Pakistan

With a climate observatory emissions inventory in pipeline, smog control policies continue to rely on outdated data

Faisalabad authorities launch wall art project featuring historic, national icons

Hitmen hired for Rs3.3m; religious motives ruled out after probe

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A year marked by suicide attacks, leadership changes, and deepening instability comes to a close

Residents struggle as temperatures plunge to sub-zero

Fazal Rabbi sets a small but meaningful example by banning plastic shopping bags

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Three more Iranian satellites were sent into space on Russia’s Soyuz launchers on Sunday, Iranian state media said, as the two US-sanctioned nations extend their space collaboration. Iran has increasingly relied on its ally Russia to put satellites in orbit in recent years, with the latest three intended to help with monitoring agriculture, natural resources and the environment. “These satellites were designed and produced by Iranian scientists … despite all the sanctions and threats,” Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, told state TV in reference to Western measures over Tehran’s nuclear programme. “We are working together (with Russia) in different areas. Some are evident, and some we don’t like to clarify.” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the three satellites — Paya, Zafar 2, and a second Kowsar —were for low-earth orbit. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Iran and Russia have deepened ties, with Western countries accusing Iran of providing missiles and drones for Russian attacks. Teh...

Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan‘s Kalat district, killing four terrorists, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Saturday’s IBO took place on the reports that terrorists belonging to Fitna al Hindustan were present. The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. “During the conduct of [the] operation, [our] own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,” the ISPR said in the statement. It added that weapons and ammunition were seized from the dead terrorists, who had been actively involved in terrorist activity in the area. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area. [The] relentless counter-terrorism campa...

Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans will be operated by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) itself during the upcoming 11th edition of the tournament, the board’s chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced on Sunday. The decision comes amid a protracted dispute between the board and the franchise’s former owner, Ali Khan Tareen, whose agreement was not renewed after he was deemed non-compliant due to public criticism of the league’s management. Multan Sultans, introduced as the sixth team in 2018 and historically the most valuable franchise — acquired initially for a significantly higher fee than others — won the PSL title in 2021 and reached multiple finals. However, tensions escalated over the past year as Tareen repeatedly voiced concerns over transparency, governance and communication within the PSL setup. The PCB responded with legal notices, accusing him of breaching contractual obligations, while Tareen threatened counter-legal action and ultimately decided against renewing ownership, citing princip...

The PTI on Sunday denied opting to engage in dialogue with the government as an underdog but said that it will do so “after ensuring a level-playing field is provided to it through street movements“, according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and the PTI Secretary-General, Salman Akram Raja. CM Afridi, along with other provincial ministers and members of the assembly, was in Lahore to launch a new street movement, as per the directives of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. He left for the motorway at about 6:40pm. In a discussion with senior journalists at a private residence in Lahore’s Defence Housing Authority earlier in the day, Afridi asserted that reconciliation was impossible without resistance. “We will be at a loss if we enter into dialogue without resistance. So, the protest movement will continue until the rulers come to the table after recognising the opposition as an equal partner,” he said. Responding to a question whether the party had perpetually been protesting without y...

LONDON: A demonstration outside the Bangladeshi High Commission in London on Saturday briefly turned tense when pro-Khalistan Sikh activists and a small group of Hindu protesters confronted each other, prompting police intervention. The Khalistan Movement wants an independent Sikh state carved out of India and dates back to India and Pakistan’s independence in 1947, when the idea was pushed forward in negotiations preceding the partition of the Punjab region between the two new countries. The protest was held in connection with reports of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh. During the gathering, Paramjeet Singh Pamma, identified by organisers as a coordinator of the Khalistan Referendum campaign, was involved in a brief scuffle with an Indian Hindu protester. Metropolitan Police officers on duty intervened quickly, separating the individuals and dispersing the groups from close proximity to the mission building. No injuries were reported. Following the incident, pro-Khalistan Sikh protesters formed a cordo...

Pakistan has joined 20 other nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in rejecting Israel‘s recognition of self-declared Republic of Somaliland, with a joint statement saying that Tel Aviv’s measure reflected its “full and blatant disregard for international law”. The statement also registered the countries’ rejection of any “potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land”. The joint statement has been issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Gambia, Iran, Iraq Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye, Yemen and the OIC. Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday, with Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, saying his state will join the Abraham Accords. Somaliland has enjoyed effective autonomy — and relative peace and stability — since 1991, w...

At a Thai university-turned-shelter for displaced people, Kanlaya Somjettana is reluctant to go home even after a truce halted weeks of border clashes with Cambodia, fearing the violence may not be over. She said some people forced to flee the fighting began returning home on Sunday, a day after the ceasefire was announced, but many evacuees on both sides of the border preferred waiting for an official word that it was safe. Some cited a lack of trust that the neighbouring country would respect the truce, after previous ones had been broken. “I really hope this ceasefire will last long and we can return home,” 21-year-old homemaker Kanlaya told AFP from the university campus in Thailand’s Surin city. “But I will not go back home as long as authorities do not confirm that it is safe,” she said, adding that the evacuation centre was now less crowded, although hundreds remained there. On the Cambodian side, 35-year-old So Choeun said she expected to give birth within days and hoped to then take her baby home, ab...

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari highlighted on Sunday the significance of the politics of reconciliation, urging the opposition to play a “responsible” role and also called for the ruling party and its allies to take the necessary steps in this regard. Bilawal expressed these views while speaking to the media at the inauguration ceremony of the Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology in Larkana. View this post on Instagram He recalled that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had given the message of “truth and reconciliation” and “reconciliation in politics”. Linking it with the country’s progress and economic prosperity, he said the ruling party and its allies would have to play their part for this while the opposition would also have to play a “responsible role”. “If stringent [measures] are taken in response to the politics of extremism, then there should be no complaints,” he remarked, quoting the English idiom “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”. He added, “If you (the P...

Bangladesh police on Sunday said the alleged killers of popular student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to India, in comments likely to further strain relations with its neighbour. Hadi, a vocal India critic who took part in last year’s mass uprising, was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Singapore. His death set off violent protests with angry mobs torching several buildings, including two major newspapers deemed to favour India, as well as a prominent cultural institution. With protests being held across the country almost daily, pressure has been growing on Bangladesh’s interim government to arrest the killers of Hadi, who was set to contest the general elections in February next year. “The killing was premeditated. Those behind it have been identified,” Nazrul Islam, a senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police officer, said at a news conference. He added that the suspects left Bangladesh through the Haluaghat border with India shortly after...

French film icon Brigitte Bardot, a symbol of sexual liberation of the 1950s and sixties who turned her back on cinema to devote herself to protecting animals, has died aged 91, her foundation said Sunday. Bardot was hospitalised in October and, in November, released a statement denying rumours that she had died. The foundation did not say when or where she died, however. “The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation,” it said in a statement sent to AFP. Tributes were immediately paid to the star who became known as “BB” in her home country. Born on September 28, 1934, in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-off, traditional Catholic household. Married four times, she had one child, Nicolas, with her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier. Bardot became a global star after appearing i...

Most areas of Punjab were engulfed by air pollution on Sunday, with Lahore reporting unhealthy air quality levels, according to the latest data.

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has announced that from January 1, entry of vehicles without an M-Tag will be prohibited in Islamabad as part of enhanced security and smart city initiatives.