Pakistan

• No permit issued to foreign trekking, expedition group in winters since 2023 • Officials count climate-related disasters among factors affecting tourism industry GILGIT: Adventure tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has declined over the past three years, with no foreign climber or trekker visiting the region during the winter season. The arrival of climbers, trekkers, and both foreign and domestic tourists during the summer season also fell by 90 per cent last year, severely affecting the local economy. Tour operators blamed the sharp increase in permit fees, delays in the issuance of visas to foreigners, and other factors for the decline in foreign visitors. According to the GB tourism department, no foreign climber or trekker visited GB this winter. No foreign expedition or trekking group was issued a permit during the winter expedition season, which usually lasts from November to February. Five of the world’s 14 eight-thousanders — mountains rising above 8,000 metres above sea level — are located in Pakist...

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jam­mu and Kashmir Election Commission (AJK-EC) has reiterated that only political parties duly registered under the Elections Act, 2020, will be eligible to contest the forthcoming elections to the region’s Legislative Assembly. It warned parties with incomplete registration that they would neither enjoy statutory privileges nor be allowed to contest polls on an allocated electoral symbol. The clarification follows an AJK High Court judgement dated Oct 5, 2023, which set aside the registration of the AJK chapters of the PPP, PML-N and PTI and other parties on the grounds that the registration process did not conform to the requirements of the law and the Constitution of the region. In its judgement, the court observed that the Elections Act and Rules prescribed mandatory conditions for party registration, including submission of a party constitution, manifesto, audited consolidated accounts, lists of members with proof of identity, and evidence of intra-party elections. The bench furth...

ISLAMABAD: A Supreme Court judge on Saturday said that judges were not supposed to be influenced by appeasement or flattery, nor should they harbour malice or venom against any party while discharging their sacred duty of imparting justice in accordance with the law. “The tolerance and forbearance of judges must not be so fragile or touchy as to make them easily annoyed during the hearing of a case, which is a sacred duty and trust,” observed Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar in his opinion rendered on the long-pending presidential reference seeking an answer to whether the court could revisit the 1979 judgement that sent former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the gallows — a verdict that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and jurists regard as a historic wrong. On March 6, 2024, after a delay of over 44 years, the SC finally corrected a historic wrong by accepting that the murder trial of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was unfair and lacked due process, both at the trial stage and in the endorsement...

• US commerce chief Lutnick visited private island in 2012 • Musk inquired about ‘parties planned’ • Fed nominee Warsh on guest list for holiday gathering • Epstein ‘helped Bill Gates obtain drugs, facilitated illicit trysts’ • DoJ says papers carry ‘untrue and sensationalist claims’ about President Trump WASHINGTON: A fresh cache of files released on Friday related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contains documents that refer to numerous high-profile figures. President Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and SpaceX founder Elon Musk are among some of the people named in the documents. The disclosure offers a sprawling look into the elite circles Epstein inhabited before his death, implicating prominent figures in politics, business and entertainment. The documents were published following a deadline mandated by a bipartisan congressional law requiring the public release of all files related to Epstein. Deputy Attorney Gene...

• Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency says victims include children • Bloodshed comes after Tel Aviv announced it would reopen Rafah crossing today for ‘limited movement of people’ GAZA CITY: Israeli air strikes killed 32 people including children in Gaza on Saturday, according to the Palestinian territory’s civil defence agency. Despite a US-brokered truce entering its second phase earlier this month, violence in the Palestinian territory has continued, with both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the agreement. The latest bloodshed comes after Israel announced it would reopen the crucial Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday (today) for the “limited movement of people”. “The death toll since dawn today has risen to 32, most of them children and women,” said the civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under the Hamas authority, updating an earlier toll of 28. “Residential apartments, tents, shelters and a police station were targeted, resulting in this humanitarian ca...

