Pakistan

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has left for the United States to participate in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. The visit comes after a IMF mission concluded talks with Pakistani authorities on reviews of two lending programmes totalling $8.4 billion without announcing a staff-level agreement (SLA). A day earlier, the finance minister had expressed optimism that the SLA with the IMF would be finalised next week during his visit to Washington. According to the Radio Pakistan report, the minister will participate in more than 65 events, forums, ceremonies, and meetings during his six-day visit to the US. “During his visit, the finance minister will represent Pakistan at the plenary meetings of the IMF and the WB,” the report added. It further said that Aurangzeb would meet with senior officials from the IMF, the WB, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency...

The fear of smog has already started lingering upon us. We are once again bracing ourselves to choke in our own neglect. Are we doomed to suffer every year, through climate change, mismanagement, broken promises, or is it just bad luck? In truth, it seems less a matter of fate and more the outcome of willful ignorance — an ignorance far from blissful, especially given that under Article 9 of Pakistan’s Constitution, the right to life inherently includes the right to a clean and healthy environment. Numbers tell the story This contradiction defines our new normal. For the past several winters, Pakistan has ranked as the third most polluted country in the world. Nowhere is this crisis more visible than in Lahore, the country’s second-largest city, where nearly 14 million residents are forced to breathe poison. It’s the most polluted city in the world and in the last five years, its air has met the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) minimum safety standards on only seven days. The World Bank (WB) and the Air Qual...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that Qatar will be allowed to build an air force facility at Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho that will house F-15 fighter jets and pilots. The announcement comes soon after President Donald Trump signed an executive order vowing to defend the Gulf Arab state against attacks, following Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha. “We’re signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri Air Force facility at the Mountain Home Air Base in Idaho,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon, with Qatari Defence Minister Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at his side. “The location will host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training” as well as “increase lethality, interoperability,” he said. “It’s just another example of our partnership. And I hope you know, your excellency, that you can count on us.” The Idaho base currently also hosts a fighter jet squadron from Singapore, according to its website. Hegseth a...

DG ISPR says status quo will no longer work Terrorists, their facilitators will be confronted Lt-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry notes non-implementation of National Action Plan main reason behind surge in terrorism Afghanistan should not make its territory a haven for non-state actors India using Afghanistan.

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD - The religious political group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Friday began its pro-test march from Lahore towards Islamabad led by the party’s chief Saad Hussain Rizvi.

ISLAMABAD - Security forces on Friday killed at least 30 terrorists during a large-scale operation in the Orakzai district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, days after an attack that left several soldiers martyred.

ISLAMABAD - Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi yesterday held a crucial meeting with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at the latter’s residence, where both the leaders discussed the province’s political and law and order situation in detail.

DERA MURAD JAMALI: A 10-year-old boy was killed and his younger brother seriously injured on Friday when a bomb exploded in the bypass area of Jaffarabad district, police said. Police said unknown miscreants had planted an explosive device at the zero point of the Dera Allahyar bypass. The device detonated as the brothers were passing, killing 10-year-old Zakir Ali Domki. His brother, identified as Siraj Ahmed Domki, was seriously injured in the blast. Authorities rushed to the site and transported the body and the injured boy to a district hospital. “Both brothers were passing through the area when a blast took place, which smashed the windowpanes of many shops and buildings,” SHO Javed Ahmed of Dera Allahyar police said. SHO Ahmed said it was not known who the intended target of the attack was, adding that a further investigation was in progress. Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2025

ISLAMABAD - Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Friday warned the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) of its ongoing long march on Islamabad, saying the government will no longer tolerate chaos.

ISLAMABAD - The residents of federal capital faced inconvenience in both commuting and communication as the authorities placed containers on key intersections and suspended mobile data services in anticipation of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) march towards Islamabad on Friday.

RAWALPINDI - The security remained on high alert in the garrison city on Friday to deal with the protests planned by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

• Public-Private Partnership Policy Board approves transaction advisory services to outsource radiology and diagnostic lab services at two major public sector hospitals in Sindh • Okays elevated freight corridor to improve port connectivity • Accepts proposal of private firm to bring and operate 500 e-buses in Karachi and Hyderabad KARACHI: In what appears to be a decision that may adversely impact thousands of patients belonging to the lower strata of life, the Sindh government is planning to outsource radiology and diagnostic lab services at two major hospitals in the province, including the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and approved funds to hire “transaction advisers” for the purpose. A decision to this effect was taken at the 48th meeting of the Public-Private Partnership Policy (PPP) Board, chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, at the CM House on Friday. According to a press release, the policy board approved “funding to hire transaction advisors for the feasibility study and transaction a...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has acquitted a 74-year-old Christian man, who was diagnosed with a mental illness, of blasphemy charges after overturning the June 30, 2014 Lahore High Court’s (LHC) order confirming his death sentence. Authored by Justice Athar Minallah, a three-judge Supreme Court bench, while extending the benefit of doubt, ordered the acquittal of all charges against petitioner Anwar Keneth after accepting his jail plea but with a direction to release him if not required in any other case. In a nine-page judgement, the bench consisting of Justices Athar Minallah, Irfan Saadat Khan and Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan also expressed the expectation that the Pakistan Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) executive director, where the petitioner was being treated, will ensure continuation of his medical treatment. The blasphemy case against Mr Keneth was registered on Sept 25, 2001, by the Gawalmandi police for alleged offences under Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. Bench says elderly suspect diagno...

