Pakistan

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali has resigned from four standing committees of the National Assembly.

Drastic weight loss, ferocious sparring and lax regulation have created a dangerous environment in Japanese boxing, as the sport battles for its future in the country after two fighters died. Super featherweight Shigetoshi Kotari and lightweight Hiromasa Urakawa, both 28, fought separate bouts on the same card at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall on August 2 and died days later following brain surgery. Another Japanese boxer died after a bout in Tokyo in December 2023 and one more has been in a coma since May this year. The twin tragedies this month sent shockwaves through Japanese boxing, with authorities scrambling to investigate and under pressure to tighten safety. Although no clear causes for the deaths have been identified, several factors have emerged that paint a high-risk picture of Japan’s boxing scene. “I believe it is safe but the results are everything,” Hideyuki Ohashi, manager and promoter of Japan’s undisputed super bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue, told AFP. “Three people have died (since December...

The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) has postponed its examinations scheduled for August 30 and 31 due to the severe flood situation in the province.

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan on Thursday resigned from four standing committees in the National Assembly (NA), he confirmed in comments to Dawn.com. PTI lawmakers have begun resigning from membership and chairmanship of all standing committees in the NA after instructions from party founder Imran Khan, after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in July and August disqualified a large number of PTI members and leaders in relation to their involvement in the May 9, 2023 riots against Imran’s arrest. “I resigned from the committees based on the instructions of the PTI founder and the political committee,” Gohar said over the phone. “I submitted my resignation to the speaker’s office and resigned from the committees on law and justice, human rights, IT and the House Business Advisory Committee.” PTI Chief Whip Aamir Dogar also announced his resignation from NA standing committees in a post on X, where he wrote that he submitted the resignations upon the instructions of the party founder and ex-premi...

Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, has said all possible relief is being extended to those affected by the floods, and efforts are underway to restore roads in the flood-hit areas.

Member of the Senate of Spain, Vicente Azpitarte Pérez, Thursday called on Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and discussed matters of mutual interests.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday extended the physical remand of Chanesar Town Chairman Farhan Ghani and five others for three more days in a case related to an alleged assault on a government employee.

Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan has said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan is moving towards stability and development, and the government will soon free the country from the clutches of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

As per the instructions of the Committee Chairman, Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) has committed to release pensions to pensioners and assured the committee that the pension increased from rupees 10,000 to rupees 11,500 with effect from 1st January, 2025, will be disbursed along with all arrears on September 1, 2025.

A Norwegian teenager detained after the killing of an Ethiopian-origin worker at an Oslo hostel also planned an attack on a mosque, police said on Thursday. The 18-year-old was arrested after the killing on Saturday night of Tamima Nibras Juhar, a 34-year-old social worker, at the Oslo hostel where she was a staff member and the suspect was a resident. The youth is now the subject of a murder and terrorism enquiry after police said he had expressed “opinions hostile to Muslim people”. The suspect “declared that he had the intention of committing an attack against a mosque at Hoenefoss”, a town about 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of the Norwegian capital, police said in a statement. “It is important to stress that there are still many indications that the suspect’s capacity to carry out further attacks was limited,” police added. The youth was said to have acted alone. He has been identified by media as German national Djordje Wilms, who moved to Norway from Serbia as a child, although police have not confirm...

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the pre-arrest bail for an accused in a cheque dishonor case.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved a technical supplementary grant of Rs30.216 billion on Thursday to ensure the smooth closure of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) of Pakistan. Established in 1971, USC was a state-owned enterprise tasked with supplying essential commodities at subsidised rates, primarily targeting low-income households, and operated over 4,000 retail outlets nationwide. It formally ceased operations at the end of July. A press release by the government’s finance division today said that the grant represented a “major step in responsibly addressing the longstanding financial burden of USC on the national exchequer”, adding that it also safeguarded the interests of employees affected by the closure. “By approving severance, compensation and payment of outstanding dues, the government is ensuring that workers receive their entitlements, thereby cushioning the social and economic impact of USC’s winding up,” the press release said. The committee was chaired by t...

The Sindh government has expressed concern over a possible high-level flood in the Indus River amid rising water levels from Punjab.

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, on Thursday, expressed deep concern over the flood situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, conveyed solidarity with the bereaved families, and assured the Federal Government’s full support for relief and rehabilitation efforts.

The final of this season’s Champions League in Budapest will kick off at 6pm local time (9pm PKT) rather than 9pm (midnight PKT) to “enhance the matchday experience”, UEFA announced on Thursday. The 2026 final will be played at the Puskas Arena on Saturday, May 30. “An earlier kick-off makes day trips more feasible, reduces travel stress, and allows fans to enjoy the occasion without worrying about late-night logistics,” said Ronan Evain, executive director for Football Supporters Europe, which worked on the subject with UEFA. Unlike the Europa League and Conference League finals, which are played in midweek, the Champions League showpiece has been held on Saturdays since 2010. “While a 21:00 CET kick-off is well suited for midweek matches, an earlier kick-off on a Saturday for the final means an earlier finish — regardless of extra time or penalties,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin. Paris Saint-Germain won their maiden European Cup in last season’s final, beating Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted a man who had been serving a life sentence for 12 years on charges of sexually assaulting his daughter.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that timely measures helped prevent large-scale destruction from floods, adding that Allah Almighty saved Punjab from massive losses.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday launched an anti-polio drive, aiming to immunise 5.7 million children in the province amid security risks. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy, and misinformation have slowed the progress of eradication efforts. The vaccinators, who go door-to-door to inoculate children, are frequently targeted by militants, esp­e­cially in KP and Balochistan. In 2024 alone, 20 people were killed and 53 were injured during anti-polio campaigns in the KP. On August 26, two new cases were reported in the south of the province, taking KP’s total polio cases for this year to 15, while the nationwide tally stands at 23. The immunisation campaign was formally launched today at Peshawar Police Services Hospital, where the KP Adviser on Health Ehtesham Ali, while speaking to the media, said, “We have developed a more organised and strategic approach this time, espe...

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday rejected the police’s request for an extension in the physical remand of Sher Shah, son of Aleema Khan, in the Jinnah House attack case.