Pakistan

In a clip that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) put out following Pakistan’s 3-0 sweep over Bangladesh last month, Mohammad Haris beamed as his captain Salman Ali Agha quipped that “it was probably the first time he had used his brain.” The comment was ironic because Haris is known by the moniker ‘Mr Google’ among his teammates, because of his cricketing intelligence. Such PR content is primarily used to display camaraderie among the players and to provide fans with wholesome moments to cherish. At times, it also provides a peek into the dressing room. Haris, that night, had become the first non-opening batter from Pakistan to score a century in T20Is, while facing only 45 balls — the second least for any batter from his country — to reach the mark. It was also his first century across all T20s. Haris had long been censured for being a reckless slogger and considered not good enough for international cricket. He averaged a paltry 13.46 runs per dismissal and lasted only 11 balls per innings before the home T2...

THE delay in wheat supply has put an immense strain on locals who say they cannot afford to buy flour from open market.—Dawn GILGIT: A severe wheat shortage is intensifying across Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), depleting the region’s reserve stocks and raising fears of a food crisis after the federal government failed to release subsidised supplies more than two weeks into the new fiscal year, GB food department has said. Officials with the food department said that wheat stocks have been completely exhausted. GB residents rely almost entirely on the subsidised wheat supplied annually by the federal government. While the federal government allocated Rs20 billion in its budget to procure over 170,000 tonnes of wheat for Gilgit-Baltistan for the current fiscal year, officials said not a single sack has been delivered. The delay is putting immense strain on locals who say they cannot afford to buy flour from the open market. Officials say not a single bag delivered though federal govt allocated Rs20bn for the purpose in...

The Sindh government has officially launched the second phase of its flagship People’s IT Program (PITP), aiming to equip 35,000 young individuals with cutting-edge digital skills in line with global industry demands.

Seven police personnel from Ladha and Sarwakai police stations in Upper South Waziristan have gone missing under mysterious circumstances, according to local authorities.

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank-financed ‘Pakistan Hydromet and Climate Services Project’ has concluded, but without delivering several of its originally planned components, including weather radars, automatic weather stations and observatories, according to the project’s completion report. The report reveals that during in June 2020, the hydro-meteorological and climate change services component was initially scaled back and later dropped. Activities aimed at improving the service delivery capacity of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, private sector engagement and mitigation of seismic and glacial hazards were also removed from the plan. Although the original project financing of $188m, approved in 2018, remained unchanged after the first restructuring, the second restructuring in June 2023 reduced the total budget to $168m due to exchange rate fluctuations. Despite this, the project was completed within the original budget, albeit after an 18-month extension — an outcome the Bank attributes to efficient res...

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf on Saturday walked back a statement that 40,000 religious pilgrims were missing, clarifying that the figure stemmed from a “misunderstanding” of outdated paper records that have not yet been fully digitised. He told reporters that approximately 40,000 pilgrims’ records remain in paper form and have not been transferred to the digital registry system. “It was never said that thousands of Pakistanis are missing,” Mr Yousuf said. “The records of around 40,000 pilgrims were previously maintained in paper form and have not yet been fully transferred to the central digital registry.” The initial report, which said tens of thousands of pilgrims (zaireen) had not returned from trips to Iran and Iraq, was first floated by the minister himself as he announced a travel system overhaul. To prevent future errors and enhance security, the Ministry of Religious Affairs launched a modern online registration system for all pilgrims travelling to Iran, Iraq and S...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Azerbaijan are expected to launch two freight train services, namely the ‘Pakistan-Azerbaijan Express’ and the ‘Pakistan-Iran-Azerbaijan’, aimed at promoting bilateral trade and economic cooperation. These two pilot cooperation projects were discussed in detail by delegations of both countries during a video conference in Islamabad on Saturday. Minister of State for Railways and Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and Deputy Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways Closed Joint Stock Company Arif Aghayev led delegations of their respective countries during the talks. The meeting discussed opportunities for cooperation in increasing freight volumes, port integration, joint investment projects, and transport routes that pass through Azerbaijan and Pakistan within the Middle Corridor, according to a press release by the Ministry of Railways. Delegations of both countries agreed to establish joint working groups to finalise freight transport initiatives and advance mutual cooperation in rail and trade secto...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session, scheduled to begin at 9 AM on Saturday, faced delays as members continued to arrive late, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced a boycott of the proceedings.

