Pakistan

Police on Friday detained 24 PTI leaders and workers following a protest at the Karachi Press Club (KPC), held to demonstrate the party’s concerns over former prime minister Imran Khan’s well-being. Reports about Imran’s ill health had swirled on social and foreign media a day ago, prompting both government and PTI leaders to dismiss the rumours and state that the former prime minister — currently held incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adial jail — was doing well. Several PTI workers, including women, carried banners bearing slogans in favour of the former premier as they moved towards KPC today. The party workers and leaders chanted slogans and delivered speeches. Authorities had sealed all routes leading to the KPC by placing barricades and parking vehicles. A sizeable police presence was noted at the KPC and in the surrounding areas, supported by women personnel. PTI Sindh spokesperson Mohammed Ali Bozdar said 20 PTI workers and leaders were detained; however, South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed...

The lowest price offered in the tender from the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to purchase 100,000 metric tonnes of rice for supply to Bangladesh was estimated at $394.95 CIF liner out, European traders said on Friday. CIF liner out terms include cost, insurance, and freight shipping to a port in Bangladesh, as well as the seller’s unloading costs. No purchase has been reported and offers are still being considered, they said. Reports reflect traders’ assessments, and further price and volume estimates are still possible later. The lowest offer was reportedly submitted by the company Jhulay Lal. There were 11 participants in TCP’s tender, with other prices ranging from $397.25 to $424.80 a tonne CIF liner out, traders said. Bangladesh has been undertaking a series of import tenders in the past weeks to cool local prices. The TCP tender seeks long-grain white rice to supply to Bangladesh. Price offers have to be valid for 21 working days after submission. The rice must be available for shipment within 4...

A Nasa rover has recorded evidence of lightning on Mars for the first time, its microphone picking up the sounds of tiny “zaps” whipped up by the dust storms constantly sweeping across the planet. Scientists have long debated whether electrical discharges could be sparking in the dusty and little-known Martian climate - but proof has been hard to come by. It turns out that Nasa’s Perseverance rover, which has been roaming the red planet since 2021, was inadvertently recording the sounds of lightning, according to a study published in Nature this week. These are far from the thundering, kilometre-long lightning bolts we see on Earth. Instead, they are “little zaps” similar to “what you might feel in dry weather when you touch your car door and there’s a bit of static electricity,” lead author Baptiste Chide of France’s CNRS research centre told AFP. While low in energy, these discharges are happening “absolutely all the time — and everywhere” on Mars, the planetary scientist said. The process starts when tiny ...

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has launched a project to build a new air traffic control (ATC) tower and a modern rescue and firefighting station (RFFS) at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, a PAA press release said on Friday. According to the press release, the design phase of the project is expected to be completed within six months, with a two-year construction period for the tower and the station. “The facilities will be designed and constructed by MM Pakistan in [a] joint venture with CEMOSA and Fairbanks Architects from Spain, bringing international expertise in airport planning and communication and navigation/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems integration,” the press release read. A photo of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi from December 26, 2024. — Abyan Amir It added that senior architect Bruce Fairbanks and CNS/ATM specialist Juan Cruz Canabate participated in a four-day workshop at Jinnah International, where they interacted with local aviation professionals to establish d...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss all aspects of their countries’ “privileged strategic partnership” when Putin visits New Delhi next week, the Kremlin said. India, a major buyer of Russian oil, has also bought its weapons for decades, though a top defence official said the country had bought US arms worth nearly $30 billion in the past decade and aims to produce more of its own equipment. “They (the Russians) have been our friends through both fair and foul weather, and we are not going to sort of stop our defence cooperation with them anytime soon, but I do want to stress that India follows a policy of strategic autonomy,” Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said in New Delhi on Friday. India was diversifying its suppliers, he told an industry event, adding: “But more than anything else we are trying to ensure that we increasingly do spend the bulk of our money within the country.” Putin last visited India in December 2021, just a few months before Russia...

The Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) has observed that the November 23 by-elections were marred by “recurring violations” of campaigning restrictions and “gaps” in results transparency. The ruling PML-N secured close to 64 per cent of the total votes polled in the by-elections for six National Assembly constituencies held on Sunday as it emerged victorious on all seats. Five constituencies were located in Punjab and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These seats, except for one, were vacated due to the disqualification of the opposition PTI MNAs. The PML-N also won six out of seven Punjab Assembly seats in the province by securing 82.41pc of the polled votes. On the seventh seat, it had not fielded its candidate in PP-269, Muzaffargarh, against PPP nominee Alamdar Qureshi. The elections monitor had issued its by-election observation report a day earlier. In an accompanying press release, it noted: “The November 23rd by-elections for 13 National and Punjab Assemblies constituencies, though largely well-managed, ...

