Pakistan

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has credited Pakistan’s progress in military, diplomatic, and economic spheres to strong civil-military cooperation, emphasizing the effectiveness of the country's "hybrid model" of governance.

he Balochistan government has unveiled plans to declare the historic Hinglaj Mata Temple in Lasbela district a global religious tourism destination, aiming to highlight the province’s cultural diversity and promote interfaith harmony.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday resumed hearings on review petitions challenging its previous decision regarding reserved seats in the assemblies.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Thursday predicted that pre-monsoon rains will fall across the country between June 20 and 23. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. They are also vital for agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people. According to a statement, “currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are penetrating the central and northern areas of Pakistan, while a westerly wave is expected to approach the north. Both of these weather systems are expected to arrive on June 20 (tomorrow).” It added that duststorms, thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Sargodha, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, H...

Cambridge International Education (CIE) on Thursday confirmed that question papers of three AS and A Level examinations were partially leaked across Pakistan. CIE, part of Cambridge University Press and Assessment, offers internationally recognised exams to over 10,000 schools in 160-plus countries. In Pakistan, O Levels (grades 9–10) cover a broad subject range, while A and AS Levels (grades 11–12) are more specialised and advanced, providing pathways to higher education in Pakistan and abroad. CIE exams are typically held twice a year, in June and November, with results released in August and January, respectively. “We have written to our schools in Pakistan to tell them that, against our regulations, some content from three question papers was available before the timetabled exam dates in Pakistan,” the CIE said in a statement. The examinations that were affected include: Cambridge International AS/A Level Mathematics Paper 12, where one question was shared before the exam was taken. Cambridge Internationa...

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday adjourned the hearing of review petitions against its earlier verdict on reserved seats until Friday, June 20.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has directed for early finalization of national industrial policy in consultation with all stakeholders for lasting solution of problems faced by industries and accelerating industrial growth.

Amazon will invest more than $233 million in India in 2025 to expand and update its operations infrastructure, develop new technology for its fulfilment network and improve delivery safety, it said on Thursday. The investment builds on top of Amazon’s prior investments for the creation of an operations network to deliver to all serviceable PIN-codes in the country, it added. In June 2023, the e-commerce major — which competes with Walmart’s Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail in India — had said it will take its investments in the country to $26 billion by 2030, without providing a breakdown. The new investment will be used to launch new sites and upgrade existing facilities across its fulfilment and delivery network, improving speed and processing capacity, it said. Additionally, Amazon plans to use technology to alert delivery associates about unsafe speeds and ensure equitable distribution of delivery routes. Some of the funds will also be used to expand initiatives to improve the heal...

Strongly condemning the unjustified and illegitimate aggression by Israel against Iran, Pakistan on Thursday urged the international community and the United Nations to bear the responsibility to uphold international law, stop this aggression immediately, and hold the aggressor accountable for its actions.

The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench on Thursday announced its verdict in a case pertaining to the seniority and transfer of Islamabad High Court (IHC) jud­ges, declaring that their transfers were not unconstitutional. The bench — headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and comprising Justices Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Shahid Bilal Hassan, Salahuddin Panhwar and Shakeel Ahmed — took up petitions filed by five IHC judges, the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) and the IHC Bar Association, among others. In February, Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro from the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Muham­mad Asif from the Balochistan High Court (BHC) were transferred to the IHC. The controversy centres around the alteration of the judges’ seniority list after these transfers as Justice Dogar was made the senior puisne judge, which paved the way for his appointment as the acting IHC chief justice after Justice Aamer Farooq’s elevation to the SC. Today’s judge...

India will send the black box recovered from the recent fatally crashed Air India plane to the US for analysis, local newspaper Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing people aware of the development. “The recorder sustained heavy external damage from post-crash fire making it impossible to extract data in India,” the ET report said, citing people aware of the development. India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. Indian authorities are investigating the crash of an Air India Boeing Dreamliner, which last week killed 241 people on board and at least 30 on ground, marking the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade. The black box consists of two components — the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). It provides crucial insights for crash investigators, including altitude and airspeed data and pilot conversation records that help determine probable causes of crashes. Data from the flight data recorder will be extra...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Adviser, Barrister Dr Saif, has strongly criticised Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, accusing her of attempting to falsely portray herself and her father, Nawaz Sharif, as national icons without a genuine public mandate.

Mohammad Hassan anxiously returned to Pakistan from Iran this week after witnessing drones, missiles and explosions tear through Tehran’s sky during what he called long, “horrifying nights”. The 35-year-old University of Tehran student is one of about 3,000 Pakistanis who, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have returned home since Israel launched its aerial war against its long-time enemy last week. Governments around the world are scrambling to evacuate their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiralling conflict as Israel and Iran trade missile and drone strikes. “I was in the city centre where most of the strikes took place and even one of the student dormitories was attacked and luckily no one was dead, but students were injured,” Hassan said. Pakistani students walk across the Pakistan-Iran border after returning from Iran in Taftan, Balochistan, on June 19. — AFP There are more than 500 Pakistani students at his university alone, he said, all of them on their way “back home”. “Those days and...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the second phase of the 'Clinics on Wheels' project in Lahore today.

Greenpeace on Thursday warned that an oil spill resulting from a tanker collision off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could have grave environmental consequences, after authorities reported a “small” slick. On Tuesday, the Emirati coastguard said it rescued 24 crew members of the Adalynn oil tanker after it collided with the Front Eagle vessel in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of the Khor Fakan area of the UAE. “Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has warned of a potential environmental disaster after two crude oil tankers collided,” the group said in a statement. The environmental campaign group said satellite imagery indicated a “large plume of oil stretching up to around 1,500 hectares from the site of the crash”. The group said the Adalynn was part of a Russian “shadow fleet”, which it described as “a collection of partially obsolete tankers that operate below basic security standards and carry Russian oil”. Security analysts say Russia uses the fleet of ageing vessels to circumven...

Another patient died of Congo fever on Thursday in Karachi, as the number of fatalities from the disease reached two this year in Sindh, a statement from the district health officer in Malir said. Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), commonly known as Congo Virus, causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks with a case fatality rate of 10-40 per cent, according to the World Health Organisation. There is no vaccine available for the disease. Per experts, the CCHF virus is primarily transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. In April, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued an advisory urging the prevention of Congo fever ahead of Eidul Azha. A 25-year-old man, Zubair, a fisherman from Ibrahim Hyderi, passed away on Thursday morning, a day after the disease was confirmed, said a report by DHO Malir Dr Imdad Ali Chandio. The victim butchered animals continuously for two days on June 7-8 during Eid. On J...

Director General of ISPR, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhary, on Thursday described the success of Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos as a triumph for peace, reaffirming that Pakistan has always prioritised peace over conflict.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday conducted a hearing on bail petitions filed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan in eight separate cases linked to the May 9 riots.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday held a farewell meeting with the outgoing Country Director of the World Bank in Pakistan, Najy Benhassine.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast a spell of pre-monsoon rains across the country from June 20 to 23, as moist currents from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea begin penetrating the region.