Pakistan

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday reminded lawmakers to submit the details of their assets and liabilities, warning of suspension if they fail to do so by January 16. “The members of Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies who have not submitted details of their assets and liabilities are directed to submit it on the prescribed Form B under Section 137 of the Election Act by January 15, 2026,” said a statement issued by the ECP. “In case of failure to submit the statement, the membership of the concerned lawmakers will be suspended from January 16, 2026,” it stated. The ECP further informed that the offices of the political finance wing (Kohsar Block) at the commission would remain open for the receipt of statements until 12 midnight on January 15. Last week, the ECP said 446 lawmakers failed to submit their statement of assets and liabilities with the commission by the due date of December 31, 2025. It notified them to submit it by January 15. Out of these, 125 lawmakers are m...

Pakistan has formally requested Saudi Arabia to increase its Hajj quota for 2026 to 230,000 pilgrims, in proportion to the country’s population, to allow more people to perform the pilgrimage.

ISLAMABAD: A district court on Thursday cancelled the bail of lawyer and activist Imaan Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial social media posts case, following repeated non-appearances and heated scenes in the courtroom. In the case, registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca), the two have been accused of inciting divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts and creating the impression that the armed forces were engaged in terrorism within the country. The hearing on Thursday was conducted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Mohammed Afzal Majoka, with Prosecutor Rana Usman representing the state. At the outset, neither Mazari nor Chattha appeared before the court. An assistant counsel sought an exemption from appearance for Mazari, submitting that Chattha was engaged in proceedings relating to a contempt case before the high court. The court expressed displeasure over the absence of the accused and observed that the request for exem...

An accountability court in Lahore has indicted former Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi and others in a corruption case related to development projects in Gujrat.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has been inundated with applications for new gas connections following the federal government’s decision to lift the years-long ban on domestic gas connections.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday restrained the Capital Development Authority (CDA) from cutting trees in the federal capital and sought a detailed report on the matter.

Pakistan’s passport ranking has improved on the Henley Index in 2026, rising from 103 in 2025 to 98 this year, according to figures released on Thursday. According to the latest rankings, Pakistan’s travel document was placed 98th on the list, tied with Yemen. It ranked higher than Iraq (99), Syria (100) and Afghanistan (101). The ranking showed that Pakistan’s passport allows visa-free access to 31 countries, including visa-on-arrival (VOA). Pakistan’s ranking on the Henley Passport Index from 2006 to 2025. — screengrab via Henley’s website Singapore ranked the highest, with visa-free access to 192 countries, followed closely by Japan and South Korea with 188. Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland tied for the third spot with visa-free access to 186 countries. According to the Henley Index, Pakistani passport holders have free visa access to Barbados, Cook Islands, Dominica, Haiti, Micronesia, Montserrat, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu. While a visa-on-...

Chief Minister of Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Bugti has expressed strong anger over low gas pressure and shortages during the ongoing severe cold spell in different parts of the province.

Elon Musk’s platform X on Wednesday announced measures to prevent its AI chatbot Grok from undressing images of real people, following global backlash over its generation of sexualised photos of women and children. The announcement comes after California’s attorney general launched an investigation into Musk’s xAI — the developer of Grok — over the sexually explicit material and multiple countries either blocked access to the chatbot or launched their own probes. X said it will “geoblock the ability” of all Grok and X users to create images of people in “bikinis, underwear, and similar attire” in those jurisdictions where such actions are deemed illegal. “We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis,” X’s safety team said in a statement. “This restriction applies to all users, including paid subscribers.” In an “extra layer of protection”, image creation and the ability to edit photos via X’s Gro...

US President Donald Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the United States needs Greenland and that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect the island, even as he said that “something will work out” with respect to the future governance of the Danish overseas territory. The remarks, which came after a high-stakes meeting between US, Danish and Greenlandic officials, indicate that there are still fundamental, if not intractable, differences between how Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk see the political future of the island. “Greenland is very important for the national security, including of Denmark,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And the problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela,” he said. After meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenland...

• Wahab asks KWSC to draft citywide water plan before phasing out tanker services, shutting hydrants • Says goal is equitable water distribution, not politics • Utility sources say closure of hydrants would hit DHA the hardest • Claims decision, if implemented, won’t improve city’s supply KARACHI: While Mayor Murtaza Wahab outlined his plan to eventually dismantle the decades‑old water‑tanker system, officials at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) voiced scepticism, saying it would not be possible to entirely shut down hydrants and end tanker services given the existing water infrastructure. Talking to the reporters on Wednesday after inaugurating the Jehangir Road rehabilitation project, the mayor, who is also the chairman of the KWSC board, said that water tankers and hydrants have been operating in Karachi for decades, largely filling gaps where the piped water supply does not reach. However, he stressed that the system has created inequities, with benefits flowing to select groups while bla...

