Pakistani | Pakistan

A Pakistani parliamentary delegation, led by Federal Minister and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, met Pakistan’s Ambassador to China in Beijing and discussed the Kashmir issue, the regional situation and Pakistan-China relations.

ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar yesterday urged the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to step up institutional efforts for the safe and early release of 10 Pakistani seafarers being held captive aboard the vessel MT Honour 25.

Diverse selection that includes pop, ballads, hip-hop reflects growing global reach of Pakistani music

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar directed “stakeholders” on Thursday to maintain close and regular coordination and intensify diplomatic engagement with national and international partners to facilitate the release of 10 Pakistani sailors who have been held hostage by Somali pirates since April. The sailors were among the crew of the MT Honour 25, a Palau-flagged oil tanker that was hijacked by armed pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia, on April 21. Besides the 10 Pakistani crew members, the hostages also include seven Indonesians, including the captain, as well as an Indian and a Sri Lankan. During more than three months of their captivity, there has been no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for their recovery. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office (FO) has been saying that efforts continue for their release and return. In a statement posted on X today, it said Dar chaired a high-level meeting to review Pakistan’s “intensified effor...

The body of Pakistani climber Sohail Sakhi, who was among the 10-person expedition that went missing after the deadly Broad Peak avalanche, was recovered and shifted to the mountain’s base camp, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said on Thursday. The avalanche struck on July 30, cutting off contact with the 10-member international expedition led by world-renowned British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja on Broad Peak, one of the world’s highest mountains. Purja’s company later confirmed there were no survivors. The bodies of seven climbers were found. However, the search for Sakhi, American climber Sarah Mallory Geis, and Nepalese climber Nawang Thindu Sherpa was suspended last week due to a risk of fresh avalanches. On Thursday, ACP member Naila Kiani said that Sakhi’s body had been found. According to Naila, a team of local volunteers from Shigar, searching the area on their own initiative, found the remains, which were subsequently confirmed as those of Sakhi. She said the volunteers — Muhammad Nadeem, Muha...

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Wednesday that Pakistan, as a signatory to the recently announced multinational maritime defence coalition, would implement its commitments “in full earnest”. The statement comes following the deaths of three Pakistani sailors in Houthi strikes on a Saudi cargo ship on Tuesday. Last month, Riyadh unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region. Fourteen countries, including Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt, backed the coalition in a joint statement. Answering questions at a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi elaborated that Pakistan was a signatory of the recent joint statement supporting a multinational maritime defence coalition, led by Saudi Arabia, to protect shipping and energy supply routes. “Pakistan is a signatory to this maritime coalition communique and we will implement it with full earnest,” Andrabi said, adding that the country was engaged with the Saudi authorities in thi...

More than 100 days after being taken hostage by Somali pirates, crew members on board MT Honour 25 have released another distress message in which they appealed directly to the Pakistani government for their release, it emerged on Sunday. The Honour 25 — a Palau-flagged oil tanker carrying 17 to 19 crew members, including 10 Pakistanis — was hijacked by armed pirates off the coast of Puntland, Somalia on April 21. Despite over three months passing, there has been no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for the recovery of the hostages, despite concerns abounding about their declining health. In two video messages broadcast on DawnNewsTV and dated August 7, the Pakistani hostages and foreigners can be seen in a state of extreme distress, with most looking sick and weak. They requested that the Pakistani government talk to the Somali pirates and take steps to release them. Yasir Khan, a hostage aboard the ship, said that many of the crew members had fallen ...

A team of Pakistani students has won three medals at the 3rd International Nuclear Science Olympiad (INSO-2026), held in Jeddah from August 2 to 8, APP reported on Saturday.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has resumed issuing visit visas to Pakistani citizens applying through registered travel agents, bringing relief to applicants following months of uncertainty and lengthy processing delays.

Chairman of the Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani met with internationally acclaimed Pakistani professional wrestler Ather Zahid, the first Saudi-born Pakistani wrestler to represent Pakistan on the international stage.

