Pakistan

KARACHI - The death toll from five-storey building collapse swelled to 21 as rescue operation was still underway for a second day on Saturday.

The death toll from the collapse of a five-storey residential building in Karachi’s Lyari Baghdadi area has risen to 26, rescue officials confirmed on Saturday, as operations to clear the debris near completion.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has compared the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the historic tragedy of Karbala, urging the Muslim world to end its silence and take decisive action.

KARACHI: The city is expected to continue with largely cloudy and humid weather conditions that may lead to drizzle during the night or morning over the next few days, the Met department stated on Saturday. The department’s data showed that Karachi has the “most pleasant” weather in the province these days, with a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius recorded on Saturday. Relative humidity was recorded at 70 per cent. Intense heat prevailed over northern and central areas, with Dadu seeing the highest temperature (44°C), followed by Khairpur (43°C), Sukkur, Mohenjo Daro and Rohri (42.5°C), Larkana (42°C), Shaheed Benazirabad (41°C), Sakrand (40°C), Mithi (36°C) and Hyderabad (38°C). Thatta, with 39.5°C, saw a deviation of 5.1°C from its monthly average temperature for July. “Right now, there is no possibility of significant heavy rains in Sindh over the next 10 days. However, during this period, light rain/drizzle may occur in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Badin, Sujawal, Thatta, Ghotki, Larkana, Shikarpur, Jamshoro dist...

Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani has confirmed that at least 588 buildings across Karachi have been declared unsafe, with 456 located in the South District alone.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday expressed sadness over the loss of precious lives in the flash floods in Texas, United States of America.

Youm-e-Ashur, the 10th of Muharram-ul-Haram, is being observed across Pakistan today (Sunday) with due solemnity and deep respect to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his loyal companions in the historic Battle of Karbala.

SAHIWAL: Following Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s directive, Pakpattan police on Saturday registered three FIRs in connection with the death of 20 babies at the paediatric ward of Pakpattan District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital between June 16 and 22. Two FIRs have been registered against hospital officials and lab technicians for what the CM described as “criminal negligence” during a briefing on investigation findings. A third FIR was filed against the hospital’s parking stand contractor and staff for allegedly overcharging token fees and threatening patients. All nine suspects were presented before the local duty magistrate Mr. Gulzar who gave two-day physical remand. Pakpattan District Police Officer (DPO) Javed Iqbal Chadhar told Dawn that all suspects were handcuffed and transferred to city police station lock-up. The medical superintendent and the health CEO were transported in their official vehicles under police custody. City Station House Officer (SHO) Mr. Hashim said the FIRs were registered early in...

The ongoing monsoon spell has brought heavy rainfall across several regions of Pakistan, including Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and other districts of Punjab, leading to urban flooding, prolonged power outages, and damage to infrastructure.

ISLAMABAD: PTI has denounced PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s remarks suggesting Pakistan could extradite citizens to India as a confidence-building measure (CBM), accusing him of undermining national security and appeasing a hostile neighbour. According to reports, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan had no objection to handing over “individuals of concern” to India, provided New Delhi showed a willingness to cooperate. In a hard-hitting statement on Saturday, PTI CIS Sheikh Waqas Akram criticised the PPP chairman’s stance, calling him an “immature political child”. He said the proposal was ill-advised and detrimental to Pakistan’s national security narrative, adding that such statements humiliate the country on international platforms. Mr Akram accused the “fraudulently imposed” government of bringing Pakistan to its knees. Accuses PPP chairman of appeasing India, undermining national security “We fail to understand why Bilawal is so keen on appeasing India,” he asked, alleging that the PPP chairman was pr...

Elon Musk, an ex-ally of US President Donald Trump, said on Saturday he had launched a new political party in the United States to challenge what the tech billionaire described as the country’s “one-party system.” The world’s richest person — and Trump’s biggest political donor in the 2024 election — had a bitter falling out with the president after leading the Republican’s effort to slash spending and cut federal jobs as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has clashed with Trump over the president’s massive domestic spending plan, saying it would explode the US debt, and vowed to do everything in his power to defeat lawmakers who voted for it. Now he has created the so-called America Party, his own political framework, through which to try and achieve that. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” the SpaceX and Tesla boss posted on X, the social media platform that he owns. “Today, the America Party is f...

50-hour-long search and rescue operation began after five-storey residential building collapsed on Friday

• New regime includes 18pc GST, additional levies for non-filers, mandatory buyer data reporting by banks and intermediaries • Online sellers and courier services waiting for clarity over the future of their businesses ISLAMABAD: Confusion and fear prevail not only among local and international e-commerce platforms regarding the imposition of new taxation regimes with the advent of the 2025-26 fiscal year, but also among sellers and courier services, who are waiting for clarity over the future of their businesses. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has compiled a list of eight key e-commerce platforms that provide tangible and intangible items, including music, movies, and software. The largest selling platform was Facebook, with transactions worth more than Rs12.31bn. Others include Apple/Tunes, Google, AliExpress, Netflix, Temu, and Spotify, while the largest transactions are held under the category of others. The total amount of transactions by these international and local online platforms, such as Daraz,...

