Pakistan

CM chairs Apex Committee meeting attended by Peshawar corps commander, IGP, others

CM says summary on 4,000 vacant posts sent to BPSC

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday offered Pakistan’s deep-sea ports at Gwadar and Karachi as a vital trade outlet for Central Asian states, saying that this could change the fate of the entire region.

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met the newly-appointed Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General (DG) Dr Usman Anwar on Wednesday and expressed hope that under his leadership, the FIA would emerge as a “model institution”. The meeting took place during Naqvi’s visit to FIA Headquarters in Islamabad, a statement by the interior ministry said. It further quoted Naqvi as saying that Anwar would “utilise all his energies and capabilities to transform the agency into an institution that meets public expectations”. The interior minister added that he would fully support efforts to make the FIA a “modern, strong, and effective organisation”. The statement quoted DG Anwar as saying that the agency would be improved to meet international standards through the use of modern technology and training. “All necessary measures will be taken to improve the institution,” he assured. According to the statement, Naqvi also assessed an under-construction committee room at the FIA Headquarters, and it was als...

Five United Nations (UN) experts on Wednesday expressed alarm over the conviction of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatta. Last month, an Islamabad sessions court had sentenced Imaan and Hadi to a total of 17 years in prison on multiple charges in a case pertaining to controversial social media posts. In a joint statement on Wednesday, UN special rapporteurs Margaret Satterthwaite, Ben Saul, Mary Lawlor, Irene Khan and Gina Romero noted that the two were convicted on multiple criminal charges, which resulted in lengthy prison sentences “for simply exercising rights guaranteed by international human rights law”. “Lawyers, like other individuals, are entitled to freedom of expression. The exercise of this right should never be conflated with criminal conduct, especially not terrorism,” they were quoted as saying, while also emphasising the vague definition of terrorism-related offences under Pakistan’s counter-terrorism framework. “Doing so risks undermining and criminalising the w...

Rawalpindi to mark festival in phases with cantonment events today, tomorrow and celebrations across city on Feb 12–13

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The Lahore High Court has instructed relevant departments to put comprehensive safety plans in place to ensure the Basant festival is observed without incident.

Russia faces a steep drop in oil income if United States President Donald Trump successfully pressures India to stop importing Russian crude, because losing its top purchaser of seaborne exports would force Moscow to slash prices to find other buyers, analysts and traders said. Trump on Monday cut US tariffs on Indian goods in a trade deal he said also included provisions for India to halt oil imports from Russia, the world’s second-biggest oil exporter. The US is also putting pressure on Russia to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine. Trump has over the past year already claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil. India never halted imports, however, citing its need for energy security and for cheap oil. The Kremlin says energy cooperation with India, its second-largest oil buyer after China, is strong after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the country in December 2025. But Indian refiners are taking a cautious approach to Russian oil purchases, which is already hu...

Pakistan’s Saim Ayub has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men’s T20 All-Rounder Rankings on the back of “some excellent showings” during the recently concluded three-match series against Australia. Pakistan whitewashed Australia with a 3-0 victory in the series, during which Saim scored 119 run and claimed three wickets. An announcement by the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday that Saim moved up one slot to regain the top spot in the monthly rankings, replacing Zimbabwe veteran Sikandar Raza. The cricket’s governing body said the development “bodes well for Ayub and Pakistan just days out from the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as the Asian side look to claim their second title in the 20-over showcase event and their first since they tasted success in the second edition of the tournament back in 2009”. Meanwhile, Pakistani spinner Abrar Ahmed also moved up two places to the second spot in the T20 bowler rankings. He grabbed six wickets in the series against Australia and was “now ju...

The US and Iran are due to hold talks in Oman on Friday after Tehran requested a change of venue to limit negotiations to its nuclear programme, a regional official said, with a build-up of US forces in the Middle East raising fears of a confrontation. Iran wanted the meeting to take place in Oman as a continuation of previous rounds of talks held in the Gulf Arab country on its nuclear programme, asking for a change of location from Turkiye to avoid any expansion of the discussions to issues such as Tehran’s ballistic missiles, the regional official said. Iran has said it will not make concessions on its formidable ballistic missile programme — one of the biggest in the Middle East — calling that a red line in negotiations. Tehran, which said it replenished its stockpile of ballistic missiles since coming under attack from Israel last year, had warned that it will unleash its missiles to defend the Islamic Republic if its security is under threat. The regional official, speaking on condition of anonymity, sa...

In a meeting with PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday, Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam appreciated Islamabad’s “principled positions and continued support” toward his country in various areas. “Highly honored to call on Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, president of the PML-N, and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif,” Mogahadam said in a post on X about the meeting. He added: “Reiterating the firm commitment of the Islamic Republic of Iran to further enhance Iran-Pakistan relations, I expressed my sincere appreciation for the principled positions and continued support of the government of Pakistan toward Iran in various arenas.” The envoy said he had met the father-daughter duo to exchange views on the latest regional developments, “particularly in light of recent interventions by the United States and the Israeli regime, including their interventionist positions, threats, and escalatory rhetoric”. “We also discussed initiatives aimed at further strengthening t...

QUETTA: Mobile internet remains suspended in parts of Balochistan for the fifth consecutive day, with provincial authorities also halting train services in the province in the wake of last week’s coordinated terrorist attacks across the province. “Keeping in mind the worsening law and order situation in the province, mobile internet has been shut down,” said Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat while speaking to Dawn about the situation in Quetta. However, he added, “Now that the situation is returning to normal, it has been decided to restore mobile internet service from tomorrow at 12am midnight.” Meanwhile, mobile data services reportedly remained suspended in Nushki and Sibi, as well as in Mastung where services were briefly restored. Mobile data has been inaccessible for those in Kalat, Khuzdar, Awaran, Panjgur and Turbat for varying periods due to prior security concerns. Separately, a spokesperson for Pakistan Railways’ Quetta division, Muhammad Kashif, told Dawn that train services from Quetta to...

Pakistan’s benchmark index, KSE-100, closed in the green at 187,832.08 points on Wednesday. The index rose 931.35points (0.5 per cent) from its previous close of 186,900.73. Topline Securities noted that “overall market participation was robust, with total traded volume reaching 1,193 million shares, translating into a turnover value of Rs44 billion”. The brokerage firm also noted that “market activity remained volatile throughout the day, with the index recording an intraday high of 188,312 points and a low of 187,018 points”. The top active stocks were led by K-Electric Limited with a volume of 590,867,315, rising 13.06pc to Rs8.31, followed by Waves Home Appliances Limited with a volume of 36,307,348, rising 7.89pc to Rs12.04, First National Equities Limited with a volume of 32,938,146, falling 1.15pc to Rs1.72, Bank of Punjab with a volume of 32,471,485, rising 2.15pc to Rs40.90 and Waves Cooperation Limited with a volume of 25,119,030 rising 2.88pc to rs16.44. Top advancers were K-Electric Limited, follo...