Pakistan

Temporary seal imposed until safety measures are completed

Victim says she left home with friend; mother alleges son of landlord responsible

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KARACHI: Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar on Thursday ordered an inquiry after Model Colony police arrested journalist Shahab Salman for allegedly firing a gun and injuring a person. The journalist’s arrest came after a first information report (FIR) was registered against him under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 324 (attempted murder) and 337A(i) (causing a head injury) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The complainant, who operates a “cable network”, alleged that he and his friends had met for tea at a restaurant on Wednesday night, when Salman and three others drew a pistol and started firing, resulting in a bullet injury to his thigh. He further alleged that the suspect was spreading fake news against him on social media for “blackmailing purposes”. Subsequently, the Sindh home minister took notice of the arrest and sought details from the Korangi senior superintendent of police (SSP), according to a statement. “Merit, transparency and impartiality should b...

India on Thursday condemned an alleged act of vandalism at its embassy in Zagreb as Croatia promised to prosecute the offenders. The Indian foreign ministry said that an act of “trespassing and vandalism” at its embassy in the Croatian capital was committed by “anti-India elements” without providing further details of the incident. “We have taken up the matter strongly with Croatian authorities and asked them to hold the perpetrators accountable for their reprehensible and illegal actions,” a ministry statement said. Indian media reported that a video had been posted online, purporting to show Khalistan activists removing the Indian flag and replacing it with the yellow flag representing the Sikh separatist movement. AFP could not verify the video, while police and the embassy did not immediately respond to questions. The Khalistan movement seeks an independent state for the religious minority carved out of Indian territory. The Croatian foreign ministry strongly condemned the incident and added that the inte...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif announced that nearly one million jobs and employment opportunities have been created across the province since February 2024.

Lahore and several parts of Pakistan’s plains witnessed widespread rainfall on Thursday, while snowfall continued in the country’s northern mountainous regions, bringing a sharp drop in temperatures.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Mustafa Kamal on Thursday called on the federal government to declare Karachi a federal territory by making it the country’s “financial capital”. The remarks come against the backdrop of the Gul Plaza inferno in the metropolis, which has resulted in lawmakers stressing the need for reforms in the city’s administration, particularly in local governments (LGs). Kamal, addressing a press conference today, called on the federal government to “invoke Article 148 and 149 of the Constitution, and declare Karachi as the financial capital of the country”. Article 148 of the Constitution pertains to the obligation of provinces and the federation, while Article 149 allows the federal government to issue directives to provinces in certain cases. Article 149 enables the federal government to direct provincial governments regarding the “manner in which the executive authority thereof is to be exercised for the purpose of preventing any grave menace to the peace or tranquilli...

ISLAMABAD: As authorities draw criticism over the large-scale cutting of trees in Islamabad, Minister of State for Health maintained on Thursday pollen allergy cases in the federal capital had been on a decline following targeted felling. He expressed these views during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, which was chaired by PPP Senator Sherry Rehman and focused on the management of paper mulberry trees and ecological restoration in Islamabad. Recently, large-scale tree removal took place in at least three locations in Islamabad, including acres of tree cover around Shakarparian. Islamabad’s CDA has maintained that only paper mulberry trees were removed as they had been causing pollen allergies. WWF-Pakistan had also disputed Islamabad authorities’ stance, stating that the action was also linked to infrastructure development. During the briefing on Thursday, the state minister shared the National Institute of Health’s data in connection with mitigating Islamabad’s severe seasonal po...

Environmental surveillance shows improvement in Punjab

Green Policing Units equipped with surveillance, speed detection equipment

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Three NCCIA officers, aides arrested in multi-million extortion case

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Move aims to curb excessive holidays and improve overall academic system

Agency also raises summer and winter uniform allowances

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