Islamabad | Pakistan

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday set aside a lower court’s order to block 27 YouTube channels, granting relief to 11 petitioners. In July, it emerged that an Islamabad court had ordered YouTube in June to block 27 channels for disseminating “fake, misleading, and defamatory” content against the government and armed forces. The sanctioned accounts were being run by journalists, political commentators and social media influencers in Pakistan and overseas. The ban order sparked criticism from various legal and digital rights groups. Among the 27 channels were those of the PTI, journalists Matiuallah Jan, Wajahat Khan, Ahmad Noorani and Asad Ali Toor; former anchors Imran Riaz, Orya Maqbool, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Muhammad Afzal Majoka had later suspended the order for at least seven petitioners. A total of 11 of those impacted had appealed against the lower court’s order. ADSJ Majoka conducted a hearing over the matter today and expresse...

A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Wednesday reissued an arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in an illegal arms and liquor case after he failed to appear before the court. The case, which dates back to October 2016, accuses the PTI leader of possessing illegal arms and liquor after Islamabad police claimed they recovered five Kalashnikov rifles, a pistol, six magazines, a bulletproof vest, alcohol, and three tear gas shells from his car outside Bani Gala. Gandapur has denied the police allegations, asserting that he was travelling with two licensed Kalashnikov rifles and that the vehicle contained a valid arms licence. He further claimed that the liquor bottle in question actually contained honey. According to the court order — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan Chishti directed that the KP CM be arrested and presented in the court on September 17. The judge issued the order after no representative appeared on behalf o...

A high-level delegation of investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) met with the Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, Muhammad Ali Randhawa, on Monday to explore investment opportunities in the federal capital.

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Sunday extended the remand of a suspect, who allegedly threatened and attempted to abduct social media influencer Samiya Hijab. The suspect was arrested on Monday and a case was registered in the capital’s Shalimar Police Station at her complaint under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 392 (punishment for robbery), 500 (punishment for defamation), 509 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code. He was later remanded in police custody by a judicial magistrate. According to a copy of the court order issued today, available with Dawn.com, police requested that the suspect be further remanded for eight days, but the court ordered three days. “Learned counsel for the accused has opposed the request of the IO (investigating officer) and submitted an application that on a previous date, two days [of] physical remand was granted, thus the accuse...

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Saturday sounded the alarm over the risk of urban flooding in Islamabad and northern Punjab, expected within the next 2 to 6 hours due to torrential rains.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday said that tremors were felt in Peshawar, Mansehra and Islamabad after another earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan. A press release from the PMD said the 5.4-magnitude earthquake occurred at 5:30pm in southeastern Afghanistan at a depth of 22 kilometres with tremors felt all the way in Peshawar, Mansehra, Islamabad, Abbottabad and Swat. Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey reported it as a 5.2-magnitude earthquake 34 kilometres northeast of Jalalabad city in Nangarhar province. The epicentre of the tremor was close to where a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit late Sunday night, devastating remote areas in mountainous provinces near the border with Pakistan. The “quake was felt in the same areas which were affected in Kunar [province] in the first earthquake”, Ehsanullah Ehsan, the disaster management spokesman in the hard-hit province, told AFP. “These aftershocks are constant, but they have not caused any casualties yet.” The number of victims from Sunday’s ...

Islamabad police on Monday arrested a man for allegedly harassing and attempting to kidnap social media influencer Samiya Hijab. A statement from the police spokesperson said the action was taken after her complaint and video statement. A case was registered in the capital’s Shalimar Police Station at her complaint under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 392 (punishment for robbery), 500 (punishment for defamation), 509 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The suspect had been stalking her for several days, the social media influencer said in the first information report. She added that on Sunday at 6:30pm, an attempt was made to forcefully take her out of the house “Today’s incident further escalated when he attempted to forcibly abduct me from my house while I was returning his gifts. This amounts to abduction, harassment, and assault under the law. For evidence, I have C...

Heavy rain lashed parts of Islamabad on Monday, inundating low-lying areas and disrupting daily life, while similar downpours were reported from other parts of the country.

