Pakistan

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Programme to focus on preventive community healthcare

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday denied approaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) in connection with the team’s boycott of the match against India on February 15. In a post on the social media platform X, the PCB issued a statement attributed to its spokesperson, Amir Mir. “I categorically reject the claim by Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta that the PCB approached the ICC,” Mir was quoted as saying. Gupta, earlier in the day, had posted on X that the PCB had “reached out to the ICC for dialogue”. He had alleged that after the ICC wrote back to the PCB regarding the legal ramifications it could face, the board approached the cricket world body for talks to resolve the issue. “As usual, sections of the Indian media are busy circulating fiction. A little patience and time will clearly show who actually went knocking and who didn’t,” PCB spokesperson Mir said. It is worth mentioning that earlier on Saturday, AFP had reported a source close to the developments as saying that the PCB ha...

ISLAMABAD: PTI stalwart Asad Qaiser said on Saturday that the party would go ahead with its countrywide protest on Feb 8 (Sunday) — the second anniversary of the 2024 general polls — but would also observe a day of mourning in the wake of the suicide bombing in Islamabad a day earlier. Talking to Dawn, Qaiser termed rumours regarding the party cancelling or postponing the protest incorrect. “The fact is that we have decided that the day will be observed as a national day of mourning. At the same time, protests will also be held across the country against rigging during the general elections,” he said. Replying to a question, he said that February 8 was not limited to PTI founder Imran Khan or the PTI. “It is a day on which the whole nation was deprived of democracy and the right to choose its representatives. We will hold the protest and a complete shutter-down strike against the injustice with the masses,” he added. Qaiser said that the PTI and Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) opposition alliance woul...

Visitors join Lahoris of all ages in Basant celebration

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Ringleader arrested; three customs inspectors named as facilitators

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Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday held the PTI responsible for the resurgence in terrorism in the country, while the party slammed the minister for choosing to do so with a “hateful rhyme”. The minister made the remarks while addressing a press conference alongside religious scholars in Lahore to show solidarity and unity after the suicide attack at an imambargah in Islamabad on Friday. Asked by a reporter whether the blast was a “failure of security agencies”, Tarar asserted, “No, not at all.” He went on to stress that Pakistan’s security institutions were hailed as examples internationally, recalling the recovery of abducted passengers “with minimal damages” during the deadly Jaffar Express attack. The minister also brought up the Pak-India conflict in May 2025, when “the enemy was brought to its knees, sought mediation and said ‘I’m sorry’”. He said that while a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Islamabad in the presence of the Safe City system and with “security agencies having entire ap...

ANP's Aimal highlights 'dire situation' in Tirah Valley

Law Minister Aftab Alam strongly criticised the ruling in social media post

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ISLAMABAD: Lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her spouse Hadi Ali Chattha on Saturday challenged their conviction in the controversial social media posts case by filing separate criminal appeals in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The appeals sought to have the trial court’s January 24 verdict — which handed the couple a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges — declared null and void. In their appeals, the appellants contended that the impugned judgment was passed in blatant violation of settled legal principles and mandatory procedural requirements. They argued that the trial court proceeded to pronounce the verdict despite the fact that an application seeking transfer of the case was pending adjudication before the IHC, rendering the decision unlawful and without jurisdiction. According to the appeals, once a transfer application was filed and pending before a superior court, the trial court was barred from proceeding further in the matter. The appellants maintained that any judgment delivered unde...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that four facilitators of the suicide attack on an imambargah in Islamabad, including the “main mastermind”, had been arrested during raids in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He made the remarks while speaking to the media in Islamabad. In his media talk, the interior minister said that operations were underway throughout last night to trace those behind the attack. Making special mention of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the KP police for their joint efforts, he said, “All those people linked to this, and the mastermind, at around 3am, all of them were apprehended.” He lauded all “agencies”, saying that this incident was a “test case”. “After the blast, raids were carried out in Nowshera and Peshawar, in which four facilitators were caught. And their mastermind, who is an Afghan, was also caught,” he said. He said that an assistant sub-inspector of KP police was martyred during the raids, while others were injured. “But the main mastermind is linked to Daesh an...

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