Pakistan

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has reviewed the progress of the Faisalabad Mass Transit System project during a meeting in Lahore.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif at their Jati Umra residence in Lahore on Sunday, a statement issued by the PM’s Office (PMO) said, adding that the Middle East conflict and the political situation in the country were discussed during the meeting. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was also present on the occasion. The PMO statement said the premier briefed Nawaz on the “situation in the country” and exchanged views on the political situation. He further informed him about the situation in the Middle East and Pakistan’s efforts for the restoration of peace in the region, the statement added. The conflict in the Middle East, which is now more than two months old, began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. And while hostilities have paused following a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire on April 8 — which has been extended indefinitely by US President Donald Trump — the world continues to face its consequences. Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has been engag...

Opec+ agreed on Sunday on a modest oil output hike for June, an increase that will remain largely on paper as long as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues to disrupt Gulf oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Seven Opec+ countries will raise oil output targets by 188,000 barrels per day in June, the third consecutive monthly increase, Opec+ said in a statement after an online meeting. The increase is the same as that agreed for May minus the share of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which left the group on May 1. The move is designed to show the group is ready to raise supplies once the war stops and signals that Opec+ is pressing on with a business-as-usual approach despite the departure of the UAE from Opec+, sources associated with the alliance and analysts said. Opec+ is sending a two-layer message to the market: continuity despite the UAE’s exit, and control despite limited physical impact, said Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad and former Opec official. While output is increasing on paper, the real i...

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Sunday acknowledged that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line had proven to be a “very tough” project for the provincial government, but asserted that there had been no delay on its end. Speaking to reporters in Karachi, Memon said the Sindh government had to make some difficult decisions on the BRT Red Line after “all other options were exhausted”. The senior minister asserted that there had been “no mistake, mal-intent or delay” from the Sindh government on the BRT Red Line. He noted that work on the project’s Lot-1 was “underway with great speed”, while work on Lot-2 had been restarted. The Sindh government recently cancelled the construction contract for the BRT Red Line project. Subsequently, it chose the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to resume construction on a section of the BRT Red Line along University Road, where commuters have been facing inconvenience. Designed to cover around 27 kilometres from Malir Halt to Numaish via University Road, work on BRT...

Renowned mountaineer Sajid Ali Sadpara summi­ted the world’s fifth-highest peak, Mount Makalu (8,485m) in Nepal, without supplementary oxygen, the exp­e­­dition’s organisers said on Sunday. Sadpara is on a mission to summit all 14 “eight-thousanders” in the world without supplemental oxygen, and this marks his 10th summit of that mission. According to a statement issued by Seven Summit Treks, the expedition team Sadpara was part of, an excellent summit push at 5am on May 2 successfully reached the summit of Makalu. The statement added a team of three members, including Sadpara from Pakistan and Johannss Lau, with seven sherpas, stood on the summit, marking a remarkable achievement on the technically demanding peak. “We wish them a safe and smooth descent back to base camp,” Seven Summit Treks added. Sadpara had arrived in Nepal on April 4 for the mission and reached Makalu base camp on April 16. The expedition team completed their summit rotation at Makalu on April 25. Sadpara is the proud son of the legendar...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with the President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif, at Jati Umra, where both leaders analyzed the political and economic situation prevailing in the country.

Pakistani mountaineer Sajid Ali Sadpara successfully summited Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest mountain, on Saturday, adding another milestone to his high-altitude climbing career.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar have congratulated the newly elected office bearers of the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE).

Sharjeel Inam Memon has said construction work on Karachi’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Red Line project will continue despite ongoing court proceedings related to the scheme.

LAKKI MARWAT: A police official was martyred in a gun attack in the Kaichi Kamar area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Sunday. Lakki Marwat district police officer’s (DPO) spokesman Qudratullah Khan confirmed that terrorists targeted Constable Irfanullah near his house in the trans-river belt known as Kurrum Par area. The incident occurred within the limits of Dadiwala police station. Qudratullah said that the policeman received critical bullet injuries and died on the way to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in the Serai Naurang town. The police official said that the martyred cop was posted in Peshawar and had come to his native village on leave. “After the attack, a large police contingent reached the area and launched a search for the assailants,” he added. Today’s incident comes just a day after unknown terrorists attacked the house of a police official with explosives in the district’s Shadikhel area, causing significant damage. Also in the Shadikhel area, a policeman embraced martyrdom i...

Cities heat up faster than surrounding areas because of how they’re built. Urban areas can be up to 5.6 degrees Celsius warmer than nearby regions because of roads, concrete surfaces and dense construction that absorb heat during the day and release it slowly at night, preventing cities from cooling down. This is known as the urban heat island effect. This means that when heatwaves hit, cities are already at an elevated baseline temperature and more prone to overheating. In most places, conventional planning prioritises plot sizes, road widths, and construction speed without mapping heat pockets or protecting natural cooling systems. However, climate sensitive urban planning incorporates nature as a fundamental element of urban living. How can climate smart urban design be integrated into our cities practically, and how does it differ from conventional urban planning? DawnNews discusses all this and much more with urban planner Sana R Gondal. As Pakistan confronts the accelerating realities of climate change,...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Rome and the Vatican this week, an Italian government source said on Sunday, just weeks after a clash between Donald Trump and Pope Leo. Rubio, who is a Catholic, is expected to meet Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the source told AFP. Italian media reported that he would also meet Defence Minister Guido Crosetto during the Thursday-Friday visit. The meetings come several weeks after US President Trump’s extraordinary criticism of Pope Leo XIV over the Catholic leader’s anti-war rhetoric. Trump also dismissed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — one of his closest European allies — as lacking courage after she defended the US pontiff. Italian media on Sunday presented Rubio’s visit as a meeting to “thaw” relations. Since taking over as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on May 8, 2025, following the death of Pope Francis, Leo has criticised the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. But it...

