Pakistan

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Tuesday dismissed the presence of an insurgency in the province, blaming “India-backed so-called separatist movements” for the worsening security situation. In recent months, Balochistan has witnessed a rise in terrorist attacks. The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), in particular, has adopted new tactics to inflict higher casualties and directly target Pakistani security forces. Addressing participants of the 17th National Workshop in Quetta, the chief minister maintained that there was “no insurgency in Balochistan but so-called separatist movements” in the province. “The purpose of these anti-state elements is to harm and divide Pakistan,” he said. He added that the Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was behind the deterioration of the security situation in the province. “The Indian agency RAW has a clear role behind the deteriorating situation in Balochistan,” he said. “Separatists are pleased with India but want to harm Pakistan.” CM B...

Police have arrested 57 people in a crackdown against individuals accused of spreading unrest and propaganda on social media following the recent Muridke protest.

Police have filed cases against the leadership and workers of a religious party for holding protests in violation of Section 144 in Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.

Iran Air has announced the launch of its flight operations to Pakistan, beginning with a weekly direct flight between Mashhad and Lahore starting October 29, marking the resumption of air connectivity between the two cities.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday reiterated his praise for United States President Donald Trump, stating that Pakistan would continue to “express admiration” for the American leader’s “unique contribution” to peace. The statement comes a day after Trump and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye had signed a declaration meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners. PM Shehbaz had also attended the ceremony held at the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. At a later press conference, the US president had especially mentioned the premier and the army chief. In a post on X, the premier said: “As I board the plane to return home after the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, I want to share some reflections on the potentially transformational nature of what took place and why Pakistan has been so deeply involved.” He stated that Pakistan’s biggest priority was the “immediate cessation of the genocidal campaign imposed on Gaza”, which he said he ...

Despite a recent political truce between the two ruling coalition partners, tensions have resurfaced as the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) expressed strong reservations over an alleged anti-PPP social media campaign by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Senior lawyer Abid Shahid Zuberi on Tuesday told the Supreme Court’s (SC) Constitutional Bench (CB) that the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) had the power to form a full court as it took up a set of petitions against the 26th Amendment. The 26th Amendment was passed by Parliament during an overnight session in October last year, with the PTI claiming seven of its lawmakers were abducted to gain their favour as the party opposed the legislation. The Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) also alleged its two senators were being, with both later defying party line to vote in the tweaks’ favour. The legislation, which altered judicial authority and tenure, has been a lightning rod for debate with both opposition parties and legal experts questioning its impact on the judiciary’s independence. The tweaks took away the SC’s suo motu powers, set the CJP’s term at three years and empowered a Special Parliamentary Committee for the appointment of the CJP from among the three most senior SC judges. It also paved th...

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday reserved its verdict on a constitutional petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) under Article 255, challenging the delay in administering the oath to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s newly elected Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi.

A Levies official was martyred when unidentified assailants attacked a polio vaccination team in the remote Anzar Tangay area of Biakan, located in Swat’s Matta tehsil.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has directed immediate steps to ensure the reduction in prices and smooth availability of vegetables across the province.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday ordered authorities to produce records of 29 cases registered against PTI founder Imran Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi.

Iran on Tuesday denounced “baseless claims” made by United States President Donald Trump, calling Washington “the largest sponsor of terrorism”. Addressing Israel’s Knesset on Monday ahead of joining an international peace summit in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh, Trump said that Iran wants to reach a peace deal with the US “even if they said, ‘We don’t want to make a deal,’”. In a statement carried by the state news agency IRNA, the foreign ministry said: “The US, as the world’s largest generator of terrorism and supporter of the terrorist and genocidal Zionist (Israeli) regime, has no moral authority to level accusations against others.” “The repetition of false claims regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme can in no way justify the joint crimes of the US and the Zionist regime” in violating Iran’s soil, the ministry said. Israel launched a surprise attack on Tehran on June 13, targeting military, nuclear, and civilian sites as well as senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Tehran launched retalia...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Aleema Khan, sister of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, in connection with a protest case related to the November 26 demonstrations.

Pakistan has strongly condemned India’s “lies and recycled distortions” over Jammu and Kashmir, calling on the United Nations to take decisive action to resolve the long-standing dispute in line with Security Council resolutions.

Ceasefire, reconstruction plans and the weary diplomacy of war’s aftermath — this is what the summit hall in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh was meant for. Yet when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took the microphone, the air shifted — solemnity gave way to spectacle. Before a room of world leaders convened to discuss the future of Gaza, the Pakistani premier delivered not a statement of statecraft, but a volley of high praise … for US President Donald Trump. He called Trump a “man of peace”, spoke of nominating him for the Nobel Prize, and credited him with averting a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. And as Trump looked on with a grin of self-satisfaction, the rest of the hall seemed to freeze between disbelief and bemusement. The applause was hesitant; the headlines were instant. View this post on Instagram By conventional diplomatic standards, PM Shehbaz’s remarks were absurd. No leader in that room — not Sisi, not Macron, not Erdoğan — matched that tone of unrestrained flattery. In a forum built for multilat...

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) on Tuesday filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the election of Sohail Afridi as the new Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), declaring it unconstitutional and illegal.

Google on Tuesday said it would invest $15 billion in India over the next five years as it announced a giant data centre and artificial intelligence base in the country’s south. “It is the largest AI hub that we are investing in anywhere outside of the US,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, at a ceremony in New Delhi. He announced “capital investment of $15bn” over the five years and a “gigawatt-scale AI hub in Visakhapatnam”, a city in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Google has plans for the centre to eventually “scale to multiple gigawatts”, Kurian added. Demand for AI tools and solutions has surged in India — projected to have more than 900 million internet users by year’s end — driven by growing adoption by businesses and individuals. India’s Information Technology Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, thanked Google for the investment. “This digital infrastructure will go a long way in meeting the goals of our India AI vision,” he said. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu called it a “very...

Petroleum prices in Pakistan are expected to decrease from October 16, following a downward trend in the international oil market, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted mainly dry weather across most parts of the country on Tuesday, with cold conditions likely to prevail in hilly and northern areas during the night and early morning hours.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has cautioned users about possible internet slowdowns or temporary disruptions for up to 18 hours due to maintenance work on the country’s undersea communication network on Tuesday (today).