Pakistan

Injured moved to Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment; emergency imposed at Nipa, Safoora hydrants; Rangers deployed

Thousands of people took to the streets of Denmark’s capital on Saturday to protest at US President Donald Trump’s push to take over Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. The protest followed Trump’s warning on Friday that he “may put a tariff” on countries that oppose his plans to take over mineral-rich Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. They also coincided with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress that has made clear the opposition of many Americans to the Trump administration’s sabre-rattling. Waving the flags of Denmark and Greenland, the protesters formed a sea of red and white outside Copenhagen city hall, chanting “Kalaallit Nunaat!” — the vast Arctic island’s name in Greenlandic. Protesters wave Greenlandic flags as they take part in a rally under the slogans ‘Hands off Greenland’ and ‘Greenland for Greenlanders’, in front of the City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 17. — AFP Thousands of people had said on social media they would take ...

At least 24 people were killed and over 20 were injured in two separate accidents on Saturday, as a truck fell into a dry canal in Punjab’s Sargodha district and a coach overturned near Balochistan’s Ormara tehsil. In Sargodha, six children were among 14 dead, while nine others were injured in the early hours of Saturday when a truck carrying cargo and passengers fell into a canal from the Galapur Bangla bridge due to fog, said Rescue 1122. According to Punjab Rescue 1122 officials, the truck was travelling from Islamabad to Faisalabad with 23 people on board for a funeral when the unfortunate incident took place. “Due to heavy fog, the motorway was closed, so the vehicle took a local route. In the area of Kot Momin tehsil, the truck fell from the Galapur bridge into the canal,” said a statement from Rescue 1122, adding that the truck “lost control because of poor visibility”. The Rescue 1122 statement added that the canal was dry, but passengers were stuck beneath the truck when it overturned. The injured we...

Chief Minister (CM) of Balochistan, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, on Saturday expressed his heartfelt condolences following a deadly accident in Gwadar, directed authorities to offer prompt medical assistance, and ensured the transportation of the victims’ bodies to their hometowns.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States on Saturday agreed to enhance collaboration in bilateral security and border management. The agreement was reached as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held a meeting with a high-level US delegation led by US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker. The meeting featured in-depth deliberation on boosting relations between the two countries and expanding cooperation in shared areas of interest. It was mutually agreed to further strengthen existing cooperation with the US Anti-terrorism Assistance Programme and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. During the meeting, matters relating to the establishment of a centre for crime and an academy within the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with US support also came under review. The delegation also discussed training programmes for officers of the FIA, Federal Constabulary and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). ‎It was also agreed that border security agencies, coastal guards and other ...

Snowfall continued across parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan under the influence of a shallow westerly wave, resulting in extremely cold weather in the region, officials said on Friday.

The question of whether Pakistan should contribute troops to an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza cannot be answered through sentiment, symbolism or geopolitical realignments.

LAHORE: Police on Saturday submitted a report in the Lahore High Court (LHC) detailing the security plan for the upcoming three-day Basant festival. Basant will be celebrated in Lahore from February 6-8, following the passage of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025, that ended a suspension of the festival after almost two decades. The report identified areas of concern for the 2026 festival, based on data from the last decade, and urged full implementation of the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Bill, 2025. It stated that registration of every kite and spool of string is mandatory through a QR code and there would be zero tolerance for glass, chemical-coated, or metallic wire. According to the report, Lahore has been divided into red, yellow, and green zones, while officials will continuously monitor kite-flying activities through drones, social media, and control rooms. It also warned that strict action will be taken against aerial firing, drinking, and illegal activities on rooftops. The report s...

At least nine people were killed and several others injured on Saturday when a passenger bus overturned on the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan, police said.

Dense fog once again blanketed large parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the night between Friday and Saturday, bringing routine life to a standstill and severely disrupting road traffic due to extremely low visibility.

The Nobel Peace Prize remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation that won it, though the medal can be given away, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Friday, a day after last year’s winner gave her medal to US President Donald Trump. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her medal on Thursday to Trump, who thanked her for it. The White House released a photo of Trump and Machado, with Trump holding up a gold-coloured frame displaying it, and a White House official said Trump intends to keep it. Machado’s award also consists of a diploma and 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.19 million). “Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize,” the award body said in a statement. “There are no restrictions in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation on what a laureate may do with the medal, the diploma, or the prize money. This means that a laureate is free to keep, gi...

A landmark global treaty to safeguard biodiversity in the high seas came into effect on Saturday, providing countries with a legally binding framework to tackle threats such as overfishing and meet a target to protect 30 per cent of the ocean environment by 2030. The United Nations treaty, also known as Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), was finalised in March 2023 after 15 years of negotiations, and will allow the creation of a global network of “marine protected areas” in vast and previously unregulated ocean ecosystems lying in international waters. “It’s two-thirds of the ocean, (and) it’s half the surface of the planet that for the first time will have a comprehensive legal regime,” said Adam McCarthy, first assistant secretary at the Australian foreign ministry and a co-chair of the treaty’s preparatory committee, speaking at a media briefing. The treaty reached the threshold of 60 national ratifications on September 19 last year, meaning that it would go formally into operation within 12...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed his hope for peace and stability in Iran on Saturday, the Foreign Office (FO) said. According to a post by the FO on X, Dar spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a phone call in which the two diplomats discussed the current situation in Iran and the wider region. Dar “expressed hope for peace and stability, and both sides agreed to continue bilateral consultations on matters of mutual interest”, the statement added. On Thursday, Pakistan had expressed hope at the United Nations Security Council for an early normalisation of the situation in Iran, which saw its largest demonstrations in years, challenging the country’s government. Ambassador Asim Ahmad described Iran as a “brotherly country”, saying that the people of the two nations share deep-rooted historical, friendly, cultural and religious bonds. Protests have taken place across Iran in a movement sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, leading to authorities imposing...

