Pakistan

Pakistan on Tuesday signed an agreement with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide free cancer medicines for 8,000 children annually. The WHO and the health ministry formalised Pakistan’s participation in the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines (Global Platform) to “provide quality-assured medicines — free of cost — to children affected by cancer in the country, where over 8,000 new cases are diagnosed annually”, said a WHO press release. The agreement, signed by Health Minister Mustafa Kamal and WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Dapeng Luo at a ceremony in Islamabad, will remain in force until Dec 31, 2027 and “may be extended by written agreement of the parties”. In addition to the provision of medicines, WHO will continue to support Pakistan’s Ministry of Health and provincial authorities with technical guidance, resources, and operational support to fight childhood cancer. The agreement aims to increase the survival rate of children fighting with cancer from 30 per cent to 60...

At least 18 people were killed in eastern India on Tuesday after a bus ferrying Hindu pilgrims collided with a truck loaded with cooking gas cylinders, officials said. Visuals from the site in Jharkhand state showed the mangled wreckage of the bus, with its rear portion almost entirely burnt. Local lawmaker Nishikant Dubey said the pilgrims were travelling to a Hindu shrine to celebrate the sacred month of Shravan, coinciding with the onset of the monsoons in the subcontinent. “Eighteen devotees lost their lives due to a bus and truck accident,” Dubey said on social media. The pilgrims were carrying holy water from the Ganges to offer to the Hindu god of destruction, Lord Shiva. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his “deepest condolences to the families of the devotees who lost their lives”. “The road accident in Jharkhand’s Deoghar is extremely tragic,” his office said on social media. Tens of thousands of people die in road accidents in India every year, according to official data. More than 172,000 die...

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the schedule for by-elections on 52 vacant local government seats in 19 districts of Sindh, with polling set for September 24, 2025.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to transforming the education system to meet international standards.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has thrown down the gauntlet to the federal government and political opponents, daring them to dislodge his government through democratic means.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met Khair Muhammad, father of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Shahzaib Rind, at the PM House and handed over a cheque of Rs5 million on behalf of the government.

Heavy rain killed more than 30 people and forced authorities to evacuate tens of thousands as swaths of northern China were lashed by torrential downpours that sparked landslides and flooding, state media said Tuesday. Weather authorities have issued their second-highest rainstorm warning for the capital Beijing, neighbouring Hebei and Tianjin, as well as 10 other provinces, state news agency Xinhua said. The rains are expected to last into Wednesday, it added. As of midnight Monday, the heavy rainstorms had left 30 people dead in Beijing, Xinhua said, citing the city’s municipal flood control headquarters. More than 80,000 people have been evacuated in the Chinese capital alone, local state-run outlet Beijing Daily said on social media. The death toll was highest in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre, it said. “This time the rain was unusually heavy, it’s not normally like this,” a resident of Miyun, surnamed Jiang, told AFP as water streamed down the road outside her house. “The road is...

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said the Israel-Palestine question was a “test case” for the United Nations and the world as he addressed a high-level conference on the two-state solution in New York. Dar was addressing a rescheduled global conference on “The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” at the United Nations headquarters. The three-day moot, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, comes amid renewed international efforts calling for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza ongoing for over 660 days, with France announcing it will formally recognise the State of Palestine. “The Palestinian question is a test case for the United Nations and the world. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering and principled support for the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, including their right to a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” Dar tol...

Public entry to Sindh’s museums and heritage sites will be free from August 1 to 14 this year as part of Independence Day celebrations, the province’s Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Archives Department announced on Tuesday. According to a notification issued in this regard, this year’s celebration theme will be “Marka-i-Haq”, referring to Pakistan’s military response to Indian aggression during May, including Operation Bunyanum Marsoos. The two countries entered a brief but intense military escalation after India, without evidence, blamed Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. On May 6–7, New Delhi launched air strikes that killed civilians, followed by a week-long missile exchange. A US-brokered ceasefire ended the war. The list of museums includes several government-owned sites, including Quaid-i-Azam House Museum in Karachi, Sindh Provincial Museum in Hyderabad, Folk and Craft Museum in Sehwan Sharif, Banbhore Museum near Thatta, Kotdiji Museum in Khairpur, and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Museum...

