Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Traders from Chaman have arrived in the federal capital to press the government to reopen the border crossing with Afghanistan for cross-border trade, a member of the delegation said on Friday. All border crossings with Afghanistan have remained closed since October 11, and trade has been at a standstill following ground fighting and retaliatory Pakistani airstrikes across their 2,600-kilometre frontier that killed dozens on both sides—the worst fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul. There are no signs of the border reopening, with Taliban rulers refusing to allow United Nations humanitarian aid to use Pakistan’s land route. Many people in Afghanistan depend on UN aid. The traders have held a series of meetings with government officials, including Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, and sought their help in reopening the border, the second key crossing with Afghanistan, the former president of the Chaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry told Dawn. A delegation led by the Pre...

More than 1,000 patients have died while waiting for urgent medical evacuation from war-ravaged Gaza in the last year and a half, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that the UN agency and its partners had “evacuated over 10,600 patients from Gaza with severe health conditions, including over 5,600 children” since the start of the war more than two years ago. But he warned that “many more patients remain in Gaza awaiting evacuation to receive appropriate healthcare”. Citing numbers from the health ministry in Gaza, Tedros said that 1,092 patients were known to have died while awaiting medical evacuation just between July 2024 and November 28, 2025. “This figure is likely underreported,” he warned, calling on “more countries to open doors to patients from Gaza, and for medical evacuation to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored”. “Lives depend on it.” The WHO has previously estimated that more than 16,500 patients still need treat...

Pakistan is targeting January to issue its first panda bond tranche, part of a planned programme of up to $1 billion, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday, as Islamabad seeks to diversify funding sources and tap China’s onshore debt market. The inaugural issuance is expected to raise the equivalent of about $250 million, with further tranches to follow under a phased programme once regulatory approvals are completed, the ministry said after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a review meeting on the plan. Approvals from multilateral partners have already been secured, and final clearances from Chinese regulators are expected by early January, the statement said. The panda bond programme, denominated in yuan and sold on China’s domestic market, is part of Pakistan’s broader debt management strategy as it works to stabilise its economy under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme. Pricing for the inaugural bond will be determined closer to the launch once all regulatory requirements are co...

ISLAMABAD: United Nations (UN) experts have expressed concerns that India’s “unlawful use of force“ on Pakistan’s territory in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack in occupied Kashmir appears to have “violated the rights to life and security of person”, it emerged on Friday. This observation by UN special rapporteurs was made in a report dated October 16, which was made public on December 15. The report outlined India‘s military response to the Pahalgam attack, as well as New Delhi’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in “abeyance” following the incident. The five UN experts who compiled the report also observed that New Delhi’s actions that “may be taken to disrupt the flow of water to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty” appeared to risk violating the rights to work and livelihood, an adequate standard of living — including the rights to water and food — a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and development. The attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 resulted...

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday acquitted PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while sentencing four other leaders, including Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid and Ejaz Chaudhry, to 10 years of imprisonment each in a case related to the May 9 riots. These PTI leaders have already been jailed after being indicted by different courts in Punjab in cases pertaining to violence on May 9, 2023. On that day, supporters and workers of the party, reacting to founder Imran Khan’s arrest, vandalised and torched military installations and government properties. Judge Manzer Ali Gill announced the verdict inside Kot Lakhpat Jail, concluding the trial in first information report number 852/2023, which pertains to an attack on the entrance gate of Government Officers’ Residence-I Club Chowk. The Racecourse police had registered the case and submitted a challan against 25 suspects, including PTI leaders and workers. This marks the fifth case in which PTI leaders Dr Yasmin, Cheema, Mian ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday sounded the alarm over India’s “weaponisation of water” following abrupt variations in the flow of the Chenab River, which have caused consternation among farmers in Punjab. He made the remarks while addressing an urgent media briefing for the diplomatic corps in Islamabad, a day after the Foreign Office said it had sought a clarification from India via a letter over the sudden variation in the Chenab River’s flow. At the beginning of his briefing, Dar said he wished to draw attention to a situation that threatened peace and stability in South Asia. “We witnessed in April this year India’s unilateral abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) … But what we are witnessing now is material breaches by India that strike at the heart of the IWT with escalating consequences for regional stability and sanctity of international law,” he said. “We have observed unusual, abrupt variations in the flow of the Chenab River twice this year,” he said, adding that...