PESHAWAR: The political situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained in limbo on Friday after Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur departed the provincial capital for his hometown, with the fate of a resignation he tendered 48 hours earlier still unconfirmed. Mr Gandapur left for Dera Ismail Khan after saying farewell to his staff at the chief minister’s house, despite his resignation not yet being formally accepted by the province’s governor. In his first media interaction after resi­g­ning, Mr Gandapur had pressed for the swift acceptance of his resignation on Thu­rsday night. He said any delay in the process would be detrimental to the province. However, the resignation cannot be processed until the governor reviews it. An official on Governor Faisal Karim Kundi’s staff told Dawn the governor was in Islamabad and not expected to return to Peshawar until Saturday (today). Withdrawal is pending as governor is out of town “The resignation letter may have arri­ved in mail but I could not say anything in this rega...

LAHORE: Six security guards were injured when an attacker opened fire outside an Ahmadi community’s worship place in Chenab Nagar, Chiniot district, on Friday. Shortly after the shooting, two policemen depl­oyed on the opposite side of the road retaliated and killed him. CCTV footage showed a suspect carrying a pistol approached the worship place, Baitul Mehdi, in Rab­wah and opened fire on the security guards, who were volunteers from the community. Six gu­a­­­rds were injured, but they managed to close the main gate of the worship place. The injured guards were shifted to a nearby hospital where four were reported to be stable while two remained critical. Police shifted the body of the attacker to the morgue. Attack condemned Ahmadi community spo­k­e­sperson Aamir Mahm­ood condemned the attack, saying that continuous hate speeches were being made against the community. He urged the state to take notice of such hateful rhetoric and take strict action against those responsible. He demanded effective measures ...

• Law enforcers use tear gas, barricades to contain procession • Dozens of personnel hurt; TLP alleges casualties from police firing • Trenches dug up to block marchers on G.T. Road; Chenab, Jhelum bridges sealed • Talal warns against violence or ‘mob blackmail’ • ATC grants 12-day remand for 110 TLP activists LAHORE: The Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) began marching towards Islamabad after Friday prayers, with a large number of supporters reaching Shahdara and staging a sit-in after clashes with police, partially paralysing the provincial capital. The law enforcers repeatedly tried to contain the procession near the group’s headquarters by erecting barricades and containers and using tear gas and other crowd-control measures. In the Gujrat district, local authorities on Friday night dug up trenches at least three locations along the G.T. Road to block the march headed towards Islamabad. However, the TLP, led by its chief Saad Rizvi, not only managed to take out the main procession in Lahore as part of its ...

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday avoided directly acknowledging strikes in Kabul, instead framing Pakistan’s counter-terrorism actions as legitimate self-defence against militants operating from Afghan soil. The FO, moreover, also emphasised the need for continued dialogue and cooperation with Kabul to address cross-border terrorism. At the weekly FO briefing, spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said, “Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of its people.” Pakistan “respects the sovereignty of Afghanistan, and remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering dialogue and cooperation with our neighbour to address the shared challenges of terrorism”, the spokesperson said, adding that the security operations were intelligence-driven and aimed at protecting its citizens from terrorist groups, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement came after twin explosions shook Kabul on Thursday night. Local Afghan media, quoting witnesses, reported fighter jet overf...

For now, there is no clarity on where Ali Amin Gandapur’s resignation really is. A day after he stepped down as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister — on the directive of PTI founder Imran Khan — it seemed that his resignation got lost in red tape, with the Governor House denying having ever received it. Officials at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat told Dawn that Gandapur’s resignation had been delivered to the Governor House on Wednesday night — the same day he was asked to vacate the post. A copy of the letter seen by Dawn showed it was received by the governor’s staff at 10:57pm. However, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, who was in Islamabad on Thursday, and other officials at the Governor’s Secre­tariat remained tight-lipped about the issue. An official on Kundi’s staff told Dawn that they were yet to receive the resignation letter. “As far as I know, the resignation has not yet reached the Governor’s Office,” the official said, adding that the governor would sign it whenever he received it. Meanwhile, s...

Warns against politicising counterterror fight; Says weak governance fuels crime-terror nexus; 769 terrorists killed

Imran backs Afridi, warns against interference