Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Power Minister Awais Leghari on Friday declared the end of a month-long loadshedding period after a shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrived in Pakistan a day earlier. The power minister made the announcement in a recorded televised message, saying that the recent power outages were caused by a gas shortage linked to the war between the US and Iran, and were not the result of “incompetence or system failure”. He recalled that on “April 13 and 14, consumers faced power outages of up to five hours, while on April 15–16, they lasted around seven hours”. Leghari added that in the following days, outages were “brought down to zero,” and until April 29, the loadshedding duration was reduced to 2–2.5 hours. He also recalled that the ministry held a press conference to clarify the government’s stance on the matter. “Loadshedding had not been experienced for six to seven years, having been eliminated during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif,” he said. “Using diesel or furnace oil would have made electricity...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that the customary practice of nominating or recognising a chieftain/sardar by members of a tribe does not vest such an individual with the legal authority to attest local certificates, domicile certificates, or Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) applications. The observations came while rejecting a petition filed by a self-proclaimed tribal chieftain seeking his recognition as the “sardar” of the Kharoti tribe. A two-judge bench consisting of Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech rejected the petition of Ghulam Ali Khan, noting that the sardari system stood abolished under the law and that no individual could claim customary authority overriding statutory requirements. The petitioner, claiming to be the chieftain of the Kharoti tribe in Balochistan, had approached the interior ministry, seeking acceptance of his attestation for the issuance of local certificates, domicile certificates, CNICs, and passports for his tribesmen. He ...

Pakistan has reported two new polio cases, raising the total number of infections recorded this year to three.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has introduced a new online system for degree attestation, removing the requirement for applicants to visit its offices personally.

The Punjab government has introduced new rules and regulations for kite flying in 2027, setting December 30, 2026, as the deadline for implementation to enhance public safety across the province.

The administration of Hayatabad Medical Complex has imposed a ban on the use and sale of cigarettes, paan and naswar within its premises, citing health concerns.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed the labour force of Pakistan the “backbone” of society and a “pillar of national strength” in statements commemorating International Labour Day on Friday. As the world commemorated the international holiday observed annually on May 1, the president and the premier issued separate messages to mark the occasion. PM Shehbaz paid tribute to Pakistan’s labour force as well as its overseas workers, appreciating their “dedicated service” and terming them a national pride. “On this occasion, I pay tribute to workers across the world, and especially to the hardworking labour force of Pakistan, for their selfless contributions and dedicated service,” he said in a statement on X. He termed labourers, farmers, artisans, factory workers, and professionals across all sectors the “backbone of our society”. “Their sacrifices, hard work and perseverance keep the wheels of life moving, from fields to factories, construction sites to workshops, at local level a...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported two polio cases on Friday from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), bringing the total number of cases for the ongoing year to three. An official of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication (NEOC) has confirmed two new cases of wild poliovirus — one in Bannu and another in North Waziristan. He added that access constraints in these areas continue to facilitate transmission of the virus, posing an ongoing risk to children’s health and well-being. “The two new cases were reported through the poliovirus surveillance network and confirmed by the WHO-accredited Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH).” he added. The first case of the year was reported from Sindh, while the detection of two cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has raised the polio tally to three. The official said that, with the sudden increase in heat, it seemed that the hi...

MIRANSHAH: An intense exchange of fire erupted on Friday between members of the Darpa Khel tribe and militants in Miranshah, the district headquarters of North Waziristan, following the killing of tribal elder Malik Saifullah Khan Dawar, police said. According to details, unidentified gunmen shot Saifullah outside his residence, triggering a fierce clash as armed tribesmen confronted the militants. Both sides reportedly used automatic weapons, and the exchange of fire continued for several hours. Sources said that a day earlier, suspected militants had allegedly occupied a local mosque, but Saifullah, along with other tribal elders, intervened and forced them to vacate the premises. On Friday morning, a large group of militants reportedly returned to the area, called Saifullah out of his house and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot, the sources added. During the clash, four local residents — identified as Yaqoob, Fazal Karim, Mujahid, and one unidentified person — were injured. The injured were shift...