In a meeting with Australian High Commissioner Tim Kane on Friday in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences over the tragic shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney last week and condemned the attack. Fifteen people were killed, and dozens were wounded last Sunday in Bondi after two gunmen opened fire at people celebrating Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. The PML-N posted on social media that the newly appointed high commissioner of Australia called on Shehbaz at the PM’s House today. It added that he conveyed deepest condolences over the tragic loss of innocent lives in the terrorist shooting incident at Bondi Beach, saying that Pakistan unequivocally condemned the cowardly act of terrorism. While reaffirming Pakistan’s solidarity with Australia in its hour of grief, it said, PM Shehbaz emphasised that terrorism had no religion and it must be condemned in all forms and manifestations. He added that collective action was required to eradicate this menace. Deputy Prime Minister and...

WASHINGTON: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday adopted by consensus a Pakistan-sponsored resolution that reaffirmed the right to self-determination for peoples still subjected to colonial, foreign, and alien occupation. According to Pakistan‘s Permanent Mission to the UN, the resolution — titled ‘Universal realisation of the right of the peoples to self-determination’ — was adopted during the UNGA’s 80th session. “The consensual adoption of the resolution manifests broad international support for the inalienable right of the peoples facing colonialism, alien domination and foreign occupation,“ it said in a post on X. “For the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Palestine, the resolution reinforces international attention to their just and legitimate cause and their aspirations for freedom and dignity in accordance with UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions,” it added. Diplomats said the adoption of the text by consensus — without a vote — underscored continue...

Snow unexpectedly blanketed several regions across Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Wednesday and Thursday, with cold weather and heavy rain hitting several cities and other parts of the Kingdom, Arab News and Khaleej Times reported on Thursday. According to Khaleej Times, a period of low-pressure systems in the Middle East has brought heavy rainfall over the last week. Conditions were forecast to intensify on Thursday, with thunderstorms expected to hit the region. The storm was then forecast to move eastwards towards the UAE and Qatar by night, it added, citing BBC Weather. Khaleej Times reported that large areas of Qatar had also been covered by snowfall already, sharing a video of the landscape. View this post on Instagram In Saudi Arabia, snow and light rainfall were experienced in Trojena, a mountain destination for hiking and skiing located on Jebel Al-Lawz in the province of Tabuk that reaches up to 2,600 metres, according to Arab News. Additionally, light to moderate rain was experienced in Bir Bin Hermas, ...

Danger man Travis Head crunched his fourth century in as many Tests at Adelaide Oval Friday as Australia built a 356-run lead over England to stand on the brink of retaining the Ashes. The hosts were 271-4 at stumps on day three of the third Test with Head on 142 and first-innings century-maker Alex Carey not out 52, taking the five-match series out of England’s reach. England must win after crashing inside two days at the first Test in Perth and inside four in Brisbane, both by eight wickets. But it appears to be an impossible task with the highest run chase at the ground 316 by Australia against England in 1902. Head’s crucial ton, his 11th, came off a composed 146 balls although he almost didn’t get there, dropped on 99 by Harry Brook as impatience got the better of him. He has now scored a century in four consecutive Tests on his home ground, following 140 against India last year and 119 and 175 against the West Indies. Australia suffered an early setback in a tense 20 minutes before lunch after England w...

US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem ordered the suspension of the diversity visa lottery progamme on Thursday after saying it was used by the suspect in a mass shooting at Brown University. “The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa programme (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card,” Noem wrote on social media. “At president Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to pause the DV1 programme to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous programme,“ she said. According to the Associated Press, the diversity visa programme makes up to 50,000 green cards available each year by lottery to people from countries that are little represented in the US, many of them in Africa. The lottery was created by Congress, and the move is almost certain to invite legal challenges, AP reported. Officials said earlier that the suspect was dead as investigators said he also...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday warned that India’s unilateral actions concerning shared river waters pose serious risks to peace and stability in South Asia, accusing New Delhi of using water as a political tool.

Special Assistant to the Chief Minister Zeeshan Ashiq Malik has been appointed Adviser on Political Affairs to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

CJ-led bench orders law ministry to de-notify Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri.

ISLAMABAD: Former Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman has described attacks on Pakistan in May this year as a strategic mistake by India. “They underestimated our military power and thought we will not react. They never expected a befitting response,” he said while speaking at a seminar here. The seminar was organised by an overseas Pakistanis group led by Barrister Shehzada Hayat, in collaboration with the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society (PESS), headed by Senator retired Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum to pay homage to Pakistan’s martyrs, express solidarity with the armed forces, and commemorate the 149th birth anniversary of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The former air chief said the telling response by Pakistan shattered the myth of “shining India”. He chided India for blaming Chinese help to Pakistan for its failure saying “If we have Chinese JF-17 aircraft, you also have Rafale jets. Overseas Pakistanis’ contribution to national economy praised He made it clear that Chinese pilots did not come to...

