Pakistan

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif was comprehensively briefed on the overall security environment in Balochistan, with a particular focus on recent terrorist incidents, ongoing intelligence-based operations, and measures being undertaken by the military and the law enforcement agencies for the safety and security of the province’s.

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Braving sweltering heat and calling for revenge, Iranians massed on Thursday for the burial of assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei in his hometown of Mashhad. An Israeli strike assassinated Khamenei in late February on the first day of the Middle East war. Thousands of people filled the streets of the eastern city of Mashhad, home to one of the holiest sites of Shia Islam. Footage posted by IRNA showed the procession en route to the Shrine of Imam Reza, where the assassinated leader will be buried. With new hostilities breaking out with the United States even after an accord last month to end the war, at least one fighter jet escorted the plane carrying the late Iranian leader’s coffin to Mashhad. State TV reported that a helicopter would transport the body across the final stretch to the shrine because the main avenue was expected to be crammed with people. The burial will be the final act in a marathon six days of funeral ceremonies, which have allowed people to pay tribute in Tehran, the clerical hub ...

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GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Supreme Appellate Court on Thursday disqualified PPP candidate Fida Muhammad Nashad for concealing his assets in his nomination papers, setting aside the GB Chief Court’s decision that had allowed him to contest the elections. Nashad’s nomination papers were initially rejected by the returning officer (RO), prompting him to challenge the decision before the election tribunal. The tribunal, however, upheld the RO’s decision. Subsequently, Nashad challenged the tribunal’s verdict in the GB Chief Court, which allowed him to contest the elections. The Form 47 issued by the GB Election Commission after the recent general elections in June had declared Nashad the returned candidate from constituency GBA-09 Skardu-III. However, his opponent, Zakir Hussain, had challenged his eligibility to become a member of the assembly before the GB Supreme Appellate Court. On June 19, GB Supreme Appellate Court Chief Judge Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan issued an order suspending the issuance of ...

Pakistan’s Ambassador to China Khalil Hashmi held a meeting with Governor of Gansu Province Ren Zhenhe in Lanzhou, during which both sides discussed ways to further strengthen practical cooperation in agriculture, mining, new energy, equipment manufacturing and vocational training.

The Pakistan Navy (PN) and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) rescued 20 crew members from a sinking cargo dhow east of Ormara, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday. The military’s media wing said the vessel was experiencing severe flooding, adding that all crew members were successfully rescued in a “swift and coordinated emergency response”. The PNS Hunain and aerial assets were diverted for the operation upon receiving a distress call at the Joint Maritime Information Coordination Centre, it noted. “All 20 crew members were safely recovered from the distressed vessel due to the professionalism displayed by the rescuers,” the ISPR statement said, adding that those rescued — all Pakistanis — were being provided “necessary medical attention”. “The successful operation underscores Pakistan Navy’s and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety of life at sea and its readiness to respond to maritime emergencies around the clock,” it further said. I...

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Thursday convicted three men, including a retired officer and a senior Bahria Town official, in a case regarding the illegal transfer of funds abroad for Bahria Town projects. The court handed down sentences of one year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs500,000 to each of the three convicts. Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasaruminallah Baloch announced the verdict after hearing the final arguments from both sides. The three men convicted were Bahria Town Vice Chief Executive Colonel (retd) Khalilur Rehman, hawala operator Imran Kaka, and property dealer Mushtaq Ahmed. The court found them guilty under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of illegally sending money abroad for various Bahria Town projects. According to the prosecution, the accused violated provisions of the Act by transferring funds through illegal channels instead of authorised banking channels. The latest conviction comes months after the same judge convicted Rehman in a separate high-profile money laundering ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the country’s civil and military leadership had taken a “mutual and singular decision” to end terrorism after multiple major terrorist incidents in Balochistan in recent days. He made the remarks at a meeting in Quetta of the Provincial Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, with Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir also present. Chairing the meeting, PM Shehbaz declared, “One thing is decided: it is a mutual and singular decision of the civil and military leadership that we must end terrorism collectively.” He said the civil and military leaders had gathered in Balochistan after “very serious incidents took place in the past four days”, resulting in the martyrdom of policemen, soldiers and civilians. Noting that 54 terrorists were killed while responding to those attacks and in subsequent operations, he affirmed, “This war [against terrorism] will continue until the last fasaadi (vicious) terrorist in Pakistan i...

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Committee on state-owned enterprises on Thursday rejected a request from two circular debt-hit state-owned gas utilities — Sui Southern and Sui Northern — for exemption from international accounting and financial reporting standards to avoid being declared insolvent. However, the cabinet committee, headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, “instructed the Petroleum Division to undertake further deliberations with the Finance Division and the Law and Justice Division and submit a revised proposal for consideration”, according to an official statement. The Petroleum Division had sought exemption for specified energy-sector state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from the applicability of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS-14 and IFRS-9), the statement added. Informed sources said a similar three-year exemption had already been availed of by these entities. The finance minister reportedly observed that such an exemption could not be allowed while the SOEs Act 2023 remained in pl...

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Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York.