• Punjab Assembly speaker says allegations of constitutional violations need to be first proven in ‘court or tribunal’ • Notices issued to 10 MPAs for payment of damages caused during budget session withdrawn LAHORE: In a significant step towards de-escalation of political tensions in the Punjab Assembly, PA Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has formally rejected the petitions seeking the disqualification of 26 PTI members. This decision followed successful negotiations between the government and the opposition, and is expected to pave the way for the swift reinstatement of these suspended lawmakers. The ruling comes after weeks of parliamentary deadlock, which saw the opposition members suspended for “disorderly conduct” during the budget session on June 27. The suspension for 15 sittings was a direct response to protests that disrupted Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s speech and involved the use of “offensive, abusive, and unparliamentary language and slogans”, as well as alleged physical altercations. In his ...

Authorities have opened the spillways of Rawal Dam after persistent rainfall in the federal capital pushed the reservoir’s water level dangerously close to its maximum limit.

• IO highlights complex electronic fraud schemes devised by the suspect in interim charge sheet in data theft case • Says Armaghan planned to shift call centre operations to Lahore and Islamabad • Seeks more time to file final report as record from crypto exchanges still awaited KARACHI: The investigating officer (IO) of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has informed a judicial magistrate that the prime suspect in the credit card data theft case, Armaghan Qureshi, had rented two properties to set up call centres in Lahore and Islamabad after the murder of Mustafa Amir. The IO of the case, Ameer Ali Khoso, submitted this information in an interim charge sheet before the judicial magistrate (South), stating that more time was needed to file the final report as records from Binance and Coinbase were still awaited. He added that some documentary and digital evidence also remained to be collected. Regarding the call centre operations, the IO claimed that during interrogation, the suspect reveal...

Peshawar - Across Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, July 19 is observed with solemnity and fervour as Kashmir Accession Day, commemorating the landmark resolution passed in 1947 by the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, which called for the princely state’s accession to Pakistan.

Peshawar - A joint meeting of opposition party leaders was held at the Governor House on Saturday, chaired by Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi.

• Over 500 injured nationwide since rains began • NDMA blames climate change, glacier melt for floods • PDMA issues fourth spell alert as rivers swell • Rs5m relief package announced in Punjab ISLAMABAD: As the country grapples with a monsoon season that has intensified by up to 60 per cent over previous years, the national and provincial disaster management authorities have predicted further rains in the coming days. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), at least 180 people have already been killed and more than 500 injured so far since the rains began unusually early in July. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday forecast further rain, wind and thundershowers, with isolated heavy falls, in Sindh over the next 24 hours. Cities and districts likely to be affected include Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Thatta, Badin, Larkana, Jaco­babad, Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas and others. The NDMA’s NEOC has also issued alerts for urban flooding in low-lying parts of Sindh. It advised c...

Gujar khan - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday visited flood-affected areas of Chakwal to oversee relief operations and assess the damage caused by recent torrential rains and flash floods.

• Business community warns of escalation as govt fails to meet tax reform demands • Islamabad, Rawalpindi and a few other cities remain normal KARACHI/LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Karachi and Lahore — Pakistan’s two largest commercial cities — witnessed a near-complete shutdown on Saturday as traders observed a strike against what they described as harsh and anti-business taxation measures introduced through the Finance Act 2025-26. The strike, called by the Karachi and Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry, marked one of the most widespread protests by the business community in recent years. In Karachi, nearly 90 per cent of commercial activity remained suspended, including wholesale markets, retail shops, industries, and fruit and vegetable markets. KCCI President Jawed Bilwani told Dawn that this was the first time in the chamber’s history that the city’s entire business community had voluntarily shut down operations in protest. Mr Bilwani said industrial production had come to a halt in all seven industrial zones...

Hyderabad - Governor Sindh Kamran Khan Tessori conducted a detailed visit to various parts of Hyderabad, including the Cloth Market and Electronics Market, to assess the damage caused by recent torrential rains that severely affected residents and traders.

ISLAMABAD - The political scenario is at the edge of a new seismic shift, just as the monsoon clouds bringing torrential rains, a political downpour is expected to drench the country in the coming weeks.

Peshawar - Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan, and SAFRON, Engr Amir Muqam, on Saturday reiterated Pakistan’s strong support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination and their historic decision to accede to Pakistan.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Andy Baron of American tech company Astronomer resigned on Saturday after a video of him embracing an alleged colleague at a Coldplay concert went viral and fueled relentless memes. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” New York-based Astronomer said in a statement shared on LinkedIn. “Andy Byron has tendered his resignation,” the firm said, after previously launching an investigation. The company added that Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy, who was assigned the role of interim CEO, will continue to serve in that position. During a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Wednesday, the jumbotron zoomed in on a man and a woman embracing in the stands. But the canoodling pair appeared shocked and horrified when they spotted themselves on the big screen, with the man ducking out of frame and the woman covering her face with her hands and spinning around. “Uh-oh, what? Either...