Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says clean energy corridors and eco-tourism initiatives can further drive inclusive, sustainable growth, creating green jobs and supporting livelihoods and vulnerable regions.

A pet lion escaped and chased a woman and two children down a busy street in Lahore, police said on Friday, with dramatic footage showing the big cat leaping over a wall before pouncing on them. CCTV footage released by the police showed the lion jumping the barrier around its home and pursuing a woman carrying her shopping on Thursday night. The lion jumped on her back, knocking her to the ground, the footage showed. A police report quoted the father as saying the lion then turned to his five-year-old and seven-year-old children, and clawed their arms and faces. All three were taken to the hospital but were not in critical condition. View this post on Instagram The owners who ran out of the house were “amused to see their lion attack” the passersby, the father added in the report. Police said on Friday they had arrested three men. “The suspects fled from the spot, taking the lion with them. They were arrested within 12 hours of the incident,” the office of the Lahore Deputy Inspector General Operations told ...

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz ordered the arrest of the Medical Superintendent (MS) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Pakpattan on Friday, during a surprise visit to the hospital's trauma centre.

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) on Friday officially launched the third cycle of its Food Security Support Project in Pakistan for 2025 reinforcing its global commitment to humanitarian assistance.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday released the schedule for the long-delayed Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Flash floods and landslides after torrential rain over the last two weeks killed at least 69 people and injured 110 others in India’s northern Himalayan regions, officials said on Friday. Scores of people die each year during the rainy season due to flash floods and landslides across India, a country of 1.4 billion people. Rivers swollen by lashing rain, including the mighty Beas, which starts from the region’s glacial peaks, disrupted several routes in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The “cumulative damage” includes 69 people dead, and 110 others injured in different incidents over the past two weeks, the state’s revenue department said in a statement. India’s meteorological department on Thursday issued a fresh alert for “heavy to very heavy rainfall” in Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring Uttarakhand, another picturesque Himalayan state popular with Indian tourists. India’s annual monsoon season from June to September offers respite from the intense summer heat and is crucial for replenishing water supplies, ...

Pakistan continued their dominance on the squash courts as four players advanced to the finals of the 32nd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships in Gimcheon, South Korea, on Friday. Top seed Muhammad Sohail Adnan beat India’s Amarya Bajaj in three straight sets 11-5, 11-1, 11-2 to advance to the Boys U13 final. He will play against India’s Ayyan Dhanuka in tomorrow’s final. Over on the girls’ side, Mahnoor Ali beat Malaysia’s Maisarah Binti Khairulnizam 11-7, 11-5, 11-7, and will play against China’s Yin. Z. The Boys U15 final will be an all-Pakistan showdown as Ahmed Rayyan Khalil and Nauman Khan face each other. Khalil beat Yuen Tsz Kong of Hong Kong in a commanding win of 11-8, 11-2, 11-1, while top seed Khan beat India’s Aryaman Singh 11-5, 11-1, 11-5. In the Boys U19 semi-final, Abdullah Nawaz was outclassed by Korea’s Jooyoung Na who made it to the final with a 3-1 win, beating the Pakistani 11-7, 10-12, 11-2, 11-4. “Best of luck to our finalists! May they bring gold medals to Pakistan!” the Paki...

At least six people, including five women, lost their lives after a tourist vehicle plunged into the Neelum River in the Chilhana area of Neelum Valley.

The federal government has decided to enhance travel facilities for pilgrims heading to Iran and Iraq by increasing the number of flights and introducing a ferry service.

As many as 350 Afghan students have reached Pakistan to pursue studies in top-tier Pakistani universities across diverse disciplines under HEC Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarships to Afghan Students (Prime Minister’s Directives).

The spillways of the Tarbela Dam have been opened to release water, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed on Thursday.

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have agreed to enhance their cooperation in the fields of trade and investment.

Federal Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday called for the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the national development strategy, announcing new measures, including the establishment of a national AI fund to provide financial support for innovative ideas and pilot projects. The announcements were made as Iqbal chaired a meeting of the National Task Force on Artificial Intelligence. Formed in April 2023, the body is working to develop a 10-year roadmap for accelerated adoption of AI in different sectors. According to a statement from the Press Information Department, during the meeting, Iqbal emphasised that it was time for Pakistan to move with clarity and purpose. “He stated that AI adoption cannot be advanced in isolation and must instead be guided by cross-sectoral collaboration, alignment with national priorities, and effective coordination across all relevant institutions,” the statement read. It added that the taskforce was assigned a clear mandate to identify twelve k...

