Pakistan

A court in the federal capital on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in a case pertaining to alleged dissemination of misleading content and attempts to damage the reputation of state institutions.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday successfully conducted the flight test of the indigenously developed Taimoor Weapon System, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts to enhance its aerospace and defence capabilities.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar has departed for China to co-chair the seventh round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, scheduled to be held in Beijing on January 4, 2026, the Foreign Office said on Tuesday.

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have agreed to finalise an investment framework aimed at facilitating Azerbaijani capital inflows into Pakistan, marking a new phase in bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries.

Renowned businessman and founder of the Arif Habib Group, Arif Habib, has expressed confidence in turning Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) into a profitable enterprise while assuring protection for its workforce following the airline’s privatisation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has ordered immediate action against individuals found to be illegally occupying government residences and retaining official vehicles in Peshawar, according to an official memo issued on Saturday.

Australian police said they would bolster staffing at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the fifth Ashes Test starting on Sunday, weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city. The father-and-son gunmen are alleged to have carried out the attack at a Hanukkah event at the famed Bondi Beach on December 14. Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades shocked the nation and stoked fears of rising antisemitism in the country. The massacre has sparked more active policing in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city and the capital of New South Wales state. Authorities on Saturday announced a “high-visibility” police presence for the marquee cricket series between Australia and England, which is held every two years. Measures at the cricket ground, some 5km from Bondi Beach, would include the riot patrol unit, officers on horseback and officers carrying rifles. “The difference will be in the visibility of long arms and a stronger presence,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon sai...

Islamabad - Educational ties between Türkiye and Pakistan have strengthened with the Turkish Maarif Foundation announcing its first school in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

ISLAMABAD - The federal cabinet on Friday endorsed the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), expressing satisfaction over the successful sale of 75 per cent of the national flag carrier’s shares.

Dense fog blanketed large parts of Punjab and Sindh overnight between Friday and Saturday, prompting authorities to shut several sections of the motorway network as visibility dropped to dangerously low levels, officials said.

WASHINGTON: Dr Faiqa Qureshi — the daughter of PAF Air Marshal Nur Khan — passed away after a traffic accident in Dinwiddie County, Virginia. She was 75. According to the Dinwiddie County Police Department, the crash occurred on I-85 North near McKinney Highway on Dec 29. Dr Qureshi died at the scene when her car reportedly collided with an obstruction and caught fire. Dr Qureshi was a highly respected medical professional, known for her dedication to pae­di­a­tric emergency medicine. Her father was among Pakistan’s most admired military figures, serving as PAF chief and later holding key roles in civil aviation, sports administration, and public service. Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2026

• Party warns NYC mayor against ‘interfering’ in New Delhi’s internal affairs • Stays silent on US lawmakers’ letter pushing for bail, fair trial for incarcerated activist New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of “interfering” in India’s internal affairs by writing a note to jailed student leader Umar Khalid, asserting that New Delhi will not tolerate any such effort. However, the BJP remained mum on a The Hindu report, which stated that eight US lawmakers have written to Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra, urging India to grant bail and a free and fair trial to Mr Khalid “in accordance with international law”. Questioning Mr Mamdani’s locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia cautioned the New York City mayor against such efforts. “If India’s sovereignty is challenged, 140 crore Indians will stand united under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” he asserted. Mr Bhatia added that the peo­ple...

• Becomes available free of charge for nine-year-old girls at EPI centres • Other provinces expected to follow suit KARACHI: In an effort to protect young girls from cervical cancer, the Sindh Health Department, in line with a decision by the Federal Directorate of Immu­nisation, has included the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine in the province’s routine immunisation programme. Other provinces are also expected to roll out similar initiatives in the coming months. According to a notification issued by the Sindh Health Department, the decision has become effective from Jan 1 this year. “The vaccination shall target girls aged nine years with an intended minimum coverage of 70 per cent,” the notification stated. The department has directed all district health officers to adopt a mixed delivery approach, including facility-based vaccination, community outreach, and school-based vaccination activities, to ensure optimal coverage, equitable access, and sustainability. “To ensure accurate monitoring, accountabili...

With the political impasse continuing among the country’s main stakeholders, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had not imposed any “minus Imran” condition on political engagement. A day earlier, the premier’s adviser had proposed “confidence-building measures” between the leadership of the PML-N, the PTI, and the PPP could bring down political temperatures. “Prime Minister Shehbaz has not set any condition of minus Imran Khan [from politics]. We neither seek to minus anyone nor consider it politically viable. Similar efforts were made to sideline us in the past,” Sanaullah said while speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan. As the leader of the House, PM Shehbaz has offered negotiations to the opposition, saying they [PTI] should sit with him as dialogue is key to parliamentary democracy, Sanaullah added. Maintaining that the opposition PTI had to take a step forward, the senior PML-N leader said that dialogue on behalf of the p...

ISLAMABAD: Local government elections in Islamabad are likely to be postponed once again, for the fifth time in a row, as the federal cabinet on Friday approved several amendments to the Local Government Act, 2015. The elections are scheduled to be held on February 15. However, the cabinet’s approval of fresh amendments to the Act has made it almost impossible to hold the polls next month. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), however, has yet to officially announce the postponement. The federal cabinet approved 14 amendments to the Act, including a change in the name of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, replacing it with “Town Corporations”. According to the new proposal, there will be three town corporations in Islamabad and each town corporation will comprise, as far as practicable, the territorial limits of a National Assembly (NA) constituency within the capital. Islamabad has three NA seats. Cabinet approves changes to ICT Local Government Act 2015 “The cabinet endorsed the decisions made in ...

LONDON: A Pakistan-born cardiothoracic surgeon working in the United Kingdom has been named in the New Year Honours List, receiving the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his distinguished professional achievements and humanitarian work. Professor Syed Saeed Ashraf, a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales, was awarded for services to cardiac surgery, the training of overseas surgeons and his academic contributions. Swansea Bay University Health Board announced the honour on New Year’s Eve, describing Dr Ashraf as an outstanding clinician who extends life-saving expertise to developing countries. Dr Ashraf regularly uses his annual leave to perform voluntary, complex heart operations at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases in Karachi, Pakistan. He primarily treats young patients suffering from rheumatic valvular heart disease — a condition now rare in Western countries but prevalent in South Asia — and Afghan refugees receiving free care in Pakistan. During o...

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