Pakistan

New rules require NOC for cross-gender meetings

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met President Asif Ali Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr in a high-level meeting attended by leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari met on Thursday and reviewed Pakistan’s political, economic and security landscapes. According to a press release issued by the President’s Secretariat, the meeting took place at Aiwan-i-Sadr, where the pair also reviewed the “prevailing regional and global environment”. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, among other officials. The premier and president previously met in November last year, where they discussed the country’s security situation in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks. According to state broadcaster PTV, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and federal ministers Syed Mushtaq Raza Naqvi, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Khalid Hussain Magsi, and Abdul Aleem Khan were present during the meeting. “Both leaders reaffirm their resolve that actions against foreign-backed terro...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday congratulated the nation on the successful launch of Pakistan’s Earth Observation Satellite EO-2, carried out in cooperation with China.

United States President Donald Trump’s immigration pointman on Thursday announced the end of ramped-up immigration operations in Minnesota, which triggered outrage following the killing of two American citizens. Thousands of federal agents have in recent weeks conducted aggressive raids and arrests in what the administration claims are targeted missions against criminals. “I have proposed and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude,” Trump official Tom Homan told a briefing in Minneapolis. “A significant drawdown has already been under way this week and will continue through the next week.” The operations have sparked mass protests in Minneapolis, and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti less than three weeks apart last month led to a wave of criticism. Homan raised the prospect that the officers would deploy to another location but gave no details, as speculation is rife about which city might be targeted next. “In the next week, we’re going deploy the officers here on d...

Pakistan has marked a major achievement in its national space programme with the successful launch of its second indigenous Earth Observation Satellite, EO-2, from China’s Yangjiang Seashore Launch Centre on Thursday. Developed by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), the EO-2 satellite is designed to significantly enhance the country’s earth observation and high-resolution imaging capabilities. The officials of Suparco said the satellite will provide critical data to support national development planning, natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and urban expansion. It will also strengthen governance, disaster management, climate analysis, and strategic decision-making by delivering accurate and timely satellite imagery. With the addition of EO-2, Pakistan has expanded its satellite fleet, ensuring improved continuity, coverage, and precision of earth observation data, added the space agency. Suparco officials termed the launch a milestone in Pakistan’s space journey, no...

BANNU: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Thursday conducted an intelligence-based operation and arrested a most-wanted terrorist, Osama alias Baghi, from the Pipal Bazaar area. According to a statement issued by Bannu CTD Superintendent of Police (SP) Fazal Wahid, the suspect belonged to Bannu district and was said to be an active commander of the newly formed organisation Ittehadul Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), established through a collaboration between the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Gul Bahadur group. He said that the suspect confessed to his involvement in nine major terrorist activities during the initial interrogation. He said that these included the December 2025 attack on Miranshah Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali Khan, in which he was martyred along with his two security guards and a civilian. The suspect also confessed to the abduction and killing of former Bannu station house officer Abid Wazir in November 2025. Additionally, he also admitted to his involvement in the abductio...

Local ‌TV shows BNP wins ⁠151 ​seats in 300-member House ​of the Nation, JI secures 42 seats

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday congratulated the nation on the successful launch of Pakistan’s Earth Observation Satellite EO-2, carried out in cooperation with China.

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed on Thursday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would attend the upcoming Board of Peace meeting in the US, saying that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar would also accompany him. Andrabi’s confirmation follows reports that said PM Shehbaz was expected to visit Washington on February 18 and represent Pakistan at the first meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which is scheduled for Feb 19 at the US Institute of Peace. “I can confirm that the prime minister will attend the upcoming Board of Peace meeting. He will be accompanied by the deputy prime minister and foreign minister,” Andrabi said during a weekly briefing of the FO. He added that information about other members of Pakistan’s delegation and its engagements would be shared in due course of time. Asked specifically whether Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir would be included in the delegation, the FO spokesperson reiterated:...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States on Thursday agreed to promote partnership in the mining, minerals and energy sectors. According to a handout from the interior ministry, the agreement was reached during a meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs John Mark Pomeroy. During the meeting, the US official said that the country attached great importance to its relationship with Pakistan. He condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Islamabad and Quetta and expressed condolences to the victims. The interior minister welcomed US investment in the mining, minerals, and energy sectors and assured that American investors would be provided with the safest possible environment in Pakistan. ‎During the meeting, Pakistan–US bilateral relations and the regional situation were discussed, along with ways to enhance cooperation in counterterrorism, particularly in the field of internal security. Speaking on the occasion, Naqvi said that global...

'The Pakistan clash will be a special one for everyone,' Ishan Kishan says

The World Health Organisation has said the risk of the deadly Nipah virus spreading was low after three cases of infection were recently confirmed in India and Bangladesh. Nipah, which spreads from animals to humans, has no vaccine and a fatality rate ranging from 40 to 75 per cent, according to the UN health body. “In the past few weeks, three cases of Nipah — two in India and one in Bangladesh — made headlines and caused concern about a wider outbreak,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva on Wednesday. WHO assessed the risk of spread of the Nipah virus regionally and globally and found it low, he added. Two cases of Nipah were confirmed last month in India’s West Bengal state, while one patient died in Bangladesh last week after contracting the virus. “The two outbreaks were not related, although both occurred along the India-Bangladesh border, and share some of the same ecological and cultural conditions, as well as populations of the species of fruit bat that are known t...

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the formation of a medical team to examine former premier Imran Khan’s eye, after a report submitted in court quoted the PTI founder as claiming that “only 15 per cent” vision was left in his right eye. The SC also directed that Imran be allowed to speak to his children. It was ordered that both the eye inspection and the phone calls be conducted before February 16 (Monday). The instructions came as a two-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and including Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan resumed hearing the case regarding the PTI founder’s living conditions in Adiala jail. Imran underwent a medical procedure at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad on the night of January 24 — a development confirmed days later amid an apparent lack of knowledge by the family. “The issue of Imran’s health is most important,” CJP Afridi observed, adding that “intervention was necessary”. “We want to know the government’s stance on the matt...

The Sindh government has suspended Professor Azhar Shah, in-charge of the University of Sindh’s Dadu campus, after videos allegedly showing him in inappropriate circumstances surfaced on social media, sparking widespread concern and formal complaints.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to confer a posthumous national civil award on 22-year-old Oun Abbas, who lost his life while resisting the suicide attacker who targeted an imambargah in Islamabad, it emerged on Thursday. On February 6, a suicide bomber ripped through the Friday congregation at the Imambargah Qasr-i-Khadijatul Kubra on the outskirts of Islamabad. At least 38 people were killed in the incident, and more than 150 were injured. According to eye witness accounts, Abbas, who was praying inside the hall, had abandoned his rituals and tried to tackle the attacker. However, he lost his life when the suicide bomber detonated. In a letter addressed to the prime minister and dated Feb 11, a copy of which is available with Dawn, Kundi lauded the “exceptional gallantry and supreme sacrifice” displayed by Abbas. “In those moments of terror and chaos, while many sought safety, this brave young man chose to confront the terrorist face to face,” Kundi sai...

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