Pakistan

Punjab Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif has reaffirmed her commitment to the safety and well-being of the people of the province.

India’s counter-terrorism agency said on Sunday it has arrested two men in Indian-Occupied Kashmir for allegedly harbouring gunmen behind a deadly attack on civilians that sparked a days-long conflict between the two countries. India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed the two suspects were from the Pahalgam area, where gunmen killed 26 people two months ago. “The two men had provided food, shelter and logistical support to the terrorists, who had… selectively killed the tourists on the basis of their religious identity,” a statement by NIA said. The agency identified the two men as Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar, claiming the duo “have disclosed the identities of the three armed terrorists involved in the attack”. New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the attack without making public any evidence — an allegation that Islamabad denies. The April 22 killings triggered a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by the nuclear-armed countries and led to intense exchanges of missile, dron...

PESHAWAR: As the heat wave persists, different localities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are experiencing prolonged power outages daily. In Peshawar, the power consumers, including women on Saturday held protest meetings in different areas against the power outages and demanded smooth power supply to their areas. The main Charsadda road remained blocked for some time, which also affected the traffic flow. The protesters said the situation was even worse in rural areas, where sixteen to twenty hours of power outages have become order of the day. “It is very difficult to spend even an hour without electricity in such extreme heat,” one Mushtaq Khan of Bakhshipul said. Criticising the Peshawar Electric Supply company (Pesco), he said whenever complaints were logged with the relevant authorities; they stated due to power theft, the area has been marked as a high-loss zone. “But since we pay our bills regularly, why are we being deprived of electricity?” he questioned, urging Pesco to avoid power outages in their areas. Li...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has strongly condemned the United States' strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, warning that the move could dangerously escalate tensions in an already volatile region.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says followers of all religions are equal citizens in Pakistan and they enjoy all constitutional rights.

The reaction of world leaders after US forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday ranged from Israel lauding President Donald Trump’s decision to the UN calling for de-escalation and Iran and some other nations condemning the attacks. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Donald Trump, calling Washington’s move a “bold decision”. In a video message, he said, “Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history… History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world’s most dangerous regime the world’s most dangerous weapons.” Iran’s Abbas Araghchi calls US strikes a ‘grave violation of UN charter’ “The United States, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has committed a grave violation of the UN Charter, international law and the (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) by attacking Iran’s peaceful nuclear installations,” Iran’s...

The Power Division on Sunday instructed power distribution companies (Discos) to take measures to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply in the month of Muharram keeping the heat waves in view, according to a press release by the department. Muharram is a month of mourning, observed in particular by Shia Muslims worldwide. It commemorates the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, where amongst many, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), Imam Husain, was martyred, and other family members were martyred or subjected to humiliation. On Saturday, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 across the province from Muharram 1 to 10 to ensure peace and religious harmony. Federal Power Minister Awais Leghari, in a letter addressed to the officials of Discos, said, “Since the holy month of Muharram is falling in the month of July and heat waves are expected. “It is very much imperative that all necessary measures are taken to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to facilitate religious gatherings and avoid a...

LAHORE: The Punjab government will plant 42 million trees on 50,869 acres under the CM Plant for Pakistan Initiative. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Saturday that large-scale tree plantation and environmental projects were being launched under the Punjab Green Programme. She said around 1.375 million trees were being planted on 3,790 acres of forest wasteland under the Agroforestry Initiative. She said the scope of the Green Pakistan Programme had been expanded to plant 466.4 million more trees on 251,000 acres. Plantation of 5m trees in rows on 10,223 avenue miles along canals of Punjab had been initiated, she added. She said the provision of world-class facilities for promotion of eco-tourism at the Lal Suhanra National Park and Salt Range were being ensured. She said wireless network, digital cameras, GPS devices and CCTV cameras were being provided for eco-tourism. She said, “Construction of an eco-friendly LEED certified multi-storey building has been started to establish a protected nature area and...

Pakistan has strongly condemned recent U.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has strongly condemned Israeli aggression against Iran, calling it a blatant violation of international law and a serious threat to regional and global peace.

For nearly half a century, the United States has squabbled with Iran, but the conflict has largely been left in the shadows, with US policymakers believing, often reluctantly, that diplomacy was preferable. With President Donald Trump’s order of strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, the United States — like Israel, which encouraged him — has brought the conflict into the open, and the consequences may not be clear for some time to come. “We will only know if it succeeded if we can get through the next three to five years without the Iranian regime acquiring nuclear weapons, which they now have compelling reasons to want,” said Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA analyst and supporter of the 2003 Iraq war who is now vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute. US intelligence had not concluded that Iran was building a nuclear bomb, with Tehran’s sensitive atomic work largely seen as a means of leverage, and Iran can be presumed to have taken precautions in anticipation of strikes. Trita Parsi, an outspoken cri...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Adviser, Barrister Dr.

ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has issued a forecast for a prolonged monsoon season in the India-Pakistan border region from late June to October. According to the UN body, a strong pre-monsoon surge is expected in late June, with above-normal rainfall forecast along the Indo-Pakistan border. The weather system is likely to continue into early July, followed by near-normal rainfall throughout the rest of the month. Meanwhile, anomalous rainfall is predicted in the desert regions of both nations from July to September, according to a report released by the FAO on Friday. The monsoon season is exp­e­cted to be strong and prolonged with precipitation falling to near-normal levels in October. November will be dry before the wet weather returns in December. The report said early and abundant summer rains are likely to create favourable conditions for small-scale breeding of locusts in eastern Pakistan and Rajasthan, India. However, the breeding activity is expected to disappear when monsoon...

TAXILA: The water level in Khanpur Dam has fallen to a critically low level, just eight feet above the dead level, raising alarms about a looming crisis for its civic beneficiaries of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Water supply for irrigation purposes to both KP and Punjab had already been suspended around a month ago. According to Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), the reservoir level stood at 1918 feet on Saturday which is significantly below the conservation level of 1980 feet and alarmingly close to the dead level of 1910 feet. The inflow into the dam has declined to just 29 cusecs while the outflow is being maintained at 106 cusecs. With the plummeted water level, water sports activities in the dam have declined to the lowest level of the year. During high temperatures the dam becomes a favourite tourist destination. Wapda authorities said presently civic agencies of Islamabad and Rawalpindi were receiving only 50 cusecs of water, which was also at the risk of being halted. Officials are hopeful t...

A spell of rain in Lahore on Sunday brought much-needed relief from the persistent humidity, turning the weather pleasant and lowering temperatures across the provincial capital.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari formally launched the Benazir Hunarmand Programme at a ceremo­ny held at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Saturday.

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called on President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Saturday during his visit to attend the 51st session of OIC CFM and discussed matters of bilateral and regional interest. He was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir. During the meeting, the FM Dar underscored the profound importance that Pakistan accords to its enduring bilateral relations with Turkiye. Both the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen and diversify the longstanding brotherly cooperation between the two countries. The leaders expressed strong condemnation of the continued Israeli attacks in blatant violation of fundamental principles of international law, reiterated support for Iran’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and its right to self-defense under the UN Charter, agreed to continue diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation, and urged the international community to play its part in restoring peace and stability...

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Saturday approved key amendments to the Finance Bill 2025, including tax relief for low-income salaried individuals, a reduction in the super tax rate, and an increase in the cash withdrawal threshold for non-filers. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, chaired by MNA Naveed Qamar, carried out a clause-by-clause review of the Finance Bill 2025 — a departure from previous years when only one or two sessions were typically held. The committee also reviewed amendments to the Islamabad Capital Territory (Tax on Services) Ordinance 2001, and recommended their approval by the National Assembly. A major proposal endorsed by the committee is the reduction of the income tax rate from 2.5pc to 1pc for salaried individuals earning between Rs600,000 and Rs1.2m annually. Additionally, the committee supported a 0.5pc cut in the super tax on the corporate sector. Cash withdrawal limit In banking, the committee approved increasing the daily cash withdrawal l...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Sheh­baz Sharif on Saturday directed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to formulate a detailed ac­tion plan with timeline for the next year’s Hajj without any delay.

• Rules initiation of criminal proceedings unlawful without investigative audit and show-cause notice • Says taxes should be imposed reasonably and without discrimination ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Saturday barred the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from arresting or initiating criminal prosecution to recover tax due from defaulters without prior determination of their tax liability. “We have no hesitation to conclude that without investigative audit or issuance of show-cause notice or providing opportunity to explain the matters, registration of FIR, initiation of criminal proceeding and arrest of registered person is without jurisdiction and lawful authority,” observed Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi in a judgement he authored. Justice Abbasi was a member of a three-judge SC bench, which was seized with a number of appeals against judgements of Lahore, Sindh and Islamabad high courts. The controversy at hand revolves around determining the legality of pre-trial steps including arrest and detention of individ...