Pakistan

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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday stressed the need to build upon the commitments enshrined in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Their meeting came after Washington and Tehran exchanged strikes over the past several days, with the former targeting Iranian military facilities along its southern coast and the latter targeting US bases in Gulf countries. In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said the two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan. During the meeting, they reviewed the ongoing regional situation and bilateral ties. “DPM/FM expressed deep concern over recent regional tensions and underscored the importance of dialogue, restraint, de-escalation by all sides, and sustained diplomatic engagement to achieve lasting peace and stability,” the FO said in a post on X. “He emphasised the need to build o...

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ISLAMABAD: At least 15 security personnel embraced martyrdom while 12 militants belonging to the Indian-sponsored group Fitna Al Khawarij were killed after security forces foiled a terrorist attack on a joint police checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tank district, the military's media wing said on Friday.

PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday questioned the lack of development initiatives in Azad Jammu and Kashmir after his ouster from power. He, along with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, was addressing a public rally in Mirpur, AJK, ahead of the upcoming elections. Addressing the rally, he asked why there could be no development work in Mirpur or AJK after he had left the post of prime minister, criticising subsequent governments for not introducing or completing development projects. “Behind every project in AJK or Pakistan, you will find the PML-N’s stamp on it,” he stated, questioning, “Tell me if any other party has done something for AJK.” “Kashmir is as dear to me as Lahore. It is not my second home; it is my first home,” Nawaz said. He emphasised that he had come with a manifesto for AJK, with education as his top priority. “The youth of AJK will get education. Schools, colleges and universities will be built here,” he said, adding, “Scholarships will also be given to merit...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday reserved its order on the maintainability of petitions seeking suspension of the sentences awarded to lawyers and rights activists Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial tweets case after the prosecution argued that the pleas had been filed prematurely. On January 24, rights lawyers Imaan and Hadi were sentenced by an Islamabad sessions court to a total of 17 years in jail on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). Following their convictions, which were widely condemned by lawyers and United Nations (UN) experts, the couple challenged their convictions before the IHC on February 7. Justice Muhammad Azam Khan heard the petitions filed by the two convicts against the trial court’s judgment. At the outset of the hearing, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), through its counsel, raised a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the suspension of sentence petitions. The prosecut...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Friday issued a weather advisory for the next three to four days, forecasting rain in southern and central parts of the country due to an active monsoon system. A press release issued by the Met Office said a low-pressure area was present over south-west Rajasthan and adjoining areas, causing monsoon currents over the southern and central parts of the country. Under the influence of these currents, it said, rain and thundershowers were expected across the country, including Sindh, southern and central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and northeastern areas of Balochistan, between July 24 and 27. In Sindh, it forecast “rain-thundershowers with a few heavy falls” in the districts of Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad, Matiari, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Ghotki, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Larkana, Khairpur, Nosheroferoz and Thatta between the evenin...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast widespread rainfall across Karachi and several parts of southern and central Pakistan over the coming days, warning that heavy downpours could lead to urban flooding in vulnerable areas.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has released its latest monsoon situation report, stating that continued heavy rainfall has caused additional casualties and damage across Pakistan.

Leaders of India’s youth-led “cockroach” movement said on Friday that the government ​has sought time until Saturday afternoon to respond to their demand for the education minister’s resignation over exam paper leaks, following talks between the two ‌sides. The talks came hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike, raising hopes that the two sides could reach a breakthrough after tens of thousands of angry youth converged in the capital Delhi this week to demand the minister’s resignation. The anti-government protests represent the biggest youth challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014. Opposition parties have echoed the movement’s demands and have disrupted ​the monsoon session of parliament that began this week. Friday’s talks were held between senior federal ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh on one side, and Saurav Das ​and Ashutosh Ranka, spokespersons of the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) youth movement, on the other. Saurav Das speaks a...

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin, a former ally of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has resigned citing serious health issues, his office said on Friday. Shahabuddin, 76, has held the largely ceremonial post of president since April 2023, a period that included volatile months after Hasina’s flight to India following a student-led uprising against her rule in 2024. “Recent medical examinations have diagnosed me with a condition known as autonomic neuropathy. Due to this condition, I occasionally experience momentary loss of consciousness,” Shahabuddin said in a statement released by his press secretary. The speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad, the national parliament, will perform the duties of the president until a new one is elected, the statement said. Shahabuddin also cited his deteriorating health in a resignation letter to the speaker of parliament, seen by AFP. “Due to worsening physical and mental incapacity… it is no longer possible for me to properly discharge the responsibilities of an impor...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and the Foreign Minister of Iran, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, on Friday agreed to maintain close coordination and regular consultations on issues of mutual interest and reaffirmed their commitment to working together for regional peace, stability, and shared prosperity.

The government on Friday took another step towards completing the higher military command’s restructuring initiated last year under the 27th Constitutional Amendment by appointing Gen Syed Aamer Raza as the country’s first commander of the National Strategic Command (NSC). The four-star post was created under last year’s constitutional tweak to oversee the operational integration of Pakistan’s strategic forces — a role previously exercised by the Chai­rman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, which was abolished under the 27th Amendment. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, therefore, promoted Gen Raza from the rank of lieutenant general to the rank of a general and simultaneously appointed him as the CNSC. Apart from the CNSC, the 27th Amendment also resulted in the creation of the post of the chief of defence forces (CDF), which is concurrently held by the army chief. Subsequently, Field Marshal Munir became the country’s first CDF after changes to the Army Act. Under the Army Act, the CNSC is appointed by the prime ...