Pakistan

The federal government has declared March 20 and March 21 as public holidays for offices on the occasion of Eidul Fitr, according to a Cabinet Division notification issued on Sunday. “The prime minister has been pleased to declare March 20 and 21, 2026 (Friday and Saturday) as public holidays on the occasion of Eidul Fitr, both for offices observing five- and six- day work weeks,” the notification, seen by Dawn, said. The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) has forecast that Eidul Fitr is expected to fall on March 21 as the chances of sighting the Shawwal moon on March 19 remain low. However, the final decision regarding the sighting of the Shawwal moon and Eidul Fitr will be made by the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee. Suparco noted the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee was the “sole competent authority to announce the beginning of Islamic months on credible witness testimonies and verified observations from across the country”. Earlier, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) ...

The federal government on Sunday announced public holidays across the country on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Pakistan Railways has decided to run four special trains to facilitate passengers travelling to their hometowns to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their families.

Newly appointed Sindh Governor Nehal Hashmi on Sunday vowed that the federal government would bring more job opportunities and improve education for youth across the province. Addressing his maiden press conference after his oath-taking ceremony in Karachi, Hashmi said: “It is of immense joy that we will bring the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) to Sindh as well, with cooperation.” The governor recalled that he conveyed to PMYP Sindh Coordinator Fahad Shafiq that the “employment, education and training opportunities provided to Pakistan’s youth will also be extended here [in Sindh]”. Hashmi further said there would not just be “youth programme and computer training, but an entire comprehensive subject and chapter on education”. He assured that certifications would be completed on their set time and degrees would be awarded in a timely manner. Hashmi announced that free of cost Sehri and Iftar will be provided at Governor House to the deserving from Monday onwards. “This is not a party’s caravan but sh...

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unidentified armed militants attacked the Khutti police checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district late on Saturday night, triggering an exchange of fire with security personnel, police officials said. According to the police, the assailants carried out the attack under the cover of darkness using heavy weapons. Personnel stationed at the checkpoint responded swiftly and returned fire, forcing the attackers to retreat. During the exchange, one police constable sustained injuries. Officials said the militants managed to flee from the scene following the retaliatory action by the police. Soon after the incident, a heavy contingent of police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel, led by SP City Division Murtaza Khan Bangash, reached the site and cordoned off the area. The injured constable was taken to a hospital for medical treatment, and a search operation was launched in the surrounding locality to trace the attackers. Police said that hand grenades and explosive...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday noted the “alarming rise” in Islamophobia and warned that it exacerbates existing tensions and conflicts, threatening world peace. He made the remarks in a statement issued on International Day to Combat Islamophobia, which is observed on March 15. “In recent years, the alarming rise in Islamophobia has manifested in deeply troubling incidents across many parts of the world, including the desecration of the Holy Quran, attacks on women for wearing the hijab, vandalism of mosques, religious profiling, and the open expression of anti-Muslim hatred in public discourse and media,” Dar noted. “Islamophobia exacerbates existing tensions and conflicts, creating a vicious cycle that threatens international peace and security,” he warned. He reaffirmed, “On the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, we stand in solidarity with Muslims worldwide and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to combating prejudice, discrimination, hostility, and violence directe...

The Government of Pakistan has increased the price of kerosene oil by Rs39.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said the provincial government has distributed relief cards to 2.

The Cabinet Division has issued an official notification introducing austerity and fuel-saving measures across government institutions, including temporary salary cuts for senior officials.

LAHORE: In a bid to enable more and more people to travel by train on the eve of the upcoming Eid, Pakistan Railways (PR) has decided to operate four special trains from major stations to various destinations. According to a spokesperson for the PR, the first special trains will depart from Lahore for Karachi via Okara, Sahiwal and Khanewal on March 16. The second train will depart from Quetta for Rawalpindi via Sukkar, Rahimyar Khan, Khanewal and Lahore on March 17. The third train will depart from Karachi for Peshawar on March 17, followed by the fourth train that will depart from Karachi for Lahore on March 18. “The special train operations will help railways to facilitate a number of passengers intending to reach their homes for Eid celebrations,” said a PR official while talking to Dawn on Sunday. Pakistan Railways typically operates additional services during peak travel periods such as Eid, when thousands of people travel across the country to visit family and friends. Special trains help manage the su...