Noor Zaman staged a stunning 3-2 victory over compatriot Hamza Khan to retain his title at the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Serena Hotel International Squash Championship in a battle of the junior world champions. Hamza dominated the first two sets 11-9, 11-7 before second seed Noor flipped the script and took the next three games 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 to win the final and retain his title at the Mushaf Squash Complex on Friday. Noor kept his cool as he began his comeback in the third game before demolishing Hamza in the fourth. The final remained relatively smooth-sailing as both players accepted the referee’s rulings and kept arguments to a minimum. Noor dominated the fifth set with a massive 6-1 lead over Hamza before he scored another point, only for Noor to switch gears and take the score to 9-2. Hamza was inching his way back to victory at 8-10 when Noor won the game and match, dropping his racket and throwing his hands in the air in celebration. The two embraced in a long hug and exchanged words before walking ...

The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Friday fixed a date for the Arshad Sharif murder case, where the request for an independent probe into the killing would be heard. Prominent journalist Sharif was shot in the head when Kenyan police opened fire on his car in October 2022. He had left Pakistan in August 2022 after multiple cases of sedition were registered against him in different cities. The suo motu case was taken up by a six-member constitutional bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan in the Supreme Court. However, after the passage of the 27th Amendment and the formation of the FCC, it was granted jurisdiction over both constitutional and suo motu cases. On Friday, the FCC cause list showed that a hearing had been scheduled for December 3, with the attorney general, the Islamabad inspector general of police (IG), and the foreign secretary among other respondents. It will be heard by a two-member bench comprising Justices Aamir Farooq and Rozi Khan Barrech, regarding an “independent and transparent ...

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Ayaz Sadiq again ostensibly made an offer of talks to the opposition, telling a group of parliamentarians visiting him on Friday that dialogue was the way to resolve issues. He made similar offers to facilitate dialogue between the government and the opposition, the PTI, in the past as well. But, no substantial headway has been made so far, and differences between the two sides largely remain unresolved. A handout issued by the NA Secretariat today said Sadiq met with opposition members of both houses of Parliament in his chamber in Parliament House soon after the adjournment of the NA session due to lack of quorum. The visiting opposition members included Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Senator Faisal Javed, former NA speaker Asad Qaiser and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. MNAs Iqbal Afridi, Atif Khan, Sardar Latif Khosa and Jamal Ahsan Khan. “Our bond of brotherhood and mutual respect is greater than politics. I have been in contact with you brothers since 2014. Politi...

Aleema Khan, the sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, has filed a contempt of court petition against the Adiala jail superintendent and others over their failure to comply with an earlier Islamabad High Court (IHC) order that reinstated a twice-a-week meeting schedule for the incarcerated former premier. The petition was filed after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, along with several other PTI members, staged an overnight sit-in outside Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, where Imran has been imprisoned since 2023. The sit-in was staged as CM Afridi was denied a meeting with Imran for the eighth time on Thursday. Previously, Imran’s sisters, including Aleema, had also staged sit-ins outside the prison in Rawalpindi on multiple occasions after they were barred from meeting the former premier. The PTI ended its latest sit-in on Friday morning, with the KP CM announcing that they would be approaching the IHC, where Aleema has now filed a contempt plea. View this post on Instagram Apart from Adiala Jail Super...

The Federal Board has announced the results of the SSC Part I and Part II Second Annual Examinations 2025.

The power supply of four housing projects in Bahria Town Lahore has been cut over the non-payment of bills amounting to more than Rs682 million, it emerged on Friday. The move has prompted an outcry from residents, who have planned a demonstration in front of the Bahria Town offices after Friday prayers. Muhammad Ramzan Butt, the chief executive officer of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), said that Bahria Town had defaulted on its payments. “They have failed to pay a total of Rs682m on four bulk power supply connections,” he told Dawn. “We will not restore the power supply till the bills have been paid,” he asserted. According to him, the initial deadline for paying the bills was November 21, which was then extended to November 23 at the request of the Bahria Town officials. However, they continued to file for extensions till November 26 (Wednesday), he said. The Lesco official said that the last deadline was November 27. “Instead of paying the bills, they have reportedly approached the court,” he ...

