Pakistan

• Ahsan says govt to self-fund recovery, rejected ‘external crutches’ after fresh deluge • Preliminary damage of this year’s floods put at $2.9bn across sectors • 1,039 dead, 1,067 injured; surveys to conclude in two weeks ISLAMABAD: Pakistan suffered more than $30 billion in damages and losses in the 2022 floods but received only $600 million in foreign assistance, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday. Apart from that, all international commitments were loans, most of them repurposed from previous facilities, he said while releasing preliminary estimates for flood-related damages at Rs822bn (about $2.9bn). “This is an irony,” he said, adding that the global community had pledged a $100bn climate-finance fund but “did not provide even $1bn”. Therefore, after consultations, the government decided to meet the latest losses through domestic resources rather than “external crutches” despite the around $3bn damages to agriculture and infrastructure on top of human lives following the recent “apocalyptic fl...

ROME: Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah has strongly cautioned against the unilateral manipulation of shared water resources, accusing India of undermining a critical water-sharing treaty and posing a threat to regional peace and development. Speaking at the Rome Water Dialogue convened by the Food and Agric­ulture Organisation, he warned that any nation attempting to control transboundary water flows violates international law. “Any attempt to unilaterally alter transboundary water flows or weaponise water access is not only dangerous but contrary to international norms and sustainable development goals,” Mr Shah said. Representing Pakistan at the global forum, Mr Shah raised serious concerns about India’s conduct regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), long seen as a successful example of bilateral cooperation. “The Indus Waters Treaty has long been considered a model of cooperation, even during times of conflict between Pakistan and India,” he said. “However, India’s recent unilate...

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LAKKI MARWAT: At least eight alleged terrorists were gunned down in an intelligence-based operation in the Sultankhel area, while a commander of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was reportedly killed by unidentified gunmen, on Friday. In addition, security forces claimed to have foiled a terror bid in Bajaur after a large cache of explosives, loaded into a non-Customs paid vehicle, was destroyed in Lowi Mamund tehsil. In Lakki Marwat, officials said an operation was launched on reports about the presence of militants in the rural area located on the border with Punjab, near Mianwali. Security forces spotted the terrorist hideout in the forest between Kaichi Kamar and Sultankhel, which was reportedly targeted through a unmanned drone. Forces foil major terror bid in Bajaur by disabling explosive-laden vehicle During the operation, eight militants were eliminated and their hideouts were destroyed, while security forces seized a large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives and launched a sanitisa...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday hailed the acquisition of First Women Bank Ltd (FWBL) by Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC) as a milestone in Pakistan-UAE economic ties, saying the deal would pave the way for more joint ventures and partnerships across diverse sectors. Speaking at a signing ceremony, the prime minister described the transaction as “the first drop of rain” in a broader effort to deepen economic collaboration with the United Arab Emirates. The event marked the official transfer of a majority stake in FWBL to IHC under a government-to-government (G2G) framework. The UAE delegation was led by Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of 2PointZero. The federal cabinet had earlier approved the divestment of the government’s entire stake in FWBL, reportedly valued at $14.6 million (approximately Rs4.1 billion), a figure yet to be formally disclosed. Buyer to inject Rs6.8bn more to meet capital requirements In addition to acquiring the bank, IHC will m...

• Hafiz Gul Bahadur group’s positions in the crosshairs hours after audacious gun-and-bomb attack in North Waziristan • Strikes come despite extension of ceasefire; security officials say ‘truce with Afghan govt, not terror outfits’ • Khawaja Asif accuses Afghan Taliban of ‘sitting in India’s lap’; says terrorists will be made to pay heavy price, wherever they are • Questions remain over Qatar-mediated talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in absence of clarity over who will attend ISLAMABAD: With representatives from both sides expected to meet in Doha soon for talks mediated by the Qatari government, a telling statement from the country’s defence minister indicated that the gloves were off, as Pakistan again targeted terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan on Friday. The attacks came on the heels of an audacious gun-and-bomb attack, targeting a military installation in North Waziristan, and just hours after Islamabad and Kabul extended their two-day ceasefire. Incidents were reported from the Angoor Adda region ...

Authorities advise residents to stay calm, saying minor quake poses no threat to life, infrastructure

KARACHI: A consumer court has issued a notice to a coffee shop located in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase-VIII on an application alleging that it is unlawfully using the name of a Thailand-based café chain. The court has summoned the defendant to appear on Oct 31 to respond to the allegations. Syed Muhammad Ali Jafri, a consumer, filed an application through his counsel, Abdul Ahad Khan, under the relevant sections of the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, 2015, before the judicial magistrate of the consumer court (South) against the defendant Mondo Coffee Bar, operating in DHA, Phase-VIII. The counsel alleged that the café was using the “trademark, design, and logo” of Thailand-based café Mondo Espresso & Tea Bar for financial gain through wrongful means. After a preliminary hearing, the court summoned the defendant “to appear before this court in person, or by a pleader instructed and be able to answer all material question relating to the complaint, or who shall be accompanied by some person able to ...

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Pakistan carried out precision air strikes late Friday targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group (HGB), a terrorist faction operating in border areas of Afghanistan adjacent to North and South Waziristan.

US President Donald Trump suggested on Friday it would be premature to give Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, saying as he hosted Volodymyr Zelensky that he hoped to secure peace with Russia first. “Hopefully, they won’t need it. Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with without thinking about Tomahawks,” Trump told journalists, including an AFP reporter, as the two leaders met at the White House. Trump added that he was confident of getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion he launched in 2022, following a phone call with the Kremlin chief a day earlier. The US and Russian presidents agreed on Thursday to a new summit in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, which would be their first since an August meeting in Alaska that failed to produce any kind of peace deal. “I think that President Putin wants to end the war,” Trump said. But Zelensky, who wore a dark suit for his third meeting with Trump in Washington since the US president’s return to power, demurred, saying that Putin was “not ready...

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that terrorists would pay a “heavy price,” regardless of “wherever the source of terrorism lies”, adding that the relationship with Kabul would no longer be like it was in the past. “There will no longer be protest notes or appeals for peace; no delegations will go to Kabul. Wherever the source of terrorism lies, it will have to pay a heavy price,” said the defence minister in a post on X. On the night of October 11, Afghanistan launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistani border posts, triggering a series of skirmishes that carried on until Wednesday, leaving 23 troops martyred and over 200 Taliban fighters dead. The Pakistan armed forces conducted “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and the capital Kabul. A temporary ceasefire was then agreed at Afghanistan’s request for 48 hours. Asif added that Afghanistan was “sitting in India’s lap and plotting conspiracies against Pakistan” and that Islamabad “can no longer afford to have relations with Kabu...

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench on Friday adjourned the hearing of the super tax case till Monday, October 20, after the counsel representing tobacco companies con-cluded his arguments.

ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice of Pakistan/Chairman Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP) Justice Yahya Afridi Friday chaired the 46th meeting of the Commission at the Supreme Court.