• 1,200 policemen, anti-riot personnel deployed; number of pickets increased • Party leaders return without visiting Imran after being barred by prison authorities RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: As the PTI staged two sit-ins outside the jail in as many weeks, the Punjab government has deployed more than 1,200 police officials, installed additional pickets, and deployed anti-riot police in the vicinity of Adiala jail, in an apparent bid to pre-empt such protests. Separately, the jail authorities also barred the PTI leaders, including KP’s former finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra, who had arrived in Rawalpindi to meet their incarcerated party chief, Imran Khan. According to the Islamabad High Court, Mr Khan can have two weekly meetings with his family and party leaders, but the authorities have routinely restricted such visits, much to the PTI’s chagrin. Last Tuesday, the PTI leaders staged a protest, which was dispersed by police with water cannons after midnight. In a seemingly pre-emptive measure that would dissu...

• FO says discussions ongoing; Islamabad has not been formally requested to deploy troops • Andrabi, White House say no Munir-Trump meeting planned ‘at this time’ ISLAMABAD: No decision has been taken yet on contributing troops to the planned International Stabilisation Force (ISF) for Gaza, the Foreign Office said on Thursday, seeking to quell renewed speculation about Washington’s pressure on Islamabad for joining the mission. “About Pakistan’s participation in the ISF, we have not taken a decision to participate in ISF as yet,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said at the weekly media briefing. ISF forms a key component of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza conflict, a 20-point framework announced in September that facilitated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October. On Nov 17, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution, with Russia and China abstaining, endorsing the plan and authorising the establishment of the ISF as a temporary multinational force to...

• Govt rations funds to meet IMF’s contingency measures for growing revenue shortfall • Health, energy allocations mostly unspent; better used in foreign-funded projects ISLAMABAD: Develop­ment spending under the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) remained subdued in the first five months of the current fiscal year, with utilisation amounting to just 9.2 per cent of the Rs1 trillion annual allocation amid fiscal rationing to meet the IMF’s contingency measures for growing revenue shortfall. “Development spending remained modest, with Rs92 billion utilised against Rs196bn sanctioned, led mainly by infrastructure,” the Ministry of Planning and Development said in its Monthly Development Outlook (December 2025). It added that foreign-funded projects showed relatively better utilisation, with Rs12.8bn spent out of Rs25.1bn sanctioned. At Rs92bn, the July-November utilisation was 20pc lower than the Rs115bn spent in the same period last year. The ministry attributed the slowdown to “significant red...

President Asif Ali Zardari, on early Friday morning, approved the de-notification of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri as a judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on the advice of the prime minister. “The president has approved the de-notification of Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri as judge, Islamabad High Court, on the advice of the prime minister, in compliance with the IHC verdict and in accordance with the Constitution and law,” a statement from the President’s Secretariat said. IHC judgement The IHC ruling on Thursday said Justice Jahangiri’s elevation to the superior court “without lawful authority” and that he “ceased to hold” the office of the IHC judge forthwith. A division bench led by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan issued the judgement, which was earlier reserved, on a plea that challenged the legitimacy of Justice Jahangiri’s law degree and appointment as a judge. A short written order of the court, available with Dawn, said at the time of Justice Jahangi...

As the Foreign Office sought clarification from India via a letter over a sudden variation in the Chenab River’s flow, the situation is badly affecting wheat and other crops being fed through the Marala-Ravi link and other canals in various parts of Punjab. “The situation is really disturbing as the Chenab River’s control from upstream (India) is being handled by the Indian authorities through various run-of-the-river hydropower projects,” a senior official of the Punjab Irrigation Department said while speaking to Dawn on condition of anonymity. “When India releases the water from dams towards downstream (Pakistan) without informing us, the flow suddenly increases. Sometimes, they hold water for days, reducing flow massively,” he said. He continued, “Once the river inflows recorded at Marala reduced to 1,500 cusecs, leaving us with no option but to stop outflows.” “The situation is very serious and strange for us, as the growers, in several villages, couldn’t water wheat crops due to the lack of water flow t...