Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday said that the Intra-Court Appeal (ICA) against a judge’s interim order is not admissible.

ISLAMABAD: The HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) is set to resume on Saturday after a nine-day hiatus with the league entering a decisive phase as five teams remain in the hunt for the four playoff spots. The league was postponed due to cross-border tensions taking place between Pakistan and India between the early hours of May 7 and May 10, when the escalation seized after a ceasefire agreement. The disruption had seen overseas players fly out of the country before the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to resume the tournament got the six franchises scrambling to get their squads back together. With only eight matches left in the league stage of the 34-match season, the battle for qualification has intensified, with last year’s finalists Multan Sultans already knocked out of contention after losing eight of their nine matches. The Rawalpindi leg will host the final round of league matches before the playoffs shift to Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, scheduled from May 21 to 25, with May 24 marked as a rest day. Satu...

ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Friday cleared 10 development projects worth Rs143 billion, including a Rs41bn initiative to revamp the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), enabling the government to secure a $150 million loan from the World Bank despite a more than 225 per cent increase in project costs. The CDWP meeting, presided over by Pla­n­­­ning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, also cleared Rs27bn expansion of laptop scheme in Pun­jab and Sindh’s Rs60bn worth of three major projects in the roads and education sectors. The meeting requested the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) to formally approve five projects worth Rs127.1bn and itself approved five other projects worth Rs15.9bn. Under the current financial rules, the CDWP is empowered to approve projects costing up to Rs7.5bn, while the projects of higher estimated costs are approved by Ecnec on the recommendations of the CDWP after clearance on technical grounds. The meeting approved the “Construction of Academi...

Anum Khan Muhammad Sher, a police officer from Sargodha City Police Station, has brought international recognition to Pakistan by winning the prestigious 'Excellence in Criminal Investigation' award at the 2025 World Police Summit Awards held in Dubai.

ISLAMABAD - Also, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Fri­day visited Combined Military Hospital (CMH) to inquire after the health of Jawans of Paki­stan Army and civilians who were injured dur­ing M’arka-e-Haq (Battle of Truth) against India.

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has claimed its leaders and workers have been booked for taking out a ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ rally, after an FIR was registered against them for ‘rioting armed with deadly weapons’, ‘mischief by injury to public road, bridge’ and other similar alleged offences. According to party and police sources, the Lahore police registered the FIR against the PTI leaders and workers for taking out a rally to express solidarity with the armed forces, burning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s effigy, and torching tyres on Ferozepur Road near Model Town. The FIR was registered against PTI Lahore president Imtiaz Sheikh, Zaheer Abbas Khokhar, Ali Warraich and around 50 other workers under Sections 290 (public nuisance), 291 (Continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 149 (Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and 431 (mischief by injury to public road, bridge) of the PPC...

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday unanimously passed a significant bill seeking stringent laws and penalties to curb child marriages and protect girls from becoming mothers in their teens. The bill, tabled by MNA Sharmila Faruqui, was not on the agenda of the proceedings but was introduced by suspending relevant rules. Once the bill becomes an act, it will be implemented in the federal capital and no court other than that of the district and sessions judge shall take cognizance of or try any offence under it. When the bill becomes a law, the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 will stand repealed to the extent of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). However, all orders made, decisions taken, judgements passed by any court shall be deemed to have been validly made, taken and passed under this act. The bill was introduced with the object to curb, discourage and eventually eradicate the concept and phenomenon of child marriages. No nikah khwan shall register a marriage where one or both contracting part...

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed the Punjab government to implement immediate measures to curb water wastage in the province.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar, has reiterated that lasting peace in South Asia hinges on the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

In a significant step towards digital transformation and public service, the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has introduced a lifetime ID card for citizens who voluntarily pledge to donate their organs.

Islamabad - Nation observed Youm-eTashakur on Friday to celebrate victory in Operation Bunyanum-Marsoos and Marka-e-Haq.

KHUZDAR: Four Levies personnel were martyred in an armed attack on their check post in the Nasl area of Khuzdar district late on Friday night. A senior Levies officer confirmed the incident to Dawn, stating that four Levies men lost their lives in the armed attack. The incident occurred at the Sanand Levies check post along the CPEC Road. According to police, the bodies were shifted to Khuzdar Hospital. The deceased have been identified as Maqbool, Khuda Bakhsh, Ejaz Ahmed, and Muhammad Ali. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2025

Shehbaz Sharif says we have won the war Urges India to become peaceful neighbour vows to elevate Pakistan’s dignity in comity of nations PM visits CMH to inquire after health of injured soldiers Meets family members of Usman Yousaf Shaheed.

ISLAMABAD - Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir on Friday lauded the role of national media stating that it has responded courageously and wisely to Indian propaganda.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan said yesterday that Islamabad and New Delhi had agreed to a “phased and struc-tured de-escalation mechanism” following last week’s border conflict, which had raised fears of an-other war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday hoisted the national flag at the PM House to mark Youm-e-Tashakur (Thanksgiving Day).

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi had a meeting on Friday to discuss national issues, including the prevailing political situation, national security, and major infrastructure projects.

ISLAMABAD - Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday paid rich tribute to the professionalism and bravery of Pakistan’s armed forces, commending their decisive and effective response to Indian aggression, which he described as a golden chapter in the country’s military history.

A new methane-powered rocket developed by China’s LandSpace Technology launched six satellites into orbit on Saturday, doubling down on a cheap, cleaner fuel that the private startup hopes will help it develop reusable rockets. The Zhuque-2E Y2 carrier rocket blasted off at 12:12pm (09:12am PKT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, marking the fifth flight for the Zhuque-2 series, according to a company statement. Beijing-based LandSpace became the world’s first company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen rocket in July 2023, ahead of US rivals including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Interest has grown in recent years in launching carrier vehicles fuelled by methane, which is deemed less polluting, safer and cheaper than more commonly used hydrocarbon fuels and a suitable propellant in a reusable rocket. LandSpace has increased the rocket’s payload, reflecting increasing demand in China’s expanding commercial space industry amid growing competition to form a constellati...

ISLAMABAD - British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said yesterday that peace and security were cornerstones of the UK-Pakistan relationship.