Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday approved a change in the constitution of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) after Balochistan revised its nomination, a statement by the president’s secretariat said. The 11th NFC was constituted on August 22 to prepare a new award for sharing federal divisible resources between the Centre and the provinces. Chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the NFC includes four provincial finance ministers and four non-statutory members, one from each province. Its inaugural session, however, was postponed on the request of the Sindh government “due to the impending flood situation”. As per the statement released today, the change became necessary after the “Government of Balochistan revised its nomination, recommending Mahfooz Ali Khan as its non ex-officio member in the 11th NFC”. The statement added that the president has given the nod to this nomination, superseding the earlier approval. The terms of reference set under clause 2 of Article 160 require the 11th...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday sent PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shahrez Khan to jail on judicial remand in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots. Lahore Police picked up Shahrez, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from his mother’s Lahore residence on August 21. His brother Shershah Khan was also arrested the next day over similar allegations, and sent on physical remand and then to jail. Lahore police presented Shahrez before the court of ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill today upon the completion of his eight-day physical remand. Advocate Rana Mudassar Umer and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared as Shahrez’s counsel, while Imtiaz Ahmad Sipra was present as the prosecutor. Sipra sought a further 30-day physical custody of Shahrez, while Umer urged the court to discharge his client from the case. Judge Gill denied the police’s request and ordered that Shahrez be sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand. “A cane has been recovered from the susp...

Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday revealed that devastating floods triggered by the Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers have affected more than 1.

A fresh spell of monsoon rains has battered several cities across Pakistan, causing urban flooding, power outages, and loss of lives.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik has announced decisive action against influential elites who have illegally built hotels, resorts, and housing schemes along riverbanks, calling it a “war” to reclaim waterways and safeguard vulnerable communities.

India will not “bow down” and instead focus on capturing new markets, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in his first public remarks since Washington imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods. The 50 per cent levies on many Indian imports into the United States took effect this week as punishment for New Delhi’s massive purchases of Russian oil, part of US efforts to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine. Since his return to the White House this year, US President Donald Trump has wielded tariffs as a wide-ranging policy tool, with the levies upending global trade. Speaking at a construction industry event in New Delhi on Friday, Goyal said India was “always ready if anyone wants to have a free trade agreement with us”. But, the trade minister added, India “will neither bow down nor ever appear weak”. “We will continue to move together and capture new markets.” The latest tariffs salvo from Trump has strained US-India ties, with New Delhi earlier criticising the levies as “unfair, unjustified and unreas...

Emergency operations to drain floodwater and restore the historic Kartarpur Gurdwara have been successfully completed, paving the way for the reopening of the sacred Sikh shrine to international pilgrims within days.

SHARJAH: Skipper Salman Agha hit an unbeaten half-century and fast bowler Haris Rauf grabbed four wickets as Pakistan upstaged Afghanistan by 39 runs in the Twenty20 International tri-series opener in Sharjah on Friday. Right-handed Salman hit a 36-ball 53 not out with three sixes and as many boundaries which lifted Pakistan to a solid 182-7 in their 20 overs. Haris took 4-31 while fellow pacer Shaheen Afridi claimed 2-21, while spinners Mohammad Nawaz (2-23) and Sufiyan Muq­eem (2-25) dismissed Afghanistan for 143 in 19.5 overs before a noisy capacity 16,000 crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan matched Pakistan with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 27-ball 38 with a six and three boundaries, adding 51 for the second wicket with Sediqullah Atal, who made 23. It was right-armer Haris who changed the game with a two-wicket 12th over sending Atal and Karim Janat back without conceding a run. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan smashed five sixes and a four in his whirlwind 16-ball 39 but fell to Haris to end ...

KARACHI: As Guddu Barrage is set to receive inflows of 700,000 to 800,000 cusecs next week, the Sindh government fears the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people living in areas along the Indus River’s banks due to the high flood. A meeting, chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to review the flood situation in the province, was informed by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the irrigation department that a high flood was expected to hit Guddu Barrage between Sept 3 and 4, potentially displacing over 52,000 families. The CM instructed the PDMA and district administrations to get ready to establish more than 500 camps along river embankments to protect affected communities and livestock. “In case of a major flood wave, not a single life, human or animal, should be lost,” he stressed. He also directed the deployment of over 30,000 personnel of Rescue-1122 and 178 boats — 72 in northern districts and 106 in southern districts — to respond to potential emergencies and s...

Peshawar - Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur chaired an important meeting of the Health Department to review the last six-month performance of the department’s Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU).

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Friday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to aligning the ship breaking industry with the Hong Kong Convention (HKC), stressing the importance of tackling climate change through safe and eco-friendly recycling practices.

KARACHI: A sessions court sentenced a man to 14 years in prison for throwing acid on his sister over a property dispute. After hearing prosecutor Irfana Qadri, complainant counsel Bahzad Akbar and defence side, Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Zahoor Chandio, who was also the presiding officer of the Gender-Based Violence Court (South), found Muhammad Ramzan guilty of throwing acid on his sister Sughra after she refused to give up her share in the inheritance property to her brother. “This case involves a heinous crime, specifically targeting a woman with acid, an act that causes lifelong physical and psychological trauma. Such offences are not merely crimes against an individual but are a scourge on society and an affront to public policy,” the judge observed. The court also handed down additional sentences; two years’ imprisonment for injuring with a knife to the victim and four years each for attacking her sons — Naeem and Waseem — who had rushed to rescue their mother. The court also imposed a...

