Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: After failing to control the population growth for over three years, the federal government has now pinned hopes on Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir to play a role in curbing the population growth rate. This was disclosed by Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal during a joint meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services and the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Thursday. Jointly chaired by Senators Amir Waliuddin Chishti and Samina Mumtaz Zehri, the meeting was held to discuss Pakistan’s growing population and the need for coordinated policy reforms. It is worth mentioning that Pakistan is the fifth most populous country and by 2030 it is set to become fourth by surpassing Indonesia. Briefing the committee, the minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had convened several high-level meetings on population management and constituted a committee to address the issue. He said Field Marshal Munir was also a member of the committee, reflecting the government’s ...

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that a citizen’s computerised national identity card (CNIC) could not be blocked to enforce a maintenance decree, holding that such a measure had no sanction under the law and violated due process. Justice Muzamil Akhtar Shabir passed a judgement allowing a petition filed by Nasir Ali Ranjha, setting aside an executing court’s 2017 order directing the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to block his CNIC for non-payment of maintenance to his wife and children. The petitioner had challenged the order passed by the executing court in Gujrat under Section 51(e) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), as well as subsequent orders refusing to recall the direction. The executing court had ordered the petitioner’s CNIC to be blocked after observing that he was residing abroad and had deliberately avoided complying with the maintenance decree. Observes blocking identity card without express legal authority violates due process, fundamental rights The court ...

Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried in the country’s holiest shrine, state media said early on Friday, after huge crowds gathered for his funeral with his son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, still hidden from public view. The burial in Mashhad in northeast Iran follows a week of mass funeral processions, rallies and mourning ceremonies that have coincided with a renewed burst of conflict with the United States following weeks of truce in the four-month-old war. Khamenei was assassinated in the first strikes of the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28. The US and Iran agreed to a truce last month. Khamenei’s body was carried slowly by truck on Thursday through the crammed Mashhad streets towards the gilt dome and minarets of the Shrine of Imam Reza as white-turbaned clerics walked on either side. Black-clad mourners pressed close behind, waving Iranian flags, photographs of the late Khamenei and red placards with revolutionary slogans. The buri...

• Tarar briefs European delegation on legal, institutional reforms • Says govt committed to safeguarding human rights while ensuring strict implementation of counterterrorism steps ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to fulfilling its obligations under the European Union’s GSP+ framework and advancing human rights during a meeting with a delegation of the European Union and ambassadors of European countries. The delegation, led by the European Union Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis, held discussions with the minister on Pakistan-EU relations, the GSP+ framework, human rights, the rule of law and areas of mutual cooperation. The EU delegation comprised ambassadors of Sweden, Norway, France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, as well as the chargé d’affaires of Ireland, the high commissioner of Canada and senior officials of the Canadian High Commission. According to an official statement, both sides exchanged views on...

• Sets July 14 as deadline for ‘acceptance’ of its demands • Two die near Rawalakot as forces clear path for convoy carrying food items MUZAFFARABAD: The proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) announced on Thursday that it would resume its long march on Muzaffarabad on July 15, if its demands remained unmet. Addressing participants at the Eidgah sit-in, JAAC core member Umar Nazir Kashmiri said the alliance would stage a long march on Muzaffarabad on July 15 if its charter of demands was not implemented by July 14. He said the long march, which had been halted in Rawalakot on June 10, would resume under the already announced standard operating procedures. “Once again, the JAAC seeks implementation of its charter of demands by July 14. If there is no progress by the evening of July 14, we will make a new announcement on July 15. That day, there will neither be this charter of demands nor any demand for the implementation of any agreement. God willing, we will leave this place with a new announcement,” ...

Actor shares Instagram tribute, thanks fans for support during difficult time

Both ministers also discuss US-Iran conflict, current situation in Middle East

Kylian Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener that set France on their way to a 2-0 win over Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final showdown on Thursday. Mbappe’s weak spot-kick was easily saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but he made up for that by producing a brilliant curling finish to make it 1-0 on the hour mark. That was Mbappe’s eighth goal at the tournament, moving him level again with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, before he came off late on and watched the final minutes with an ice pack around his right ankle. Before exiting, he set up Ousmane Dembele to run through and settle the contest watched by 63,811 at the Gillette Stadium, as France knocked Morocco out, just as they did in 2022. Their 2-0 win four years ago in Qatar came in the semi-finals, and this time the victory for Les Bleus takes them through to the last four. They will face Spain or Belgium in Dallas next Tuesday. France are looking to reach a third consecutive...

Robert Wun rose from kitchen startup to couture star, dressing icons with bold, boundary-pushing designs

Voter advocacy groups, Democratic state election officials call move 'reckless and irresponsible,' according to report

More than 16,700 injured, thousands still displaced since powerful June 24 quakes, top official says

One Spaniard is among the victims, while the rest appear to be foreign nationals

Celebrities, influencers gather as global luxury labels open first boutiques in Pakistan

Report says the new intelligence could further escalate the conflict between Washington and Tehran

Airlines cancel dozens of flights in region, including for Saturday

Brent futures are up 19 cents, or 0.25%, at $76.49 a barrel

Washington still committed to finding resolution with Iran, 'technical talks continue', according to US official

'No country is immune to these challenges, and no nation can address them on its own,' Naqvi says

PM chairs apex committee meeting in Quetta Says India funding and arming terrorists Pledges to foil nefarious de

Five cops martyred in Khuzdar assault; retaliatory fire kills five terrorists