Pakistan’s passport ranking has slipped by one position to the 101st spot globally and remains the fourth worst in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index, it emerged on Tuesday. The Henley Passport Index compares 199 different passports across 227 different travel destinations, and calculates the score based on the number of destinations that can be accessed without a prior visa, or with a visa on arrival. With visa-free access declining from 30 countries in May to 29 countries in July, the Pakistani passport’s rank slipped by one rank to 101st. The travel document has been declared the world’s fourth worst since at least January 2021 on the Henley Index, based on multiple reports issued each year. A graph showing Pakistan’s ranking on the Henley Passport Index over the years since 2006. — screengrab via henleyglobal.com According to the Henley Index, Pakistani passport holders have free visa access to Barbados, Cook Islands, Dominica, Haiti, Micronesia, Montserrat, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Gren...

Four men, reported to be Pakistani nationals, were gunned down in a suspected ambush in South Africa, it emerged on Monday. South African news platform News24 reported on Sunday that the incident occurred in Kempton Park, a city in the Gauteng province, on Saturday evening. It added that the victims were shopkeepers in the Sebenza area. “According to several social media posts, the victims were Pakistani nationals,” the news outlet said, but noted that police were unable to confirm the victims’ nationalities. Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the deaths and said the police were investigating them as murder cases, News24 said. When asked to confirm the nationality of the victims, Nevhuhulwi told the news agency, “They are [foreign nationals], but unfortunately at this stage, I cannot confirm their nationality.” According to her, the victims’ Honda car had stopped at a red traffic light when two unknown men driving a white sedan stopped next to their vehicle, got out and started...

The landmark “Saudi Company Formation and Business Expansion Summit 2026,” organized by the Saudi-based Al Raee Group, successfully concluded in the federal capital, marked by the signing of 12 historic Business-to-Business (B2B) agreements with leading Pakistani commercial enterprises.

The 38-year-old accountant becomes the 29th Pakistani to win Dubai Duty Free's Millennium Millionaire draw

The Italian Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered its final verdict in the case of a young woman killed five years ago for refusing an arranged marriage, making final the murder convictions of five of her relatives, Italy’s leading news agency ANSA reported. Saman Abbas, an 18-year-old girl of Pakistani origin living in Italy, was murdered by her family in Italy’s Novellara in the spring of 2021 for refusing an arranged marriage in Pakistan. The Supreme Court of Cassation — Italy’s highest court of appeal — upheld the murder convictions and life sentences of Abbas’ parents, Shabbar Abbas and Nazia Shaheen, as well as her cousins Ijaz Ikram and Nomanul Haq, and also upheld the 22-year prison sentence of her uncle, Danish Hasnain, according to ANSA. Abbas had in 2020 rebelled against her family’s plan to marry her to a cousin in Pakistan. While still a minor, she sought help from social services and was moved to a shelter home in November. She also reported her parents to the police, but returned to them on Apri...

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has introduced revised travel regulations requiring Pakistani dual nationals to carry either a valid National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or a Pakistani visa when travelling to the country.

KARACHI: Dr Ayesha I. Mian has been elected as the president of the International Associ­ation for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) for the 2026-2030 term. According to a press release, her election makes her the first Pakistani and the first South Asian to lead the organisation since its establishment in 1937. Dr Mian’s election marks an important moment not only for Pakistan but also for the growing recognition of expertise emerging from low- and middle-income countries. An alumna of Aga Khan University, Dr Mian previously served on the faculty of the University of Texas and Baylor College of Medicine. After returning to Pakistan in 2013, she became Founding Dean of Student Experience and Chair of the Depa­rtment of Psychiatry at AKU, where she established Pakistan’s first Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship training programme. She currently serves as the Founder and CEO of Synapse — Pakistan Neuroscience Institute, where she continues to advance evidence-based clinica...

Hopes Pakistan's first Netflix show will debut next year and that it will open the doors for Pakistani content

Iraq has announced new visa regulations for Pakistani pilgrims planning to visit religious sites in the country.

The Pakistan Hajj Mission in Madinah has set a historic record during this year’s Hajj operation by successfully facilitating Riaz-ul-Jannah visits for 100 percent of the government-scheme Pakistani pilgrims through official permits.