Pakistan

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto will undertake an official visit to Pakistan from December 8 to 9, the Foreign Office (FO) announced on Sunday, with both sides set to discuss a wide-ranging agenda aimed at deepening bilateral ties.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to convene on Monday, where Pakistan is expected to secure around $1.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Sunday reaffirmed that militants would not be allowed to impose their agenda on the country, stressing that the people of Balochistan stand firmly with Pakistan’s security forces.

Pakistani security forces on Sunday killed 12 suspected militants linked to the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) during an intelligence-based operation in the Kalat district of Balochistan, according to the military’s media wing.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will undertake an official visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from December 8-9, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday, adding that he will discuss with Pakistani leaders a “wide-ranging agenda” aimed at further strengthening ties between the two countries. According to the FO statement, President Subianto will arrive in Islamabad and will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising key ministers and senior officials. “This will be President Prabowo’s first visit to Pakistan. The last presidential visit from Indonesia was undertaken by President Joko Widodo in 2018,” the statement said, adding that the upcoming visit carries added significance as it coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Indonesia. During his stay, the statement said, President Prabowo will hold delegation-level talks with PM Shehbaz and meet President Asif Ali Zardari. Chief of Army Staff and Chief ...

A final report by a US watchdog has confirmed that billions of dollars’ worth of American-supplied weapons, military equipment, and security infrastructure left behind during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan now form the backbone of the Taliban’s security apparatus. Parallel findings from UN monitoring teams and a Washington Post investigation indicate that some of these weapons have already filtered to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), strengthening a group responsible for escalating attacks inside Pakistan. The 137-page report, released this week by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), recounts the scale of the two-decade American project to rebuild Afghanistan. Congress, it notes, provided roughly $144.7 billion between 2002 and 2021 to reconstruct the country and to support a democratic transition — “yet ultimately delivered neither.” Recent UN assessments reinforce the regional implications of that failure. A UN panel reported that the Afghan Taliban contin...

Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori administers the oath of office to Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput, with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Senior Puisne Judge Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro seated alongside them, during a ceremony at Governor House. —Dawn KARACHI: Justice Zafar Ahmed Rajput took the oath as the chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Saturday. Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori administered the oath at a ceremony held on the premises of the Governor House. Besides judges of the high court, the event was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, senior lawyers, federal and provincial law officers and foreign dignitaries. Justice Rajput has already been serving as the acting chief justice of the SHC since Sept 15. He became the senior-most judge of the SHC after the retirement of the then chief justice Mohammad Junaid Ghaffar. He was notified as the regular chief justice by the Ministry ...

SIALKOT - Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday lashed out at the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party stating that the PTI leadership and its foreign-based elements are using foul language while ignoring the sacrifices of the country’s armed forces and martyrs.

TOBA TEK SINGH: The Faisalabad FIA immigration officials have offloaded 13 passengers, including three women, who were illegally traveling to Europe on the pretext of Umrah. Those who were offloaded belong to Faisalabad. An FIA spokesperson said on Saturday that all of the passengers were going to Jeddah by flight number FZ 356 from Faisalabad airport; however, they were stopped during clearance on the basis of their suspicious movements and evidence. The passengers included Hamza Ali, Zeeshan Ali, Samiullah, Shiraz Hassan, Imran Waris, Bilal Hassan, Syed Yasin Hussain, Muhammad Rizwan, Ghulam Rasool, Haq Nawaz, Faizal Bibi, Zahida Bibi and Sardaran Bibi. He said there were reports that female passengers were being used as shields to travel to Europe through Saudi Arabia from various airports on Umrah visas. During the investigation, suspicious international phone calls were detected which were made from the passengers’ mobile phones. He also added that calls from the phones of offloaded passengers were also ...

