Pakistan

A magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck Balochistan on Sunday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the shallow quake, which USGS reported had occurred at around 3:30am with the epicentre almost 60 kilometres north-northeast of Barkhan city of Balochistan. Senior levies officer Tuqeer Shah told Dawn.com that the Earthquake hit vast areas of Rara Shaim, Kingri and others. According to initial reports, at least three people, including a couple, were injured in the Rara Shaim area of Barkhan after the roof of their house sustained damage. Over half a dozen houses have been damaged, while cracks have appeared in many others in Rara Shaim. Shah added that the injured have been admitted to the hospital, while teams have been sent to the impacted areas to see the scope of the damage. Pakistan straddles the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country susceptible to earthquakes. The region can be challenging to naviga...

Israel’s attack on the Evin prison in Iran’s capital, Tehran on June 23 killed 71 people, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Sunday. At the end of an air war with Iran, Israel struck Tehran’s jail for political prisoners, in a demonstration that it was expanding its targets beyond military, civilian and nuclear sites to aim at symbols of Iran’s ruling system. According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the 12-day war, 13 of them children and 49 women, before a ceasefire went into effect last week. “In the attack on Evin prison, 71 people were martyred, including administrative staff, youth doing their military service, detainees, family members of detainees who were visiting them and neighbours who lived in the prison’s vicinity,” Jahangir said in remarks carried on the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan. Jahangir had previously said that part of Evin prison’s administrative building had been damaged in the attack, and people were killed and injur...

Widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms is expected across much of the country on Sunday, prompting flood warnings in several cities of Punjab, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in technology, with plans to jointly advance regional digital connectivity and innovation.

In a major relief for electricity consumers, the federal government has decided to abolish the Pakistan Television (PTV) license fee currently charged through electricity bills.

The Republican-controlled US Senate narrowly advanced President Donald Trump’s, sweeping tax-cut and spending bill on Saturday, during a marathon weekend session marked by political drama, division and lengthy delays as Democrats sought to slow the legislation’s path to passage. Lawmakers voted 51-49 to open debate on the 940-page megabill, with two of Trump’s fellow Republicans joining Democrats to oppose the legislation that would fund the president’s top immigration, border, tax-cut and military priorities. Trump on social media hailed the “great victory” for his “great, big, beautiful bill”. After hours of delay, during which Republican leaders and Vice President JD Vance worked behind closed doors to persuade last-minute holdouts to support the measure, Democrats demanded that the megabill first be read aloud in the chamber — a task that could delay the start of the debate until Sunday afternoon. Democrats say the bill’s tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthy at the expense of social progr...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif Saturday telephoned Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik and discussed with him aspects related to disaster management.

SAHIWAL: The Okanwala Bangla police has booked two individuals in separate cases for allegedly spreading sectarian hatred and sharing blasphemous content on social media under the newly-amended Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016. The FIRs were lodged on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Riaz Ahmed of Okanwala police and the suspects were booked under sections 295-A and 298-C of the PPC and section 11 of Peca. According to reports, a resident of Haseeb Town allegedly posted blasphemous content from his social media account, which subsequently went viral within the local community. The content reportedly contained inflammatory sectarian comments, inciting discord among the residents of surrounding rural areas. In the other incident, a resident of village 105/12-L was accused of sharing a video containing sectarian content and using hate speech against religious sects. Police claimed his mobile phone contained a video attacking revered religious figures. Police started investigation but so far no arres...

KARACHI: The provincial health department on Saturday reported fourth death from Naegleria fowleri in Sindh. According to officials, a 17-year-old student reportedly suddenly developed fever, body aches and vomiting on June 25. A day later, he was admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital where he tested positive for the deadly infection. On June 27, his condition deteriorated and he was shifted to ventilator support. The patient had no history of swimming, the officials said and added that apparently he contracted the infection through the contaminated, or non-chlorinated, tap water. According to experts, lack of filtration and chlorination of potable water is a major source of Naegleria’s infection. Besides, city’s water distribution system is faulty, allowing seepage of sewage in the domestic water supply lines, which in turn gets contaminated and causes harmful diseases. Karachi recorded this year’s first death from Naegleria fowleri in March. The woman victim was a resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal and died...

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD - Heavy rain and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 32 people including 16 children since the start of the monsoon season this week, disaster management officials said.

KHYBER: A rapid increase in use of ecstasy pills and ice (crystal meth) by majority of youth has alarmed parents, health professionals and civil society activists in Khyber tribal district. Information collected by this scribe about the excessive use of ecstasy pills and ice by local youth unfolds a horrifying situation as the drug is now considered an essential ‘ingredient’ in social gatherings like weddings, engagements and other festive or recreational ceremonies owing to its easy availability throughout Khyber. Locals said that a majority of youth had gone out of the control of their parents or other family members as those two ‘lethal’ drugs were easily available in designated shops, kiosks, private houses and hujras and even outside educational institutions and sports grounds where those could be supplied through motorcycles or young carriers by using mobile phone service in all the three tehsils of Khyber. Ghafoor Shah, a social activist in Landi Kotal, said that local drug addicts invented their own n...

Says this is not death of tourists but death of PTI’s governance system.

ISLAMABAD - Chief Executive Officer of ACE Money Transfer, Rashid Ashraf, conducted a series of strategic meetings in Islamabad with Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, and other senior government officials to discuss collaborative efforts aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s Financial infrastructure and enhancing formal.

ISLAMABAD - Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday said that the PTI-led provincial government is deeply mired in corruption.

LAHORE - Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan also imposed fines exceeding Rs 2 million on 10 provincial lawmakers for their involvement in disorder, vandalism, and damage to public property during the assembly session held on June 16.

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Saturday that its decisions, consistently upheld by the courts, are rooted in constitutional requirements, legal scope, and solid evidence, free from political pressure, public clamour, or the pursuit of cheap popularity.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari Saturday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on a convoy of security forces in North Waziristan.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday strongly condemned the attack on a convoy of security forces by the Indian-backed proxy Fitna al Khawarij in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district.

President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at prosecutors in Israel over the corruption trial that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced, saying Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to “stand for this”. Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust - all of which he denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases. “It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that the judicial process was going to interfere with Netanyahu’s ability to conduct talks with Palestinian militants Hamas, and Iran. Trump’s second post over the course of a few days defending Netanyahu and calling for the cancellation of the trial went a step further to tie Israel’s legal action to US aid. “The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar [sic] a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We ...

NAROWAL:Funeral prayers for nine members of a family who drowned in the Swat River were offered in Daska, Sialkot, on Sunday. A large number of grieving relatives and thousands of citizens attended the ceremony as the victims were laid to rest in their ancestral graveyard. The bodies of the victims, who were swept away by flash floods on Friday, were brought to Daska by ambulances. Among the deceased were 45-year-old Rubina Kausar, and her daughters 20-year-old Tazmeen and 16-year-old Shermeen, whose funeral prayers were held at Darul Uloom Madina, Daska. Seven-year-old Mohammad Ayaan and 15-year-old Imam, siblings, were laid to rest following funeral prayers at Eidgah on Sambrial Road. Four daughters of Muhammad Mohsin, 17-year-old Meerab, 18-year-old Ajwa, 13-year-old Mashal and 7-year-old Anfal, were also among the victims. Their funeral prayers were offered at Noor Masjid on College Road, Daska. Gujranwala Commissioner Syed Naveed Haider, RPO Tayyab Hafeez Cheema, DPO Sialkot Faisal Shahzad, Assistant Com...