Punjab | Pakistan

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.

ISLAMABAD: A 72-hour spell of monsoon rains and severe thunderstorms has left at least eight people dead and 33 others injured across Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa, while rain-related accidents in Punjab killed two people dead and injured nine others. The severe weather, forecast by the Met Office for the upper parts of the country from June 11-13, has caused a rolling wave of casualties and damage. The deadly incidents were driven by sudden roof collapses, electrocutions and flash floods. In Khyber Pakhtun­khwa, the provincial death toll steadily climbed to eight, with 33 others injured over the multiday storm system. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority reported seven fatalities and 33 injuries on Saturday after roofs and walls collapsed in the Bannu, Shangla and Mansehra districts. The dead included four men, two children and one woman, while the injured comprised seven men, 12 women and 14 children. By Sunday, the provincial toll rose to eight after 17-year-old Mohammad Abid was electrocuted during a storm ...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Sunday said the provincial government is taking concrete steps to make Punjab more environment-friendly through innovative climate solutions.

BAHAWALPUR - Punjab Minister for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora has said that 1,000 minority students across Punjab are being awarded educational scholarships, while 173 students from the Bahawalpur Division.

LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has begun prioritising complaints against individuals involved in blackmail, harassment and harming the “dignity and reputation of women”, and arrested 10 alleged “harassers” on Saturday in different parts of Punjab. “The NCCIA is according the highest priority to complaints involving the harassment, exploitation, and blackmailing of women in the digital space,” NCCIA Punjab chief Muhammad Ali Waseem told Dawn. “While the NCCIA remains committed to addressing all forms of cybercrime and is making every effort to facilitate complainants, cases related to the online harassment, intimidation, and blackmailing of women are being treated on a priority basis,” he said. Waseem added that, given the serious psychological, social and reputational harm such offences can inflict on victims, the agency was ensuring swift action and dedicated attention to such complaints to provide timely relief and bring perpetrators to justice. It is worth noting that a large...

LARKANA: Water shortages in Sindh and Balochistan are deepening as Punjab continues to draw excess water, threatening the downstream provinces’ agricultural activities and drinking water supplies. According to data from the Sukkur Barrage Control Room on Wednesday, the total upstream inflow at Sukkur Barrage was recorded at 50,620 cusecs, while the total withdrawal stood at 32,120 cusecs. Irrigation department sources and representatives of growers and millers stated that the combined water allocation for Sindh’s seven canals is 53,200 cusecs. With the actual supply at just 32,120 cusecs, Sindh is facing an overall shortage of 21,080 cusecs, or 39.6 per cent. In contrast, upstream barrages and canal systems in Punjab continue to withdraw water well above their allocated share. Against an allocation of 44,000 cusecs, Punjab is currently drawing 53,394 cusecs — an excess of 9,394 cusecs, or 21.35pc. This continued over-withdrawal is directly reducing water availability downstream. Barrage and canal breakdowns T...

• Overall development outlay slashed by 25pc to Rs3.218tr • Federal PSDP reduced to Rs1tr, provincial ADPs to Rs2.218tr • No new projects except for interior, defence ministries • PM says strengthening defence is country’s biggest challenge • Ahsan says Pakistan lagged behind region due to weak investment in education, skills ISLAMABAD: Freezing provincial development plans at their actual utilisation this year, the National Economic Council (NEC) on Wednesday cut the federal and provincial development budget by one-fourth to Rs3.218 trillion for the next fiscal year from Rs4.264tr cleared by the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) last week. Of the Rs1.046tr total cut, the combined annual development plans (ADPs) of the four provinces were slashed by almost one-third (29.3pc) to Rs2.218tr — roughly their actual utilisation so far in the current fiscal year — compared to the Rs3.138tr provincial portfolio finalised by the APCC on June 1. Punjab’s development plan was chopped by almost half, or 49pc, the...

• Budget likely on Friday after president summons NA, Senate sessions today • National Economic Council finally set to meet today; KP still weighing participation • Federal, provincial govts to jointly cover Rs800bn shortfall • Extra FBR revenue to stay with Centre; ‘strategic needs’ may require Rs1.3-1.7tr • Sindh, Punjab agree to cut ADPs; KP, Balochistan not yet on board • Uplift plans worth Rs4.715tr likely to be revised down ISLAMABAD: Signs that the federal budget may be presented later this week emerged on Tuesday after the government finally called a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) on the same day that sessions of the National Assembly and Senate were summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari. A source in the NA Secretariat told Dawn that both sessions have been called budget sessions for 2026–27; however, it is expected that the budget will be presented in parliament on June 12. This echoed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry’s words, who said on Tuesday that the budget fo...

MUZAFFARGARH - The continuous efforts of MNA Nawabzada Iftikhar Ahmad Khan since 2018 have finally started bearing fruits as the Punjab provincial cabinet has granted final approval for the estimated cost of the first phase of the Muzaffargarh to Khan Garh dual carriageway project, part of the Muzaffargarh to Tranda Muhammad Panah road,.

Punjab has introduced a QR-based Panic Button system to enhance passenger safety and strengthen emergency response across the province’s public transport network.

Tremors were felt in Lahore and other districts of Punjab on Friday after a 4.9-magnitude earthquake was reported, said a statement by the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). A PDMA spokesperson said the depth of the earthquake was recorded at 18 kilometres, while the epicentre was located in the Kashmir region. “No loss of life or property due to the earthquake has been reported in Punjab,” the spokesperson said, adding that the relevant authorities were engaged in inspecting buildings. He further said that any earthquake-related damage could be reported to the PDMA helpline 1129, adding that district emergency operation centres across Punjab, along with the PDMA’s provincial control room, were operational round the clock. In late May, at least one person was killed and 11 others were injured after several houses were seriously damaged following a reported earthquake in Jhelum’s Pind Dadan Khan tehsil. On May 4, tremors were also felt in Islamabad and Rawalpindi after a 5.2-magnitude earthquake was ...

LAHORE - Punjab has expanded its agricultural mechanisation programme through a series of initiatives aimed at increasing farmers’ access to modern machinery, including subsidised tractors, combined harvesters and interest-free financing for advanced farm equipment.

The repatriation of illegally residing foreign nationals from Punjab is continuing under the federal government’s ongoing policy, with more than 35,000 individuals deported from the province so far, according to Punjab Police.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said that more than 30,000 kilometres of roads have been constructed, repaired or rehabilitated across the province under an ambitious programme aimed at modernising Punjab’s transport and road infrastructure.

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: Six thousand Punjab police personnel are being deployed in Gilgit-Baltistan ahead of the June 7 election, it emerged on Sunday as the PTI reiterated its allegations of pre-poll rigging. Punjab authorities had initially approved the deployment of 5,000 personnel to GB and later gave the nod for the deployment of 1,000 more police personnel. The approval for the first 5,000 was notified in a memo by the Punjab assistant inspector general (operations), which stated: “5,000 police personnel have been placed at the disposal of Gilgit-Baltistan police for election security duty. According to the memo, the Punjab police personnel will be equipped with anti-riot gear, and each bus used for their travel to GB will be escorted by four armed police personnel. It said the motor transport department’s senior superintendent of police would make transport arrangements and select buses in good condition with fitness certificates for the purpose. The drivers deputed to transport the police personnel to ...