Pakistan

At least 31 people were killed and another 169 injured in a suicide bombing at an imambargah during Friday prayers in Islamabad, according to authorities. The explosion occurred at Imambargah Khadijah-tul-Kubra in the Tarlai area of the federal capital. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif suggested India’s and Afghanistan’s involvement in the attack, stating, “It has been proved that the terrorist involved in the attack travelled to and from Afghanistan”. Muhammad Kazim, a 52-year-old, said an “extremely powerful” explosion ripped through the building as prayers were just starting. “During the sajda, we heard gunfire,” he told AFP. “And while we were still in the bowing position, an explosion occurred,” he said. Kazim — from Gilgit-Baltistan who currently lives in Islamabad — escaped unharmed, but accompanied his wounded friend to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital for treatment. “Debris fell from the roof, and windows were shattered,” he added. “When I got outside, many bodies were scattered … Man...

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Court rules 2024 law unconstitutional, restores police autonomy and curbs political control over postings

Afridi vows capacity boost for force, decries political interference, urges inclusive national anti-terror policy

Grisly discovery raises alarm over worsening security

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Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday strongly condemned the blast at an Imambargah in the Tarlai area of Islamabad.

Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States held in Oman on Friday were a good beginning and will continue, Iran’s foreign minister said, after growing concerns that a failure in the high-stakes negotiations could set off another Middle East war. “It was a good start to the negotiations. And there is an understanding on continuing the talks. Coordination on how to proceed will be decided in the capitals,” the minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Iranian state TV. “If this process continues, I think we will reach a good framework for an understanding.” Officials from both sides, who held indirect talks through Omani mediation in Oman’s capital Muscat, will return home for consultations, Araqchi said. While both sides have indicated readiness to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West, Washington wanted to expand the talks to cover Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region and “treatment of their own people”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on ...

ISLAMABAD: In a significant move to assert parliamentary supremacy, a Senate rule was amended on Friday with the aim to curb judicial interference in parliamentary affairs. The amendment to rule 166(5) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate was approved by the upper House of Parliament as chair rejected the government’s request to defer the matter. A motion seeking the amendment to the rule was moved by PPP, PML-N and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) senators. However, during the session, PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah, who is special assistant to the prime minister on political affairs, conveyed Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar’s request that the motion may not be taken up before the matter was discussed with him. However, PPP Senator Saleem Mandviwala, who spearheaded the move to amend the rule and was also chairing the session today, highlighted that the “interference of courts” in House committees’ proceedings was the reason behind the need for the change in the rule. “High courts granted sta...

ISLAMABAD: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Friday extended the judicial remand of lawyer Imaan Zainab Hazir-Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha for another fortnight. The development came as ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra heard a case registered against the two under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Anti-Terrorism Act over their alleged involvement in a lawyers’ protest at Constitution Avenue. The couple was arrested last month while leaving the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in connection with the case. It is worth mentioning that the two have been sentenced to a total of 17 years in prison on multiple charges in a separate case pertaining to controversial social media posts. During the hearing, the prosecution submitted a notification dated February 5, citing the prevailing law and order situation that, according to authorities, made it difficult to physically produce the accused before the court. It subsequently requested the court to mark the suspects’ attendance via video link. Accepting...

In 2015, Coke Studio released ‘Phir Se Game Uthadein’ — an anthem for the ODI World Cup set to happen the same year. It was inspired by Slogett and Carlone’s 1992 anthem ‘Who Rules the World’, the soundtrack to Pakistan’s first and most fabled major victory in cricket. Produced by Strings and sung by Atif Aslam, the song proclaimed “Jeet ki daastaan, phir ho gi jawaan” to the same tune as “Who’s gonna be number one, who’s gonna take up the cup?”. There is a dexterity required to mythologise something that has actually happened — Pakistan has done that with the 1992 World Cup. There must have been a time when the historical immediacy of the victory would lend itself as proof that it was real. But ever since I can remember, the 1992 World Cup has been a pedestalised peak that seems harder and harder to re-mount as the years go by. 1992 is invoked in every metaphor for victory in Pakistan, sporting or otherwise. It is the incantation we chant when we are inviting good fortune, and the prayer we use to give shape...

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Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to elevating bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level as President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev concluded a two-day state visit to Pakistan, marked by wide-ranging agreements on trade, connectivity, culture, security, and regional cooperation.

KARACHI: Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho said on Friday that, on the directives of the provincial government, an operation was launched against riverine bandits last month. Speaking at a press conference at the Central Police Office, the provincial police chief said since the launch of the operation, 113 encounters had taken place with criminals in which 27 kidnappers were gunned down, 82 others were injured, and 77 were arrested. Flanked by Sindh Additional Inspector General of Police Iqbal Dara, Odho said 123 bandits had also surrendered before law enforcers as part of the government’s policy. “These were not ordinary criminals,” he said. He further said that 15 people who had been kidnapped had been recovered safely. He lamented that some of the citizens rescued were in the custody of the bandits for up to three years. Way forward In an oblique reference to past operations against riverine bandits that failed to deliver desirable results, Odho said a comprehensive plan had been chalked ou...

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said the revival of Basant under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has reignited public enthusiasm and restored a festive spirit across Lahore.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that ties between Pakistan and Uzbekistan from now onwards would be measured by trade flows, investment projects, industrial partnerships and people-to-people exchanges, Radio Pakistan reported. According to the report, he made the remarks while addressing the Pakistan-Uzbekistan Business Forum in Islamabad alongside Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is in Islamabad on an official visit. In his remarks, the premier said that it was in this spirit that both countries had set an “ambitious yet easily achievable target of increasing our bilateral trade to $2 billion”, the report said. He said the two countries had also signed a protocol, which would lead to the constitution of a working group to draft a five-year roadmap in order to promote trade, investment, and joint collaboration in research and development, information technology and agriculture, it added. PM Shehbaz also said that tourism was another area in which both countries could benefit from each othe...

Pakistan captain Salman Agha defended off-spinner Usman Tariq’s unorthodox bowling action on Friday and called him the side’s “X factor” on the eve of their Twenty20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands in Colombo. Tariq, who has played three T20 Internationals since his debut against South Africa in November, has been reported twice for a suspect bowling action in the Pakistan Super League. His bowling style culminates in him pausing near the crease before firing the ball in with a side-arm sling-shot action. The 28-year-old claimed two wickets in his second T20 International, against Australia, and Australia batsman Cameron Green — one of his two victims in that match in Lahore — made a chucking gesture after being dismissed as he made his way off. “I don’t understand why we are talking about his action because in my opinion it is a fair action,” Salman told reporters. “He has been tested twice and he has been cleared,” he said. “I think there is no problem in his action. Yes, he is the X factor of the ...