Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has revamped its website, enabling citizens to access district-level birth and death records and also file right-to-information (RTI) requests online through a verified login. According to the authority, it has launched a major overhaul of its website, and replaced a text-heavy site that had been criticised as outdated and hard to navigate. A press release said that Nadra, which holds biometric data for over 240 million citizens, had redesigned group services, statistics and support “in a structured and user-centric manner”. “For the first time, Nadra’s Geospatially Referenced Demographic Information System is public. The tool displays registration data on interactive maps and lets users compare district-level census figures with Nadra’s own records,” the release said. “A map gallery offers downloadable thematic maps for research and planning — data previously restricted to government departments,” it added. It said that the key identity docu...

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has said that his government is prioritising national interest over political gains and promoting responsible political conduct.

The National Database and Registration Authority has launched a newly redesigned and modernised website, consolidating a wide range of identity and registration services into a single digital platform to enhance accessibility and user experience.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he had received successful treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, without specifying when the treatment took place. In a statement on social media, as his annual medical report was released, Netanyahu, 76, said an early stage malignant tumor had been discovered during a routine checkup. He said “targeted treatment” had removed “the problem” and left no trace of it. According to the medical report, which otherwise said the prime minister was in good health, Netanyahu was treated with radiation therapy for early-stage prostate cancer. Neither the medical report nor Netanyahu said when the treatment occurred. Israel’s longest-serving prime minister said that he had delayed the release of the medical report by two months to prevent Iran from spreading “false propaganda against Israel”. In March, during the US-Israeli war on Iran, rumors that circulated on social media and aired on Iranian state media alleged that Netanyahu had died. The Israeli lea...

Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, intensified diplomatic outreach on Friday with a series of high-level engagements aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and easing geopolitical tensions.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Friday chaired a meeting with Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to review evolving regional and global dynamics.

Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said that there is no mistrust between Pakistan and Iran, adding that negotiations between the United States and Iran are expected to begin soon.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Friday said that the Sindh government would fulfil its promise of rebuilding Gul Plaza, a multi-storey shopping plaza which was reduced to ruins due to a deadly inferno that claimed the lives of more than 70 people in January. In January, CM Murad had told the Sindh Assembly that the provincial government would demolish and reconstruct Gul Plaza within two years, ensuring no increase in the number of shops. Addressing a ceremony for distributing compensation cheques among the affected shopkeepers in Karachi on Friday, CM Murad said, “The Sindh government will rebuild Gul Plaza as promised, and will make the same number of shops as before. All the losses will be recompensed and no one will benefit through unfair means.” He said that this was the first phase of distributing the cheques to the affected shopkeepers. CM Murad also expressed his gratitude to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) for providing the tempora...

The United States has drained much of its weapons stockpile, totalling up to billions of dollars, in its war on Iran, according to a New York Times investigation. The weapons, as per the NYT, included over 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles — each worth more than $4 million. According to the report, the US has “burned through around 1,100 of its long-range stealth cruise missiles built for a war with China, close to the total number remaining in the US stockpile”. Also included in the stockpile used were over 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles — around ten times the US military’s annual stock. Citing internal Defence Department estimates and congressional officials, NYT reported that over 1,000 Precision Strike and ATACMS ground-based missiles were used, “leaving inventories worryingly low”. Further, around 1,100 JASSM-ER missiles were used — each worth around $1.1m — leaving only 1,500 in the military’s stock. The report said that the existing situation had left the US military “less ready” to confront threats f...

Pakistan is set to witness renewed diplomatic activity as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad tonight with a small delegation, amid growing momentum for a possible second round of US-Iran negotiations.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has reaffirmed that the provincial government will reconstruct Gul Plaza in Karachi, which was gutted in a fire in January 2026, killing 67 people.

On a cold day in January, a hundred and fifty armed policemen descended on Taunsa Barrage near Kot Addu with two bulldozers to raze a settlement spread over 47 kanal of government land. Many of the homes belonged to the famous boatpeople of the River Indus, the Mohanas. As they also go by the name Shaikh, their settlement, Basti Shaikhan, was marked on the official map for demolition. Also on the map, in the corner, was a box that said: proposed for Circuit House. The operation was carried out by the new Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (Pera) which was assisted by Deputy Commissioner Bilal Saleem. But the people who have lived there for generations, challenge the notion that they are squatters. And even though Pera’s Director-General for Monitoring and Implementation, Ahmed Zaheer, says they issue encroachers a digital Emergency Prohibition Order, activist Fazl-e-Rab maintains the basti had no idea the bulldozers were coming. A view of the basti post Pera’s operation — photo by Tariq Birmani As Bi...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday stressed his country was a “reliable member” of Nato, after a report the United States was considering possibly trying to expel Spain over its refusal to support operations in the Middle East war. Reuters news agency cited an anonymous US official telling it that the Pentagon had outlined the expulsion option in an email looking at ways to punish Nato allies that steered clear of the US-Israeli war against Iran. “Spain is a reliable member within Nato” which is fulfilling all its obligations, Sanchez told reporters in Cyprus, where he was attending an EU summit. “As a result, I am absolutely not worried,” he said. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against Nato allies for refusing to join the war, saying he viewed it as a betrayal. Some of them — France, Spain and Italy — did not allow US military aircraft deployed for the war to overfly their territories or to use bases. Britain initially also refused, but later allowed US flights from its bases for...

Pakistan has returned an additional $1 billion to the United Arab Emirates, completing the return of $3.

Security forces killed 22 militants during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber district.

The International Monetary Fund has reportedly called for the introduction of the strictest procedures for imported vehicles in Pakistan, according to well-placed sources in the Ministry of Industries and Production.

The Iranian rial is currently trading at a notable premium in Pakistan’s informal currency markets, with dealers reporting elevated demand driven by cross-border trade and speculative activity.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has formally launched a digital portal for a major agricultural and economic uplift initiative titled “Apni Zameen… Apni Mehnat, Apni Fasal… Apna Rozgar” scheme.

Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have prepared a draft to introduce a redesigned uniform for field operational officers, aiming to standardise appearance across the province.

India on Thursday criticised as inappropriate a post by US President Donald Trump that called the South Asian country a “hellhole.” The comments come ahead of a planned visit next month to India by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who would seek to turn the page on recent tensions between the normally friendly powers. Trump late Wednesday posted on social media a screed apparently written by someone else denouncing the US constitutional right to citizenship of everyone born in the country. The post accused Indian immigrants in the tech industry of not hiring white native-born Americans and inaccurately alleged that Indian immigrants lack English proficiency. “A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet,” the post said. The Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responded that the remarks were “obviously uninformed, inappropriate, and in poor taste.” He added, “They certainly do not reflect the realit...