Pakistan

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has announced the provincial government will provide complete free medical treatment for a young cancer patient from Bajaur.

Iran must “cooperate fully” with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, according to a draft resolution submitted to the agency’s board by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, and seen by AFP on Wednesday. Tensions between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog have repeatedly flared in recent years, with relations being further strained in the wake of a 12-day war in June that saw Israeli and US strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities. Since the war, agency inspectors have not been granted access to key nuclear sites such as Fordo and Natanz, which were hit in the strikes in June, but they have been able to visit other sites. The draft, which is expected to be voted on by the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during its meeting this week, stresses that it is “imperative” for Iran to comply with its obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. It also urges Iran to provide “access that the agency requests”. Last week, the IAEA called on Iran to allow it to verify its enriched uraniu...

Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on a two-day official visit to attend the signing ceremony of B2B MoUs between Pakistani companies and firms from CAREC member countries.

Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain has affirmed government's commitment for the development of a sustainable and competitive olive value chain across Pakistan.

A report submitted to the US Congress has mentioned Pakistan’s “military success” over India during the four-day conflict in May this year. “Pakistan’s military success over India in its four-day clash showcased Chinese weaponry,” said a report submitted to the US Congress on Tuesday by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, formed to report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the US and China. Pakistan initially said it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat during the conflict, but later raised the tally to seven. Islamabad has denied any losses of its planes and says it hit 26 Indian targets after three air bases were targeted. US President Donald Trump, who continues to comment on the conflict, most recently said that eight planes were “essentially” shot down. In its annual report, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission referred to the May conflict and said that China used it to “test and promote its own defenc...

An additional district and sessions judge in Multan has sentenced to death the husband of the 20-year-old pregnant woman who was killed last year in Multan, it emerged on Wednesday. Sania Zehra — a mother of two — was found dead in her room on July 9 2024, hanging from a ceiling fan. Her father, Syed Asad Abbas, had claimed that her sudden death was not a suicide but an alleged murder. He said his daughter’s in-laws were disguising the murder as a suicide. A first information report (FIR) was registered at the New Multan police station on his complaint under Sections 148 (rioting armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 302 (intentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). In a one-page court order, dated November 18 — a copy of which is available with Dawn — Additional Sessions judge Mohsin Ali Khan ruled that Syed Muhammad Ali Raza has been “duly convicted of the Qatal-i-Amd of Sania Zehra deceased,” and sentenced the convict to “death as Ta’zir under Section 302 (b) of the Pakistan Pen...

A day after newly-elected Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Faisal Mumtaz Rathore’s oath-taking, 18 legislators from the PPP were sworn in as ministers for his cabinet on Wednesday. The oath to the 18 ministers was administered at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Muzaffarabad by AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, who was substituting as the acting president due to the illness of AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood. Mahmood reportedly could not travel to the regional capital due to health issues. PM Rathore, as well as former AJK premiers Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and Haji Yaqoob Khan, were also present on the occasion. A large number of PPP workers and supporters, as well as several senior civil servants, also attended the ceremony. The newly-appointed ministers are Mian Abdul Waheed, Sardar Javed Ayoub, Javed Iqbal Budhanvi, Chaudhry Qasim Majeed, Amar Yasin, Sardar Ziaul Qamar, Syed Bazil Ali Naqvi, Nabila Ayub Khan, Deevan Ali Chughtai, Malik Zafar Iqbal, Chaudhry Arshad, Chaudhry Muhammad ...

The PTI said late on Tuesday that police manhandled and “violently detained” the sisters of ex-premier Imran Khan from outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where they were camped out after being denied a weekly meeting with the party founder. The PTI had held a protest outside the jail on Tuesday, where Imran is currently incarcerated, but the jail administration did not allow party leaders and the PTI founder’s family to meet him. Subsequently, the party held a sit-in outside the jail and criticised the prison administration for violating the court order in this regard. In a post on social media platform X after midnight, the party said Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Dr Uzma Khan were “sitting peacefully” outside the jail when the police action happened. It added that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Minister Meena Khan Afridi, MNA Shahid Khattak and other party workers, including several women, were “subjected to violence and picked up by police”. “What should be routine weekly court-mandated family visits,...

Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday said climate-induced disasters must be treated as a “political” priority as he detailed the long- and short-term strategies to mitigate losses and plan for the next year’s monsoon season. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenish water supplies. However, heavy downpours also trigger deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. Data from Punjab’s disaster management authority shows this year’s floods affected at least 4.7 million people across 4,700 villages. Speaking at a press conference with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik in Islamabad today, the climate change minister stated that “climate-induced disasters must be treated as a political priority,” noting that the 2022 floods alone caused losses exceeding 9 per cent of the GDP. “Since 2...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed authorities concerned to begin early preparations to prevent any loss of life or property during next year’s monsoon season and ordered immediate implementation of the short-term plan presented by the Ministry of Climate Change.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday extended its stay order on the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) decision regarding the K-Electric tariff, as hearings on multiple petitions continued.

The US Congress has formally acknowledged Pakistan’s victory over India in the four-day conflict.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said Wednesday that the crackdown on illegally residing Afghan and other foreign nationals is underway across the province.

Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi of the Federal Constitutional Court on Wednesday cautioned that the courtroom must not be used as a political stage, instructing parties to review the 27th Constitutional Amendment before proceeding.

Pakistan and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen collaboration in the digital and technology sectors, reaffirming their longstanding strategic partnership.

Federal Minister Khalid Hussain Magsi attended the convocation ceremony of COMSATS University Wah Campus, where he praised the graduating students and described them as the “bright future of Pakistan.

Punjab has reported 43 new dengue cases in the past 24 hours, including 15 infections in Lahore, provincial health officials said on Wednesday.

Air India is lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes as the financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts, a company document shows. The unusual request comes just weeks after direct India-China flights resumed after a five-year hiatus following a Himalayan border clash between the nations. Air India has been seeking to rebuild its reputation and international network after a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in Gujarat in June, killing 260 people and forcing it to briefly cut flights for safety checks. But that effort is being complicated by the closure of Pakistan airspace to Indian carriers since diplomatic tensions erupted in late April. For Air India, the country’s only carrier with a major international network, fuel costs have risen by as much as 29 per cent and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, according to the previously unreported document submitted t...

A dramatic night of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup across the globe ended with joy and heartbreak in equal measure, and with 42 of the 48 teams at next year’s showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico now known. Scotland, in hair-raising fashion, and Austria, after snatching a late equaliser, ensured they will be appearing at the World Cup for the first time since 1998, joining Spain, Belgium and Switzerland as the final five of the 12 automatic qualifiers from Europe. Across the Atlantic, Curacao became the smallest country to ever win a berth at the finals, joining Haiti and Panama in locking up the three automatic berths from the North and Central American region. In Asia, Iraq kept their World Cup qualification dream alive with a penalty in the 17th minute of injury time to secure a place in the six-team inter-confederation play-off tournament in March. Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, New Caledonia, Suriname and Jamaica are the other teams in the playoff with two spots up for grabs. ...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia was being designated as a “major, non-Nato ally”. “Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-Nato ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Trump said during a formal black-tie dinner at the White House. “And I’m just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” Trump said of the designation, which only 19 other countries have previously received. View this post on Instagram According to Politico, the other countries in that category include Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. The status provides a US partner with military and economic privileges but does not entail security commitments. US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June had made Saudi Arabia safer, Trump added. Meanwhile, bin Salman had earlier promised to increase his country’s US investment to $1 trillion from a $600 ...