Pakistan

Japan got its first woman prime minister on Tuesday after Sanae Takaichi, a China hawk and social conservative, forged an 11th-hour coalition deal. Japan’s fifth premier in as many years will lead a minority government and has a full in-tray, not least a scheduled visit by US President Donald Trump next week. Parliament appointed Takaichi, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, as prime minister on Tuesday, after she unexpectedly won a majority in a first round of voting. She will formally take office after meeting the emperor later. The former heavy metal drummer became on October 4 head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost non-stop for decades but is losing support. Six days later the Komeito party, uncomfortable about Takaichi’s conservative views and an LDP slush fund scandal, quit their coalition. This forced Takaichi to form an alliance with the reformist, right-leaning Japan Innovation Party (JIP), which was signed on Monday evening. JIP wants to lower the consumption tax rate on ...

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has categorically ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), clarifying that Islamabad is only engaged in talks with the Afghan Taliban regime.

PESHAWAR: Newly-elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Monday said he believed in the supremacy of the law and would confront the Centre’s every unlawful and unconstitutional step. “A narrative is being built that I will go for confrontation with the federal government. Yes, I will, if anything is done by it against the Constitution. I will continue to speak for the supremacy of the Constitution,” he told a provincial assembly session chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati here. The chief minister said that he wrote letters to the chief justice of Pakistan and federal and provincial governments and even petitioned the Islamabad High Court for ensuring his meeting with detained founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Imran Khan but to no avail. He said he would challenge the federal government over the continued denial of his meeting with Imran and would boycott meetings called by it. Informs assembly that there won’t be any political arrests under MPO in province Mr Afridi said ...

RAWALPINDI: After receiving approval to re­­start flights to the United Kingdom, Pakistan is now preparing to resume direct air links with the United States, Aviation Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday. Speaking to a private TV channel, Mr Asif indicated progress in discus­­s­i­ons with American aviation authorities. “Hopefully, permission will be granted soon,” he said, adding that the government is working on meeting international standards and enhancing safety protocols, which could lead to expanded global routes. A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesman highlighted the significance of US routes for PIA, emphasising the strong demand for non-stop flights from Pakistanis living in North America. National flag carrier, Etihad enter into codeshare agreement According to an aviation expert, a team from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had recently visited Pakistan to conduct a safety audit. A positive outcome from these audits could result in PIA achieving Category 1 status from the FAA,...

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: At least eight alleged terrorists were gunned down by security forces in an operation on Monday, after a team from Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) came under attack near the Kot Lalu area in Daraban, Dera Ismail Khan. The action came in an apparent response to an attack on the SNGPL team, in which security forces reportedly also suffered casualties. However, there was no official word from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) or other security agencies about their losses until going to press. Sources said the militants were killed after intelligence reports were received about their presence in a nearby jungle, prompting the security forces to launch an offensive in which eight suspects were gunned down. Following the action, the forces cordoned off the area and initiated wide-ranging search-and-clearance operations in the surrounding terrain. Reinforcements were dispatched to secure the site and to pursue the fleeing suspects. Two suspects killed in Swabi encounter; attack on B...

• A Tando Adam ginner is found mixing cotton waste into high-grade lint • Stakeholders say malpractice has pushed textile mills towards costly imports, deepening financial woes • Investigators allege armed men assault PCGA team LAHORE: A startling case of large-scale cotton adulteration has surfaced in Sindh, where a ginning factory in Tando Adam was allegedly found mixing cotton waste into high-grade lint to produce what industry insiders are calling “burger cotton.” According to reports, a four-member monitoring team of the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) — formed to curb such malpractice — raided the factory after receiving credible complaints. However, the operation turned violent when the factory owner allegedly summoned nearly a hundred armed men who assaulted and detained the visiting committee members for several hours on Sunday. The incident has sent shockwaves through the cotton ginning industry nationwide. In protest, an emergency meeting of the PCGA’s monitoring committee and Sindh-base...

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been named the Pakistan men’s One-day International (ODI) team captain, the country’s cricket board announced on Monday. The national side’s pace spearhead will lead Pakistan in the upcoming three-match series against South Africa. Shaheen replaces Mohammad Rizwan as the Pakistan ODI skipper after the wicket-keeper led the team during a disastrous ICC Champions Trophy campaign before series losses in New Zealand and the West Indies. Rizwan, handed captaincy in 2024, had led the team to series wins in South Africa, Australia and Zimbabwe in his early days as captain, however. But the recent failures apparently were a decisive enough factor for the Pakistan Cricket Board to sack Rizwan. For Shaheen, it’s going to be a second stint as the Pakistan captain, the left-armer having been snubbed after a short spell — five T20Is against New Zealand — at the helm after replacing Babar Azam in late 2023 following Pakistan’s dismal World Cup campaign. The 25-year-old, who has been capt...

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday removed the registrar office’s objections on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s peti­tion seeking permission to meet PTI founder Imran Khan in Adiala Jail.

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Mon­day gave police three days to recover the deputy director of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), who was allegedly abducted from the federal capital last week.

LAHORE - The Election Commis­sion of Pakistan (ECP) has released a revised schedule for by-elec­tions in Punjab, with polling set to take place on November 23, 2025.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday extended warm greetings to the Hindu commu­nity in Pakistan and around the world on the joyous occasion of Diwali — the festival of lights, hope, and renewal.

ISLAMABAD - Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday is­sued non-bailable arrest warrants against sever­al leaders of PTI includ­ing Zartar Gul, Omar Ayub, Zain Qureshi and Ali Bokha­ri in protest and riots case.

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday announced a ban on the post­ing and transfer of govern­ment officers in Faisalabad and Sahiwal districts, aiming to ensure free, fair, and trans­parent by-elections in the re­spective constituencies.

ISLAMABAD - Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi called on Pa­kistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari at Bilawal House in Karachi.

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday acquit­ted a death row inmate, Maqbool Hussain, who was convicted of killing a man over a financial dis­pute.

LAHORE - An anti-terrorism court on Monday granted a fur­ther 10-day physical remand of Pir Zaheerul Has­san Shah, the deputy chief of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) , in a case pertaining to an inflam­matory speech against a senior judicial figure.

ISLAMABAD - The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday adjourned the hearing of multiple petitions challenging the imposition of super tax until Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD - The federal government on Monday dismissed the claim of newly elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi that the bullet proof ve­hicles recently gifted by the Centre to the provincial police were defective and outdated.

DEPALPUR /LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday announced Rs100 billion pack-age for the rehabilitation of flood victims across the province, pledging complete transpar-ency and swift assistance to every affected family.