The Punjab government has approved 20 amendments to the Traffic Act aimed at improving road safety and enforcing stricter compliance across the province.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday published for the first time directives to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of infertility, which affects millions across the globe. “One in six people worldwide experience infertility during their lifetime,” said Pascale Allotey, the global health body’s head of sexual and reproductive health. “The condition affects individuals and couples across all regions and income levels. “And yet access to safe and affordable care remains highly inequitable.” Allotey told reporters that the issue of infertility had been neglected “for far too long”. The new guide would provide a “unified, evidence-based foundation” to ensure care is safe, effective and accessible for all, she added. According to the WHO, infertility is a condition of the male and female reproductive system, defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual relations. The situation can lead to major distress, stigmatisation and financial diffic...

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), a statutory body working for women rights, on Friday condemned the “misogynistic and irresponsible remarks” made by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi on the Noor Mukadam case, saying that they reflected a “harmful mindset that shifts responsibility away from the perpetrators of violence and onto women themselves”. Justice Najafi — a member of the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court that had upheld the death penalty awarded to Noor’s murderer — attributed the ghastly 2021 murder to what he described as a vice prevalent in society. In his additional note, which surfaced on Wednesday, Justice Najafi upheld the sentence handed to Zahir and observed that “the present case is a direct result of a vice spreading in the upper society which we know as ‘living relationship’ [sic]”. It appeared the judge was referring to a live-in relationship, where two unmarried individuals in a romantic relationship cohabitate. The jud­ge also observed that societal compulsions in such...

The National Assembly session was adjourned on Friday after opposition lawmaker Mahboob Jan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) pointed out the lack of quorum shortly after proceedings began.

PTI MPA Anwar Zeb Khan has said that one person has been injured after his home in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district was targeted in a “drone attack” last night, it emerged on Friday. In a video statement posted on his social media account on Thursday, the provincial lawmaker said, “My house in Raghagan, Khar tehsil, was targeted by a drone (quadcopter) attack by unknown individuals tonight, injuring one of my security guards.” Khan, who said he was in Peshawar at the time of the incident, strongly condemned the incident. He also identified the injured as Zair Muhammad, saying he was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Khar. Following the incident, police personnel arrived at the scene and initiated an investigation. However, local police have not yet released any official statement regarding the nature of the incident and those responsible. Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, in a statement, condemned the incident, terming it an act by “anti-peace elements”. As per the statement, CM Af...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday strongly condemned the shooting of two soldiers of the United States’ National Guard in Washington, DC, saying that the incident “heralds a troubling resurgence of terrorism on a global scale”. Two National Guard soldiers were critically wounded on Wednesday after being shot a few blocks from the White House, with US President Donald Trump terming the incident an “act of terror”. Trump has since announced that one of the soldiers had died. In a press release, the FO said, “Pakistan strongly condemns the shooting incident in Washington DC, reportedly involving an Afghan national. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the departed soldier, and (we) wish the injured a swift and complete recovery,” it said. It also extended sympathies to the families affected, as well as to the government and people of the US. The FO said the attack was “undoubtedly an act of terrorism and a heinous assault on US soil”. “For the past two decades, Pakistan has endured countless similar terrorist inci...

The death toll in a fire that ripped through a Hong Kong residential estate this week has risen to 128, the city’s security chief said on Friday. Dozens were still missing, Secretary for Security Chris Tang told a press conference, adding that he sent his condolences to those affected. Flames had moved quickly through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, spreading through the eight high-rises and transforming the densely packed complex into an inferno. After burning for over 40 hours, the blaze was “largely extinguished” by 10:18am local time on Friday, the fire services said, announcing the end of its operations. Authorities are investigating what sparked the fire, including examining the bamboo scaffolding and plastic mesh wrapped around the complex as part of a major renovation. At the charred apartment blocks, workers searched for survivors and pulled out bodies in black bags, with an AFP reporter counting four in one 15-minute period. Vehicles unloaded corpses at a...

US President Donald Trump on Thursday unleashed a series of posts on Truth Social that could dramatically reshape US immigration policy, declaring that he will “permanently pause” migration from “all third world countries” and calling for “reverse migration” to remove certain immigrants. “I will permanently pause migration from all third world countries to allow the US system to fully recover. This is necessary because unchecked migration has weakened American society and strained its resources. Until the system stabilises, no new immigrants from these countries will be allowed entry,” Trump wrote. He did not identify any countries by name or give any specifics about what he meant by “permanently pause”. However, his posts signal a sweeping crackdown that could affect millions of residents from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and which could also alter refugee, Green Card, and other immigration programmes. The development comes a day after the US government abruptly halted the processing of al...