Pakistan

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Pakistan and Turkiye on Saturday resolved to further strengthen their bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors with a special emphasis on trade, investment, energy, petroleum exploration, minerals, and information technology, while reaffirming their commitment to realize the mutually agreed trade target of USD 5 billion.

Gaming giant PlayStation has been raked over the coals by consumers after its controversial announcement this week that it would end the production of physical game discs by January 2028, effectively meaning that games produced after that point would only be available on its digital marketplace. The development came days after Rockstar Games announced that physical copies of the much-anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI would not come with a disc, with the case containing a slip of paper with a download code. Additionally, Sony had earlier announced that it would remove over 500 movies on the PlayStation Network without refunds. Not only has the statement generated outrage among game preservationists, players and even politicians, but it has also inspired large companies to cash in on the controversy by putting out memes parodying the statement itself. ‘Digital only’ Domino’s Pizza published a tongue-in-cheek message announcing that from April 1, 2027, it would cease the production of physical pizzas and “shift to...

Thousands protested against Germany’s far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party and blocked roads to its annual conference in the eastern city of Erfurt on Saturday, where the party re-elected the two leaders who have overseen its rise as a national force. Protesters from unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties gathered as large numbers of police, including reinforcements from across Germany, were deployed ahead of the AfD’s two-day conference. Watched by police in riot gear, protesters sat in rows to block highways and roads leading to the convention centre where the meeting is being held. Police estimated around 15,000 people joined demonstrations in and around the eastern city. The AfD launched the event by re-electing party chiefs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, under whose leadership the AfD has surged to the top of national opinion polls ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives. The opening speeches mocked and lambasted the protesters as anti-democratic. They revelled in th...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed Adiala Jail authorities to submit a detailed report and prison records in response to petitions alleging that the PTI founder and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are being held in solitary confinement.

Religious leaders representing Pakistan's major faiths and Islamic schools of thought have dismissed what they described as India's allegations regarding a Sikh religious site in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura, calling the claims unfounded.

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is demanding a third-party forensic audit of the multi-billion-rupee project for the construction of the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) Legal Facilitation Centre. The move comes as the legacy of costly flaws continues to haunt the main IHC building, which cost over Rs11 billion and came under severe criticism for faulty elevators, an inefficient cooling system and substandard work. According to official documents and a contempt application filed before the IHC, serious concerns have emerged over the execution of the Legal Facilitation Centre project at Constitution Avenue. The recent application filed by the CDA seeks the appointment of an independent technical auditor — preferably the National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) — to verify executed work, measurements and excess quantities. The project, initially entrusted to the Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD), was transferred to the CDA following a federal cabinet decision in August 2024. The or...

Vast crowds of Iranians massed in Tehran on Saturday to begin almost a week of funeral ceremonies for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on the first day of the Middle East conflict — an event intended to send a message of defiance to the West after the US-Iran war. Clad in black and waving blood-red flags seen as a call for vengeance and justice, mourners thronged the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran, AFP correspondents said. Authorities believe the ceremonies will mobilise more than 10 million people in the capital alone for tributes to the man who ran the country for three-and-a-half decades. Six days of funeral ceremonies are planned to commemorate Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic republic as its number one from 1989 until his assassination aged 86 on the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28. AFP photographs showed the coffins of Khamenei and four other family members at the front on a dais. There was still no sign of Khamenei’s so...

LAHORE: In a testimony recorded before a judicial magistrate at cantonment courts, two foreign women detailed a multi-day ordeal involving their alleged kidnapping, million-dollar extortion, physical assault and sexual abuse, it emerged on Saturday. The two foreigners recorded their statements on Thursday, the same day police booked five suspects over alleged abduction and sexual assault after the two women were rescued. Four of the suspects, including a close relative of a senior political personality, were arrested and later sent on a five-day physical remand. The complainant-victim, a citizen of the Netherlands, provided her voluntary statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) following an investigation registered under a first information report (FIR) filed at the Defence C Police Station. The charges include severe offences under sections 375-A (rape) and 365-A (kidnapping for extortion) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). According to the victim’s sworn statement, she and her fri...

A dangerous heat wave upended fourth of July celebrations across swaths of the central and eastern US on Friday, forcing officials in the nation’s capital and elsewhere to cancel or postpone dozens of parades, concerts and fireworks displays. Among the events disrupted by the sweltering heat was the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, a centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s efforts to mark the nation’s 250th birthday. The fair, designed to showcase all 50 states, was temporarily closed on Friday afternoon as temperatures reached 38 degrees Celsius. Visitors wait to enter after a temporary closure of The Great American State Fair due to heat on the National Mall in Washington, DC, US, July 3, 2026. —AFP Late on Friday, organisers of the National Park Service’s Independence Day Parade in Washington announced they had canceled the annual event due to safety concerns. The parade had been scheduled to start on Saturday, with the Weather Service projecting heat index values to reach as h...

The Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) has partnered with logistics and courier company TCS to launch “Passport Aapki Dehleez Par” — a home delivery service for passports, according to a press release issued on Saturday. According to the press release, the service enables citizens to receive their passports at their preferred addresses, adding that the initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing convenience for citizens and modernising public service delivery. The service was formally launched during a meeting held at the DGIP headquarters. TCS Chief Executive Officer Hassan Raza Leghari reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting digital governance and citizen-centric services. He said: “TCS is proud to partner with DGIP in delivering an essential public service directly to citizens’ doorsteps.” “Passports are highly confidential and important documents. Leveraging our nationwide logistics network and service excellence, we are committed to ensuring that every passport re...

As contaminated floodwater gushed into their home in Buner, north-western Pakistan, Khalid (name changed) and his wife helped their three children up to higher ground. Amid the chaos, the couple had one more crucial thing to rescue: their life-saving HIV drugs. They trudged through neck-deep water inside their home to save their antiretroviral treatment pills from being swept away, ignoring all other valuables. “The waist-deep mud left behind by floodwaters had cut off our village for more than eight days,” Khalid recalls. “Thankfully, my wife and I still had our HIV medication with us,” says the daily wager, who contracted the virus while working abroad five years prior. This happened last monsoon, in August 2025, when the skies opened on Pakistan, causing widespread flooding. Devastating riverine floods affected places like Buner, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab province. The floods claimed over a thousand lives, with 808 of these casualties reported in the two provinces alone. They displaced t...

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari has said the provincial government's electric bus initiative has significantly improved the public transport system, with increasing demand for the service from residents across the province.

Canada have already made World Cup history, while Mexico and the USA are also on course to beat their best-ever runs in the tournament as home advantage has paid dividends. AFP Sports looks at how all three co-hosts have thrived while others have struggled with the sprawling tournament spread over three countries and 17 cities. Mexico Swept along by fanatical support in the stadiums and the streets, Mexico have already ended a 40-year wait to win a knockout game by beating Ecuador to make the last 16. El Tri are confident of eliminating England in what could be a World Cup classic on Sunday. Javier Aguirre’s side made the most of a kind group-stage draw to ease past South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic. But the first-half destruction of Ecuador, who beat Germany in the group stages and finished second to Argentina in South American qualifying, served as a warning to England. Winger Julian Quinones has been Mexico’s breakout star with three goals in four games, while veteran striker Raul Jimenez br...

Ukraine still controls the strategically important eastern city of Kostiantynivka, President Volodymyr Zelensky and the General Staff said on Saturday, rejecting Russian claims that it has been captured. Russia’s military told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that its forces had taken control of Kostiantynivka, a target that Moscow has long sought in its advance through the Donetsk region. “Of course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story,” Zelensky said on X. “If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war,” he added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The General Staff also said Kostiantynivka remained under the control of Ukrainian forces. “Military units and subunits of the 19th Army Corps of the Eastern Grouping continue to conduct defensive operations on designated lines within the town and on its approaches,” it said in a st...

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Saturday warned of issuing a protest call if the Centre did not ensure that the party’s 2022 agreement with PPP on various provincial issues was implemented. MQM-P and PPP had signed an 18-point agreement on March 30, 2022 — just before the two joined hands with other parties to remove PTI’s Imran Khan as the prime minister. MQM-P’s demands ranged from municipal government structure to future power-sharing formula and recruitment policy in Sindh to local policing system. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Farooq Sattar referred to that deal as the “last agreement between MQM-P and PPP”. He stressed that his party had not demanded to be included in the provincial government or sought authority over Sindh’s resources. Sattar claimed that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari held “no meeting despite repeated reminders from MQM-P” on the agreement to implement a Supreme Court order regarding local governments within one month. “This was not implemented. This ...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast hot and humid weather across most parts of the country today, with isolated rain expected in northeastern Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir.

United States President Donald Trump lashed out on Friday at what he called a fresh threat against the country’s identity, taking aim at domestic “radicals and extremists” on the eve of America’s 250th birthday. In a speech dripping with patriotism, Trump lauded American exceptionalism and praised its past leaders, speaking at Mount Rushmore with its giant carved heads of four of his legendary predecessors. But he added at the foot of the iconic monument: “As we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack.” He charged that there was “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land”. It is a theme that Trump has repeatedly hammered home in recent weeks, as the anti-establishment left of the Democratic Party carried a surge of US primary victories. The president has cast the rise of the left ahead of November’s midterm elections that “communists” are on the rampage, posing a major “threat” to the country. ‘Undeniable attempt’ Trump said on Friday: “In recent years...

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Friday visited Kahna area of Lahore to meet the families of children killed and injured in the recent roof collapse at a tuition centre and announced financial assistance for the affected families and assuring them of the provincial government’s continued support.