Pakistan

Cold, foggy conditions persist across the province as winter bites

CM says provincial education, health initiatives serve whole country

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Initiative aimed to facilitate residents during Ramazan

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US envoy says a US-backed surgical operation captured Maduro and his wife as indicted fugitives

Bangladesh Cricket Board refuses to send team to India over security concern

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday visited the Bangladesh High Commission to offer condolences on the demise of former Bangladeshi prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday adjourned until tomorrow the hearing of the case relating to the burning of police vehicles during the May 9 violence in Mughalpura.

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Gives go ahead for 7th KLF, other projects including road repairs

The Balochistan High Court has put on hold a government notification that granted powers under Sections 22-A and 22-B to commissioners and deputy commissioners across the province.

The Sindh Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said on Monday that a major terrorist attack had been averted in Karachi. Addressing a press conference alongside CTD Additional Inspector General (IG) Zulfiqar Ali Larik in Karachi, CTD Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ghulam Azfar Mahesar said that law enforcement agencies and the “premier intelligence agency” received information that terrorists were planning an attack to target the city. Mahesar said that the terrorists were planning to attack specific targets in Karachi to “destabilise” national security. He said that intelligence agencies, the Special Branch, the Intelligence Bureau as well as Sindh and Balochistan CTD designed a strategy to thwart these plans. He said that intelligence officials were deployed in different locations, while focusing on Karachi’s west region. Mahesar said that after several days of robust efforts, officials succeeded in getting information on a terrorist hideout in Raees Goth, Karachi, where terrorists had prepared a large amount...

Landing in my birthplace always gives me the feeling of a tired child resting his head in his mother’s lap, the comfort that says I’m home. This time, the feeling was warmer, for I had brought with me the joy of my son’s wedding to share with my family and friends. It felt like returning to a celebration. But joy in this country is always fragile, more so in the border regions. The minute I touched down in Islamabad, news broke of yet another suicide attack — 12 killed, dozens injured. The headline cut through my heart before I even reached baggage claim. Still, I drove to Peshawar, to my roots. To the soil that has always known both happiness and heartbreak. The walls of Peshawar’s old qahwa khanas tea houses, which once echoed with Rehman Baba’s verses and the faces of film stars, are now filled with Quranic calligraphy, reflecting a changing moral and social landscape. When I reached home, the air was the same as when I left it. Dry, warm, filled with the scent of dust and bright sunshine. Children I once ...

LAHORE: A local court on Monday granted pre-arrest bail to a qawwal after he was booked in a case for performing a song associated with ex-premier Imran Khan during a government-sponsored cultural event. In the first information report (FIR), the complainant, Shalimar Gardens in-charge Zameerul Hasan, alleged that qawwal Faraz Amjad Khan gave the event “political colour” as the song mentioned “Qaidi No. 804” in reference to former prime minister Imran Khan. Additional District and Sessions Judge Shazaib Dar took up the bail application filed by the artist today, who appeared before the court. Amjad’s counsel submitted that the petitioner has no affiliation with any political party and that he performed the song at the request of participants at the cultural programme. He further requested the court to grant pre-arrest bail to the singer as he wanted to join the investigation to “prove his innocence”. After preliminary arguments, the judge allowed the bail and sought the case record from the police. The Baghba...

A first-semester pharmacy student sustained injuries after she jumped from the second floor at the University of Lahore on Monday, police said. Lahore Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran told Dawn that the student was originally from Narowal, adding that her parents had been asked to come to Lahore. “She jumped from the second floor of the pharmacy department,” the DIG said, adding that for now, the incident appeared to be “a suicide attempt”. However, he continued, police had yet to ascertain the reason behind the incident. The official further stated that the student’s legs had been fractured, and she had been hospitalised. “Her condition is serious, but there is no severe head injury,” DIG Kamran added. The director of emergency at Lahore General Hospital, Dr Yahya Sultan, also told Dawn that the girl was brought to the facility in a “serious condition” and she had sustained a minor head injury. “There are profound chest injuries on the right side,” he said. DIG Kamran said that accordi...

LAKKI MARWAT: One person was killed while eight others were injured when a vehicle carrying cement workers was targeted by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Monday. The district police spokesperson, Qudratullah, said that the vehicle, which was carrying cement factory workers, was targeted by Fitna al Khwarij terrorists near Nawar Khel area on Begokhel road. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He said the injured had been taken to the City Hospital. He identified the deceased as Faridullah. The hospital’s spokesperson, Dr Kifayat Bettani, said that two of the injured were in critical condition. He added that the injured also included two women. A separate police statement said that soon after the incident was reported, Lakki Marwat District Police Officer (DPO) Nazir Khan arrived at the scene along with a large police contingent. The statement said a large-scale search operation ...

Greenland’s leader declared “enough is enough”, and Denmark’s allies in Europe affirmed that the Arctic island’s future must be determined by its people, rebuffing renewed remarks by US President Donald Trump about acquiring the vast territory. Trump spoke a day after the US special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a stunning raid, with Trump stating that Washington intended to oversee governance of the oil-rich Latin American country. The US operation rekindled concerns in Denmark that Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, might face a similar scenario. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take over Greenland, an ambition first voiced in 2019 during his first presidency. On Sunday, he told The Atlantic magazine in an interview: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.” Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One early on Monday, Trump said he would revisit the topic in a few weeks. “Threats, pressure, and talk of annexation have no place between friends,” Greenlan...

Peshawar and adjoining areas remain blanketed under thick cloud cover as severe cold weather continues to affect the region.