Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said Pakistan was “forced” to halt all trade with Afghanistan due to Kabul’s inaction against terrorists operating from its soil. The Pak-Afghan border has been closed for trade since mid-October 2025, when border clashes erupted. Successive rounds of talks on counter-terrorism mechanisms failed to produce a workable solution despite mediation by Turkiye and Qatar. “There is a complete blockade of Pak-Afghan trade. It should not have been there, but they forced us,” the premier said while addressing a national workshop event in Islamabad. “This time, it must be decided whether Afghanistan wants to live peacefully or not […] They are our brothers and sisters. If the interim Afghan government does not have an interest in this (peace with Pakistan), they should at least have mercy on its people and not oppress them.” “Rest assured, we will keep trying our best,” the prime minister added. While trade data shows that the border closure has hit Afghanistan far harder than Pa...

In a move aimed at easing travel and strengthening oversight of the fuel supply chain, the federal government’s Petroleum Division has launched a mobile application, “Raahguzar”, to help travellers and transporters locate registered and authorised petrol pumps across the country.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday restored the bail of Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial tweets case and reinstated their right to defend themselves before the trial court.

In the dull glow of a single bulb lighting their tent on the outskirts of Kabul, Samiullah and his wife Bibi Rehana sit down to dry bread and tea, their only meal of the day, accompanied by their five children and three-month-old grandchild. “We have reached a point where we are content with death,” said 55-year-old Samiullah, whose family, including two older sons aged 18 and 20 and their wives, is among the millions deported by neighbouring countries in the past year. “Day by day, things are getting worse,” he added, after their return to a war-torn nation where the United Nations’ World Food Programme estimates 17 million battle acute hunger after massive cuts in international aid. “Whatever happens to us has happened, but at least our children’s lives should be better.” He was one of the returned Afghans speaking before protests in Iran sparked a massive crackdown by the government. Samiullah said his family went virtually overnight from its modest home in Iran to their makeshift tent, partially propped u...

French President Emmanuel Macron told US President Donald Trump that he could set up a G7 meeting in Paris on Thursday afternoon and that he did not understand what Trump was “doing on Greenland,” in a screenshot of the messages that Trump posted on Truth Social and said was a note from Macron. According to the messages, Macron told the US president that he could invite the Ukrainians, the Danish, the Syrians and the Russians to participate on the margins of the meeting, and also invited Trump to have dinner with him in Paris on Thursday. Trump’s replies, if any, were not part of the screenshot that he posted. The White House and the Macron’s office did not respond to a request for comment. A source close to Macron said that the text message shared by Trump was authentic. EU leaders are set to convene in Brussels on Thursday evening for an emergency summit following Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on several EU countries over his demand to acquire Greenland. Last week, in a post on Truth Social, Trump s...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday departed for Davos, Switzerland, to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), where he is scheduled to take part in a series of high-level engagements aimed at projecting Pakistan’s economic and diplomatic priorities.

President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the bomb blast at a Chinese restaurant in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Commander of Defence Forces (CDF), visited the National Police Academy in Islamabad and interacted with officers of the Police Service of Pakistan.

Australia’s lower house of parliament has passed new laws for a national gun buyback, tighter background checks for gun licences and a crackdown on hate crimes, in response to the country’s worst mass shooting in decades at a Jewish festival last month. Two bills for stricter gun control and anti-hate measures passed on Tuesday by the House of Representatives in a special parliament session will now go to the upper house Senate for debate. The gun control laws are expected to pass with the support of the Greens party despite opposition from the conservative Liberal-National coalition. The anti-hate laws are likely to pass with support from the Liberal party. Introducing the gun reforms, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said individuals with “hate in their hearts and guns in their hands”, carried out the December 14 attack at Bondi Beach that killed 15 people. “The tragic events at Bondi demand a comprehensive response from government,” Burke added. “As a government, we must do everything we can to counter bot...

The Punjab government has decided to establish the Suthra Punjab Authority under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, following the approval of the Suthra Punjab Authority Bill 2025 by the Punjab Assembly’s Standing Committee on Local Government.

CNG stations remain closed in Peshawar and most districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, causing severe difficulties for residents.

CHITRAL: A snow leopard was found dead in the pastures of Wakht village of Garam Chashma valley here on Monday afternoon. The animal was spotted in the area about two months back after its long disappearance for more than 10 years. The deputy ranger of wildlife department, Shafiq Ahmed, and regional programme manager of Snow Leopard Foundation, Jamigh Sherazi, told Dawn that after receiving a report about spotting of the snow leopard carcass, they reached the spot along with a team. They said the carcass was frozen, which meant that the animal had died many hours before their arrival. They said the cause of death of the wild cat would be ascertained only after the postmortem was carried out in the veterinary hospital, where the body was being shifted. Earlier, the leopard was spotted in Wakht, Munoor and Beghusht villages, which attacked the goats of the local people. The people had also been voicing concern about their losses. The area has recently received snowfall forcing the animal to come to lower altitu...

