Punjab | Pakistan

Armed men gunned down five workers hailing from Punjab in the Mashkail town of Balochistan’s Washuk district on Sunday, Deputy Commissioner Abdul Majeed Sarparah said. The incident occurred amid ongoing Operation Shaban and other counterterrorism operations in the province, in which the security forces have eliminated 109 terrorists since July 5. “The incident took place in Mashkail town close to the Pakistan-Iran border area, when armed men riding motorcycles opened fire on shops where the labourers from Punjab were working,” DC Sarparah told the media. Police officials said the five individuals suffered multiple bullet injuries and succumbed to their wounds on the spot. They added that after firing, the assailants escaped from the site. The officials said police and other security personnel rushed to the site soon after receiving information about the incident and shifted the bodies to the government health facility in Mashkail. After completing legal formalities, arrangements will be made to dispatch the w...

LAHORE - Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari on Saturday said that development, prosperity, and beautification are progressing simultaneously across Punjab under the leadership of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, with the pace of development projects now significantly faster than in previous years.

LAHORE: Human rights defenders and activists gathered at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on Thursday to discuss the Punjab Control of Habitual Offenders and Anti-Social Behaviour Bill, 2026, raising concerns that, if implemented, the proposed law would turn the whole Punjab into an open jail. “The objective of the Bill is to stop any statements against the security forces, followed by a hierarchy of sensitivity. Azma Bokhari and Marriyum Aurangzeb had complaints written to the NCCIA, they went to high court, directions were issued to the NCCIA but they were not satisfied. The objectives they wanted to achieve against those who had made their memes or defamed them were not achieved,” says lawyer Asad Jamal. Those people, he said, were not punished by the NCCIA because it had its own limitations and objectives. “Now they want to establish a parallel institution in Punjab and they are moving towards it,” Jamal declared. Secondly, he added, the Crime Control Department (CCD) had brought a bad name to the ...

LAHORE - Punjab has finalised a comprehensive province-wide strategy to tackle the twin threats of an intense heatwave and possible monsoon flooding as the Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif directed all departments and district administrations to shift their focus from disaster response to disaster prevention.

ISLAMABAD: Amid hot and humid weather, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) has declared force majeure — a legal term that absolves contractual liability — for its inability to supply regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) for three weeks due to renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. This may significantly hamper the power supply from over 5,000MW of RLNG-based plants in Punjab and curtail the transmission of power from Sindh to upcountry load centres, resulting in higher loadshedding in the days ahead. Informed officials said while rationing from already imported cargoes could help mitigate shortages, the government would have to increase dependence on the expensive spot market. In separate letters to four RLNG-based power plants in Punjab, the Lahore-based SNGPL said it had been updated by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) that ‘the event of force majeure notified due to ongoing war in the Gulf region remains in effect and continues to prevent the performance of its supplier’s obligations under their LNG S...

ISLAMABAD: Russia has lifted restrictions on the import of potatoes from Punjab, allowing 101 exporters to resume shipments from July 7 after reviewing Pakistan’s phytosanitary control system, Pakistan’s trade officer in Moscow said on Tuesday. The decision to lift the ban was formally communicated to Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Research. However, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance has barred two Pakistani exporters from exporting potatoes to Russia, citing their failure to comply with the required phytosanitary standards. According to the trade officer’s letter, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance had informed Pakistani authorities that potato imports from Punjab would be permitted, subject to guarantees provided by Pakistan’s Department of Plant Protection. The Russian authority said the decision followed a review of the list of Pakistani potato exporters and their planned export volumes from Punjab. However, ...

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has approved the establishment of the Asset Management Authority of Punjab (AMAP) to centralize the management of the province's land and public assets, aiming to improve governance, transparency and revenue generation.

LAHORE: In order to compile comprehensive information on citiz­ens’ health and lifestyles, the Pun­jab government has created health and demographic profiles of nearly 94 million citizens across the provi­n­­ce under its first digital health census. In a meeting on Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Mar­yam Nawaz was informed that the digital health census was near completion and that nearly 94.3 million health and demographic profiles had been registered across Punjab. “More than 85 per cent of the population in 18 districts has been covered through health and demographic profiling. Five districts have achieved 100 per cent coverage, while another five districts have completed over 95 per cent profiling,” the meeting was informed. The meeting was informed that every household in Punjab had been assigned a “unique identification nu­­mber” through digital mapping, while 14,300 community health ins­pectors had conducted door-to-door visits to collect citizens’ medical, demographic and socio-economic data. The CM r...

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif was briefed on Saturday that Punjab had become the first province in Pakistan to undertake comprehensive digital health and demographic mapping of its population, with the country’s largest-ever digital health census nearing completion.

Hassan Murtaza criticises Punjab govt's handling of Kahna tragedy

LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) will establish a dedicated special cell in Punjab to ensure the prompt registration, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrime cases involving women and children, according to an official statement. NCCIA Punjab Director Muhammad Ali Wasim said in the statement on Wednesday that the initiative was aimed at providing the victim women and children with expedited legal assistance, protection and institutional support while ensuring that complaints were investigated without delay. “Cases involving online harassment, cyberstalking, blackmail, digital exploitation, identity theft, misuse or circulation of private photographs and videos, as well as other technology-enabled offences against women and minors will be processed through the newly established specialised unit,” he said. The official added that all such cases would remain under the direct supervision of the relevant deputy director to ensure close monitoring, swift investigations, and effecti...

Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has announced that the provincial government plans to establish wastewater treatment plants in every city across Punjab as part of a comprehensive strategy to modernise water and sanitation infrastructure.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said the Punjab government was committed to the welfare and empowerment of deafblind persons.

Multiple cities in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the federal capital, reported feeling an earthquake on Saturday evening, hours after two quakes jolted Balochistan. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the earthquake struck at 6:35pm. Its epicentre was in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region, with a magnitude of 5.9 and a depth of 178 kilometres. The PMD said the tremors were felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Mansehra, Shangla, Swat, Chakwal, Abbottabad, Taxila, Haripur and Buner. The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), meanwhile, reported that tremors were also felt in Lahore, Faisalabad and Attock. In its report, the PDMA said that the relevant authorities were inspecting buildings in the affected areas for damage and that the provincial control room and district emergency centres were active 24/7. Punjab Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad said that they did not receive any reports of damage or injury to anyone after the earthquake. 3 quakes jolt Balochistan;...

MULTAN - In a major step towards regulating teenage driving and promoting road safety, the Punjab government has allowed youngsters aged 16 to 18 years to obtain juvenile driving permits for motorcycles and scooties.

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Islamabad on Monday. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the earthquake was recorded at 3:22pm at a depth of 215 kilometres with the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan as its epicentre. It was felt in Peshawar, Islamabad, Mansehra, Swat, Battagram, Abbottabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Mianwali, Multan and Potohar region, among other areas. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Rescue 1122 spokesperson in KP directed the public to contact their helpline immediately in case of an emergency. No reports of loss of life or destruction of property have been received in Punjab so far, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said in a statement. Citizens have been asked to contact the PDMA Punjab helpline at 1129 for any assistance or information related to the earthquake. In April, an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 jolted Islamabad and KP. Earlier that month, the areas also felt tremors ...

LAHORE - Punjab has recorded significant progress in its fight against polio, with substantial reductions in poliovirus circulation, improved campaign performance and stronger vaccination coverage across the province.

Admitting the Crime Control Department’s (CCD) mistake in the shooting of a young girl in Chakwal earlier this month, the Punjab police and the CCD said on Thursday that the incident would neither be defended nor covered up under “any circumstances”. They also described the shooting as a case of “criminal negligence”, saying that the CCD official’s lack of training had contributed to his inability to assess the situation correctly. A nine-year-old girl, Hania, was killed and her father and brother were injured last week after officials of the CCD opened fire on their car in the Chakwal city area, mistaking it for that of robbers. Addressing a press conference on the incident on Thursday, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Abdul Karim described the incident as “deeply tragic”. He said it would be thoroughly investigated and that the negligence behind the CCD’s actions would be placed on record to ensure those responsible were brought before a court of law. Karim added that no institution could earn publi...

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday restrained the Punjab government from taking further action regarding 11.5 kanal Ewing Hall belonging to Forman Christian College University (FCCU). Earlier this month, activists and alumni raised concerns over the government’s alleged repossession of Ewing Hall, arguing that the move could jeopardise an important part of the college’s historical legacy. The Punjab government, however, has maintained that the lease had expired years ago and that substantial dues remained unpaid. On Thursday, Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad issued the order reserved the other day on a petition filed by the FCCU registrar. A counsel for the petitioner argued that the Punjab government had forcibly taken possession of the land on June 11 and that the Board of Revenue’s (BoR) move to cancel the lease was illegal. The counsel informed the court that the land of Ewing Hall, situated at Neela Gumbad, New Anarkali, had been leased to the college in 1915 and the lease period was extended in 2018 u...

The Lahore High Court (LHC) was informed on Wednesday that Punjab has a very limited number of public sanitation facilities for transgender persons and people with disabilities.