KOHAT: Six terrorists were killed in a joint operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district’s Lachi tehsil by the Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) and Kohat police, the police said on Sunday. In a statement, Kohat District Police Officer Shahbaz Elahi said that the CTD and police carried out the operation after receiving intelligence that terrorists were planning to orchestrate a large-scale attack in Lachi. Subsequently, a large contingent of CTD personnel and police launched “a search and strike operation”. During the operation, the suspects opened fire on the police, to which the teams responded,” he said, adding that six terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire. Weapons were recovered from the slain terrorists, Kohat DPO said, adding that a search operation was underway and the area had been cordoned off. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in a statement, paid tribute to the police and CTD for the successful operation, praising their professionalism. “I am proud of the brave soldiers of the KP poli...

UNITED NATIONS: At the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) at the United Nations this week, two Pakistani voices — one from the country’s parliamentary platform and the other from the moral authority of a Nobel laureate — placed access to justice for women at the centre of a polarised global debate. Speaking during the General Debate on behalf of Asifa Bhutto Zardari, Senator Bushra Anjum stressed that strengthening access to justice requires more than declarations — it demands institutional reform, representation within justice systems, and dismantling structural barriers. Quoting Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, she reminded delegates that “the discrimination against women can only begin to erode when women are empowered to claim their rights.” She highlighted Pakistan’s legal architecture: more than 480 specialised Gender-Based Violence Courts, legal aid mechanisms, family courts, ombudsperson institutions, and integrated protection services aimed at delivering remedies efficiently to wom...

A man walks past scores of gas cylinders, while LPG (right) is filled at a shop in North Nazimabad. —Fahim Siddiqi / White Star KARACHI: Following the suspension of supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the city’s gas crisis has worsened amid Ramazan’s peak demand, leaving fasting residents struggling during crucial Sehri and Iftar hours. Meanwhile, the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has introduced an unannounced supply schedule, compounding the peoples’ problems. Since the war has broken in Iran around two weeks ago, Karachi’s households have been struggling to cope with the worsening gas shortage across the city. A senior SSGC official, who preferred to be unnamed, told Dawn that the overall gas supply situation needed a lot of “adjustment” following the suspension of LNG supply from Qatar, adding that the gas utility had so far “successfully” managed to ensure gas supplies during Sehri and Iftar. However, with low gas pressure and disrupted supply...

Remembrances took place in Christchurch to observe and honour the victims of two terror attacks on mosques that killed scores of worshipers seven years ago, media reports said Sunday. Fifty-one victims were killed and 40 injured at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on March 15, 2019. in New Zealand’s deadliest-ever mass shooting. The day began with “the Walk the Talk for Unity” at the Bridge of Remembrance in the city centre, organised by the Sakinah Community Trust, a group founded by several widows of the victims, local broadcaster 1News reported. A memorial service at the Peace Bell in the botanical gardens began with a minute of silence, followed by the reading of the names of the 51 victims. It concluded with a laying of wreaths. Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant carried out the attacks at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch during Friday prayers. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 without the possibility of parole, in the first such ruling ever ha...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday rejected a statement made by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs criticising Pakistan’s cross-border action in Afghanistan, stating that the statement was “absurd, unwarranted” and “shamefully hypocritical”. The development comes as Pakistan continues with Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, which was launched in late February following unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border. A day earlier, the Indian MEA’s spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaisal claimed that Pakistan’s strikes in Afghanistan had led to “death of several civilians”, terming it an “act of aggression”. In response, the FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected the claim, stating that the remarks against Pakistan’s “legitimate, targeted and precise actions against terrorist hideouts and support bases inside Afghanistan are not only absurd and unwarranted but also shamefully hypocritical”. The spokesperson maintained that India’s “active support and sponsorship” for terrorist groups operating from Afghan ...