Japanese police arrested a man for allegedly incinerating his dead wife at the zoo where he worked, officials and local media said Friday, following the discovery of human remains. Police arrested Tatsuya Suzuki on Thursday evening on suspicion that he “transported the victim’s body to a tourist facility” in the northern island of Hokkaido and “destroyed it through incineration there,” a local police official told AFP. The victim, 33-year-old Yui Suzuki, was identified by local media as his wife. Police have not said how she died. While held in voluntary police questioning, Suzuki said he used his zoo’s incinerator —meant to dispose of waste and dead animals —to burn the woman’s body “for a few hours,” local media reported. His confession sent police scouring the incinerator for her remains, whose partial discovery paved the way for Suzuki’s arrest, local media said. While alive, the wife once told her relatives that her husband was threatening to “burn you until no trace of you will be left”, public broadcas...

• Pakistani, Israeli, Cambodian leaders claim to have nominated US president; secrecy rules leave bids unconfirmed • 208 individuals, 79 organisations make up diverse list; winner to be announced on Oct 9, with award ceremony in December • Committee raises alarm over jailed Iranian laureate’s health OSLO: The Norwegian Nobel Committee is considering 287 candidates for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, with US President Donald Trump likely among those on the confidential list, the committee’s secretary said on Thursday. Of the nominations submitted by the Jan 31 deadline, 208 are for individuals and 79 are for organisations, said Kristian Berg Harpviken. He noted that the list features a significant number of new names compared to the previous year. “Since I am new in the job, one of the things that has to some extent surprised me is how much renewal there is from year to year on the list,” Harpviken, who has held the position since January 2025, said in an interview. Despite a rise in global conflicts and mounting ...

El Niño conditions are likely to develop during the 2026 monsoon season in South Asia, alongside higher-than-normal minimum and maximum temperatures across most of the region, according to a statement by Pakistan’s meteorological office on Friday. El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It brings changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. Conditions oscillate between El Nino and its opposite La Nina, with neutral conditions in between. The last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high. The climate outlook for the 2026 southwest monsoon season (June to September) was finalised during the 34th session of the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (Sascof-34) held in Malé, Maldives on Tuesday. According to the spokesperson of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Anjum Nazir Zaighum, and a statement issued by the PMD, below normal rainfall is most likel...

ISLAMABAD: Reports of online violence against women journalists have doubled since 2020, with serious impacts on their health and well-being, according to a study published ahead of ‘World Press Freedom Day,’ which is marked annually on May 3. The report by UN Women and partners highlights how online violence targeting women in public life is becoming increasingly technologically sophisticated, invasive, and damaging in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). The survey findings indicate that these forms of abuse, which were considered relatively rare just a few years ago, now account for a significant portion of the broader ecosystem of online violence. Overall, 12 per cent of the women surveyed reported experiencing the non-consensual sharing of personal images, including sexually explicit or intimate image-based material, and 6pc reported being targeted by deepfakes or other manipulated imagery. “AI is making abuse easier and more damaging, and this is fueling the erosion of hard-won rights in a context m...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Friday issued its weather outlook for the next 24 hours, forecasting rain and thunderstorms in parts of the country.

International Labour Day was observed across the country on Friday with a renewed commitment to safeguarding workers’ rights, as rallies and demonstrations were organised by trade unions, labour organisations and civil society groups.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has launched the ‘Rehmat Card’ programme aimed at providing financial assistance to widows and orphaned children across the province, according to an announcement by the Pakistan Muslim League (N).

Foreign ministers from 12 countries, including Pakistan, on Thursday strongly condemned Israel’s reported assault on the Global Sumud Flotilla, describing the incident as a violation of international law.

Air travel between Pakistan and Iran has resumed after a suspension of around two months, with the first commercial flight arriving in Islamabad on Thursday, officials said.

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday paid tribute to workers in Pakistan and across the world on the occasion of International Labour Day, acknowledging their vital role in driving national development and economic stability.

Across much of India, an energy crunch caused by the Iran war has prompted long queues for cooking gas cylinders. That’s not a problem for Gauri Devi. On a stove with blue flames, she flips a chapati flatbread, burning biogas produced from cow dung — an alternative fuel helping ease pressure on supplies. This photograph taken on April 24, 2026 shows villager Gauri Devi cooking using biogas at her residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district. —AFP “It cooks everything,” the 25-year-old said in her courtyard kitchen in Nekpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) from New Delhi. “If the pressure goes down, we let it rest for half an hour and it works again.” India consumes more than 30 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) annually, importing over half its needs. The government insists there is no shortage of cooking gas, but supply delays, panic buying and black marketeers have created long queues for cylinders. This photograph taken on April 24, 2026 shows people waiting w...