Pakistan

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Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister (DPM/FM), Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, on Wednesday, chaired the 5th meeting of the Steering Committee on Fuel Subsidy and Austerity and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the proposed measures in both letter and spirit.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a meeting in Karachi with the Governor of Uzbekistan’s Navoi Region, Nurmat Tursunov, focusing on strengthening regional and economic ties.

Passport-related services for Pakistani citizens have been temporarily suspended at missions in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates due to technical issues.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday notified the transfer of three judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to other high courts under Article 200 of the Constitution. The development comes a day after the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved the transfer of three judges from the IHC to other courts in a move that drew sharp criticism from lawyers’ bodies for lacking transparency and uniform criteria. A notification issued by the ministry on Wednesday stated that the president, on the recommendation of the JCP, had approved the transfer of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani to the Lahore High Court; Justice Babar Sattar to the Peshawar High Court; and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz to the Sindh High Court. A separate summary moved to the Prime Minister’s Office, dated April 29, also confirmed that the JCP, in its meeting held on April 28, had recommended the transfers by a majority of its total membership. Under clause (1) of Article 200 of the Constitution, the president may transfer a hi...

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) on Wednesday directed all medical and dental institutions to implement “structured mental health screening protocols” in response to “growing concerns over the increasing incidents of suicide and severe psychological distress among students”. In a statement, the council issued directives to all medical and dental institutions, emphasising the “critical importance of promoting and safeguarding the mental health of students and faculty”. It also highlighted the need for proactive measures to identify and address mental health concerns, recognising that academic environments in medical and dental colleges were intellectually rigorous and often psychologically demanding. “Keeping in view all institutions have been directed to implement structured mental health screening protocols,” the statement said, adding that regular mental health screening, along with easy-to-access and well-organised counselling services, will help improve academic performance, suppo...

The Sri Lankan government took control of the island’s cricket board on Wednesday and appointed a nine-member interim administration to carry out “structural reforms”. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the country’s wealthiest sporting body, but it has been plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. World governing body International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended Sri Lanka for two months in 2023-2024, citing political interference in the running of the national board. “All administrative functions of Sri Lanka Cricket will be temporarily brought under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, effective today,” the ministry said. Shortly afterwards, the ministry appointed former investment banker and opposition politician Eran Wickramaratne to lead the board. Among the other members appointed by the government are former skipper Kumar Sangakkara and former Test players Sidath Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama. The ministry said the interim committee will “address the current issues in cricket and implement...

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday called for national consensus to shift gears from water crisis management at present to ensuring water security in view of emerging challenges, particularly the “weaponisation” of water by India. The proposed national consensus should cover building strategic water storage, including large reservoirs, medium dams, small dams, recharge dams, delay-action dams, hill torrent management, floodwater storage and urban rainwater harvesting, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said at a round table session of the newly formed Water Security Task Force in the Planning Commission. He said Pakistan’s water challenge could no longer be addressed in silos. “It is not merely an irrigation issue, an agricultural issue, a provincial issue, an infrastructure issue or a climate issue; it is a national security issue,” he said, adding that India’s attempts to use water as an instrument of pressure had highlighted a serious external dimension to Pakistan’s water security. In April 2025, I...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday fixed appeals filed by former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi against conviction in the £190 million corruption reference for tomorrow (April 30). According to the supplementary cause list issued by the registrar’s office, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif will take up Crl. Appeal 63/2025 (filed by Imran) and Crl. Appeal 64/2025 (filed by Bushra) on Thursday. Both appeals challenge the convictions under the Pakistan Penal Code with sentences exceeding seven years. The cause list mentioned that miscellaneous applications — including those seeking suspension of sentence along with objections — were also pending before the court. The development comes a day after the same bench, during the hearing of separate petitions seeking suspension of sentence in the £190m corruption reference, indicated a structured timeline for concluding arguments in the main appeals. Earlier this m...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed that the discharge of electoral duties demanded scrupulous adherence to the law, transparency in action, and an unwavering commitment to impartiality. “Any deviation from neutrality or departure from the statutory framework, during the election process, imperils not merely the outcome of a particular election, but the democratic order itself,” emphasised Justice Shakeel Ahmed. Justice Ahmed observed that “only through these principles public confidence in the electoral process is sustained and the sovereign will of the electorate is preserved”. Justice Ahmed was a member of the three-judge bench that overturned the Nov 24, 2025 Balochistan Election Tribunal’s ruling and had ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to notify Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party’s (PNAP) Khushal Khan Kakar as the returned candidate from NA-251 (Sherani-cum-Zhob-cum-Killa Saifullah) for the February 8, 2024 general election. Headed by Justice Shahid Waheed, the court had ta...