The sound of drums from the Pakistan Embassy could be heard distinctly as soon as visitors turned into International Drive, where the usually quiet diplomatic corridor had been transformed into a global fairground for the annual Passport DC “Around the World Embassy Tour”. From early morning, crowds moved steadily along the tree-lined street, following a trail of music, aromas and colour that flowed from one embassy to the next. The dhol at the Pakistan Embassy set the tone — deep, insistent, and celebratory — cutting through the spring air and pulling visitors toward gates already filling with activity. Inside the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC, the sensory experience was immediate. The aroma of kebabs and samosas drifted far beyond the entrance, while food trays disappeared almost as quickly as they were placed on counters. Visitors lingered under displays of truck art, embroidered textiles, gemstones and handicrafts, while mehndi artists worked patiently on outstretched hands and calligraphers wrote ...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast rain with thunderstorms and possible hailstorms in different parts of the country.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed the government’s resolve to protect press freedom and stressed the importance of credible journalism. They issued separate messages on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, reaffirming that Pakistan, as a state, remained firmly committed to safeguarding and promoting freedom of the press. In his message, President Zardari said this year’s theme, “Shaping a Future at Peace”, underscored that peace cannot be secured without truth. Noting that Article 19 of the Constitution guaranteed the right to press freedom subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law, the president said, “A free, independent and diverse media is not a threat to a confident nation, rather a proof of one.” “At the same time, freedom brings responsibility. Accuracy must not be sacrificed for speed and balance must not give way to partisanship. Public trust, the most valuable asset of free press, must be earned, protected and never taken for granted,” h...

Wildfires that scorched forests in northern Japan, reportedly the second biggest in over 30 years, have been brought under control after 11 days, officials have said. Hundreds of firefighters and more than 1,000 military personnel had battled the blazes since late April, as they burned around 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) across the mountainous Iwate region. The affected area is almost five times the size of New York City’s Central Park. At least eight buildings were damaged, and two people suffered minor injuries, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Thousands of people were evacuated as fires picked up. Otsuchi town mayor Kozo Hirano told reporters on Saturday that he had been “informed that… the fire had been brought under control” after visiting the area with fire officials. He credited aerial and ground firefighting operations, as well as heavy rainfall, for containing the flames. But Hirano said authorities would remain vigilant as there was a possibility that smouldering embers would re...

Monks perform rituals in connection with Vesak Day at Dharmarajika Stupa near Taxila. — Dawn TAXILA: After nearly 15 centuries of silence, the ancient Dharmarajika Stupa came alive on Friday as chants of Buddhist monks echoed once again across the historic site, marking the first such occasion since its destruction in the 5th century CE by the White Huns. For centuries, the site had remained largely quiet, disturbed only by the soft tread of visitors and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. On Friday afternoon, however, the centuries-old calm gave way to a spiritually charged atmosphere as monks performed religious rituals and delivered a Dhamma sermon at one of the most significant Buddhist heritage sites associated with Emperor Ashoka. The peace prayer ceremony was organised by the Punjab Archaeology Department in collaboration with Buddhist delegations from five Southeast Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, Vietnam and Myanmar. The ritual began in the afternoon with venerable monks from S...

RAWALPINDI: The residents of Bahria Town Rawalpindi on Saturday staged a protest demonstration against the administration of Bahria Town for not providing civic facilities despite getting hefty fees from them. A large number of residents, traders, property owners, investors, families, and community leaders from Bahria Town Phases 1-8 assembled at Allama Iqbal Junction Phase 8. Jamaat-i-Islami representatives also participated in the protest. The participants carried placards, banners, and display boards, clearly expressing their demands and urging Malik Riaz and Bahria Town Private Limited to relinquish control. Tahir Nihad Bajwa, Chairman of RABT and President of BRACE, led a procession and said that highlighted systemic failures in governance, service delivery, and regulatory oversight and declared that the community has been paying heavily without receiving basic rights or services. He presented the charter of demands and said that it had already been submitted to all relevant authorities. He urged the Raw...

ISLAMABAD: Security measures put in place around places of worship, especially during Friday prayers, were found unsatisfactory, raising concerns about public safety. Police officials told Dawn that the Islamabad inspector general of police himself found security arrangements around worship places unsatisfactory and compromised when he visited mosques and imambargahs during Friday prayers. The police chief visited several worship places, including Jamia Masjid Bibil in Sector G-6/3, to check and review security measures during Friday prayers. However, he found improper arrangements at the mosque, as no police official was present on duty. Besides, improper and unsatisfactory security arrangements were also found at various worship places in the capital, including some located inside the high-security zone. IG visited several worship places to check and review security measures during Friday prayers There were no security arrangements around a number of worship places. In some cases, an unarmed lone policeman ...

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif Saturday approved the design of the Gujranwala Mass Transit System.