Tremors from a 5.3-magnitude earthquake were felt in Peshawar and Islamabad on Wednesday, according to a press release issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) Seismic Network, but there have been no reports of casualties or damage so far. The PMD stated that the earthquake occurred at 6:27pm with a magnitude of 5.3 and a depth of 110 kilometres. The PMD determined that the epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) tracked an earthquake in northeast Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border, 35km south of Eshkashem. USGS data shows that the quake was registered at 6:27pm, albeit with a magnitude of 5.1 and at a depth of 128km. Last week, a strong, 5.2 magnitude earthquake jolted the northern parts of the country, including the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and several parts of Khyber Pakht­unkhwa. The PMD said in a statement that the epicentre of the earthquake was located in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. The d...

Flyadeal, Saudi Arabia’s leading low-cost carrier, has officially expanded its scheduled operations to Pakistan with the launch of direct flights to Islamabad and Peshawar.

ISLAMABAD - Coinciding with the visit of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to Bangladesh, Islamabad yesterday announced to launch “Pakistan-Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Sunday stated that it will continue its “peaceful” Islamabad sit-in, now in its 40th day, a press release from the group said. The Islamabad sit-in began on July 16, with BYC leaders and members demanding the release of its activists. Its chief, Dr Mahrang Baloch and other activists were arrested on March 22 for allegedly attacking Quetta Civil Hospital and inciting violence, a day after police cracked down on their protest. According to the press release, available with Dawn.com, the group, during a press conference in Islamabad, expressed its willingness to continue the ongoing sit-in in the federal capital, stating that “one day these institutions will be forced to listen to our voice”. “This protest is not just a protest of the Baloch people, it is a protest for justice,” the press release read. “This is a fight for human dignity and truth and it is the duty of all of us to support this fight.” The statement read that the demonstrators had two demands: the release of...

A judicial magistrate in Islamabad on Saturday ordered the release of journalist Khalid Jamil, who was arrested by the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) a day earlier, noting that “there is no incriminating material” against him. According to a first information report (FIR), seen by Dawn.com, Jamil was accused of “sharing highly intimidating content on social media X on May 7”. It stated that he “knowingly disseminated/propagated, fake, false, misleading and misinterpreted information leading to hatred against the government functionaries, including members of national security”. The FIR said that a review of Jamil’s “broader social media activities reveals a deliberate pattern of conduct involving mocking, ridiculing, and maligning state institutions with the clear intent to instigate public discontent”. A case was registered at the NCCIA Cyber Crime Reporting Centre on Aug 8 under Section 20 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca) (offenses against dignity of natural person...

Islamabad - Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation (PHAF), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Housing and Works, has launched a plantation drive titled “Aik Beti Aik Shajar” in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCCEC) at its housing project located on Kurri Road, Islamabad.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday for a three-day official visit aimed at reinforcing strategic, diplomatic, and economic cooperation between Pakistan and China.

KARACHI: Following heavy rainfall and stormy weather, a private flight from Islamabad to Karachi flight got diverted amid stormy weather, due to disruption in PIA operations, ARY News reported. On Tuesday, August 19, 2025, a private airline flight from Islamabad to Karachi faced severe stormy weather, causing the pilot to abort landing in Karachi and […]

Chinese Foreign Minister and Politburo member Wang Yi will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday to co-chair the 6th Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue.

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday jolted Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Seismic Network of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement. According to the statement, the quake was felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, KP’s Peshawar, Swat, Chitral, and Abbottabad. The PMD’s press release said that the earthquake originated at 10:20am PKT. Its epicentre was the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan, at a depth of 190 kilometres. Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority reported that the earthquake was also felt in the province’s divisions of Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lahore, Multan, Sahiwal and Sargodha. No casualties have been reported so far, and according to KP’s Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Faizi, an emergency has not yet been declared. Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines mean...

Authorities have decided to launch a crackdown on illegally residing foreigners in Islamabad and four adjoining districts to declare them “safe zones.

An Islamabad research institute is set to host Afghan leaders and women activists this week to discuss the regional peace and stability, organisers said on Monday. Pakistan and Afghanistan have witnessed an improvement in bilateral relations after taking steps to improve ties, such as the revival of the Joint Coordination Committee and upgrading diplomatic ranks. The South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (Sassi) University will organise the dialogue on August 25 and 26, according to Dr Maria Sultan, the think tank’s chairperson and director general. While both neighbouring countries have held bilateral engagements at the government level, this will be the first such Pak-Afghan dialogue since the 2021 Taliban takeover of Kabul. Some Afghan TV channels and media run by Afghan journalists in exile contended that Pakistan has invited anti-Taliban leaders. However, the Sassi University chairperson denied that the dialogue was against the Taliban or other Afghan political parties. Sultan said, “The main purpose...