Pakistan

Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib has asked Jamia Darul Uloom to draw a distinction between speculative cryptocurrencies and asset-backed digital tokens, its chief said on Wednesday. The crypto czar told Reuters he had asked for the clarification after the seminary ruled last month that crypto-based purchases were not permissible under Islamic law. The religious decree, or fatwa, has cast doubt on the government’s rapid embrace of cryptocurrency in Pakistan, which has long ranked among the world’s largest crypto markets by retail activity. Mufti Taqi Usmani and six others had declared purchasing goods with cryptocurrency “impermissible” in a fatwa (religious decree) issued on June 10. It described cryptocurrency as “merely the recording of fictitious numbers in an account”. Saqib said the regulator is in discussions with the seminary to assess digital assets by category, not as a single class. “The central question the fatwa raises is whether a digital asset constit...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis residing abroad who hold an invalid, expired or cancelled National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) will no longer be allowed to board flights to Pakistan, official sources said on Wednesday. According to official sources, the government has issued immediate directives to all zonal directors of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to convey the decision to every airline operating inbound flights to Pakistan. A government official told Dawn that the practice of allowing travel on invalid NICOPs had been going on for a long time and that it had been decided to stop it with immediate effect. “Airlines should be instructed to verify the validity of NICOPs prior to boarding and refuse carriage to any passenger presenting an invalid, expired or cancelled NICOP,” the official said. He added that passengers travelling on a foreign passport with an expired or otherwise invalid NICOP would not be allowed to board flights to Pakistan unless they held a valid Pakistani visa. The offic...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will travel to Shanghai from July 16-17 to attend the signing ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO), the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement on Wednesday. According to the FO, Dar will travel with a delegation at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The deputy prime minister will attend the signing ceremony and sign the agreement on behalf of Pakistan as a founding member. “He will also participate in the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance on 17 July 2026,” the FO added. On the sidelines of the conference, Dar will hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, as well as meetings with other officials to discuss matters of mutual interest. “During his engagements, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on strengthening international cooperation in artificial int...

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Financial autonomy raises transparency concerns as health experts demand accountability

Proceedings initiated as govt fails to clear Rs1.8b

Reviews security situation, lauds Operation Shaban, stresses coordinated action

Governor urges PM to withdraw tax decision for merged districts

BANNU: At least five people, including a police official, were injured on Wednesday after terrorists attacked a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, triggering heavy retaliatory fire from security personnel. Bannu District Police Officer Captain (retd) Muhammad Furqan Bilal confirmed the incident, while the administration of the local hospital confirmed the casualties. According to reports, the attackers attempted to ram a vehicle loaded with explosives into Miryan Police Station, triggering a powerful blast. Police sources said that after the blast, a heavy exchange of fire continued for a considerable time between the terrorists and police personnel, while security was further tightened in the area. Additional police contingents reached the site, while members of the Police Peace Committee also arrived at the scene, the sources added. Reports said the sound of the explosion was heard from a considerable distance. The blast also damaged the police station building and nearby residential are...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Wednesday ruled that earlier Supreme Court (SC) and Islamabad High Court (IHC) decisions that led to the demolition of Monal Restaurant and other commercial establishments within Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) constituted an exceptional transgression of judicial power, resulting in a “grave miscarriage of justice”. The SC had ordered the closure of Monal and the adjacent La Montana restaurant on August 21, 2024, and they were closed the next month to protect the park’s biodiversity. In a short order, a three-member FCC bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi accepted the review petitions filed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), challenging the SC’s Aug 21, 2024 directive. In that order, it was held that any lease, license, allotment, or permission granted for restaurant operations within the protected MHNP was contrary to the Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation and Management) Or...

As Europe’s railways buckle under record heat, roads melt and power grids strain, countries are turning to an array of fixes for ageing infrastructure, from drones inspecting tracks and AI-powered sensors to a surprisingly simple tool: white paint. At Norway’s Oslo airport on Wednesday, with temperatures set to hit 30 degrees Celsius, 10℃ above normal for the time of year, workers doused the tarmac with water to keep it cool. It’s a marked shift in a country more used to coping with the cold that reflects how Europe is having to adapt to rising temperatures that are stoking wildfires, causing thousands of excess deaths and putting infrastructure under growing pressure. “In Norway, the asphalt must withstand both extreme cold and fairly warm temperatures,” said Jrn Arvid Remark, operating engineer at Norwegian state-owned airport operator Avinor, adding the airport was testing a new heat-resistant asphalt. The fire brigade sprays around 9,000 litres of water on key parts of the runway, which can get damaged at...

BANNU: At least four people, including a police official, were injured on Wednesday after terrorists attacked a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, triggering a heavy exchange of fire with security personnel. Bannu District Police Officer Captain (retd) Muhammad Furqan Bilal confirmed the incident, while the administration of the local hospital confirmed the casualties. According to reports, the attackers attempted to ram a vehicle loaded with explosives into Miryan Police Station, triggering a powerful blast. Police sources said that after the blast, a heavy exchange of fire continued for a considerable time between the terrorists and police personnel, while security was further tightened in the area. Additional police contingents reached the site, while members of the Police Peace Committee also arrived at the scene, the sources added. Reports said the sound of the explosion was heard from a considerable distance. The blast also damaged the police station building and nearby residential a...

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Case against petitioner in Mian Channu quashed

Three officials arrested as probe focuses on safety lapses and negligence

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110-acre processing zone to have 200 units