Pakistan

Pakistan has once again drawn global attention to India’s systematic persecution of minorities, exposing what it described as New Delhi’s “heinous face” at the United Nations.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Friday reaffirmed Pakistan’s dedication to playing its part in building a “just and prosperous” world while marking United Nations (UN) Day. UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the UN and its charter. In a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO), Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to multilateralism along with the international community. “We believe the UN, as the world’s most representative multilateral institution, remains uniquely placed to address shared global challenges, including grave threats to international peace and security, [the] worst humanitarian crises, persistent development gaps, and the existential climate crisis,” he said. Dar added that Pakistan’s foreign policy was firmly rooted in the UN Charter’s principles: the sovereign equality of states, non-interference, the right to self-determination, and the peaceful settle...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Friday ordered the blocking of the national identity card (CNIC), passport, and bank accounts of Aleema Khan, sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, after she repeatedly failed to appear in court in a case related to the November 26 protest.

United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday all trade talks with Canada were terminated following what he called a fraudulent advertisement in which former and late president Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs. Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and autos earlier this year, prompting Ottawa to respond in kind. The two sides have been in talks for weeks on a potential deal for the steel and aluminum sectors. “Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said earlier this week the ad from his province with anti-tariff messaging had caught Trump’s attention. The ad showed Reagan, a Republican, criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they caused job losses and trade wars. “I heard that the president heard our ad. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy,” Ford said on Tuesday. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation issued a statement late on Thursday saying the ad by the gove...

India trialled cloud seeding over its smog-filled capital for the first time, spraying a chemical from an aeroplane to encourage rain and wash deadly particles out of the air. Cloud seeding is the practice of using aeroplanes to fire salt or other chemicals into clouds to induce rain. New Delhi city authorities, working with the government’s Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, launched a test run on Thursday afternoon using a Cessna light aeroplane over the city’s northern Burari area. “A trial seeding flight was done … in which cloud seeding flares were fired”, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a statement late on Thursday. “This flight was the proving flight for checking the capabilities for cloud seeding, the readiness and endurance of the aircraft, the capability assessment of the cloud seeding fitments and flares, and coordination among all involved agencies.” It comes ahead of a planned rollout of the scheme. Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that “if conditions remain favourable, De...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited Qatari investors to “explore new avenues of collaboration” under the government’s Special Investment Facilitation Council framework, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday. The SIFC is body that was set up in 2023 with the objective to assist with foreign investments. PM Shehbaz invited Qatari investments under its framework during a meeting with Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Sheikh Faisal bin Thani bin Faisal Al Thani in Islamabad today. According to Radio Pakistan, PM Shehbaz underscored during the meeting the importance of enhancing bilateral trade and investment cooperation highlighted opportunities in this connection in energy, agriculture, food security, information technology, tourism and infrastructure development sectors. “The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of Pakistan-Qatar relations, anchored in shared faith, values, and mutual respect,” the report said. It added that the premier also appreciated ...

• Customs clearance suspended at border stations; tomatoes among items becoming dearer • Official sees no chance of opening border before Istanbul summit on 26th QUETTA / ISLAM­ABAD: Border closures between Pakistan and Afghanistan for over 12 days on Thursday have pushed up prices of essential goods in both nations, with tomatoes now costing five times more in Pakistan since fighting broke out between the two neighbours this month and transit trade coming to a halt. Border crossings bet­ween the two countries have remained closed since Oct 11, following ground fighting and Pakistani airstrikes across their 2,600km frontier that killed dozens on both sides in the worst fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul. “We have no information when the border with Afghanistan will be opened,” a senior official of the Chaman administration said. The official added that even though the traders and the people involved in import and export are demanding the reopening of the border, but no decision has been made ...

• KP says ‘ban’ on inter-provincial movement of commodity violates Article 151(1) • Warns of shortages, risks to food security • Sindh accuses Punjab of halting supply of wheat seed; seeks PM’s intervention PESHAWAR / KARACHI: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday asked Punjab to withdraw restrictions on the inter-provincial movement of wheat and flour, warning that the curbs are disrupting supply chains, increasing prices and threatening food security in the province. Meanwhile, the PPP leadership in Sindh also lashed out at the Punjab government, accusing it of restricting the supply of wheat seed. In a letter to his Punjab counterpart, KP’s food secretary said that lifting the ban was critical to res­t­oring a smooth supply chain, stabilising market prices, and safeguarding his province’s food security. The letter said KP, a wheat-deficient province, depends on inter-provincial supplies from Punjab to meet its requirements — roughly 14,500 tonnes per day. “The prevailing restrictions have severely ...

Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen hit out at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) management late on Thursday, stating he is “unhappy at their mediocre mindset”, after his franchise was issued a legal notice threatening suspension over breach of contractual obligations. Earlier in the day, the PSL management had acted following repeated public statements by Tareen criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and PSL, and had sought a public apology if the latter wished to avoid legal proceedings. The move marked a significant escalation in the simmering tensions between the board and the Multan franchise. Tareen then posted a video on social media platform X on Thursday night, in which he could be seen holding what seemed to be the legal notice sent by the PSL management, saying he wanted to apologise but demanded better of the league organisers. Making sharp remarks targeted the PSL management, he ended the video by tearing up what seemed to be the legal notice he had received. Tareen had stoked the fire in April w...

The record remains unblemished, the streak grows more formidable. MMA fighter Rizwan “The Haider” Ali, reinforced his status as kryptonite for Indian adversaries, systematically dismantling Rana Rudra Pratap Singh “The Rajput” to secure a first-round technical knockout at the Absolute Championship Akhmat in Dubai’s Agenda Arena on Thursday. The victory marks his fourth win over an Indian opponent in two years — a perfect finishing rate he has maintained against all of them, keeping his pristine professional record intact at 11-0. The tension was palpable from the start, a fuse lit long before the first punch was thrown. It manifested in a telling moment during the fighter introductions: Rizwan and Rudra Pratap (12-3) refused a glove touch, a silent acknowledgment that this was more than sport. This was conflict. From the opening bell, the clash was charged with the weight of the cross-border rivalry. Rudra Pratap, a 28-year-old force from Lucknow, shot for an immediate takedown, aiming to ground the aerial as...

Islamabad - A senior Islamabad police officer reportedly shot himself inside the official vehicle when he was on his way from the Constitution Avenue to his office in sector I-9 on Thursday evening, with Inspector General (IG) Islamabad Police, Ali Nasir Rizvi, casting a doubt it was a suicide case.

ISLAMABAD - A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Thursday directed Superintendent Adiala jail to implement a March 24 court order that reinstated twice-a-week meeting schedule for former prime minister Imran Khan.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Poland yesterday reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in a wide range of fields, including trade, energy, defence, counter-terrorism, education, technology, and fintech, as both nations vowed to build on their historic friendship and ex-pand strategic ties.

ISLAMABAD - Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), HJ, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) is currently on an official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

ISLAMABAD - Chairman Senate of Pakistan, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, held a productive virtual meeting with the President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic, Mr.

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) yesterday clarified that the local government elections in Punjab will be conducted soon after the completion of the delimitation process.

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday suspended a single-bench ruling that had struck down a clause in the Punjab Prison Rules banning political discussions among inmates, while also hearing petitions on jail visit rights for the PTI founder.

ISLAMABAD - Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar has observed that the Constitutional Bench and the apex court are not separate entities.

ISLAMABAD - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was not allowed to meet incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan when he reached Adiala Jail yesterday even after the court’s clear instructions to the jail authorities to arrange their meeting.

Peshawar - Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi on Thursday said that lawyers have always played a vital role in politics and in the struggle for the supremacy of the Constitution.