GWADAR: The family of abducted assistant commissioner of Tump, Hanif Noorzai, has appealed to tribal elders, political leaders and influential figures to play an active role in securing his safe release. They also urged the kidnappers to respect humanitarian values, Balochi traditions and tribal norms. Speaking at a press conference in Turbat, Hanif’s brother, Guldad Noorzai, said the assistant commissioner was abducted on June 4 while he was travelling with family from Tump to celebrate Eid in Quetta. Though his family was released later, Noorzai remains in captivity. The banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) had claimed responsibility for the abduction of Hanif Noorzai. Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2025

Gaza City faces increased bombardment in recent days as Netanyahu terms Hamas ceasefire draft changes 'unacceptable'

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the nation to take guidance from the life and character of Imam Hussain to overcome internal and external challenges and keep Pakistan on the path of peace, unity and progress. He said the grandson of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), along with his family and companions, sacrificed their lives for the “sake of truth, justice and religion but did not bow down to falsehood.” “This great sacrifice of his reminds us that protecting principles and standing firm on the truth requires great courage and unwavering faith,” he said in a message on the occasion of Ashura. He said the battle of Karbala taught us that although the path of truth is difficult, it is the way that leads to Allah Almighty. Strict security arrangements nationwide for majalis, processions “Today, when our nation is facing many challenges — be it the economy, society or national unity — we need to take guidance from the life of Imam Hussain more than ever.” He urged the nation to adopt Imam Hussain’s qualiti...

GAZA CITY: Israeli forces killed 32 more people across Gaza on Saturday, hours after Hamas said it was ready to start talks “immediately” on a US-sponsored proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. Asked about Hamas’s positive response to the latest ceasefire proposal, an Israeli official said “no decision has been made yet”. It came ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure for talks on Monday in Washington, where US President Donald Trump has intensified calls for an end to the war. Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said Saturday’s dead included eight people killed in two strikes on schools in Gaza City. He also reported that eight people were killed by Israeli fire near an aid distribution centre in southern Gaza. On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he asked US President Donald Trump to intervene to stop shootings at Gaza aid centres, which the UN says have killed more than 500 people. Erdogan said when he met Trump at the Nato summit in June, he asked him to s...

• Declares America is ‘winning, winning, winning like never before’ • Democrats worry ‘big beautiful bill’ will slash health, welfare support • New legislation poised to add $3.4tr to US deficit over 10 years WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump signed his flagship tax and spending bill into law, capping a grandiose White House Independence Day ceremony featuring a stealth bomber fly-by. “America is winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump said before signing the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” on Friday, flanked by Republican lawmakers who helped push it through Congress. Trump also played down criticism by Democrats that the unpopular legislation will slash social welfare programmes, saying: “You won’t even notice it.” With First Lady Melania Trump at his side, Trump watched from the White House balcony as two B-2 bombers — the same type that recently struck Iranian nuclear sites — roared overhead, accompanied by F-35 and F-22 fighter jets. The 79-year-old’s victory lap came a day after Repub...

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has once again hinted at approaching the court to claim PTI’s share of reserved seats, citing his own nomination papers as the basis. Talking to journalists informally, the chief minister emphasised that he never contested the Feb 8 general elections as an independent candidate but rather as a PTI nominee. He said this would form the foundation of his legal challenge and vowed to go to any extent to secure PTI’s share of reserved seats in both the national and provincial assemblies. The development come in the wake of the Constitutional Bench’s recent ruling on June 27, which effectively overturned the earlier Supreme Court verdict that had declared PTI eligible for the reserved seats for women and non-Muslims. The CB decision, handed down by a majority of seven judges, nullified the Supreme Court’s July 12, 2024 ruling by eight judges and transferred the reserved seats to rival parties. Cites his own nomination as basis for contesting case in...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Poland have agreed to enhance collaboration thro­ugh the exchange of high-level visits, parliamentary interactions and dialogue. The agreement was reached during the 9th round of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) between Pakistan and Poland held in Warsaw. According to the Foreign Office, Pakistani delegation was led by Ambassador Muhammad Ayub, Additi­onal Foreign Secretary (Europe), while the Polish delegation was headed by Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wadysaw Teofil Bartoszewski. The Ambassador of Pak­is­tan to Poland, Muhammad Sami-ur-Rehman, and the Polish Ambassador to Pakistan, Maciej Pisarski, were also present during the consultations. The two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations. The additional foreign secretary reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further broadening and deepening its ties with Poland in various fields, including trade, investment, energy, security and defence cooperation, science and technology, agric...