Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced that polling for three vacant seats in the Punjab Provincial Assembly—PP-115 and PP-116, Faisalabad— and PP-269 Muzaffargarh will be held on November 23.

ISLAMABAD - Islamabad police Thursday stormed National Press Club Islamabad, vandalised the cafeteria, and assaulted journalists after reportedly mistaking them for Kashmiri protesters.

• PM Shehbaz dispatches eight-member team to Muzaffarabad • Calls for peace, orders restraint by LEAs, seeks probe into deaths • AJK paralysed by fourth day of strike, communications blackout • Funerals in Muzaffarabad galvanise crowds; locals demand justice over alleged police firing MUZAFFARABAD: A high-level government delegation held negotiations with a civil society alliance in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Thursday after days of fierce clashes between protesters and law enforcers that have left at least 10 people dead and scores critically injured. The eight-member committee, dispatched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, comprises federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Amir Muq­am, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, Rana Sanaullah and Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, along with PPP leaders Raja Pervez Ashraf and Qamar Zaman Kaira, and former AJK president Sardar Masood Khan. They were accompanied by AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, who had been staying at Kashmir House in Islamabad for the past several days. Negotiations...

ISLAMABAD: The senior puisne judge of the Islamabad High Court on Thursday tried to dispel the perception that the judiciary stands divided. “The judiciary will not tolerate fissures within its ranks,” Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani said while hearing a contempt of court petition. The petition was filed by Hafiz Ehtesham against lawyer Imaan Mazari. The petitioner, who is known for frequent litigation, objected to remarks attributed to Imaan Mazari in a speech about judges. Hafiz Ehtesham alleged that she implied “five judges” were “victims of division” and “working under pressure”. Justice Kayani put a question to the petitioner: “Which five judges do you mean?” After Ehtesham named five judges — including Justice Kayani himself — the bench intervened immediately, warning him not to continue. “There is no division in this court, and neither shall we allow any division,” Justice Kayani asserted. The five judges are: Justices Kayani, Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar, Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan and Saman Raffat ...

THE statistics related to the frequency of militant attacks in Pakistan released by two local think tanks are cause for concern. They highlight that the state needs a much more proactive counterterrorism policy. As per the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies, the number of militant attacks in the country last month had dropped compared to August’s figures. However, as a report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies points out, the current year may be the deadliest in a decade where terrorism-related fatalities are concerned. According to the PICSS findings, there were 69 militant attacks in September, causing 135 deaths. The overwhelming number of fatalities were those of security men and civilians. Also, in keeping with the general trend, KP and Balochistan were the hardest hit by terrorist violence, with the former recording 45 attacks in September, and the latter province witnessing 21 attacks. The most recent of these was Tuesday’s deadly bombing targeting the Frontier Corps hea...

American multinational corporation Procter & Gamble said on Thursday that it would wind down its manufacturing and commercial activities in Pakistan and rely on third-party distributors to continue to serve customers as part of a restructuring programme. The news comes as various multinational corporations (MNCs) have pulled their operations from Pakistan over the past three years, including Eli Lilly, Shell, Microsoft, Uber and Yamaha. Does this point to a greater trend suggesting that the economic climate in Pakistan is inhospitable for multinationals, or are there other reasons? Here’s what analysts have to say: ‘Companies have own reasons for exiting’ Business and economy journalist Khurram Hussain said that companies have “their own reasons” for exiting. “It is not really about Pakistan, but restructuring at their end,” he said. “Take Shell as an example. They have exited the retail fuel business in Mexico and Indonesia as well as Pakistan, and retail energy more broadly in many other markets,” he said. ...

Ministerial team meets JAAC; Talks hindered by communication blackout; Protest leaders require time for consultation

Munoz and Nketiah seal 2-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv

FIFA president urges peace and unity amid growing calls to suspend Israel over the conflict

Key returnees include Antonee Robinson, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Tanner Tessmann

Millers say they can achieve even better growth if levies are cut

Emphasise need for sector-specific safeguards, fiscal transparency

.