Sessions of the Senate and the National Assembly will resume at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast cold and dry weather for most parts of the country during the next 24 hours, with very cold conditions expected in hilly areas.

KARACHI - Senator Sarmad Ali, Managing Director of the Jang Group and President of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), was conferred an Honourary Doctorate in Media Innovation and Public Leadership by Greenwich University at its convocation ceremony held at the Governor’s House the other day in Karachi.

ISLAMABAD: Alarm bells were rung in the Senate on Monday over the recently launched military operation in the Tirah area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber tribal district. Speaking on a point of public importance, ANP chief Senator Aimal Wali Khan accused the federal government of being in a “deep slumber” over the ongoing operation in KP, leaving the people helpless and clueless. He said such “processes” had been carried out in the past in KP with all stakeholders on board. “But this time, the Centre is sleeping, whereas the provincial government is unbothered about what is going on,” he added. “The federal government is behaving as if KP is out of its jurisdiction, and the provincial government is headed by one who is openly talking against the system and is not ready to accept any operation,” he contended. “Please leave aside day-to-day things and talk about this operation, as the KP government is not even bothered to arrange tents for the displaced people,” he said. Senator Palwasha asks for her privilege mo...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court, in a poignant observation, has called out society for its apathy towards victims of domestic violence, noting that despite sustained maltreatment by their husbands and in-laws, women are still forced to return to the same abusive environments. “With a heavy heart we state that in similar cases, where daughters are subjected to sustained maltreatment by their husbands or in-laws, it is the sad state of our society, though with a few exceptions, that families still compel them to return to the same abusive environment,” observed Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim in a six-page judgement regarding domestic violence in an abusive marriage case. Headed by Justice Muhammad Hashim Kakar, a three-judge SC bench had taken up a jail petition of Khursheed Ahmad against the Feb 1, 2022 rejection of his plea by the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench. The SC, however, upheld the conviction of the petitioner for the murder of his wife, Gulshan Bibi. Husband’s conviction upheld as no evidence of natural d...

Chipurson Valley (Gilgit-Baltistan): Vehicles are buried under the rubble of a structure that collapsed during the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the region on Monday.—Photo by the writer • Several homes and cattle sheds damaged or collapsed • Landslides block Karakoram Highway and several link roads GILGIT: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday, killing one person, injuring four others and damaging dozens of homes, cattle sheds, and public and private properties. The quake also triggered landslides that blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and several other roads. According to the Pakistan Mete­orological Department (PMD), the earthquake struck at 11:21am at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre located in northwestern Kashmir. Meanwhile, the European Medi­terranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which reports magnitude using the Moment Magnitude Sca­le, recorded the quake at a magnitude of 5.7 at a depth of 31 kilometres. The EMSC said the earthquake was recorded about 58 ki...

• Davos disinvites FM Araghchi over ‘tragic’ crackdown • UN condemns use of executions as ‘a tool of state intimidation’ TEHRAN: Internet access in Iran will “gradually” return to normal this week, a senior official said on Monday, as the government faces international fallout from an 11-day communications blackout imposed during deadly anti-government protests. The announcement came the same day organisers of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, confirmed the Iranian foreign minister would not attend the summit because it would not be “right” following the recent crackdown. Simultaneously, the United Nations issued a report condemning Tehran for using executions as a “tool of state intimidation”. “The internet will gradually return to normal operations this week,” Hossein Afshin, Iran’s vice president for science, technology and the knowledge economy, said on Monday on state television. The government imposed a nationwide communications blackout earlier this month amid huge demonstrations triggere...

• Kazakh, Uzbek leaders ready to join; Moscow weighs ‘nuances’ • Starmer pledges UK support for Gaza reconstruction efforts • Israeli minister issues ‘us or them’ ultimatum to Netanyahu MOSCOW: The White House on Monday extended invitations to leaders from Russia, Poland and Israel to join a so-called “Board of Peace” which aims to address global conflicts and manage governance and reconstruction efforts in Gaza. While others weigh participation, Central Asian leaders moved quickly to accept. The press secretaries of Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev confirmed their leaders’ readiness to join the board. Both leaders have been courted by Trump, who invited them to the G20 summit in Miami. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to join the board, which would be chaired by Trump. “President Putin also received an invitation to join this Board of Peace,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists...