Pakistan

President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon sent a telegram of condolences to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif over the tragic consequences of a deadly terrorist act at a mosque in Islamabad, which resulted in the death and injury of a large number of people.

Intending Hajj pilgrims have been instructed to complete biometric verification through the Saudi Visa Bio app by Sunday, February 8, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced, warning that Hajj visas will not be issued without biometrics.

US President Donald Trump refused to apologise on Friday for a video posted on his social media account depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys, though he said he condemned the post as the White House shifted the blame to staff. The video shared on Trump’s Truth Social account late on Thursday night sparked censure across the US political spectrum, with the White House initially rejecting “fake outrage” only to then blame the post on an error by a staff member. “I didn’t make a mistake,” Trump said on Air Force One late on Friday when asked if he would apologise for the post. Asked if he condemns the racist imagery in the video, Trump replied: “Of course I do.” Democrats slammed Trump as “vile” over the clip of the Obamas — the first Black president and first lady in US history while a senior Republican senator said the video was blatantly racist. Near the end of the one-minute-long video promoting conspiracies about Republican Trump’s 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, the Obamas were shown with their f...

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have arrested an Afghan national allegedly affiliated with the militant Islamic State (IS) group and described as the mastermind behind the Tarlai mosque suicide bombing, along with four facilitators, security sources said on Saturday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran’s red lines and warning against any American attack. According to excerpts published on his official Telegram channel during an interview with the Al Jazeera network, Araghchi said that Iran’s missile programme was “never negotiable” in Friday’s talks in Oman. He warned that Tehran would target US bases in the region if the US attacked Iranian territory. However, Araghchi also said that despite the talks in Muscat being indirect, “an opportunity arose to shake hands with the American delegation”. He called the talks “a good start”, but added that building trust would take time. He said the talks would resume “soon”. US President Donald Trump on Friday called the talks “very good” and pledged another round of negotiations next week. Despite this, he signed an executive order effective from Saturday that called for the “imposition of tariffs” on countries still doing busines...

The US and India announced Friday that they have reached terms on an interim framework deal to end a bilateral trade dispute, with President Donald Trump taking action to advance the agreement.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Tehran is ready to reach a “reassuring agreement” on uranium enrichment, stressing that zero enrichment is outside the framework of negotiations.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington held “very good talks” on Iran after the two sides held an indirect dialogue in Oman. Iran, for its part, said it expected to hold more negotiations with the United States, hailing a “positive atmosphere” during a day of talks in the Gulf sultanate. With an American naval group led by an aircraft carrier in Middle Eastern waters, US and Iranian delegations held talks in Muscat mediated by Oman without publicly meeting face-to-face. Shortly after the talks concluded, the US announced new sanctions against shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports. But it was not clear if the move was linked to the talks. The talks were the first between the two foes since the United States joined Israel’s war with Iran in June with strikes on nuclear sites. “We likewise had very good talks on Iran,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, adding, “we’re going to meet again early next week.” However, ...

A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange apologised on Saturday after mistakenly transferring more than $40 billion worth of bitcoin to users, which briefly prompted a selloff on the platform. Bithumb said it accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoins, currently worth more than $40bn, and blocked trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected users within 35 minutes after the error occurred on Friday. According to local reports, Bithumb was meant to send about 2,000 South Korean won ($1.37) to each customer as part of a promotion, but mistakenly transferred roughly 2,000 bitcoins per user. “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers due to the confusion that occurred during the distribution process of this (promotional) event,” Bithumb said in a statement. The platform said it had recovered 99.7 per cent of the mistakenly sent bitcoins, and that it would use its own assets to fully cover the amount that was lost in the incident. It admitted the error briefly caused “sharp volatility” in bitcoin ...

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Saturday said that a new committee was being formed to investigate the issue of missing persons in the country. Addressing the 6th Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore, the law minister said that while the number of missing persons had reduced over the years, a lower number was still not satisfactory. He said that another committee was now being formed to look into the issue of missing persons in more detail. Speaking on past data on missing persons, Tarar said, “The recorded number … was nearly 10,000 citizens. A commission was formed on this, committees were made … parliament played a role; over the years, this number has reduced. It’s now reportedly 2600-something. But I understand that in terms of human rights, this number should be zero.” He added that in the past, as a stopgap arrangement, the federal government had introduced a relief package for the families affected. He clarified that “this package did not mean the case would be closed; that was to mitigate the miserie...

Funeral prayers for the victims of the recent suicide bombing in the capital were offered on Saturday at Imambargah Khadijat-ul-Kubra and Imambargah Jamia Sadiq amid an atmosphere of grief and heightened security.

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Saturday dismissed a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) seeking permission for the party’s founder and former prime minister Im ran Khan to be examined by his personal doctors at Adiala Jail.

The White House is planning the first leaders meeting for President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” in relation to Gaza on February 19, Axios reported on Friday, citing a US official and diplomats from four countries that are on the board. The plans for the meeting, which would also be a fundraising conference for Gaza reconstruction, are in early stages and could still change, Axios reported. The meeting is planned to be held at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, the report added, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on February 18, a day before the planned meeting. The White House and the US State Department did not respond to requests for comment. In late January, Trump launched the board that he will chair and which he says will aim to resolve global conflicts, leading to many experts being concerned that such a board could undermine the United Nations. Governments around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation ...

Two candidates have been shortlisted for Pakistan’s Human Spaceflight Programme by the Astronauts Centre of China (ACC), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday. In February 2025, Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) and China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) had signed a cooperation agreement. Under the pact, two Pakistanis would train in China, with one joining a mission on the Tiangong space station operated by Beijing. In a press release, the ISPR said Suparco had “achieved yet another significant milestone in Pakistan’s Human Spaceflight Programme with the successful completion of the secondary phase of astronaut candidates’ selection”. “Following an initial screening process in Pakistan, the candidates were shortlisted after undergoing comprehensive medical, psychological, and aptitude assessments conducted at the Astronauts Centre of China (ACC), in accordance with international human spaceflight standards,” the statement read. As per the bilateral agreement...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening engagement with Iran in a meeting with the Iranian ambassador, Raza Amiri Moghaddam, in Islamabad on Saturday. Ambassador Moghaddam conveyed condolences over yesterday’s tragic suicide bombing at an imambargah in Islamabad, in which over 30 people were killed, the FO said in a post on X. Dar “strongly condemned the terrorist attack, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s firm resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”, the FO said. The Iranian envoy also briefed Dar on progress achieved through various bilateral institutional mechanisms to enhance cooperation across diverse areas. The foreign minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to further strengthening engagement with Iran in key priority sectors of mutual interest, the FO added. Pakistan and Iran share close ties, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif having spoken with Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian last week on the “evolving re...

Pakistan and Canada emphasised the importance of cooperation in trade and investment in the sixth round of Bilateral Political Consultations between the two countries held in Islamabad on Saturday. According to the Foreign Office (FO), United Nations Special Secretary Ambassador Nabeel Munir and the director general (Americas) participated in the consultations, while the Canadian side was represented by Assistant Deputy Minister (Indo-Pacific) from Global Affairs Canada, Ambassador Weldon Epp and High Commissioner Tarik Ali Khan. A press release by the FO said that the two sides expressed satisfaction over the steady growth of bilateral relations, marked by recent “substantive interactions” between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand. “They noted that these engagements had provided strategic guidance and momentum to the partnership and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further deepen these ties,” the FO statement said. Recognising the significant ...

The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) has crossed a key milestone in the country’s Human Spaceflight Programme with the successful completion of the secondary phase of astronaut candidate selection, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.

The 774th annual Urs celebrations of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar commenced in the shrine city of Sehwan on Saturday, drawing thousands of devotees from across the country who thronged the revered Sufi shrine to pay homage.

The World Health Organization said on Friday that a woman had died in northern Bangladesh in January after contracting the deadly Nipah virus infection. The case in Bangladesh, where Nipah cases are reported almost every year, follows two Nipah virus cases identified in neighbouring India, which has already prompted stepped-up airport screenings across Asia. The patient in Bangladesh, aged between 40 and 50 years, developed symptoms consistent with Nipah virus on January 21, including fever and headache followed by hypersalivation, disorientation and convulsion, the WHO added. She died a week later and was confirmed to be infected with the virus a day later. The person had no travel history but had a history of consuming raw date palm sap. All 35 people who had contact with the patient are being monitored and have tested negative for the virus, and no further cases have been detected to date, the WHO said. Nipah is an infection that spreads mainly through products contaminated by infected bats, such as fruit....

The United States has approved $1.