The bodies of Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva arrived in northern Portugal on Friday for a wake in their hometown, as tributes continued to pour in after they died in a car accident in Spain. A convoy of hearses left for Gondomar near Porto on Thursday evening from the morgue of Puebla de Sanabria, near where the Lamborghini the brothers were travelling in had veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight early on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst. Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier, was seen leaving the morgue and joining the convoy, as was Jota’s longtime agent Jorge Mendes. A wake is expected to take place at a chapel in Gondomar from 4pm (8pm PKT) and a funeral on Saturday at a church nearby at 10am local time, Gondomar’s mayor’s office said. Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro arrived in the village on Friday morning. Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro arrives at the Chapel of the Resurrection...

At least seven people lost their lives on Friday when a five-storey residential building collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari area, leaving several others trapped under the rubble.

Pakistan thrashed the Maldives 60-35 in the final to win the Asian Youth Netball Championship on Friday and maintain its winning streak throughout the tournament being held in South Korea. Pakistan had a strong start with 17-5 in the first quarter before ending halftime at 34-17. The Green Shirts surged to 45-23 in the third quarter and ended at 60-35 to lift the championship trophy. Standout performances were delivered by Leya Raza Shah, Alisha Naveed, Sumayya Kouser, Haleema, Jasmine Farooq, Alina, Amani, Parisa and Farah Rasheed, who collectively maintained Pakistan’s stronghold on the game from start to finish. Chairman of the Pakistan Netball Federation Mudassir Arian, along with President Sameen Malik and Secretary General Muhammad Riaz, extended their congratulations to the team. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded the team for their victory. “Special appreciation for staying undefeated throughout the tournament!” he said in a post on X. “Very well played!” The Pakistan Embassy in Seoul congratulated ...

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said the army must draw up a plan to prevent Iran from threatening Israel again after the arch-foes fought a 12-day war last month, in comments released on Friday. “The Israeli military’s current mission is to prepare an enforcement plan to ensure that Iran cannot threaten Israel again,” Katz said at a meeting with military leaders on Thursday, according to a statement released by his ministry. “The army must prepare on the intelligence and operational level to ensure that the air force maintains air superiority over Tehran, the ability to enforce restrictions on Iran and prevent it from rebuilding its capabilities,” he added. Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran on June 13 following a decades-long shadow war, saying it aimed to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon — an ambition Tehran has consistently denied — and degrade its ballistic missile arsenal. Following a US-announced ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to prevent Iran...

India will launch a $234 million incentive programme for civil and military drone makers to reduce their reliance on imported components and counter rival Pakistan’s programme built on support from China and Turkiye, three sources told Reuters. The military confrontation between India and Pakistan came as the former blamed Islamabad for the Pahalgam attack. On the night of May 6-7, New Delhi launched a series of air strikes on Pakistan, resulting in civilian casualties. Both sides then exchanged missiles, which stretched over the week. It took American intervention for both sides to finally drop their guns. The nuclear-armed neighbours are now locked in a drones arms race. New Delhi will launch a 20 billion Indian rupees ($234m) programme for three years that will cover the manufacture of drones, components, software, counter-drone systems, and services, two government and one industry source, who did not want to be named, told Reuters. Details of the programme have not been previously reported and its planne...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warned on Friday that the risk of glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) has increased in the glacial areas of the province due to heavy rains and flash floods. Glof refers to the sudden release of water and debris from a glacial lake, leading to the loss of lives, property and livelihoods in mountain communities. Over 7.1 million people in Gilgit Baltistan and KP are vulnerable, according to the Ministry of Climate Change. In an advisory issued today, the PDMA warned that continuous increase in temperature increases the possibility of melting of glaciers and flash floods. “The residents of Chitral, Dir, Swat and Kohistan have been instructed to remain alert about possible glacial outbursts. The district administration has been instructed to monitor sensitive areas, ensure timely warning and evacuation drills,” the disaster management agency said. The PDMA has advised residents to avoid unnecessary movement near rivers and canals and refrain f...

Thirty terrorists of an “Indian proxy” outfit were killed as they attempted to infiltrate through the Pak-Afghan border in Hassan Khel tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, the military’s media wing said on Friday. Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. The country ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025. A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) read that on the nights of July 2 and July 3, “movement of a large group of khwarij, belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij, who were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was detected by the security forces in general area Hassan Khel, North Waziristan district”. Fitna al Khawarij is a term used by the government for the TTP, while those associated with the terrorist group are referred to as khaarji. As per the ISPR, “all 30 Indian-sponsore...