ISLAMABAD: The number of approved special economic zones has surged dramatically from seven to 44 in the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), including notification of 37 new SEZs through coordinated efforts led by the Board of Investment (BoI). The increase in approval rate was revealed on Friday during a briefing on Pakistan’s engagement with China under the second phase of CPEC, with particular focus on SEZ-led industrialisation and Pakistan-China business-to-business (B2B) cooperation, which form the backbone of the upgraded CPEC framework. The BoI serves as the lead Pakistani agency for the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Industrial Cooperation, with China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) as the counterpart lead agency. Since its inception, Project Management Unit of the CPEC-Industrial Cooperation Development Project (PMU CPEC-ICDP) has played a pivotal role in revitalising Pakistan’s SEZ framework. Minister for Board of Investment, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, visited to the...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast rain accompanied by thunderstorms and snowfall in various parts of the country over the coming days.

ISLAMABAD: The arrest and detention of Afghan nationals have increased by 18 per cent so far in January as compared to the previous week. The top three districts for arrest and detention between Jan 1 and 10 were Chaghi, Pishin and Islamabad Capital Territory. The latest ‘Flash Update’ jointly released by UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and UN Migration office, IOM, says from January 4 to 10, 73 per cent of the total reported arrests and detentions took place in Balochistan and 16 per cent in Islamabad Capital Territory. Of all arrests and detentions of Afghan nationals during the period, Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and undocumented Afghans represented 87 per cent of the total arrest and detentions while Proof of Reg­istration (PoR) card holders represented 13 per cent. The data released by UNHCR and IOM shows that a total of 130,999 Afghan nationals were arrested and detained from September 15 to January 10, 2026. Most arrests took place in Balochistan with 68 per cent arrests, followed by Islamabad (19pc), ...

Military-to-military ties between Pakistan and the United States appear to be strengthening, marked by renewed joint training, major defence sales and unusually warm rhetoric from President Donald Trump towards Pakistan’s military leadership. According to a statement issued by the US Central Command (Centcom), American and Pakistani troops this week concluded joint training at Pakistan’s National Counter-Terrorism Center in Pabbi. “This week, US and Pakistan Army Soldiers completed training at Pakistan’s National Counter-Terrorism Center during Exercise Inspired Gambit, which focused on combined infantry skills and tactics, and counterterrorism operations. Training exercises like this between the US and Pakistan strengthen our long-standing defense ties,” the statement said. The exercise comes amid broader signs of re-engagement between the two defence establishments. In December, the United States approved the sale of advanced technology and upgrade packages for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter aircraft, a deal value...

Canadian PM Mark Carney shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the People’s Great Hall in Beijing.—Reuters BEIJING: Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on a raft of measures from trade to tourism on Friday at the first meeting between the countries’ leaders in Beijing in eight years. The Canadian premier hailed a “landmark deal” under a “new strategic partnership” with China, turning the page on years of diplomatic spats, retaliatory arrests of each other’s citizens and tariff disputes. Carney has sought to reduce his country’s reliance on the United States, its key economic partner and traditional ally, as President Donald Trump has aggressively raised tariffs on Canadian products. “Canada and China have reached a preliminary but landmark trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce tariffs,” Carney told a news conference after meeting with Xi. Under the deal, China — which used to be Canada’s largest market for canola seed — is expected to reduce tar...

• PTI senators slam ban on meetings with Imran • Law minister says jail superintendent responsible for meetings, denies solitary confinement claim ISLAMABAD: Senators on Fri­day called for keeping tabs on the use of social media platforms by children under 18, with the chair proposing a special committee to develop safeguards in consultation with relevant ministries. The issue was raised through a calling-attention notice moved by Senators Falak Naz, Fawzia Arshad, Aimal Wali Khan, Saadia Abbasi and Dilawar Khan. Presiding over the sitting, Senator Sherry Rehman said some checks were needed and suggested forming a special committee comprising representatives of the ministries of information technology, interior, education and law, along with parliamentary parties and provincial governments. She said the final decision would rest with Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani. Speaking on the notice, Senator Naz said most platforms were designed for adults and warned that children’s exposure to inappropriate content ...

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Friday took up the issue of increasing cybercrimes in the country, which are badly affecting the masses. Members highlighted the problem of fake driving challans, as well as fraudulent messages from educational institutions, banks, mobile phone companies and other entities. It was also informed that in some cases people responded to such fake messages and later faced charges of blasphemy and anti-state activities, resulting in imprisonment. On the other hand, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry claimed that necessary steps were being taken to introduce reforms in the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in order to effectively tackle cybercrimes. PTI leader Sheryar Afridi informed the House that a large number of young people were facing cases and imprisonment after being declared guilty of committing blasphemy and anti-state activities. House told NCCIA received over 150,000 cybercrime complaints in a year “A number of people told me outside Adiala j...