Pakistan

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Saturday urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to constitute a high-level inquiry commission to hold those accountable whose negligence led to the Gul Plaza inferno. The deadly inferno, which erupted on the night of January 17 at the mall and took nearly two days to be fully extinguished, has claimed at least 71 lives and left over 1,100 shops in ruins. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar said the citizens of Karachi had “questions of a very serious nature regarding the responsibilities of the Sindh government in this incident”, as well as those of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the mayor. He called for an “independent judicial inquiry” into the Gul Plaza tragedy to ensure the truth comes to light. Sattar questioned what the “fear and obstruction” was in setting up a judicial commission. “Incapability, mistake, apathy, shamelessness, impudence — these should be exposed,” Sattar demanded. Sattar further demanded tha...

“As dissenters challenge existing ideas, social consciousness grows, the condition of human existence and rights improve and society progresses …Thus, it is in society’s collective interest that the right to dissent be upheld, even though critical ideas might seem unpalatable. It is in the state’s own interest to tolerate ideas critical of it. Criticism of the state and its policies is a natural outcome of the democratic system of governance … the security of the state must not be projected by the state itself to be so fragile that critical speech would shake its foundation.” — Justice Babar Sattar in the case of Shoukat Ali vs. Government of Pakistan (PLD 2024 Islamabad 135) On Friday, lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha were arrested while they were reportedly on the way to the Islamabad district courts. The multiple cases registered against them invoke provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), anti-terrorism legislation, and laws regulating public assembly....

China said on Saturday the senior vice chairman of its powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) and another high-ranking official were under investigation for suspected “serious violations of discipline”, a common euphemism for corruption. The announcement marks the latest push in a sweeping drive to root out graft at all levels of the party and state since President Xi Jinping came to power more than a decade ago. “Following a review… it has been decided to initiate an investigation into Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli,” the defence ministry said in a statement. The two men were “suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law”, the ministry said. Zhang Youxia, 75, is China’s highest-ranked general as the more senior CMC vice chairman. He is also a member of the powerful Politburo, the 24-member executive body of the Chinese Communist Party. Vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang Youxia, salute...

PESHAWAR: After heavy snowfall in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley, rescue teams continued operations to evacuate those trapped by the snow, a spokesperson said on Saturday. A large number of displaced families leaving Tirah in preparation for an operation in the valley were stranded in a snowstorm in Khyber district on Friday. KP’s Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi said in a statement that the rescue operations were ongoing for those trapped in the valley. “Rescue 1122 has so far rescued more than 1,500 people and 350 vehicles and shifted them to safe places during the rescue operation, while more than 100 people have also been provided medical assistance,” he said. Rescue 1122 teams conduct operations in the Tirah Valley to rescue over 1,500 people trapped due to heavy snowfall, in Khyber district on January 24. — photo via author The spokesperson added that over 100 personnel and officers from Khyber, Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera and Swabi’s Rescue 1122 divisions were participating in the operation...

A fire broke out in the basement of a hotel in Lahore’s Gulberg area on Saturday, injuring three people and prompting immediate rescue operations.

Iran will treat any attack “as an all-out war against us,” a senior Iranian official said on Friday, ahead of the arrival of a US military aircraft carrier strike group and other assets in the Middle East in the coming days. “This military buildup — we hope it is not intended for real confrontation — but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran,” said the senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “This time we will treat any attack — limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it — as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this,” the official said. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States had an “armada” heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program. “If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond,” said t...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Saturday said temperatures in Karachi could fall to single digits over the weekend, adding that the city’s weather was likely to remain cold and dry with occasional winds. The city saw its second spell of winter showers on Thursday afternoon under the influence of a westerly wave that brought about light to moderate rainfall in several areas. Strong winds blew through the city after the rains, making the weather chillier. In a weather forecast, the PMD predicted a minimum temperature of 8.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday, while it is expected to drop further between 7°C and 9°C on Sunday. On Monday night, the minimum temperature is forecasted to rise slightly to 8-10°C. Meanwhile, the maximum temperature is expected to remain between 19-21°C on Saturday and Sunday, rising further to between 20°C and 22°C on Monday. Partial screengrab of the PMD weather forecast issued on Jan 24, 2026. According to the Met Office, the humidity levels are predicted to remain between ...

Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States will meet in Abu Dhabi on Saturday for the second day of negotiations on a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the almost four-year-long war. The first known direct contact between Ukrainian and Russian officials on the proposal began Friday. Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said the discussions focused “on the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process”. An initial US draft drew heavy criticism in Kyiv and western Europe for hewing too closely to Moscow’s line, while later iterations prompted pushback from Russia for floating the idea of European peacekeepers. Both sides say the fate of territory in the eastern Donbas region is one of the main outstanding issues in the search for a settlement to a war that has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and decimated parts of Ukraine. The UAE foreign ministry said in a statement that the talks were scheduled to last two days and were “pa...

India and Europe hope to strike the “mother of all deals” when European Union (EU) chiefs meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi next week, as the two economic behemoths seek to forge closer ties. Facing challenges from China and the United States, India and the European Union have been negotiating a massive free trade pact — and talks, first launched about two decades ago, are nearing the finishing line. “We are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week. Von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa will attend Republic Day celebrations on Monday before an EU-India summit on Tuesday, where they hope to shake hands on the accord. Securing a pact, described by India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as “the mother of all deals”, would be a major win for Brussels and New Delhi as both seek to open up new markets in the face of US tariffs and Chinese export controls. But officials have been eager to stress there is more to it...

Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb met a high-level Asian Development Bank (ADB) delegation to review ongoing and proposed projects in health, education, agriculture, flood management, climate resilience, and other sectors.

Pakistan is observing the International Day of Education on Saturday to raise awareness about the role of education in promoting peace and development.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi discussed current regional and international developments on Saturday.

An anti-terrorism court in the federal capital on Saturday ordered a 14-day judicial remand of advocate Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatha, in a case related to an altercation outside the Islamabad High Court.

The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has launched an emergency survey of buildings across Karachi and issued notices to more than 100 structures following the deadly fire at Gul Plaza shopping mall that left several people dead and many still untraced.

Pakistan and Kazakhstan have agreed to deepen cooperation on a proposed railway corridor linking Pakistan with Central Asia, aimed at boosting regional connectivity and trade.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has initiated practical measures to protect the province from accidents caused by hanging and disorganized electricity wires, which often lead to short circuits, electrocution and fires.

A westerly wave is expected to enter western parts of the country on January 25 and is likely to affect upper regions on January 26, bringing widespread rain, wind and snowfall, the Met Office said.

Heart-wrenching details have emerged from an eyewitness who narrowly escaped the deadly Gul Plaza fire, as rescue teams continue operations at the site.

• UNEP report says total nature-negative finance flows reached $7.3tr in 2023 • Private sources accounted for $4.9tr ISLAMABAD: For every $1 the world invests in protecting nature, it spends $30 on destroying it. This stark imbalance is the central finding of a new report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The ‘State of Finance for Nature 2026’ report finds that total nature-negative finance flows stand at $7.3 trillion. Of this, $4.9tr comes from private sources, highly concentrated in a few sectors including utilities, industrials, energy, and basic materials. Public environmentally harmful subsidies — mainly for fossil fuels, agriculture, water, transport and construction — amounted to $2.4tr in 2023. Released on Thursday, the rep­ort called for a major shift in global financing towards nature-based solutions (NbS) and the phasing out of harmful investments to deliver high returns, reduce risk exposure, and enhance resilience. The report further finds that finance flows for NbS to...

LAHORE: Iranian-American academic and political scientist Vali Nasr suggested on Friday that the war on Palestine had politically weakened Arab states and emboldened Israeli leaders, to the point that the latter had abandoned the two-state framework entirely. Speaking at a session titled ‘The Gaza War and the Remaking of the Middle East’, moderated by journalist Najam Sethi, Mr Nasr implied that the situation has proven detrimental to the Palestinian cause. He said Israel now believes it can pursue its objectives primarily through force. “With Arab states politically neutralised, Israeli leaders see little incentive to return to negotiations,” he added. According to him, Israeli leadership now views political compromise with the Palestinians as a security liability rather than a pathway to stability, effectively abandoning the two-state framework. Following the Gaza war, Israel moved against Hezbollah in Lebanon, significantly weakening the group’s operational capacity. The collapse of the Assad regime in Syr...