Lahore | Pakistan

At least three people were killed in a fire at a hotel in Lahore’s Gulberg, according to rescue officials. Punjab Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Farooq Ahmed said at least three people had been killed in the fire at the Indigo Hotel. He said the victims were identified as Shehreyar, approximately 25-years-old, Imran, approximately 30-years-old, and Riaz, approximately 30-years-old. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif also shared several updates about the incident on the social media platform X. She also shared a video of Rescue 1122 Director General Rizwan Naseer, in which he termed the operation “difficult”, saying the building had 21 floors, three of which were located below the ground. He said that there was a boiler in the basement, which was being heated using LPG cylinders, where the fire ignited. He said initially, the hotel staff were trying to put out the fire on their own. He said Rescue 1122 received the call around 12:25pm. He said that rescuers entered the basement, a difficult task due to the he...

A fire broke out in the basement of a hotel in Lahore’s Gulberg area on Saturday, injuring three people and prompting immediate rescue operations.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday warned citizens against violating the rules set for Basant, which is set to be celebrated in Lahore from February 6 to 8. The festival is returning to Lahore after 18 years. The Punjab government has announced that there are no plans to celebrate Basant across the province and also notified a host of rules for the three-day festival. Addressing a meeting on preparations for Basant, which was broadcast live on television, the Punjab CM said, “Basant was an 800-year-old festival; it is not just a festival but a metaphor for renewal.” She said the festival was “our heritage” and celebrated around the world. “I want to give the good news to the people that for the first time, we are celebrating a government-sponsored and government-organised Basant from February 6 to 8,” she said. She regretted that due to negligence, the festival became associated with accidents. She said that she would give a detailed briefing to the people of Punjab on a plan for Basant in a few day...

Lahore and several parts of Pakistan’s plains witnessed widespread rainfall on Thursday, while snowfall continued in the country’s northern mountainous regions, bringing a sharp drop in temperatures.

LAHORE: Lahore police registered a case on Thursday following the alleged abduction of KIPS Education System Chief Executive Officer Abid Wazir Khan by “unidentified” suspects. The first information report (FIR), seen by Dawn, was registered on the complaint of Abid’s brother, Tahir Wazir Khan at Lahore’s Jauhar Town under Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with the intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person) of the Pakistan Penal Code. In the FIR, the complainant recounted a telephone conversation between his brother and the KIPS general manager, identified as Lubna. He said his brother called Lubna shortly after leaving a corporate office in Jauhar Town in his car on Wednesday at 6:34pm. He quoted Lubna as saying that she heard a knock on the car’s window, followed by a voice saying, “You have caused an accident involving my car”, after which the call ended. “Unidentified suspects have kidnapped my brother and his life is in grave danger,” the FIR quoted the complainant as saying.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday approved the confirmation of a total of 27 additional judges of the Sindh, Lahore, and Peshawar high courts. According to a statement issued on Thursday by the president’s secretariat, the approval was given in accordance with the recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP). For the Sindh High Court (SHC), the statement said the president had approved the confirmation of all 10 additional judges recommended by the JCP: Justices Miran Muhammad Shah, Tasneem Sultana, Riazat Ali Sahar, Muhammad Hasan, Abdul Hamid Bhurgi, Jan Ali Junejo, Nisar Ahmed Bhanbhro, Ali Haider ‘Ada’, Muhammad Osman Ali Hadi and Muhammad Jaffer Raza. President Zardari also approved a six-month extension in the tenures of Justices Khalid Hussain Shahani and Syed Faizul Hassan Shah of the SHC, the statement added. For the Lahore High Court (LHC), President Zardari confirmed all 11 additional judges recommended by the JCP as permanent judges, namely Justices Hassan Nawaz Makhdoom, Mali...

Five senior PTI leaders incarcerated at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat on Wednesday opposed any change in the voting age, asking whether those “operating in the dark” were afraid of the youth’s power. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed and Omar Sarfraz Cheema made the remarks in a letter sent through their advocate. The development comes as debate has been raging in the country on raising the voting age from 18 to 25, with the topic also being discussed on TV shows. It is worth mentioning that no formal bill has been tabled in parliament for raising the voting age in Pakistan. A column published in Dawn on Wednesday also stated that “well-connected people” were floating the idea of raising the voting age to 25 as a possible reform. In the letter, seen by Dawn, the PTI leaders said Pakistan had witnessed its first general elections in 1970, when the voting age was 21 years. However, with the advent of the 21st century, the world transformed into a global village because of whic...

Lahore has again emerged as the most polluted city in the world with its air quality being classed as “hazardous”, according to air quality monitoring platform IQAir. In past few years, air pollution has become one of the most pressing public health and environmental crises facing Pakistan. Various cities of the country, most notably Lahore, deal with smog, especially in the winter months. The phenomenon is attributed mainly to industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, stubble burning and air movement. Lahore was placed at the top of the list of most polluted cities globally on Wednesday morning, with an air quality index (AQI) of 452, while Karachi ranked ninth at 179, according to the IQAir live tracker. Lahore remains at the top of the list of most polluted cities in the world on January 21. — screengrab via IQAir On Tuesday, the platform issued an air quality alert for Pakistan as major cities experienced “unhealthy” to “hazardous” levels of air pollution, posing “serious health risks to residents, espec...

