Islamabad | Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated a special economic zone (SEZ) in Islamabad to be set up by a Chinese textile group — projected to generate exports worth $400 million for the country, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Pakistan has held strong bilateral relations with China, which has supported it through many investments and development projects, such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which, currently in its second phase, has been termed a “lifeline” for the country’s economy. The phase II of the program is expected to focus on industrialisation, spe­c­ial economic zones, clean ene­rgy, agriculture and livelihood projects. PM Shehbaz welcomed the establishment of an SEZ, saying that the “initiative would facilitate technology transfer, skill development, and sustainable industrial growth”. The project will be set up by the Chinese textile group Challenge Fashion Private Limited, which is set to invest $100m over five years in the project. PM Shehbaz met with the compa...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday visited the under-construction Technology Park in Islamabad and expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work on the project.

A special ceremony has commenced in Islamabad to mark Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day, attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Field Marshal Asim Munir as chief guests.

ISLAMABAD: Various religious groups joined hands on Monday to protest against the demolition of a mosque in the capital. The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) along with other groups held a protest at the site of the demolished Madni mosque near Rawal Dam Chowk. The protesters also uprooted the saplings planted by the CDA on the place. The mosque had been demolished late Saturday night. The JUI-F Member of National Assembly, Naeema Kishwar, also submitted a resolution condemning the demolition of Madni mosque. Addressing the protesters, JUI-F Islamabad chapter Emir Mufti Owais Aziz announced that legal proceedings would be initiated against the demolition of the mosque. He said the government was planning to raze 50 mosques in Islamabad and vowed to resist the move. He said the religious groups have unanimously agreed to get an FIR registered against Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials under blasphemy laws. “If the police refuse to register the case, we will consider them enemies of Islam,” Muf...

Islamabad welcomes water treaty ruling

ISLAMABAD - The AD Ports Group (ADX: ADPORTS), a leading enabler of global trade, logistics, and industry, officially launched its first representative office in Islamabad on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in the Group’s international growth journey and its long-term commitment to enabling trade and logistics across.

ISLAMABAD: A 5.1-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and adjoining areas Sunday midnight as confirmed by the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC). Rarthquake tremors were felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and their surrounding regions, including Mardan, Murree, Haripur, Chakwal, Talagang, and Kallar Kahar. The NSMC reported the earthquake’s magnitude at 5.1, with a […]

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian landed in Islamabad on Saturday for a two-day visit, eyeing to reaffirm his commitment to elevate annual bilateral trade with Pakistan. Pakistan has recently expressed solidarity and a desire for cooperation with Iran, which experts say is vital to securing shared interests in a shifting geopolitical environment. Pezeshkian is paying a two-day official visit to Pakistan over the weekend, making it his first trip to Islamabad in his current role, the Foreign Office said. Ahead of his trip, Pakistan yesterday pledged to help defuse tensions between Iran and the United States. Dr Pezeshkian arrived at Nur Khan Air Base, where Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar received him. PM Shehbaz said he was honoured to welcome the Iranian president and looked forward to “substantive engagements during this important visit that will pave the way forward for stronger Pakistan-Iran ties”. Iran’s Foreign Minister Ab...

In an innovative step toward digital transformation, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has announced strategies to make Islamabad a cashless city, starting with digitising payments for important civic services. The initiative was exposed during a high-level meeting on Thursday, chaired by CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa, where officials outlined a phased launch of digital payment […]

The Islamabad Police on Tuesday said that some students were “shifted” during an operation to vacate the hostels of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) that generated intense criticism. Videos circulating on social media since the early hours of today showed police personnel outside the hostels with some of them about students being arrested or taken away. The videos elicited strong criticism with many decrying why action was being taken against students and saying that over 70 were arrested. A statement from the Islamabad police confirmed the development, saying: “At the request of the university administration, [the] Islamabad police provided legal police assistance. The students had vacated 11 hostels, while regarding the remaining four hostels, the university administration stated that some students were not vacating them despite instructions from the university administration and were residing there illegally. “Upon the written request of the Quaid-i-Azam University administration, assistance was provided to t...

Donkey meat was seized on Sunday in Islamabad’s Tarnol area by the Islamabad Food Authority, according to a press release by the authority. “On the tip of the AFSO [assistant food safety officer] team, a cafe was raided, and 25 maunds of donkey meat were recovered,” the statement said. A case has been registered against a foreign national present at the scene, according to the police. The case was registered under Sections 11 (Selling food against the law), 12 (Substandard or misbranded food), 13 (Unsafe food) and 14 (Unhygienic or unsanitary place for food) of the Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety Act, 2021. As per the first information report (FIR), 1,000 kilogrammes of donkey meat was found at the scene. “Investigations are underway regarding the supply of donkey meat,” a police spokesperson said in the statement. Local people involved in the supply of donkey meat are being traced. “The police are investigating the matter from various angles,” the spokesperson added. He added that food samples were b...

Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) activists marked the 12th day of their sit-in in Islamabad on Sunday, demanding the release of their jailed leaders, as protesters alleged police were asking to see their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs). BYC, a Baloch advocacy group active since 2018, has been campaigning against enforced disappearances. 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. Earlier this month, an anti-terrorism court remanded them into 15-day police custody. The Islamabad sit-in began on July 16, with BYC leaders and members demanding the release of its activists. Political leaders, journalists and activists have joined the sit-in over the past few days. Last week, the BYC continued the demonstration on the road leading to the National Press Club in Islamabad, as the route had been blocked by police with barbed wire, preventing activists from re...

A Lahore court on Friday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Senate opposition leader and PTI leader Shibli Faraz as well as summoned his party’s founder Imran Khan in connection with a case involving an alleged attack on the Islamabad Police outside Khan’s residence in 2023. In March 2023, the Islamabad police lodged a first information report (FIR) against PTI founder Imran, party leader Faraz, along with 150 other party workers, for harassing and hurling life threats at an Islamabad police team when it visited Zaman Park in Lahore to arrest the former premier for skipping proceedings in the Toshakhana case. The FIR was registered by the Race Course police on the complaint of Islamabad Secretariat Station House Officer (SHO) Nadeem Tahir, who alleged that Imran, with the connivance of Faraz and 150 charged party workers, committed a crime by dodging and barring the Islamabad police from discharging their duty. Today, Judicial Magistrate Sohail Rafique, presiding over the case, ordered a non-bailable ar...

Islamabad district and sessions courts on Thursday sentenced 13 PTI supporters to six months in jail in cases pertaining to last year’s November “Final Call” protests, while acquitting one person. Meanwhile, 12 of the convicts, along with one other person, were discharged by an Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) in a separate protest case from October 2024. Ex-premier Imran Khan had called for nationwide protests on November 24, demanding the “restoration” of the PTI’s electoral mandate and the reversal of the 26th Amendment. Following a state crackdown, the party claimed a dozen deaths of its supporters, which the government officially denied, while four Rangers personnel and a cop were martyred during the protests. Judicial Magistrates Ahmad Shahzad Gondal and Mureed Abbas today heard three separate cases filed under the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order (Papo) Act, which had been passed just two months prior to the protests. One first information report (FIR) was registered at Islamabad’s Tarnol police ...

Twelve workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been sentenced to six months in prison by two separate courts in Islamabad for staging a protest on November 26 without official permission.

The government has decided to install 3,100 more surveillance cameras across Islamabad to further expand and enhance the Safe City system.

ISLAMABAD - The district and sessions court in Islamabad on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, demanding that he be detained and produced before the court by Monday.

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, demanding that he be detained and produced before the court by Monday. Last month, Gandapur appeared before the district and sessions court in a hearing related to the illegal arms and liquor case registered at Bhara Kahu police station. The CM appeared before Judicial Magistrate Mubashir Hassan Chishti along with his counsel, Raja Zahoorul Hassan. The defence argued that the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had already granted Gandapur interim bail until July 3, and requested the suspension of the non-bailable arrest warrant issued earlier. The court ordered that Gandapur submit his response under Section 342 (power to examine the accused) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The CM informed the court that he would file the response after the presentation of the KP budget. Following this assurance and his appearance, the court suspended the arrest warrants and adjourned the case until Ju...

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) on Saturday continued its ongoing sit-in on the road leading to the National Press Club in Islamabad, as the route had been blocked by police with barbed wire, preventing its activists from returning to their original protest site. An anti-terrorism court in Quetta on Friday remanded BYC chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other organisers of the group into police custody for 15 days, in the case of her and other BYC members “attacking” Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence” in March. The Islamabad sit-in began on June 16, with BYC leaders and members demanding the release of its activists. Political leaders, journalists and activists have joined the sit-in over the past few days. A Dawn.com correspondent at the scene reported that the demonstrators were not allowed to set up their protest camp outside the press club, so they would leave in the evenings and return to demonstrate in the afternoon. When they arrived today, they found the route to the press club block...

Intermittent rainfall has continued to lash Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and surrounding areas since Thursday night, with more showers expected throughout Friday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).