LAHORE: A joint public interest petition by four lawyers has been filed in the Lahore High Court against the alleged fake encounters being conducted by the Crime Control Department (CCD) in Punjab and seeking implementation of the Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act 2022. “Since the creation of the Crime Control Department in January 2025, the national media and human rights bodies have been highlighting incidents of extrajudicial killings by Punjab police,” said the petition filed by lawyers – Mian Dawood, Pervaiz Elahi, Rai Imran Khan and Nadeem Abbas Dogar. The petition argues that the CCD has created a state of fear and panic in society with the impression that the police can, now, kill any person by declaring him a criminal after preparing his past criminal record by implicating him in already lodged FIRs through supplementary statements. According to media reports, nearly 1,100 citizens have been killed in police encounters so far, it adds. The petition argues that the superior judiciary, in...

A fire that ripped through an Indian nightclub in the popular tourist resort region of Goa killed 25 people, the state’s chief minister said on Sunday. Tourists were among the dead in the blaze, which broke out at about midnight at a club in Arpora in the north of the coastal state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement that the deaths were “deeply saddening”. Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the shores of the Arabian Sea, lures millions of tourists every year with its nightlife, sandy beaches and laid-back coastal atmosphere. “Today is a very painful day for all of us,” Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement, adding that “25 people have lost their lives and six have been injured.” Sawant told journalists that “three to four” tourists had died, without giving their nationalities. “I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility,” Sawant added. ‘Fire show’ Video images from the Press Trust of India news agency showed rescuers...

KARACHI: Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) flotilla, comprising vessels Al Rasikh and Al Shinas, visited Karachi to participate in the 12th edition of Bilateral Exercise Thamar Al Tayyib (TAT) 2025. The exercise is aimed at strengthening maritime security cooperation and deepening longstanding bonds of friendship between Pakistan and Oman. Upon arrival at Karachi Port, the visiting ships were warmly received in a traditional welcome ceremony attended by senior officials of Pakistan Navy. A band of Pakistan Navy performed during the reception. Exercise TAT-2025 served as an important platform for mutual learning, enhanced interoperability and professional development. Pakistan Navy and Royal Navy of Oman have been conducting the TAT series of exercises regularly since 1980 and TAT-2023 was conducted in Omani waters. The visit included call-ons with senior Pakistan Navy leadership, onboard receptions and visits to key naval installations and training facilities. Personnel from both navies engaged in professional dialogu...

ISLAMABAD: Public bodies in Khy­ber Pakhtunkhwa province proactively disclose an average of 57 per cent of the legally required information on their official websites, according to the latest transparency assessment report by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen). The assessment, conducted as part of Fafen’s “Countering Disinformation Thr­ou­gh Information” campaign, emphasis­­es the role of proactive disclosures in str­engthening institutional transparency and curbing misinformation. A lack of official and authentic information fuels speculation, rumours, assumptions, and conjectures, all of which become major drivers of disinformation that undermi­nes institutional credibility, erodes public trust, and contributes to instability. The assessment reviewed 190 public bodies, including 36 secretariat departments, 98 attached departments, and 56 autonomous bodies, against the proactive disclosure requirements of Section 5 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information (KPRTI) Act, 2013. The Act explicitly m...

GUJRAT: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday, while appreciating Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for the successful launch of diverse, public-oriented mega projects across the province, said that after completing their current mandate, the PML-N under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif would “secure historic results in the next general elections”. Addressing a groundbreaking ceremony of a mass transport system, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the recent election results in Punjab reflected the public’s trust in the PML-N leadership. “In the next three years, the incumbent PML-N government has the mandate to serve the people,” he said, stressing that they should work tirelessly under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif. In remarks broadcast live on national TV channels, he expressed optimism that, on the basis of hard work and the launch of development projects, the next election results across the country would be favourable for the PML-N. “The journey towards progress and prosperity has just begun, and we will mo...

DERA MURAD JAMALI: Security forces foiled an attempt to target Jaffar Express by recovering a bomb planted on a railway track in Nasirabad district on Saturday. Police officials said unidentified individuals had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) on the track in the Nuttal area of Nasir­abad. Upon receiving information about the device, police and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. The bomb disposal squad also reached the location and safely defused the IED, Nasir­abad SSP Ghulam Sarwar Bhaou said. He added that the attackers wanted to target the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express, but timely action saved the train from a potential blast. Trains halted in Jacobabad Meanwhile, the Jaffar Express arriving from Peshawar to Quetta and the Bolan Mail coming from Karachi were stopped at Jacobabad Railway Station due to security reasons. According to railway officials, both trains were halted on Saturday at Jacobabad to ensure the safety of passengers. Authorities are assessi...