LAHORE: After addressing workers and supporters at Minar-i-Pakistan, Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) leadership commenced a public outreach campaign in Lahore. Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Mahmood Khan Achakzai of the TTAP, visited different markets and commercial areas of the provincial capital to rally support for the opposition alliance’s street movement. As part of the drive, videos posted on X by the opposition leadership showed the leadership distributing pamphlets. “A large number of people expressed solidarity with the leadership of Tehreek-i-Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan,” said a post on X by the opposition alliance. Obstacles at Minar-i-Pakistan Earlier in the evening, Abbas and Achakzai reached Minar-i-Pakistan to address supporters of the PTI and the opposition alliance. However, local authorities closed all doors and blocked party workers from entering the Minar-i-Pakistan ground but allowed the TTAP leadership to proceed. PTI Punjab Chief Organiser Aliya Hamza Malik chided the Punjab governm...

Dense fog and thick cloud cover continue to blanket Lahore and several other cities across Punjab, intensifying the cold spell as temperatures fall sharply.

TTAP convoy reaches Lahore amid detentions

LAHORE - An accountability court in Lahore on Thursday summoned former chief minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Ela­hi and other accused for re-framing of charges in a corruption and kickbacks reference related to Gujrat develop­ment projects.

LAHORE - PIA is enhancing its flights to United Kingdom and now after resumption of flights to Man-ches­ter and announce­ment of flights from Islamabad to lon­don from 29 March, the airline has also finalised arrange­ments for launch of direct flight from Lahore to London from 30 March.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced the restoration of its Lahore–London flight operations, marking a return to the route after six years.

A first-semester pharmacy student sustained injuries after she jumped from the second floor at the University of Lahore on Monday, police said. Lahore Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran told Dawn that the student was originally from Narowal, adding that her parents had been asked to come to Lahore. “She jumped from the second floor of the pharmacy department,” the DIG said, adding that for now, the incident appeared to be “a suicide attempt”. However, he continued, police had yet to ascertain the reason behind the incident. The official further stated that the student’s legs had been fractured, and she had been hospitalised. “Her condition is serious, but there is no severe head injury,” DIG Kamran added. The director of emergency at Lahore General Hospital, Dr Yahya Sultan, also told Dawn that the girl was brought to the facility in a “serious condition” and she had sustained a minor head injury. “There are profound chest injuries on the right side,” he said. DIG Kamran said that accordi...

LAHORE: In a major policy shift, the Punjab government on Wednesday announced that it has no plans to celebrate the Basant festival across the province and that it will instead be celebrated only in Lahore. Basant is returning to Lahore after 18 years, following the passage of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025 by the provincial assembly on December 24. So far, only the Lahore deputy commissioner has notified the three-day festival starting on February 6, 2026, while deputy commissioners in other districts were expected to follow suit. However, the 46th Cabinet Committee on Law and Order — chaired by Khawaja Salman Rafique — met at the Punjab Home Department today and noted that Basant would be celebrated only in Lahore and on a limited scale. Though there was no need for all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to be present at the meeting, sources in the Home Department told Dawn that they were specially invited to attend via video link, particularly for the “Basant agenda”. Punjab...

LAHORE - Lahore’s district administration on Monday formally issued the notification of Basant 2026, restoring the biggest festival in the provincial metropolis almost after two decades.

LAHORE: The Lahore deputy commissioner (DC) gave the formal go-ahead on Monday for celebrating Basant in the district from February 6-8, explaining the terms and conditions, as well as restrictions for the festival and consequences of their violations. Basant is returning to Lahore after 18 years, the way for which was paved by the passing of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025 by the provincial assembly on December 24. The legislation authorised deputy commissioners to grant conditional permission for kite-flying — which otherwise remains banned in Punjab — on specified days and at designated locations. Subsequently, a notification issued by the Lahore DC today said: “In exercise of powers conferred under section 6(1) of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Ordinance, 2025 and in pursuance of approval of the Government, it is hereby notified that kite-flying is allowed within the territorial limits of District Lahore on the occasion of Basant 2026,” subject to conditions. The notification, a copy...

Most areas of Punjab were engulfed by air pollution on Sunday, with Lahore reporting unhealthy air quality levels, according to the latest data.

• Sohail Afridi’s entourage arrived in city around 4:30pm; PTI workers complain of harassment, arrests en route • Engagements at Punjab Assembly marred by altercations, confrontations with journalists • Govt provides ‘foolproof security’; Azma ‘welcomes’ chief minister to Punjab LAHORE: Although Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi managed to reach Liberty Roundabout on Friday night, he was unable to deliver a planned speech at the venue as a heavy contingent of police had blocked all roads leading to area by setting up pickets. Videos posted by PTI on social media showed a large number of party supporters, including Imran Khan’s sisters, Aleema Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi, present near Liberty Chowk. The chief minister, who was due to launch the PTI’s street movement from Lahore, had earlier spent the day greeting and addressing PTI supporters, who met him at different points en route to Lahore. His convoy eventually entered Lahore around 4:30pm, from where he made a bee-line for the Punjab Assemb...