Pakistan

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab has issued a flood alert for the River Sutlej and adjoining streams, warning of a possible surge in water levels due to the upcoming monsoon rains.

Pakistani security forces have killed 33 terrorists during an attempted infiltration along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border near Sambaza in Zhob District, Balochistan, the military’s media wing confirmed on Friday.

Amid a spate of terrorist and quadcopter attacks, police on Friday carried out a search and targeted operation alongside security forces in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, arresting “14 terrorist facilitators and destroying three hideouts”. Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks, particularly targeting police personnel in Bannu in July. Bannu police spokesperson Khanzala Quraishi said in a statement: “Pakistan Army and police conducted a joint operation in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas based on intelligence inputs and arrested 14 facilitators of the banned organisation, while 3 hideouts of terrorists were demolished.” Quraishi added that the operation was carried out on information about the presence of terrorists in Wazirabad and Tudonar along the Tuchi River, where five suspected targets were cleared. Security forces also seized three vehicles, which included two motorcycles and a ricks...

Remittances from overseas Pakistani workers went up by 7.4 per cent on year-on-year basis for the month of July, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Friday. Every month, millions of overseas Pakistanis send money home. These remittances are now a cornerstone of Pakistan’s balance-of-payments, hitting a record $4.1 billion during March alone. “Workers’ remittances recorded an inflow of $3.2bn during July 2025,” a press release by the SBP read. According to the data released by the bank, the inflows were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($823.7 million), United Arab Emirates ($665.2m), United Kingdom ($450.4m) and the US ($269.6m). Last month, SBP’s data showed that workers’ remittances increased by 26.6pc to hit a record $38.3bn during the fiscal year 2025 as compared to the corresponding period of last year. It added that the workers’ remittances went up by 7.9pc to $3.406bn in June 2025, compared to $3.158bn during the same month last year. FY25 proved to be a relatively successful year for the governme...

A man in Peshawar was booked under the charges of cyberstalking and harassment on Friday by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) after he allegedly threatened to leak personal pictures of the complainant online. In a statement, NCCIA said that the suspect — who was arrested from the Faqirabad area of Peshawar — was posting photos of the complainant on TikTok and had threatened to post photos of an obscene nature on the platform. “The incident caused severe mental and social damage to the victim,” the NCCIA said. A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the suspect under Section 16 (Unauthorised use of identity information), Section 20 (Offences against dignity of a natural person), and Section 24 (Cyberstalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, as well as Section 419 (cheating by personatation) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar Ahmed, said in a statement that strict action would ...

New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India’s first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump on Aug 6 imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50pc — among the highest of any US trading partner. The US president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs, and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the people said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarit...

Pakistani security forces have downed an Indian drone in Lahore’s Manawan area, raising fresh concerns over cross-border surveillance activities.

Pakistan and Qatar have agreed to broaden their partnership to include joint efforts on tackling plastic pollution, promoting environmental sustainability, and boosting green investments, following a high-level meeting in Islamabad on Friday.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has cautioned that Israel’s expansionist policies risk escalating regional tensions, reiterating Pakistan’s backing for a just two-state solution to the Palestine issue.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif held a meeting with Pakistan Muslim League-N President and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, discussing matters of mutual interest and the overall political landscape.

Demonstrating Pakistan’s steadfast solidarity with the Palestinian people, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar oversaw the departure of the country’s 18th humanitarian aid consignment to Gaza at a ceremony held Friday at Islamabad International Airport.

River erosion and increased water flow caused a blockage on part of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Hunza Valley on Friday, according to a government spokesperson. GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said that the flow of water in GB rivers had increased, because of which a part of the KKH had been blocked due to erosion. “The chief minister of GB has ordered the restoration of the highway,” he said. He added that relevant institutions were on their way to restoring the KKH in Morkhun. Faraq also said that a search was underway for tourists who went missing after a boat capsized in Skardu on Tuesday. “Due to the increase in the flow of water in the lakes, there is a ban on operating boats and Section 144 is in force,” he said. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period. “Action is being taken against those who take tourists out on lakes by boat des...

Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind on Friday said that mobile data services in the province have been suspended until August 31 over “security reasons”. In recent months, the security situation in Balochistan has worsened, as militants, long involved in a low-level insurgency, have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks. In February, nearly 62 per cent of the total terrorism-related deaths in the country occurred in Balochistan. The move came after a notification issued by the Balochistan Home Department on Aug 6, seen by Dawn.com, ordered the immediate suspension of data services until Aug 31, citing the “peculiar law and order situation” in the province. “It is, therefore, requested to please direct the concerned authorities for suspension/closure of 3G and 4G services in the entire province … to avoid any untoward incident,” the notification read. “The service has been suspended because they (militants) use it for coordination and sharing information,” Rind said, according to Reu...

Police on Friday seized an Indian surveillance drone in the Jandiala Road area of Manawan, Lahore.

Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday lamented that sidelined political leaders are being “squeezed” between the government and what he termed an incompetent opposition, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Pakistan is set to become the first South Asian nation to ratify the 2001 Unesco Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH), marking a significant step toward safeguarding its submerged maritime legacy, a statement from the Press Information Department (PID) said on Friday. In recent years, underwater cultural heritage has attracted increasing attention from both the scientific community and the general public. For scientists, it represents an invaluable source of information on ancient civilisations, maritime practices, human use of land and marine environments, and climate change, according to Unesco. The announcement was made by Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry during a meeting with Unesco representative Dr Cristina Menegazzi in Islamabad today. The two sides discussed collaborative efforts to document, preserve, and promote Pakistan’s rich underwater archaeological resources. “Pakistan is set to become the first South Asian nation to ratify the 2...

A year ago to the day, Arshad Nadeem stunned the world with a monstrous javelin throw that propelled him to global stardom and salvaged Pakistan’s plummeting sports glory with its first individual gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The javelin star sweetened the deal when his 92.97m throw shattered the Olympic record — not once, but twice, to the delight of a roaring crowd at Paris’ Stade de France. But a year on from the historic triumph, Arshad is undergoing physiotherapy in London following surgery on his calf muscle. The two upcoming Diamond League championships he was set to compete at this month have been scrapped from his sports calendar as he recovers in time for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September. But there is no disappointment from Arshad or his coach Salman Butt, who doubles as his mentor, manager, and much more. “Things are looking good for Tokyo,” he told Dawn.com in a call from London. “We’re hoping to accomplish a lot there.” A gold medal at the World Championships will...

Extreme heat is breaking records around the world, with wildfires and poor air quality compounding the crisis and some areas including southern Pakistan exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, according to a report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) released on Thursday. Extreme temperatures caused approximately 489,000 heat-related deaths annually between 2000 and 2019, with 36 per cent occurring in Europe and 45pc in Asia, the report said. The health impacts of heat are especially severe in cities due to the so-called ‘urban heat island effect’ — the over-heating of dense city areas compared with their rural surroundings — which is magnifying problems as urbanisation continues, it was pointed out. Amid rising 21st-century temperatures, the WMO underscored that July 2025 was the third-warmest July ever recorded, behind those in 2023 and 2024. In this record-breaking July, heatwaves especially impacted Sweden and Finland, which experienced unusually long spells of temperatures above 30°C. Southeast Europe...

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday extended its stay order against the removal of K-Electric CEO Moonis Alvi until September 12, while hearing his petition challenging the Provincial Ombudsman’s order to remove him over harassment allegations.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved the construction of the long-awaited 306-kilometre Hyderabad–Sukkur Motorway at an estimated cost of Rs363 billion.