Pakistan

President Donald Trump signed on Monday an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country’s isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington’s pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war. The move will allow the US to maintain sanctions on Syria’s ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, people linked to chemical weapons activities, the Islamic State and ISIS affiliates and proxies for Iran, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing. Assad was toppled in December in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led rebels and Syria has since taken steps to re-establish international ties. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said Trump’s termination of the Syria sanctions programme would “open door of long-awaited reconstruction and development,” according to a post by the foreign minister on social media platform X. He said the move would “lift the...

The Punjab Assembly has initiated legal proceedings that could lead to the de-seating of 26 suspended opposition members belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), following their alleged disruptive behaviour during recent assembly sessions, according to sources.

Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) has offered students to resit exams in the November session free of charge if they were affected by any of the three exam papers leaked in the recent May/June session. The CIE board, which conducts O- and A-level exams, admitted last month that parts of its question papers for examinations in June had been leaked, and that said students will be given extra marks for those questions. Just days prior to CIE’s admission of the leaks, a parliamentary panel was assured on that findings of the inquiry report over the issue of alleged paper leaks of O/A level would be shared after June 16. In a post on its Facebook page on Monday, CIE shared an update for students who sat one or more of the three affected papers in the June 2025 exam series: Cambridge International AS and A Level Mathematics Paper 12, Cambridge International AS and A Level Mathematics Paper 42, and Cambridge International AS and A Level Computer Science Paper 22. “The results for these syllabuses will be re...

ISLAMABAD - ISLAMABAD: Speaker Balochistan Assembly Captain (Retd) Abdul Khaliq Khan Achakzai on Monday called on Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

At least one person was killed and eight others injured on Tuesday when unidentified assailants launched a brazen attack on the Tehsil Office in Mastung district of Balochistan, prompting a swift security response.

Two traffic policemen were martyred as unidentified gunmen opened fire on them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Tuesday, according to police. “The traffic cops were on their way to Tajazai Adda for duty on motorcycles when they were fired at on Longkhel Road near Gulbaz Dehqan village,” read a statement by Lakki Marwat police spokesperson Shahid Hameed. “The martyrs include Israel and Sanaullah, both of whom hailed from the Longkhel [area],” it added. The police cordoned off the area and initiated an investigation. Lakki Marwat District Police Officer (DPO) Mohammad Jawad Ishaq specified that the four attackers were riding on two motorcycles and stole the policemen’s submachine guns. DPO Ishaq further said, “The traffic personnel were dressed in civilian clothes when they were targeted.” Lakki Marwat has seen a rise in attacks in recent months that reflect an increasing militant presence in the area, although unrest dates back to the early 2000s. Militant activity has resurged in recent years,...

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday temporarily barred the oath-taking of members elected on reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly following a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) seat allocation.

RAWALPINDI - Punjab Food Authority (PFA) Rawalpindi has shared its monthly report about the quality of milk being sold in the city on shops.

ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday reviewed security arrangements in Islamabad for religious gatherings and processions during Muharram.

ISLAMABAD - The existing Rs3.

Tremors from an earthquake were felt in Lahore and several other cities across Punjab on Tuesday, causing panic among residents.

At least 39 people died in a factory fire in India’s southern state of Telangana, a senior fire department official said on Tuesday, after an explosion at Sigachi Industries, a day earlier. The explosion also injured 34, according to officials. The government of Telangana, where the facility is located, has formed a five-member committee to probe the incident, the cause of which is yet to be disclosed by the company. “We are still clearing the debris […] The building has collapsed and fabricated completely,” GV Narayana Rao, director of Telangana fire disaster response emergency, told Reuters. “Once we are all done with the clearing, only then we will be able to assess if any other body is still remaining under the debris or if it is all clear,” he said. On Monday, an explosion occurred at a chemical facility of Sigachi Industries leading to a fire, the police said. Police officials said more than 140 people were working in the plant when the incident occurred. Twenty-five of the deceased were yet to be ident...

ISLAMABAD - Defence Minister Khawaja Mu­hammad Asif on Monday said that Pakistan’s stance was rec­ognized and upheld during the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where India was unable to as­sert its position.

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that tourism in Pakistan had huge potential for stronger economy and the public and private sectors must work together to facilitate the travel of international tourists to Pakistan’s tourist destinations.

LAHORE - In a major escalation of tensions in the Punjab Assembly, government members took decisive action against the opposition by successfully passing no-confidence motions to remove four opposition lawmakers from the chairmanship of key standing committees.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is reluctant to join the federal cabinet but has not completely shut the doors to the option, sources said.

ISLAMABAD - The federal government has announced yet another hike in fuel prices, raising the rates of petrol by Rs 8.

Islamabad/manila - The Embassy of Pakistan in Manila is proud to announce that a student team from Pakistan have achieved prestigious honours at the 2025 Asia-Pacific (APAC) Solution Challenge—a premier global tech competition supported by Google and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari has given his assent to the Finance Act 2025, which outlines the budget for the upcoming fiscal year with an outlay of Rs17.

Iran-linked hackers have threatened to disclose more emails stolen from US President Donald Trump’s circle, after distributing a prior batch to the media ahead of the 2024 US election. In online chats with Reuters on Sunday and Monday, the hackers, who go by the pseudonym Robert, said they had roughly 100 gigabytes of emails from the accounts of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan, Trump adviser Roger Stone and porn star-turned-Trump antagonist Stormy Daniels. Robert raised the possibility of selling the material but otherwise did not provide details of their plans. The hackers did not describe the content of the emails. US Attorney General Pam Bondi described the intrusion as “an unconscionable cyber-attack”. The White House and the FBI responded with a statement from FBI Director Kash Patel, who said: “Anyone associated with any kind of breach of national security will be fully investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” “This so-called cyber ‘attack’ is ...