh and layered with foam insulation for the renovations. Search for bodies continues Authorities have said the fire alarms at the estate, home to more than 4,600 people, had not been working proper...

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is being observed today, with Pakistan’s leadership reaffirming unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is being observed worldwide, including in Pakistan, today (Saturday).

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty, will arrive in Pakistan today (Saturday) for a two-day official visit on the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif has launched a major people-friendly initiative to address land grabbing, a problem that has troubled citizens for decades.

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is terminating all executive actions, proclamations, and directives issued during the presidency of his predecessor Joe Biden that were signed using a mechanical signature device known as an autopen. According to The Guardian, the autopen, which was patented in the US in 1803, is a robotic device that replicates signatures of a person using real ink. The decision comes amid a broader political offensive, including renewed attacks on immigration and personal criticism of Biden. Trump has often sought to drum up outrage over Biden’s alleged use of autopen to sign pardons, executive orders and other documents — accusing Biden of being too senile to govern while in power. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday, Trump wrote: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92 per cent of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect.” “The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not spe...

LAHORE: The Punjab government has introduced 20 major reforms in the 60-year-old Traffic Act, aiming to bring about better traffic management in the province. Under the new reforms, if any vehicle is repeatedly fined for violations, it will be auctioned. “Government vehicles involved in the violation of traffic rules will face heavy penalties, as no one is above law,” Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said in a meeting here on Friday. A briefing was given on a modern traffic management system, road safety measures, and submission of challan reports regarding use of helmet, rooftop passengers, and other violations. A 30-day grace period was granted to eliminate one-way violations across Punjab. “U-turns will be redesigned to make roads safer and more organised. It was agreed that compensation (Diyat) must be provided immediately to the families of those who die in accidents.” Marriage halls will not be allowed to operate without proper parking arrangements, ensuring parking is mandatory. A decisive crackdown will be...

A teary-eyed Rashina narrates her ordeal.—Fahim Siddiqi / White Star KARACHI: After going underground in Pakistan as an illegal alien for 18 years, a 65-year-old Sri Lankan woman, will now be able to return home to her children in Colombo, thanks to concerted efforts by Edhi Foundation, Saylani Welfare Trust and human rights advocate Zia Ahmed Awan. Speaking at a press conference at the Edhi headquarters at Meethadar on Friday, Rashina could not hold back her tears as she thanked all for coming to her aid. “I’m a poor woman. The government of Pakistan had imposed a 22 lac rupees fine on me for illegally overstaying in Pakistan. I didn’t even have money to pay for my return ticket to Sri Lanka, what to say of the heavy fine,” she said. “But God is great. God sent me help in all these people who made it possible for a destitute widow to reunite with her orphaned children,” she said. Sharing her story, Rashina said that she is a born Muslim from Sri Lanka, who found employment as a telephone operator at a travel...

PARIS: Europe’s Airbus said on Friday it was ordering an immediate software change on a “significant number” of its best-selling A320 family of jets in a move that industry sources said would bring disruption to half the global fleet, or thousands of jets. The move must be carried out before the next routine flight, according to a separate bulletin to airlines, threatening cancellations or delays during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year in the United States and beyond. Airbus said in a statement a recent incident involving an A320-family aircraft had revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls. “Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” it said. Industry sources said the incident that triggered the unexpected repair action involved a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on Oct 30, in which several passengers were hurt following a sharp loss of altitude...

• Imran’s allies demand immediate access for family, doctors and lawyers • Warn of dire consequences amid unease among public • Minister accuses Afghan, Indian media of circulating ‘false’ reports about PTI leader ISLAMABAD: Amid a noisy protest in the Senate for a second day by PTI senators, the government on Friday assured the House that former prime minister Imran Khan was in good health with no threat to his life and blamed Afghan and Indian media for circulating “false” reports about Mr Khan’s health. The ruckus by PTI lawmakers, alarmed by social media reports about Mr Khan’s condition, dominated the day’s proceedings. They chanted slogans and hit their desks, demanding that family members, doctors and lawyers be allowed to meet with Mr Khan after what they called a “complete blackout for weeks”. Syed Ali Zafar, the PTI parliamentary leader in the Senate, sought an explanation from the government about the reports. “The tension level of the public has risen so high that there will be an explosion if the...

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the Cybersecurity Act 2025 was essential for national security and reflected the government’s whole-of-nation approach to cybersecurity, marking a major reform initiative. She noted that the Act will establish the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) to lead nationwide incident response and thr­eat intelligence, while exp­ansion of the Pakistan Computer Emergency Res­ponse Team (PKCERT), and the development of secure digital public infrastructure under the Digital Economy Enhancement Project (Deep) will further strengthen national cyber resilience. Ms Khawaja was add­ressing a gathering at FAST National University, Islam­abad, on the theme ‘Securing Pakistan’s Digi­tal Frontier: CyberShield, Policy & the Future’. The event was hosted by the FAST Public Policy and Res­earch Society (FPPRS). She added that Pakis­tan’s long-term objective is to build a cyber-resilient, innovation-driven dig­ital nation where secur...

• Expenditures swell 11.9pc against revenue growth of 11.4pc in July-October • Public debt records first quarterly decline of Rs1.371tr in five years • Key crops cotton, rice see production fall; sugarcane and chillies rise ISLAMABAD: With a 256 per cent surge in current account deficit, the government on Friday expressed cautious optimism over the country’s economic outlook with stubborn inflation in 5-6pc range due to pressure on food prices and agriculture production. In its economic update and outlook for November, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said the industrial activity continued to strengthen amid implementation of reforms. However, all major fiscal indicators — FBR collection, non-tax revenue, budget surplus and primary surplus — were down as percentage of GDP. The report showed the tax-to-GDP ratio was slightly lower at 2.96pc in first four months of 2025-26 when compared to 3pc last year. Non-tax revenues were also reported at 2.32pc of GDP against 2.63pc in comparable period. Fiscal surplus was al...

ISLAMABAD: The prices of all petroleum products are estimated to decrease by up to Rs6.30 per litre on Sunday for the next fortnight ending Dec 15, due to slight variations in the international market. Based on existing tax rates, informed sources said the ex-depot price of high-speed diesel (HSD) is expected to drop by about Rs3.70 per litre (about 1.4pc), depending on the final calculation, while the petrol rate would also come down by about Rs4.3 per litre or 1.5pc. Petrol and HSD prices have increased by about Rs12.50 and Rs29 per litre, respectively, since June 1, 2025. The ex-depot prices of Kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) are also estimated to reduce by Re1 (0.3pc) and Rs6.35 per litre (3.7pc), respectively. The kerosene and LDO rates currently stand at Rs194.34 and Rs170.80 per litre, respectively. The ex-depot petrol price currently stands at Rs265.45 per litre, which may come down to Rs261.75. Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and has a d...

Dar calls for ECO connectivity

Plans to denaturalise migrants; To end federal benefits for non-citizens; Calls for reducing illegal population