ISLAMABAD: Interpol has issued Red Notices against Bahria Town owner Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz, Nat­i­onal Accountability Bur­eau (NAB) Chairman Lt General (retired) Nazir Ahmed said on Wednesday. A red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies by Interpol to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. The NAB chairman made the remarks during a press briefing at the accountability watchdog’s headquarters. “Today I am giving you breaking news that Interpol has issued a red notice against Malik Riaz and Ali Riaz,” he said at the conclusion of the briefing. This could not be independently verified through Interpol. Riaz, 72, is the founder and chairman of Bahria Town, while his 48-year-old son serves as chief executive. The property tycoon is currently residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he has launched a multi-billion-dollar housing project. During the press briefing, the NAB chairman admitted that bringing Riaz back to Pakistan wou...

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar met Azhar Memon, an MBA graduate from Institute of Business Administration Karachi, and assured him of support in securing employment.

European airlines are facing their biggest challenge ​since the Covid-19 pandemic as the US-Israel war on Iran pushes up jet fuel prices and buffets travel through the Middle East, casting a shadow ‌over the summer holiday season. Carriers have been largely riding out the crisis with hedges that have tamed costs even as the price of jet fuel has risen nearly 84 per cent since the start of the conflict on February 28, but they could face shortages if the war does not end soon. “There is a risk that we’ll see rationing of fuel supply, particularly in Asia and Europe,” ​Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), told Reuters on Tuesday, while adding that supply remained robust for now. Walsh said, however, that the situation ​was not yet as bad as the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which led to travel demand ⁠plummeting and hundreds of billions of dollars in losses for the aviation sector. “I think Covid was on a completely different scale,” Walsh added. “What ...

Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Nazir Ahmad, has strongly criticised a recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), calling it biased and unsuitable.

Bangladesh recorded 227 child deaths since March in one of its worst outbreaks of measles in decades, with the number of suspected cases reaching nearly 35,000, government data showed on Wednesday. One of the hardest hit areas is Kurukpata in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, home to Indigenous communities, which border war-torn Myanmar. Children in these rural areas are often left out of vaccination coverage, and some families avoid vaccination programmes due to fear. “The most affected area of Chittagong Hill tracts is Kurukpata, one of the remotest parts of Bangladesh,” district health chief Sheikh Fazle Rabbi told AFP, saying more than 80 children had been treated for measles. Local Kurukpata council head Kratpung Mro said the cases were unusually high. “Communication from Kurukpata is difficult,” he said. “People, mostly farmers, are among the poorest and cannot afford even boat or motorcycle fares to reach the hospital.” Kratpung Mro said the government should “launch awareness programmes and bring Indigenous...

ISLAMABAD: The National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC) on Wednesday formally issued national guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in judicial institutions, the Supreme Court said. In a press release issued by the SC, the guidelines, approved by the NJPMC in its 57th meeting, established a clear, principled and forward-looking framework for integrating AI into judicial processes across the country. “At a time when courts faced mounting caseloads and increasing demands for efficiency and transparency, the guidelines positioned AI as a powerful assistive tool — one that enhances judicial performance while firmly preserving human judgment, constitutional safeguards, and judicial independence,” the statement said, calling it a landmark step toward modernising the justice system. The key highlights of the guidelines include a human-centric approach through which AI would assist — and not replace — judicial decision-making, ensuring judges remained the “ultimate arbiters”. Likewise, it wi...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday invited Chinese investment into “priority sectors,” particularly alternative energy sources, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. The president arrived in China on Saturday for a week-long visit to the Hunan and Hainan provinces for engagements related to economic and trade cooperation. President Zardari held a meeting with the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hangzhou Jinjiang Group, Wang Jian, in Sanya, where he invited the Chinese company to invest in “priority sectors, including alternate energy, water treatment, and electric vehicle battery systems”, according to Radio Pakistan. The president, according to the report, “noted that Pakistan is actively encouraging foreign investment in various sectors, especially water treatment, electric vehicle battery systems and alternate energy”. “Such partnerships could support sustainable growth and industrial development,” the report said, adding that President Zardari assured the company of “all possible facilitation to foreig...

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday expressed objection to comparisons between Karachi and Lahore in terms of infrastructure and governance, noting that both provincial capitals had different ground realities. Speaking alongside Punjab Housing Minister Bilal Yasin in Lahore, Wahab said, “When you compare Karachi to Lahore, this comparison is improper because of the population. We get water from a distance of 125 kilometres. Our daily water requirement is 1,100 million gallons per day (MGD), while our daily supply is 550 MGD, and the population continues to grow”. “Therefore, I think that comparing them leads to conflict,” he added, calling for both administrations to “work together” and share expertise. At one point, a reporter asked Wahab why the PPP “could not deliver what the public wanted” despite ruling Sindh for years, prompting Yasin to ask media persons to be “mindful of respecting the guests”. Responding to another question, Wahab said making such comparisons “leads to an unfortunate situation”,...