Pakistan

“My job is making windows where there were once walls” — Michel Foucault HIV AIDS is a window to our health system. Instead of erecting mental walls of apathy and ignorance, the spread of HIV among children through our so-called healthcare system, helps us open a window through which the whole system can be revisited. Only if we are for windows and not walls. After the Taunsa outbreak and incriminating BBC Eye documentary, the Punjab government first tried to defend itself and unnecessarily blamed the BBC for being misrepresentative and hyperbolic but then as the pressure mounted in the media by concerned citizens, the prime minister took notice and advised the Federal Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to set up a ‘Task Force on Reported HIV Mishandling’. This task force, ably chaired by the state minister of health, Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, quickly convened experts and in three meetings (May 6, 8 and 14, 2026) produced a comprehensive report covering many governance, s...

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• Targets halving growth rate by 2035 • PM calls rising population one of country’s biggest national challenges • Welcomes Chinese firm’s investment to modernise Pakistan’s grain storage infrastructure ISLAMABAD: The federal government will soon convene a meeting with the provinces, the administrations of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and other stakeholders to formulate a comprehensive strategy to reduce the country’s population growth rate from the current 2.55 per cent to 1.25pc by 2035. The decision was shared during a meeting on population welfare chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday. Describing the rapidly growing population as one of the country’s biggest challenges, the prime minister said measures for population control and welfare must be treated as a national responsibility. He stressed the need to align population planning with national development, economic stability and human resource development, and called for enhanced coordination among the provinces a...

WITH free transit of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz blocked due to the US-Iran conflict, a new chokepoint has emerged in the region: Bab al-Mandeb on the Red Sea. If free flow of marine traffic is also blocked through this passage, the impact on global commerce would be catastrophic, while the hostilities in and around the Gulf would surely spread to the Red Sea and its environs. Yemen’s pro-Iran Houthi militia had announced a blockade of Saudi ships after Sanaa airport was bombed on July 13, and an aircraft flying in from Iran was diverted to Hodeida. The Houthis have blockaded the Red Sea before, stopping all traffic to and from Israel after the Gaza massacre started, in solidarity with the Palestinians. But the latest closure may have a much wider global impact, considering the situation in Hormuz. It is keeping this in mind, as well as its own dependence on Bab al-Mandeb for energy supplies, that Pakistan on Wednesday condemned the closure, and warned against any attempts to target its vessels. Prim...

• Flood Forecasting Division warns flows may rise further by July 25 amid new monsoon spell • Urban flooding likely in parts of Punjab, KP and Balochistan LAHORE: The Chenab River continued to remain in a high-flood state on Thursday as torrential rains lashed held Kashmir and several parts of Punjab. “The water level in the Chenab River at Marala and Khanki has subsided to medium flood. However, the river is flowing in high flood at Qadirabad and Chiniot Bridge. It is expected to subside by the time it reaches Trimmu Headworks after passing Chiniot Bridge,” a senior irrigation department official told Dawn. “This is according to a fresh report issued on Thursday evening,” he added. However, he warned of a possible rise in the river’s water level again at Marala if rains continued in held Kashmir. “Rains are still continuing in parts of held Kashmir. We will receive Thurs­day’s report from held Kashmir on Friday (today). Let’s see what happens,” he added. According to the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) of t...

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Thursday said the consistent efforts of the security forces and law enforcement agencies, backed by the steadfast support of the people, would bring lasting peace to Balochistan. Addressing participants of the 20th National Workshop Balochistan at the General Headquarters, he underscored that foreign-sponsored proxies had persistently sought to fuel violence, undermine stability and disrupt peace in Balochistan, according to a press release issued by Inter-Services Public Relations. “Their nefarious designs, however, will be defeated through the firm and decisive response of the armed forces, supported by the resilience and unity of the people of Pakistan,” he said. He reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering resolve to dismantle terrorist infrastructure wherever it posed a threat to the country and its people. He reaffirmed that targeted operations against Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan would continue with ...

• Justice Minhas rules against enforcement of Dubai decree • Judgement notes criminal findings do not bind civil courts, calls for balance between global and local principles ISLAMABAD: Dismissing a petition filed by the Gulf-based arm of a major technology company, the Islamabad High Court stresses the need to strike a balance between the principle of international comity and the protections afforded by domestic law when enforcing foreign courts’ decrees. The ruling came in a case filed by two Pakistani businessmen, Latif Hakeem and another, through their counsel Kashif Ali Malik, against the execution of a money decree obtained by a technology company from Dubai Court of First Instance in October 2021. The decree was subsequently upheld by the Dubai Court of Appeal in June 2022, and affirmed by the Dubai Court of Cassation in October 2022. The high court set aside the July 2025 order of a local executing court, which had allowed the enforcement of the Dubai decree, while dismissing the execution petition fi...

• Association calls off strike for 15 days in late-night development after govt assurances • Most fuel stations remain open as rival group decides to stay away from protest LAHORE: A split among petroleum dealers blunted the impact of Thursday’s nationwide shutdown call, with petrol pumps remaining open in most urban and semi-urban areas across the country. However, late on Thursday night, the All Pakistan Petroleum Pump Owners Association (APPPOA) called off the shutdown for 15 days. In a video message, APPPOA Vice Chairman Noman Butt said the government had agreed to move a summary within 15 days for implementing the increase in dealers’ commission approved in December last year. It had also agreed to review the issue of daily fuel pricing within the same period. APPPOA Chairman Humayun Khan also announced an end to the shutdown call. In December, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved an increase in dealers’ commission from Rs8.64 to Rs9.98 per litre in two phases by June 2026. However, the...

• Says armed forces vigilant about situation in Bab el-Mandab; will give swift response if Islamabad’s assets come under attack • PM reassures Saudi crown prince of full support, condemns Yemeni rebels’ attacks on oil tankers • Dar meets Omani FM on sidelines of Asean moot; FO says efforts on to secure de-escalation ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday doubled down on its warning to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, describing any attack on its maritime interests as a “red line” and declaring that such a strike would be treated as an attack on the country, while simultaneously reassuring Saudi Arabia of its support and pledging to work with Riyadh to ensure the uninterrupted flow of ships through the Bab el-Mandab chokepoint. At his weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi left little room for ambiguity about Islamabad’s position. “I do not think that there is a thin line when it comes to defending our national security and our assets. This is not a thin line; this is a red line. This red line is stri...

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