KOHAT - A tragic landslide in the Qamar Killi area near Gambat Tehsil has claimed the lives of seven people and left one injured.

KARACHI: Pakistan will need a staggering $565.7 billion in investment to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) 3.0 climate commitments by 2035. These include a 17 per cent unconditional and 33pc conditional reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 30pc increase in electric vehicle adoption, and a shift to 60pc renewable energy. Meeting these ambitious goals will depend heavily on mobilising green-aligned investments, making frameworks like the Pakistan Green Taxonomy and robust ESG disclosure practices essential for guiding capital toward sustainable projects. This was revealed during a session on Pakistan Green Taxonomy (PGT) and ESG Disclosure Guidelines hosted by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), which was attended by top business executives and industry stakeholders on Wednesday. According to OICCI’s press release, the session was held in the backdrop of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s issuance of the revised ESG Disclosure Guidelines for...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitu­tional Court (FCC) on Wednesday hinted at closing the ongoing suo motu proceedings initiated to seek an independent and transparent probe into the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif. “We will make an appropriate order and may seek assistance from the parties if needed,” observed Justice Aamer Farooq, adding that the major issue before the court was how to proceed further in the matter. Justice Farooq was heading a two-judge FCC bench hearing the case, which was initially taken up suo motu by the Supreme Court. Earlier, the case was heard by a five-member SC bench in December 2022. Court cites ‘slow investigation’, MLA agreement with Kenya However, following the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amend­ment, it was first transferred to a six-member constitutional bench of the SC and later to the FCC after the 27th Constitutional Amendment. Arshad Sharif was shot in the head when Kenyan police opened fire on his car on the outskirts of Nairobi on Oct 23, 2022. He had left Pakista...

Tells cabinet world interested in Pak military hardware; Wants work on Karachi–Chaman highway expedited

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PPP chief warns conspiracy under way to malign Sindh; frames Thar as counter-story

PESHAWAR: A number plate bearing the registration number “Imran Khan-804” will be among the personalised registration marks (PRM) that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will put up for auction on January 27, provincial minister Syed Fakhar Jahan told Dawn on Wednesday. Personalised registration marks are vehicle number plates bearing a personalised number that automobile owners can retain even after selling their vehicles. The KP Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department had earlier issued an advertisement in newspapers, seeking potential bidders interested in purchasing the choice number plates. Minister for Excise and Taxation Syed Fakhar Jahan told Dawn today that the “Imran Khan-804” and “Imran Khan-1” were among the choice numbers being put for auction as “many people showed interest in it”. The number 804 is associated with incarcerated PTI founder and former premier Imran Khan as it is the same number that has been assigned to him in jail. Jahan said that the bidding for the personalised number...

Pakistan said on Wednesday it had signed an agreement with a firm connected to World Liberty Financial, the main crypto business of US President Donald Trump’s family, to explore using World Liberty’s stablecoin for cross-border payments. The Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA) said in a statement that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SC Financial Technologies, a little-known company it described as an “affiliated entity” of World Liberty, would enable “dialogue and technical understanding around emerging digital payment architectures”. The announcement represents one of the first publicly announced tie-ups between World Liberty, a crypto-based finance platform launched in September 2024, and a sovereign state. It also comes amid a warming of ties between Pakistan and the United States. Under the agreement, SC Financial Technologies will work with Pakistan’s central bank to integrate its USD1 stablecoin into a regulated digital payments structure, allowing the token to operate alongsid...

ISLAMABAD: Internet users in Pakistan, barring Nayatel customers, are unlikely to experience slow speeds on Thursday, according to a clarification by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and correspondence by the internet service provider (ISP). Nayatel has informed its customers via email that “an unavoidable maintenance activity” is planned on one of Pakistan’s submarine cables on January 15 (Thursday) at around 2pm, saying that it could last up to eight hours. “This may cause internet slowness across Pakistan,” the service provider said. Meanwhile, reports circulating on social media, without specifying any particular ISP, said there was a possibility of internet disruption in the country on Thursday. However, the PTA clarified in a statement that “information regarding any disruption of internet services on January 15 is incorrect and without factual basis”. “Internet services across Pakistan remain stable and fully operational. Routine submarine cable maintenance is ongoing and will not affect ...