The government has increased the price of kerosene oil by another Rs40 per litre and approved Rs23 billion price differential subsidy for payments to oil marketing companies (OMCs) to keep the prices of two other oil products — petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) — unchanged for the week ending March 20. Otherwise, the petrol and HSD prices should have gone up by more than Rs49 and Rs75 per litre with effect from March 14. With fresh price notification, Kerosene, commonly described as poor man’s fuel, has become the most expensive consumer product at Rs358 per litre and has seen the highest increase among all fuels since March 7. The kerosene rate has now increased by about 12.6pc on March 14, bringing its cumulative increase to 90pc from Rs188.87 earlier this month. In formal orders, the petroleum division of the energy ministry said that the prime minister had approved keeping the prices of HSD and MS unchanged, and that the government will pay the price differential of Rs75.05 per litre and Rs49.63 per litr...

When US Secretary of Defence James Mattis addressed the intensification of US combat operations against the Islamic State group in 2017, he assured the American public of his commitment to “get the strategy right” while maintaining “the rules of engagement” to “protect the innocent.” Mattis’ professional tone was a stark contrast to [current US] Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarks following the first days of the joint US-Israeli combat operations in Iran. On March 2, 2026, after bragging about the awe-inspiring lethality of US “B-2s, fighters, drones, missiles”, Hegseth casually brushed aside concerns about long-term geopolitical strategy, declaring “no stupid rules of engagement, no nation-building quagmire, no democracy-building exercise, no politically correct wars. We fight to win.” Admonishing the press for anything less than total assent, he commanded, “to the media outlets and political left screaming ‘endless wars’: Stop. This is not Iraq.” Instead of briefi ng the public on the Iran war, US Secretary of...

• Pete Hegseth calls reporting ‘patently ridiculous’ • Thompson says network will keep reporting ‘the truth’ WASHINGTON: The Pentagon and White House slammed CNN over its Iran war coverage on Friday — with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying he looked forward to an ally of President Donald Trump taking over the news network. Hegseth spent part of a news conference on US military operations against Tehran criticising the media and CNN in particular, urging for what he called an “actual patriotic press”. The former Fox News host was particularly incensed by a story the channel ran suggesting Washington had underestimated Iran’s ability to disrupt global oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. “Patently ridiculous,” Hegseth told reporters, before adding: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.” David Ellison is the head of Paramount Skydance, which is set to complete a landmark takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the current owner of CNN, after beating Netflix in a bidding war. Earlier this...

A SITE in the Haret Hreik, a neighbourhood in southern Beirut which was struck by Israel.—AFP • Death toll for paramedics this month rises to 31 after clinic bombing • France offers to host negotiations in Paris; urges Israel to halt its offensive • First direct talks since conflict expected in coming days, Haaretz reports BEIRUT: An overnight Israeli strike on a healthcare centre in Borj Qalaouiya killed at least 12 Lebanese medical personnel, Lebanon’s state news agency said on Saturday, as diplomatic efforts intensified amid reports Israel and Lebanon may hold their first direct talks to de-escalate the war. The health ministry said the death toll was preliminary, with rescue operations underway to search for those still missing under the rubble and the Israeli attack killed doctors, paramedics, and nurses working at the facility. This strike brings the total number of paramedics killed in Lebanon since the start of hostilities to 31, a grim statistic highlighted by the ministry as it accused Israel of rep...

• US bombs Kharg Island, key to 90pc of oil exports • Tehran warns it will target any facility in region linked to US • Trump says warships from several countries to guard Hormuz • US embassy in Baghdad urges Americans to leave Iraq • Iran Guards say targeted US forces at Saudi base with missiles • Iranian military claims US aircraft carrier ‘neutralised’ DUBAI: After the United States on Saturday bombed Iran’s main energy hub and President Donald Trump predicted “many countries” would send warships, Tehran threatened to escalate the war raging in the Middle East by targeting any facility in the region with US ties. As the conflict entered its third week, Iran projected defiance after US forces hit military sites at Kharg Island, which handles 90 per cent of Iranian oil exports. A drone attack had already disrupted a United Arab Emirates energy hub and the US embassy in Baghdad warned US citizens to leave Iraq. Since Israel and the United States began attacking Iran on Feb 28, the war has killed more than 2,0...