Karachi | Pakistan

KARACHI: A Karachi court on Wednesday directed authorities to produce alleged drug baroness Anmol alias Pinky in court when required, adding that she did not need to appear in person at the current stage in proceedings. The order was issued in cases registered against Anmol at Karachi’s Garden police station and on an application seeking the appearance of the suspected cocaine dealer before the court via video link due to security concerns. The application was filed by the senior superintendent of the Central Prison for Women on Monday, when Anmol was scheduled to appear in person before the court in two cases, including those relating to the possession of drugs and an illegal weapon. “Since there is no need [for the] physical appearance of the accused at the challan stage due to security risk[s], […] the jail superintendent shall be directed to produce custody whenever the court requires,” Judicial Magistrate (South) Sitara Kainat stated in the order, seen by Dawn. In the application filed on Monday, the jai...

A forced power shutdown by K-Electric at the Dhabeji pumping station has severely disrupted water supply across Karachi, leaving several areas facing shortages.

• No time frame given for restoring normal supply • Residents say water shortages always worsen during important events and religious festivals in Karachi KARACHI: Already struggling with a worsening water shortage during the three days of Eid, residents of the metropolis faced another uncertainty on Saturday after an emergency power shutdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station disrupted the water supply to several parts of the city. This has been the second month of an acute water crisis in Karachi that has left taps dry, created long queues for water bowsers and frayed tempers. The fresh crisis was announced by Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) in a statement on Saturday evening with the most alarming aspect being the utility was unable to provide any time frame for restoring the normal water supply leaving residents uncertain about how long the disruption would continue. According to the KWSC statement, K-Electric informed the utility that a major fault had developed in Transformer No. 1 at the Dhab...

A large-scale operation against illegal land occupation in Karachi has resulted in the recovery of government-owned railway property valued at more than Rs1.

Sharmila Farooqi has once again defended her earlier remarks comparing Karachi to Paris, saying the port city remains “Paris” for her because it is home.

A newly married couple was shot dead in Karachi’s Malir area soon after appearing before a local court on Monday, according to a senior police official. According to Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Fida Hussain Janwari, the couple was returning from the court when assailants, who were chasing their car, opened fire on them in the Saudabad locality near the RCD ground. SSP Janwari said that the woman’s family had lodged a complaint at Sachal Police Station over her disappearance. However, the woman had recorded a statement before the Malir court that she had married of her own free will. The couple had also submitted their Nikahnama in the court. “The couple suffered critical injuries and died on the spot,” he said. SSP Janwari added that the suspected assailants had been identified as the woman’s relatives, and concerted efforts were underway to arrest them. He further said that the couple belonged to Sindh’s Dadu district and had been living in the Sachal Goth area in Karachi. Meanwhile, Police...

The city administration has launched a large-scale crackdown against illegal cattle markets established across Karachi ahead of Eidul Azha, on the instructions of Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi.

Humanitarian worker Saad Edhi, who was illegally detained by Israeli forces during the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters earlier this week, arrived in Karachi on Saturday. Saad was detained by Israeli forces on Monday along with around 100 other members of the humanitarian flotilla, after at least 10 boats were intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean. He landed at Jinnah International Airport today after being deported from Israel to Turkiye on Friday, along with other foreign activists on board the Sumud Flotilla. A large number of supporters and family members gathered at the airport to welcome him home. Video footage showed people showering him with flower petals and placing floral garlands around his neck as chants and cheers filled the arrival area. Many supporters were seen embracing him and expressing relief at his safe return. A day earlier, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Saad — grandson of late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi — had arrived safely in Istanbul along w...

KARACHI: A sessions court in Karachi handed double 15-year sentences to a cleric on Wednesday after finding him guilty of sexually abusing two of his students at a madressah in the city’s Landhi area. Additional District and Sessions Judge Naseer Noor Khan announced the verdict against Qari Muhammad Anwar — whose sentences will run concurrently — in two cases of sexual abuse. The court also penalised Anwar with a fine of Rs1 million in each case, and directed that half of the amount of the fine be paid to the boys or their parents as compensation. According to state prosecutors Rehana Khan and Amjad, two separate first information reports were registered against the cleric, who is also a madressah teacher, in 2025. The prosecutors said the first case was registered on the complaint of the parents of a 13-year-old boy after he told them that the cleric had sexually abused him and other students at the madressah. The prosecutors added that the second case was registered after a 17-year-old boy saw reports on te...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with a delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan led by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui to discuss federal budget proposals and development matters related to Sindh and Karachi.

