Pakistan

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The US Army will alter the records of transgender soldiers to show only their sex at birth, according to internal guidance seen by Reuters that details a series of steps it will take as it pushes them out of the service. “Commanders will take immediate measures to update personnel records and administrative systems to reflect biological sex for all individuals,” the 14-page memo stated. The Army considered a person’s sex to be “unchanging during a person’s life,” it said, echoing a February 26 Pentagon memo. The Army document illustrates how President Donald Trump’s administration intends to treat thousands of transgender troops after the Supreme Court’s ruling this month cleared the way for the Pentagon to implement a ban on their service. Reuters first reported on May 8 the Pentagon’s plans to start kicking out transgender troops who do not elect to leave on their own by June 6 On May 12, it detailed plans to halt gender-affirming healthcare for transgender troops. The Army could not immediately be reached ...

The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee has scheduled a meeting for May 27 to observe the crescent of Zilhaj in Pakistan.

Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has stated that while Pakistan desires peace, India is fueling tensions through false narratives and reckless provocations.

Iran’s parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership on Wednesday between Moscow and Tehran, state media reported. The agreement represents a deepening of bilateral ties, including closer defence cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed the strategic partnership document on January 17. The Russian legislative branch approved the pact in April. While the agreement does not include a mutual defence clause, it says both countries will work together against common military threats, develop their military-technical cooperation, and take part in joint exercises. Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Iran and Russia have deepened military ties, with Western countries accusing Iran of providing missiles and drones for Russian attacks on Ukraine. Tehran denies providing weapons for Russian use in Ukraine. The strategic pact also includes several clauses aimed at boosting economic partnership, notably by strengthening direct interbank cooperation ...

India’s top court granted bail on Wednesday to a professor arrested for commentating online about the military conflict with Pakistan but did not stop the investigation against him. Ali Khan Mahmudabad, a political science professor at the private, liberal-arts Ashoka University, was arrested on Sunday over a Facebook post criticising those “mindlessly advocating” for war. He also wrote that the “optics” of two women army officers who had held press briefings “must translate to reality on the ground otherwise it’s just hypocrisy”. Mahmudabad since said his comments had been “misunderstood” and that he had exercised his “fundamental right to freedom of thought and speech”. He is charged under multiple sections of India’s criminal code, including endangering the country’s sovereignty and using words or gestures with the intention of insulting the modesty of a woman. While granting Mahmudabad bail, India’s Supreme Court said he should have avoided the “use of complicated words” which could “hurt individuals” and...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting of the task force established to promote development in the housing sector, with a particular focus on low-cost residential projects.

The Indus River is far more than a waterway; it is the absolute heart of Pakistan, sustaining our nation, feeding our people, and powering our progress.

Ukraine will ask the European Union next week to consider big new steps to isolate Moscow, including seizing Russian assets and bringing in sanctions for some buyers of Russian oil, as United States President Donald Trump has backed off from tightening sanctions. A previously unreported Ukrainian white paper to be presented to the EU calls for the 27-member bloc to take a more aggressive and independent position on sanctions as uncertainty hangs over Washington’s future role. Among 40 pages of recommendations were calls to adopt legislation that would speed up the EU’s seizure of assets from sanctioned individuals and send them to Ukraine. Those under sanctions could then seek compensation from Russia. The EU should consider a range of steps to make its sanctions apply more forcefully beyond its own territory, including targeting foreign companies that use its technology to help Russia, and “the introduction of secondary sanctions on purchasers of Russian oil”. Such secondary sanctions, which could hit big bu...

At least 25 people, including the train driver and his assistant, sustained injuries when the Shalimar Express collided with a bricks-loaded tractor-trolley during the early hours of Wednesday near Sahianwala.

Pakistan remains committed to the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) despite recent developments, the federal secretary for water resources told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Water Resources during a session chaired by Ahmed Ateeq Anwar.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Afghanistan’s interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and agreed to extend the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan. On Monday, Deputy PM Dar arrived in China’s capital of Beijing on a three-day official visit at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yi amid regional tensions. The trilateral forum was established in 2017, with earlier meetings held in Beijing and the Afghan capital. China said on Tuesday that it supports Pakistan in defending “national sovereignty and territorial integrity”, after a ceasefire ended four days of fighting with India over a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir. “Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar Member of the Communist Party of China Political Bureau & Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi, and Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi, held an informal trilateral meeting in...

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan on Wednesday as it named a new-look squad for three home Twenty20 internationals against Bangladesh. Former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson will take charge for the first time after being appointed last week, replacing Aaqib Javed. Salman Ali Agha will captain Pakistan as they look towards next year’s T20 World Cup, to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Fast bowler Shaheen had played in Pakistan’s last T20 series in New Zealand in March, but batsmen Babar and Rizwan were omitted for the second consecutive T20 series after being criticised for slow scoring. “The squad has been selected based on players’ performances in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, which concludes on May 25,” the PCB said in a statement. Shaheen has taken 12 wickets for Lahore Qalandars in 10 PSL matches at an economy rate of 8.20. Opener Sahibzada Farhan earned a recall after topping the PSL batting charts with 394 runs. Batsmen Saim Ayub and Fakhar...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan stated on Tuesday that former prime minister Imran Khan has never ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the establishment.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman and former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has cautioned that India’s assertion of a “new normal” of aggression is not viable and poses grave risks, particularly given that both countries are nuclear powers.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that Pakistan and India have reestablished a state of peace following an agreement between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both nations.

PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday cautioned that a nuclear war between India and Pakistan will have devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to send a high-level diplomatic delegation to important world capitals to expose Indian propaganda“ in the aftermath of the recent military escalation with India. Bilawal has been entrusted to lead the delegation, comprising Senator Sherry Rehman, Dr Musadik Malik, Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Hina Rabbani Khar, Faisal Sabzwari, Tehmina Janjua, and Jalil Abbas Jilani. The former foreign minister was speaking to the media after receiving an initial briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before he leads the high-level diplomatic delegation to world capitals to brief foreign leaders on India’s aggression and efforts to destabilise regional peace. Bilawal said they received an initial briefing at the Foreign Office on the ceasefire, Kashmir, terrorism and the “attack” on ...

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) informed the Senate’s Climate Change Committee on Wednesday that it had issued an early warning about the ongoing heatwave nearly three months ago.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Wednesday will undertake an emergency visit to Quetta.

A powerful explosion targeting a school bus near Zero Point on the National Highway in Khuzdar claimed the lives of six individuals, including four children and two teachers, and left 38 others injured in a tragic incident that has sent shockwaves across the region.