Pakistan

Behind-the-scenes efforts have intensified to ease growing political tensions between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), sources said on Tuesday.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid a surprise visit to the Executive Passport Office in Lahore on Tuesday to review service delivery and gather citizens’ feedback on the passport application process.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Pakistan after completing his official visit to Malaysia, where he was accorded exceptional warmth and hospitality throughout his stay.

At least seven people were injured on Tuesday after a blast on a railway track derailed four bogies of the Jaf­far Express in Sindh’s Shikarpur district, according to officials. With a rise in terrorist attacks over the past few years, Balochistan has seen a series of incidents where militants blow up train tracks, targeting the province’s transport infrastructure. Speaking to Dawn.com, Shikarpur Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Abro said, “A blast had occurred on the train tracks at 8:15am. The incident occurred at a distance of 1km from the Sultan Kot railway station.” He said that the blast had caused the derailment of four bogies. Abro said that seven people had been injured, out of which four had been taken to the Combined Military Hospital, while the remaining three had been taken to the Civil Hospital in Shikarpur. He said that the Jaffar Express train was bound for Quetta via Jacobabad. Sukkur Deputy Divisional Superintendent Syed Moalim said that the blast occurred while the train was moving on the track....

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday confirmed that former Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, who was detained by Israeli forces during the Gaza-bound Sumud Flotilla mission, has been released from custody and is now safe at the Pakistan Embassy in Jordan.

Pakistan Army spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that India failed to shoot down any Pakistani aircraft during the Maarka-e-Haq battle, emphasizing that Pakistan’s defense capabilities are based on effective strategy and modern technology rather than an arms race.

An eight-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Justice Ameenuddin Khan, on Tuesday heard petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment and approved the request for live streaming of the proceedings.

The Islamabad District and Sessions Court on Monday extended the pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, in multiple cases, including those related to the May 9 incidents.

The Peshawar police on Tuesday filed a case over the alleged abduction of PTI activist Sanam Javed near the Civil Officers’ mess in the provincial capital. The first information report (FIR), seen by Dawn.com, was filed by Javed’s friend Hira Babar at Peshawar’s Sharqi police station in the early hours of Tuesday. Babar claimed in the FIR that she and the PTI activist were heading back after having dinner together on Monday during the latter’s visit to the city when the “abduction” took place. “Around 10:40pm, we were blocked by a green Vigo while we were heading back after having a dinner outside. We tried to turn back but a white car appeared from behind to intercept us,” she told the police. “Five men got out and attempted to force Sanam into their car. At this point, we started shouting for help, but the people in the surroundings, which included officers and security personnel, did not intervene,” she said. “The car took her towards the Red Zone,” Babar claimed. The FIR was filed under Section 365 (kidna...

Pakistan has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to “actively” pursue a just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in line with its resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, warning that lasting peace in South Asia will remain elusive without resolving this decades-old issue.

Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) over the alleged kidnapping of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist Sanam Javed, who was reportedly abducted by unidentified individuals on Tuesday.

QUETTA: In a daring attack, unknown assailants attacked a Qazi Court in the Kharan area of Balochistan, and kidnapped the judge after setting the building on fire. Senior police officials told Dawn a group of armed men stormed into the Qazi Court building in the Maskan Kalat area, about 30 kilometres from Kharan city, at around 11:30am, while the judge was hearing cases. They held Judge Muha­mmad Jan and other court staff hostage, ransacking records and damaging office furniture and other items on the premises. “Armed terrorists stor­med into the court and set the courtroom and other sections of the Qazi Court on fire,” Deputy Inspector General of Police for Rak­h­shan region, Abdul Ha­yee Aamir Baloch, told Dawn. The court building was gutted, and the attackers also destroyed the court’s records. While fleeing after torc­hing the courtroom and other offices, the assailants kidnapped the judge at gunpoint. “The terrorists kidnapped the Qazi Court judge and also made off with two vehicles, including the judge’...

LAHORE - The Punjab cabinet which met here under the chair of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, approved a relief and rehabilitation package for flood-hit families, as well as significant tax relief to facilitate their rehabilitation.

Nation monitoring - The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has approved Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas as the leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate, respectively.

ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it was working tirelessly to secure the safe evacuation of former Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan.

LAHORE - A district and sessions court in Lahore on Monday granted a four-day physical remand of Falak Javed, who was arrested in connection with two cases, including one involving an alleged anti-state tweet.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a high-level cabinet committee which would hold business and economic talks with Saudi government leading to an economic cooperation pact.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi on Monday gave a 10-day ultimatum to railway authorities to restore train schedules, stressing that punctuality must be ensured without compromise.

The dissenting note in the reserved seats case, authored by Justice Ayesha A. Malik and Justice Aqeel Abbasi, was released on Monday, highlighting divisions within the bench over last year’s dismissal of government appeals. In June 2024, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition. The verdict was announced by a 13-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa. Following the verdict, the PPP, PML-N and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) filed review petitions, which were later rejected. Justice Abbasi and Justice Malik then released a dissent. The dissenting note stated that all three review petitions were filed against the brief verdict issued on July 9, 2024, and only the ECP submitted additional petitions based on the detailed verdict dated September 23, 2024. “All arguments raised by the petitioners had alrea...

The Sindh cabinet on Monday approved the waiver of the death certificate registration fee for the general public across the province at the municipal, union council and town committee levels. The decision was taken in a provincial cabinet presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the CM House. A press release issued today said that under the new arrangement, the Sindh government will bear the cost of the National Database & Registration Authority service charges, ensuring that citizens can obtain death certificates free of cost. “This step aims to facilitate citizens, promote digital registration of vital events under the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, and strengthen the province’s CRVS (Civil Registration and Vital Statistics) system,” the press release said. It added that the decision followed the cabinet’s approval of free birth registration in September 2024 in line with the Sindh government’s commitment to the United Nations and international partners for improving CRVS coverage. In...