KARACHI: An individual involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident on a major Karachi thoroughfare remains on the run days after his vehicle hit another, killing one person and injuring two teenagers. On Thursday, a video of the incident went viral on social media. It showed a speeding double-cabin vehicle ploughing into a small car on Karachi’s Abdul Sattar Edhi Avenue in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area. The double-cabin vehicle hit the other car with such force that it spun around multiple times before coming to a stop on the side of the busy road. The speeding vehicle did not stop, and the individual fled the scene. South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that Darakhshan police had lodged a first information report (FIR) against the absconding driver of the speeding SUV, and further legal proceedings were underway. According to the FIR, seen by Dawn, at around 12:05am on May 14, 2026, a speeding Revo vehicle collided with a car at the crossing of main Sea View road and...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Anti-Corruption Circle of Karachi has arrested two individuals, including a woman, for posing as government officials and illegally using state logos and emblems, it emerged on Sunday. According to an FIA spokesperson, the suspects presented themselves as representatives of the s0-called National Peace Force Committee for Interfaith Harmony Pakistan (NPFCIH). They allegedly used WhatsApp messages and visiting cards to claim they were government representatives to gain access to FIA officers. During the inquiry, the suspects could not produce any legal authority or official notification to support their claims. An analysis of their mobile phones revealed fake documents, membership cards, and counterfeit notifications bearing the emblem of the government of Pakistan. A case has been registered against them under Pakistan Penal Code sections: 109 - Punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its...

ISLAMABAD: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Dr Usman Anwar took notice of an incident during a raid in Karachi’s Sarafa Bazar and sought a detailed report within 48 hours. On May 15, 2026, the agency carried out a raid on a jewellery shop in the market, targeting alleged silver smuggling. The FIA had initially taken the position that official records showed 178 kilogrammes of silver should have been at the shop, but only 15kg of locally branded silver was recovered. The agency alleged the missing 163kg may have been removed during a disturbance created by traders and shopkeepers at the market. It further claimed that some people tried to worsen the situation by forming crowds and obstructing official action, but personnel handled it with restraint. Moreover, the FIA said it had obtained digital evidence from suspects’ phones linked to smuggling networks. The FIA chief directed the Karachi Zone director to conduct a full inquiry into the matter, instructing that all aspects of the incident, ...

Karachi Additional Inspector General (AIG) Azad Khan shared details on Friday of the probe into alleged drug queenpin Anmol alias Pinky, saying investigators had come across information suggesting the involvement of foreigners in running the drug network. Anmol was arrested earlier this week from her apartment in Karachi in a joint raid conducted by police and a civilian intelligence agency in connection with two cases pertaining to the possession of narcotics and an unlicenced weapon. On Wednesday, a Karachi court granted police a three-day physical remand of her. The Karachi AIG on Friday shared details at a press conference of the investigation into Anmol thus far, saying the case could turn out to be transnational as investigators had come across information about the involvement of foreigners in drug networks allegedly run by the suspect. “We have come across information that some foreigners from African countries are involved in this network who are in Lahore. They may be six to eight in number. “Simila...

KARACHI: Police on Tuesday arrested a “most-wanted” woman accused of supplying cocaine and other narcotics across the city, an official statement said. According to the statement, a joint operation was conducted by a police team from Garden Police Station and a civilian intelligence agency to arrest the accused after midnight. “A female suspect identified as Anmol alias Pinki, allegedly involved in supplying cocaine and other deadly narcotics across the city, has been arrested,” the statement said. It added that the accused was “most-wanted” by police and had been absconding in several cases. “One pistol, cocaine worth millions of rupees, chemicals, and other narcotics were recovered from the accused,” claimed police. In its statement, the police further said the accused was operating an “organised and extensive network” for narcotics dealing and supply, adding that she used to supply drugs online in Clifton, DHA, and other areas of Karachi through designated riders. The accused also used female riders to pro...

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Karachi, has frozen four more high-value properties of Bahria Town on the instructions of an accountability court. Sources in the NAB said the action was carried out under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010, following investigations that established that these assets were purchased through the laundering of crime proceeds. The bureau has attached the Bahria Icon Tower in Clifton, Karachi, where investigations revealed that Rs8 billion in crime proceeds had been laundered for its construction. The property was being held under a front company, M/s Galaxy Construction Pvt Ltd. Similarly, the Bahria Town Tower on Tariq Road, Karachi, was attached after it was established that the project was held in the name of Muhammad Awais, a “benami” frontman for Malik Riaz Hussain and M/s Bahria Town. Beyond Karachi, the operation extended to significant land holdings. The bureau has attached 817 kanals of prime land in Sheikhupura and 2,029 kanals of land in Peshawar in...

Police on Tuesday released seven Aurat March activists after briefly detaining them near Karachi Press Club (KPC), following orders from Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar. The activists were detained after they gathered at Karachi Press Club (KPC) for a press conference scheduled for 4pm to demand a no-objection certificate (NOC) for their upcoming annual march in Karachi. An Aurat March organiser confirmed to Dawn that seven people, including Sheema Kirmani and Shahzadi Rai, had been released. This came shortly after Lanjar ordered the metropolis’ south zone police to release the detained activists. In a post on X following the release, Aurat March Karachi said: “We will NOT back down from our politics, and we will continue to demand an NOC! “Scare tactics to suppress dissent are shameful!” it said, demanding that the Sindh government issue a statement explaining the reason for the arrests and for the “delay” in granting the NOC. Shortly before 4pm, the rights group said three of its organisers were “pi...

The weather in Karachi remained hot and dry on Tuesday, though temperatures are expected to fall slightly compared to the previous day, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

10 found dead as Karachi sizzles

Karachi is experiencing an intense heatwave as temperatures climb to 44°C, causing widespread discomfort across the city.