OMCs sell 1.4m tons in Sept 2025, higher by 8% YoY and 5% MoM

Buendia and McGinn fire Emery’s men to a 2-0 win at Feyenoord

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Thursday approved over Rs24.17 billion in funding for the defence and interior ministries, according to state-run Radio Pakistan. The outlet reported that the ECC held a meeting in Islamabad today under Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and approved Rs20bn to the interior ministry for the “maintenance of law and order”. A press release from the Press Information Department stated, “The committee accorded approval to the proposal, with funds to be released on demand and in a phased manner by the Finance Division in consultation with the Interior Division.” Meanwhile, the ECC reviewed a summary from the defence ministry regarding funds for cash compensation to people who acquired land for the construction of the Defence Complex in Islamabad. “The ECC approved a TSG (technical supplementary grant) of Rs4bn to be arranged by the Finance Division, while the balance requirement is to be met by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Additionally, the committee greenli...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday ordered an inquiry into a raid carried out by Islamabad police at the National Press Club (NPC), where several journalists were allegedly attacked. Visuals aired on DawnNewsTV showed policemen armed with batons attacking journalists on the press club premises. Visuals shared on social media also showed police dragging journalists out of what appeared to be the cafeteria. View this post on Instagram Another video shared by a Dawn.com correspondent showed a journalist holding his broken Nikon camera and his shirt ripped across the back. A statement issued by Naqvi stated that he had taken notice of the “unfortunate” incident and demanded a report from the Islamabad inspector general of police. “Violence against the journalist community cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” he was quoted as saying. “Disciplinary action must be taken against officials involved in the incident,” he said. Meanwhile, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Afzal Butt ...

The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench (CB) on Thursday ruled that the eight-judge majority judgment announced on July 12, 2024, was not justified in granting relief to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) by invoking Article 187 of the Constitution that empowers the court to do complete justice when no issue regarding the grant of reserved seats to the party was pending before it. Headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, the CB through a short order on June 26 had overturned the July 12, 2024, majority judgment by declaring the PTI eligible for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and the provincial assemblies. In its detailed verdict issued on Thursday, 10 judges of the 12-judge CB held that there was no justification in giving relief to the PTI under Article 187, especially when appeals were filed and pursued by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) under Article 185 (3) of the Constitution. The facts and circumstances of this case did not require application of Article 187, the detailed judgment sa...

American multinational corporation Procter & Gamble said on Thursday that the company would wind down its manufacturing and commercial activities in Pakistan and rely on third-party distributors to continue to serve customers in the country as part of the consumer product group’s global restructuring programme. “We will continue to operate the business in the ordinary course until the process is complete, which may take several months,” said a statement by P&G. “Supporting this company decision, P&G Pakistan and the supporting regional teams will begin transition planning immediately, with a focus first on P&G people,” it added. According to the statement, employees whose roles are impacted by this decision will be “considered for opportunities in other P&G operations outside Pakistan or will be offered separation packages” in accordance with local laws, company policies, and P&G’s values and principles. In Pakistan, a number of brands are under the P&G umbrella, including Pampers, Ariel, Always, Safeguard, H...

The federal government on Thursday authorised the export of donkey hides as part of an amendment to the Ministry of Commerce’s Export Policy Order, according to a notification available with Dawn.com. In 2015, the Economic Coordination Council (ECC) banned the export of donkey hides in the country in view of the sale of donkey meat under the guise of beef and mutton in different cities. According to the commerce ministry notification, the export of donkey hides shall be allowed only to those “firms [and] companies manufacturing in designated, approved [or] registered donkey slaughterhouses located in [the] Gwadar Free Zone only”. The notification also stated that the ban on exporting donkey hides would be “omitted” from the Export Policy Order. Last July, the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce was informed that protocols to export donkey skins and meat to China had been finalised, along with the export of onions, potatoes and chillies. However, in August this year, a consultative workshop on the role of wo...