Punjab | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) yesterday issued the schedule for Senate elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, setting July 21 as the polling date.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday released the schedule for the long-delayed Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Preparations for local government elections in Punjab are progressing as key amendments to the proposed local government law near finalisation.

Following the recent salary hike, the Punjab government has approved a significant increase in leave allowances for provincial ministers, the Speaker, and the Deputy Speaker by aligning them with their full monthly salaries.

Terrorists have blown up main transmission gas pipeline in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district, which was supplying gas to Punjab, local police said on Wednesday.

A 4.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Lahore and other parts of Punjab on Tuesday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). The earthquake was recorded at 6:39am, with the epicentre 25 kilometres south-southwest of Lahore at a depth of 14 kilometres. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson, tremors were felt in Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura, Mureed and other districts of Punjab. There have been no immediate reports of casualties. The respective administrations are inspecting buildings across the province for any sign of damage. As per PDMA, the District Emergency Operation Centres across Punjab, including the Provincial Control Room of PDMA, have been placed on alert for the next 24 hours in case of any aftershocks. PDMA has advised people to report damages to the 1129 helpline. On June 30, another earthquake of 3.9 magnitude was recorded at 2:07pm, 35 kilometres west of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab at a depth of seven kilometres. The same day, Balochistan recorded...

Tremors from an earthquake were felt in Lahore and several other cities across Punjab on Tuesday, causing panic among residents.

Several people were injured on Monday in separate incidents of roofs collapsing in cities across Punjab, according to rescue officials. Six people were injured when the roof of a house collapsed due to heavy rain near Rawalpindi’s Lal Haveli. According to Rescue spokesman Usman Gujjar, the incident occurred early morning near New Sarafa Bazaar. The injured included three women and three men. Four of the injured were provided first aid on the spot, while two otherswere shifted to the Rawalpindi District Headquarter Hospital. Their condition is said to be out of danger. Rawalpindi Rescue 1122 control room received a call from near Lal Haveli to inform about the collapse of the roof, after which emergency vehicles reached the spot. According to the caller, three people were trapped in the house. However, as per the rescue staff, no one was trapped in the house. All the injured belonged to the same house and were identified as Muhammad Ali, 19; Akbar, 45; Easy, 27; Alina, 17; Two greats, 22; and Shabnam, 18. Gujj...

Monsoon rains in Punjab claimed 18 lives including 11 children, while 57 persons were injured in rain-related incidents in 24 hours, PDMA Punjab said in a report on Monday.

At least eight more people were killed and 13 injured on Sunday in separate rain-related incidents across Karachi, some areas of Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, according to rescue officials. Monsoon rains, which fall across the region from June to September every year, continue to lash many parts of the country, prompting authorities to release an urban flooding warning for several cities. According to rescue officials, at least 32 people have been killed across four provinces over the last two days as heavy rains triggered flash floods and damaged houses. Meanwhile, some people lost their lives due to electrocution. On Sunday, Rescue 1122 issued a statement outlining more deaths and injuries in Lahore as a result of rain-related incidents. “Rescue 1122 received 10 emergency calls about collapsing walls in different parts of the city,” the statement read. “One woman was killed and 10 others were seriously injured. They were moved to different hospitals and received medical aid in Rescue Emergency ambulances.” T...

Widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms is expected across much of the country on Sunday, prompting flood warnings in several cities of Punjab, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

At least two more people died in a rain-related incident in Punjab on Saturday, taking the province’s death toll for the past four days to 14, according to rescue officials and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). Monsoon rains across the region offer respite from the summer heat and are vital for agriculture and food security. Weather-related incidents are common during the season, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity. Two people died while four were wounded in a roof collapse incident reported at 3:20am in the Abbas Nagar area of Lahore’s Shahdara Town, Rescue 1122 said in a statement today. It noted that the house was single-storied and the roof was made of mud. The bodies were taken to Shahdara Hospital, where some of the injured were also taken, while others wounded were brought to Mayo Hospital. Separately, eight children were among 12 dead while 39 others were injured in various rain-related incidents across Punjab since Wednesday, according to a PDM...