In a significant move to enhance women’s safety, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police has announced the installation of a special “Pink Button” alert system across the province.

Train operations from Balochistan to other parts of the country were suspended on Saturday as heavy flooding disrupted sections of the rail network.

LAHORE: The Central Jail Rawalpindi, commonly known as Adiala Jail, has reported a massive outbreak of HIV-positive cases, with 148 infected inmates — the highest number recorded in any jail of province so far. This alarming situation has exposed serious lapses on the part of the Prisons Department and the Punjab Aids Control Programme (PACP). Adiala has been in the headlines lately as former PM Imran Khan is also incarcerated there. However, it must be kept in mind that Mr Khan is kept in isolation and is not allowed to mingle with other inmates. The prison is currently very overcrowded as well, housing 4,337 prisoners against its authorised capacity of 1,994. PACP report reveals there are 645 infected individuals in Punjab’s 43 prisons; some of them are already receiving anti-retroviral therapy The presence of such a large number of HIV-infected prisoners poses a grave risk to the health and lives of other inmates if immediate measures are not taken to curb the transmission of the virus. Medical experts exp...

ISLAMABAD: Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan on Friday said the government is finalising a five-year Textiles and Apparel Policy aimed at making the sector regionally competitive, removing trade barriers and ensuring sustainable export growth. He added that a National Industrial Policy was also in the works to strengthen long-term export prospects and position Pakistan’s manufacturing sector for global integration. Both initiatives are designed to enhance competitiveness and address longstanding inefficiencies. The minister was speaking at a meeting with leading industrialists, including Kohinoor Mills CEO Aamir Fayyaz Sheikh, Aptma Chairman Kamran Ars­had, Fazal Cloth CEO Rehman Naseem, and Aptma Executive Director Shahid Sattar. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan also attended. According to an official statement, the commerce minister said the Textiles and Apparel Policy will focus on reducing manufacturing costs, improving productivity, promoting research...

• Govt focusing on completion of ongoing projects of national importance, Senate panel told • Fund’s ‘Diagnosis Report’ flags poor prioritisation, delays, cost overruns as major shortcomings • NHA told to start M-6 work by October or face parliamentary action ISLAMABAD: The government has restricted financing for new projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to just two per cent for the current year, in line with conditions of the ongoing Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This was disclosed by Planning and Development Secretary Awais Manzur Sumra while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Quratulain Marri. Mr Sumra said the IMF had demanded that new development projects be limited to 10pc of the PSDP to maintain fiscal discipline, given the already large and longstanding project portfolio. Accordingly, the government decided to prioritise ongoing projects of national importance f...

ISLAMABAD: The flooding in Punjab was made worse by New Delhi’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and the collapse of the gates on an Indian barrage. The middle section of Madhopur barra­­ge, which spans the Ravi River in India, was washed away by surging water, the Reu­ters news agency reported, referring to video broadcast by Indian media a day earlier. Pakistani officials said that this damage unleashed an uncontrolled flow across the border, flooding some parts of Lahore on Friday. An Indian government source, while confirming that two gates of Madhopur barrage had broken, denied there had been any deliberate attempt to flood Pakistan. Indian authorities say they are trying to stem the flow on the Ravi, despite the damage to the barrage, and the flow was being controlled by the Ranjit Sagar Dam upst­ream, Reuters quoted a source as saying. The official claimed that India was doing whatever it could, blaming incessant rain for causing the flood. Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025

• Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej overflow simultaneously for the first time • Over 429,000 residents evacuated, 20 lives lost across three rivers • Ninth spell of monsoon rains begins • 855,000 cusecs expected at Head Trimmu within 24 hours • Bunds breached to protect Jhang city, explosives deployed on embankments to save Multan • Worst Sutlej flooding since 1955 compounded by Indian dam breach LAHORE: In an unprecedented flood crisis, the Punjab government has initiated controlled breaches of key flood bunds to divert surging waters from the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers, as all three major rivers overflowed simultaneously for the first time in the country’s history. With 855,000 cusecs expected to reach Head Trimmu within 24 hours, authorities have evacuated over 429,000 residents, deploying explosives and breaching embankments to protect urban centres from catastrophic flooding. Torrential monsoon rains ravaged both Pakistan and India this week, with further heavy downpours forecast for this weekend. Bunds near Ath...

ISLAMABAD: Amid concerns from the main opposition party PTI that the government remains adamant to push forward with controversial legislation, including the 27th Constitutional Amendment, in the coming days, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq met on Friday to discuss matters of national significance. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned a session of the National Assembly on Sept 1 (Monday) at 5pm in the Parliament House, according to a press release issued by the Presidency. According to the Senate Secretariat, Mr Gilani and Mr Sadiq focused on strengthening institutional cooperation between the two houses of parliament and improving coordination on both national and international issues. Talking to Dawn, PTI’s chief whip in the National Assembly, Amir Dogar, expressed concerns that the government intends to introduce controversial constitutional amendments in the near future. President summons NA session on Sept 1 During their meeting at the Senate’s ch...