The Gilgit-Baltistan government on Tuesday announced that it would compensate people affected by the recent rain-induced floods that damaged houses and other infrastructure, adding that the search for missing tourists has been intensified. The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as unprecedented heat­­waves, erratic weat­her patterns, and glacial melting have triggered cloudbursts and intense floods across the region. On July 21, floods swept across GB, causing landslides and leaving many stranded, and damaging more than 500 houses, roads and other infrastructure. At least 10 people died and four were injured as a result. The Babusar Highway was partially reopened yesterday as the search for missing people continued. In a statement today, GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said those affected by the floods will be compensated for their losses. “The rehabilitation of the affected people is underway in Thak, Niyat village, Batogah, Thor, Kunar, Tangir district and Khanba...

The Indus River is experiencing a surge in water levels, prompting authorities to declare medium flood conditions at Guddu and Sukkur barrages, according to the Flood Forecasting Division.

Pakistan has welcomed the successful conclusion of the special meeting hosted by Malaysia to address the ongoing tensions between Cambodia and Thailand.

Federal Minister for National Health Services, Dr.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has praised the growing cooperation between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan, calling it a positive step toward stronger bilateral relations.

A shaky ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia appeared to be holding on Tuesday, as military commanders met despite Bangkok’s allegations that the truce had been breached with overnight skirmishes. Following peace talks in Malaysia on Monday, both sides agreed that an unconditional ceasefire would start at midnight to end fighting over a smattering of ancient temples in disputed zones along their 800-kilometre (500-mile) border. On Tuesday, the Thai military said Cambodian troops “had launched armed attacks into several areas” in “a clear attempt to undermine mutual trust”, but said clashes later stopped. Cambodia’s defence ministry spokeswoman Maly Socheata insisted there had been “no armed clashes against each other in any regions”. However, both sides said some morning meetings between rival military commanders along the border — scheduled as part of the pact — had gone ahead. Cambodian leader Hun Manet and Thai acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai shook hands over the ceasefire deal on Monday at p...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has endorsed the Pakistani government’s ambitious Rs 100 billion subsidy policy aimed at promoting electric vehicles (EVs) from 2025 to 2030, official sources confirmed.

The Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has issued a warning for potential urban flooding in low-lying areas and landslides in hilly regions due to ongoing heavy monsoon rains across the province.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of PTI Founder Imran Khan’s bail pleas in eight May 9 cases until August 12 without issuing notices as requested by the ex-premier’s lawyer. In November 2024, a Lahore anti-terrorism court had denied Imran bail in the cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots, including an attack on the house of the Lahore corps commander. The incarcerated PTI leader’s plea challenging that was also rejected by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on June 24. Subsequently, Imran moved the apex court last week against the LHC’s rejection of his bail pleas. A two-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi and including Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui took up those applications today. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared before the court on behalf of Imran, as his main counsel, Salman Safdar, could not attend the hearing due to being out of the country. Raja informed the bench that Safdar has applied for an adjournment of the hearing till next week. He requ...

KASUR: City police claimed to have arrested an alleged robbery suspect who suffered a bullet injury to his private parts when his pistol went off during a “mob attack” at Dhanpat Road on Monday. The police claimed that the suspect had concealed a pistol in his trousers that went off when he tried to take it out, when a mob attacked him after he was caught following a robbery. However, sources say that the suspect, a labourer from Okara, was wanted by police for allegedly molesting a minor girl in a street of Shah Inayat Colony, some three days back. The video of the molestation incident also surfaced on social media, following which A-Division police registered a case against the suspect under section 377 B of the PPC. Police, on Monday, lodged a second criminal case against the suspect under sections 393 of the PPC and 13-2(a)- of The Punjab Amendment Ordinance 2015 on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Ashfaq Ahmed. Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2025

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Senator Ishaq Dar, delivered a forceful address at the United Nations conference on the two-state solution for Palestine, condemning the ongoing atrocities in Gaza and reaffirming Pakistan’s steadfast support for the Palestinian cause.