LAHORE: At least 10 persons were killed as heavy rain drenched cities across Punjab on Thursday, according to rescue officials and the provincial disaster management authority. Some districts in south Punjab were also hit by a strong windstorm. The weather brought much-needed relief after weeks of sweltering heat where temperatures increased to record levels. Rescue 1122 said it provided emergency services to 46 people in the last 24 hours, out of which 39 were hospitalised. Seven died in these emergencies. The most number of emergencies, eight, were reported in Okara, four in Multan, two each in Fai­sal­abad, Mandi Baha­uddin, Jhang and Chiniot and one each in Lahore, Kasur, Jhelum, Sahiwal, Murree, Muzaffar­garh, Baha­wal­nagar and Khanewal. Two persons each died in Jhelum and Muzaffargarh and one each in Okara, Bahawalnagar and Khanewal. According to details, a 5-year-old girl, identified as Dua Fatima, died when a bamboo roof collapsed in Basti Riazabad in Okara. Two persons were also injured. In Jhelum, ...

At least seven people were killed and 39 others were injured in multiple rain-related incidents as Punjab was battered by heavy monsoon showers on Thursday, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and Rescue 1122. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. They are also vital for agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people. Earlier today, the PDMA said that four people died and 19 were injured in rain-related incidents. According to the data, 13 incidents were reported across Punjab, with the majority of them in the Okara district. Two children are among the four deceased. The majority of incidents were roof collapses caused by rain. “Two citizens were killed by the collapse of dilapidated and decaying buildings in Okara and Bahawalnagar,” a PDMA handout read. “Two citizens drowned in Jhelum … 13 dila...

Punjab is predicted to receive 25 per cent more monsoon rains this year, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said on Wednesday. Separately, Karachi is expected to receive rainfall on June 27 (Friday), the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said — potentially ending an ongoing wave of extreme heat and humid weather. The PMD has already forecast monsoon rain across the country from Wednesday, June 25. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. Monsoon rains have commenced in Punjab and first spell will continue till July 1, the PDMA said in a statement, adding that rainfall with strong winds and thunderstorms are predicted in most districts of the province. Relief Commissioner Punjab Nabeel Javed has instructed commissioners and deputy commissioners across the province to remain alert. He said all relevant departments including Rescue 1122 and WASA are on al...

LAHORE: The Punjab Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, led by Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique, assembled in Lahore to conclude Muharram security arrangements across the division, ARY News reported. Senior officials attended the meeting, including the Home Secretary, AIG Special Branch, DIG Counter-Terrorism Department, the Divisional Peace Committee and religious scholars’ representatives. The Punjab […]

LAHORE: The Punjab government will plant 42 million trees on 50,869 acres under the CM Plant for Pakistan Initiative. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Saturday that large-scale tree plantation and environmental projects were being launched under the Punjab Green Programme. She said around 1.375 million trees were being planted on 3,790 acres of forest wasteland under the Agroforestry Initiative. She said the scope of the Green Pakistan Programme had been expanded to plant 466.4 million more trees on 251,000 acres. Plantation of 5m trees in rows on 10,223 avenue miles along canals of Punjab had been initiated, she added. She said the provision of world-class facilities for promotion of eco-tourism at the Lal Suhanra National Park and Salt Range were being ensured. She said wireless network, digital cameras, GPS devices and CCTV cameras were being provided for eco-tourism. She said, “Construction of an eco-friendly LEED certified multi-storey building has been started to establish a protected nature area and...

A suspect was arrested in yet another case of child pornography in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh, Police said on Friday. Earlier in the month, the government claimed to have dismantled an international child exploitation network operating out of a so-called gaming club in Muzaffargarh, where children aged six to 10 were lured, abused and filmed for the sake of selling their videos on the dark web. “Several children were sexually abused and filmed in Sardarabad village,” a police statement said today. The matter came to light when one of the victims contacted the police. According to the statement, the suspect had been blackmailing the children using compromised videos. A first information report (FIR) of the incident was lodged at Saddar police station in Muzaffargarh district under section 292 (sale, distribution, and public exhibition of obscene material) and section 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour a person) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, a boy was sexually abused and film...

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab has issued a weather alert as pre-monsoon rains are set to begin across the province today, with significantly above-average rainfall expected in several districts.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Adviser on Information, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, on Tuesday lashed out at the federal and Punjab governments over their newly unveiled budgets, calling them harmful to the public.