Karachi | Pakistan

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.

KARACHI: Aurat March organisers in Karachi said on Sunday that they had not been issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) yet for holding the annual march in the city, scheduled for May 10. The organisers said they had sent a letter to PPP’s Aseefa Bhutto Zardari “after receiving no positive response from the authorities” on the matter. “Seven days to the march, and we still have no NOC! We really hope that Aseefa Bhutt-Zardari will stand with Aurat March in the spirit of Sindh’s history of women in political life, and ensure that an NOC is promptly issued!” they said in a post on X. The march is planned to be held at Sea View on Mother’s Day, which is observed on the second Sunday of every May. Dawn reached out to the relevant authorities regarding the matter, among whom South Deputy Inspector General Asad Raza said police would provide “maximum security to the organisers of the Aurat March” like they did every year. But as far as the issuance of an NOC is concerned, that was to be “dealt with by the district...

Traffic police in Karachi have announced stricter measures against motorists driving on the wrong side of the road, aiming to improve discipline and reduce violations across the city.

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Saturday granted bail to a serving police officer’s son, who was arrested in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) following a heated argument with officials for having a police number plate on a private luxury vehicle. A video of the man, identified as the son of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nasim Ara Panhwar, arguing with policemen had gone viral on social media. He was released from custody late on Friday night on personal surety, police sources said. A first information report (FIR) was registered against the suspect by the Defence police on Friday on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Shazan Shakeel. It invoked sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing a public servant), 170 (personating a public servant) and 171 (wearing garb or carrying a token used by a public servant with fraudulent intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). On Saturday, the suspect appeared before the court of Judicial...

Karachi continued to endure intense heat on Thursday as a temperature of 36°C felt like 44°C due to high humidity and weather conditions.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday expressed objection to comparisons between Karachi and Lahore in terms of infrastructure and governance, noting that both provincial capitals had different ground realities. Speaking alongside Punjab Housing Minister Bilal Yasin in Lahore, Wahab said, “When you compare Karachi to Lahore, this comparison is improper because of the population. We get water from a distance of 125 kilometres. Our daily water requirement is 1,100 million gallons per day (MGD), while our daily supply is 550 MGD, and the population continues to grow”. “Therefore, I think that comparing them leads to conflict,” he added, calling for both administrations to “work together” and share expertise. At one point, a reporter asked Wahab why the PPP “could not deliver what the public wanted” despite ruling Sindh for years, prompting Yasin to ask media persons to be “mindful of respecting the guests”. Responding to another question, Wahab said making such comparisons “leads to an unfortunate situation”,...

Several key air routes within the airspace of Karachi will remain temporarily closed following a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority.

Work on the long-delayed University Road corridor in Karachi has officially resumed, with Mayor Murtaza Wahab confirming that the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) has restarted construction activities.

Gul Plaza’s three facades were clearly damaged in the stage II and III January 18 fire which killed 70 people, but when a building inspector came afterwards, he held back. “It was impossible to go inside,” he said, “the heat was too intense even after two days.” That same month, one after another, three other market fires erupted in Karachi, intensifying the feeling of anger and helplessness that the city had turned into a tinderbox because of years of neglect. The bodies just keep piling up. The preventable deaths from urban negligence — fires, open manholes, building collapses, electrocution, rains, bad road design — all speak to the systemic weakening of Karachi. At least 300 have been reported in newspapers so far in 2026 by rough count. Many of these deaths are evidence of the failure of vertical expansion of informality. You cannot allow floor upon floor, shop upon shop, to be slowly added to urban spaces and infrastructure that was never designed to support such density in the first place. Neither the ...

KARACHI: An 11-year-old boy was feared to have drowned after he could not be recovered even hours after being swept away while swimming in an open water line in Karachi’s Scheme-33 area on Friday. East Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nasrullah Abbasi, who was supervising the rescue operation, told Dawn that the boy, Zahid Mohammed Khan, was swept away around 2pm while swimming in the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC)’s line. He was not recovered until late at night, when the last updates were received. Lifeguards from Rescue 1122 and Edhi Foundation carried out the search for him, the DC said, adding that the delay in finding the boy could have been due to the heavy flow of water. Rescue 1122 said in a statement that its two teams were searching for the boy at two spots. The DC said KWSC officials had also visited the spot and had estimated that the boy may end up as far away as in Gulistan-i-Jauhar’s Block-1 near Continental Bakery, where an iron grill had been installed in the line. But that might take...