KARACHI: Though the rupee has been appreciating against the dollar in what dealers describe as a managed way, the market expects the local currency to break the Rs280 barrier by the end of this month. At the same time, market players believe it will be difficult for the State Bank to engineer a weaker rupee to boost exports, arguing that past experiences of devaluation failed to deliver a sustained increase in export volumes. Some currency experts said the scope for further devaluation to support exports was limited, particularly as the US dollar itself has come under pressure against major global currencies. “There is no mathematical calculation behind this expectation that the dollar may slip below Rs280 by the end of this month. It is the market sentiment and it happens at the end of the year,” said Atif Ahmed, a currency dealer in the interbank market. He believes the dollar will slip below Rs280 only for a brief period. Experts warn against devaluation, say past episodes failed to increase exports Other ...

SYDNEY: Australia imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on four officials in Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Saturday over what it said was a deteriorating human rights situation in the country, especially for women and girls. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the officials were involved “in the oppression of women and girls and in undermining good governance or the rule of law” in Afghanistan. Australia was one of several nations which pulled troops out of Afghanistan in Aug 2021, after being part of a Nato-led international force that trained Afghan security forces and fought the Taliban for two decades after Western-backed forces ousted them from power in 2001. The Taliban, since regaining power in Afghanistan, have been criticised for deeply restricting the rights and freedom of women and girls through bans on education and work. The Taliban government says it respects women’s rights, in line with its interpretation of Islamic law and local custom. Wong, the Australian foreign ministe...

On November 29, after playing the doubles final of the ATP Challenger in Islamabad, Aisamul Haq Qureshi called time on his 27-year illustrious professional tennis career. He is arguably the greatest tennis player that Pakistan has ever produced. The first Pakistani tennis player to hit international headlines was Haroon Rahim in the 1970s, with a highest singles ranking of 34 in 1977. In three of the four Grand Slams, he reached the singles’ second or third round. In the doubles, his best showing in Grand Slams was a quarter-final appearance. It took around three decades for the next tennis star to emerge from Pakistan. Aisamul Haq, like Rahim from Lahore, was born into a tennis family. His maternal grandfather, Khawaja Iftikhar, is the only one to have reached the top national ranking in both undivided India and, later, Pakistan. Khawaja Iftikhar’s daughter and Aisam’s mother, Nausheen Ehtisham, was ranked as Pakistan’s No 1 woman player for almost 10 years. Ironically, Aisam didn’t pick up a tennis racket t...

ISLAMABAD: Journalists Ahmed Noorani and Jamil Farooqi, along with PTI leader Seemabia Tahir, have been declared absconders in separate cases pertaining to alleged propaganda against the Pakistan Army on social media. Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Abbas Shah issued a written order declaring all three accused as absconders and directed the issuance of permanent arrest warrants. The order states that the accused were repeatedly summoned but failed to appear before the court. According to the written order, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has completed and submitted challans in the respective cases. The FIRs against the three were registered in July and August 2025 under relevant cybercrime and related offences. The court has instructed that the permanent arrest warrants be executed in accordance with the law to ensure the accused are brought before the court to face trial. Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2025

ISLAMABAD: The cou­ntry’s first testing laboratory for photovoltaic (PV) modules, commonly kno­wn as solar panels, has been established with the support of the Korean government, which will support the country toward sustainable energy, technological advancement, and industrial development. The PAK-KOREA Tes­ting Laboratory for PV Modules and Allied Equipment lab was established jointly by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The laboratory has been developed through a $9.5 million grant-aid project from KOICA, alongside a local Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) contribution of Rs185.8m. The lab will become operational after achieving accreditation to ISO-17025 standards, including IEC-61215 and IEC-61730. The Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), an allied department of MoST, has already initiated the process to include solar panels in its list of mandatory items. The PSQCA will conduct random testing of samples fro...