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General António Guterres has warned member states that the world body is facing an “imminent financial collapse” as unpaid annual dues, rigid financial rules and dwindling liquidity push the organisation towards “a moment of truth”. Dawn has obtained a copy of a letter the UN chief sent this week to all permanent representatives to the United Nations, in which he cautions that unless member states either pay their assessed contributions in full and on time or agree to fundamentally overhaul the UN’s financial rules, the organisation may soon be unable to function. In the unusually stark message, dated Jan 28, the secretary general said the UN’s current financial trajectory is “untenable”, leaving the organisation “exposed to structural risk and forcing a stark choice” between reform and collapse”. He noted that while the UN has weathered periods of unpaid contributions in the past, the present situation “is categorically different” because decisions not to honour assessed contribu...

• Interior minister, Balochistan CM reaffirm resolve against terrorism • Akhtar Mengal says he has ‘never seen such a dangerous situation’ QUETTA: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday held India responsible for a spate of attacks in Balochistan, stressing that authorities would go after every single one of those involved, while an opposition leader warned that the situation in the region had spiralled “completely out of control”. Speaking to the media alongside Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Saturday night, he said: “These were not normal terrorists. India is behind these attacks. I can tell you for sure that India planned these attacks along with these terrorists. “We will expose them in the world — the face with which they meet the world and the face with which they support terrorists.” Mr Naqvi said India was the “main country” behind terrorism, saying that it was not only providing financial support to the terrorists but was also aiding them in planning and devising strategies. CM Bugti...

• President summons National Assembly, Senate sessions; houses to adopt resolutions on Kashmir • Opposition expected to raise concern over Imran’s health, delay in ECP chief appointment ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned separate sessions of both houses of parliament on February 2, which are likely take up an amendment related to the National Accountability Ordinance to allow the incumbent NAB chief to remain in office beyond his term set to expire in the first week of March, said sources. The agenda of these sessions has not been shared but insiders said the NAB amendment would be the sessions’ highlight to pave the way for the incumbent NAB chairman to remain at the helm until the appointment of his successor. Retired Lt Gen Nazir Ahmad became the NAB chairman on March 4, 2023, for three years after his predecessor Aftab Sultan resigned citing “interference” and “pressure” as the reasons for his departure. The opposition PTI had claimed Mr Sultan was being coerced to file corruption referenc...

A recent video showing a Quran that survived the devastating fire at Karachi’s Gul Plaza has reignited a centuries-old conversation. Throughout history, accounts of Bibles, Qurans or Buddhist sutras emerging unscathed from catastrophic floods and fires have been celebrated as Divine interventions. While these events offer profound spiritual solace, a closer look reveals a fascinating intersection of material physics and psychological bias. From a physical standpoint, Dougal Drysdale, Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh, suggests that a hardbound book’s survival is often due to the ‘Closed Book Effect.’ When shut, a book functions as a dense, oxygen-starved block of cellulose. Because fire requires a steady flow of oxygen to consume fuel, the tightly packed pages resist ignition by preventing airflow from reaching the interior. In the event of a flood, the surface tension of water against tightly pressed pages creates a natural barrier. This prevents deep seepage for a significant period, often l...

ISLAMABAD: While maintaining the price of petrol for the next fortnight, the government has increased the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs11.30 per litre. The announcement by the Petroleum Division said the new prices had been set on the recommendations of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). The price of HSD for the next fortnight, up to Feb 15, has been fixed at Rs268.38 per litre, compared to Rs257.08 during the previous 15 days. The increase has been made due “to higher crude oil prices over the past week amid regional tensions and an order by the US president to deploy a US Navy strike group to the Persian Gulf”. This development alone pushed up HSD prices in Arab and other international markets. As HSD is a key fuel for the industrial and business sectors and is widely used by trucks, buses and large generators, a strong reaction from the business community is expected over the Rs11.30 per litre increase. The price of petrol, consumed mainly by cars, mot­orcycles and small generators, has ...

92 terrorists killed as troops fought off assaults in Balochistan; 15 security personnel, 18 civilians also martyred

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Seeks dignified return of displaced families from Tirah

Debt-to-GDP rises to 70.7% as FBR misses targets despite slowing refunds

Seek to expand cooperation in trade, investment, mining and energy

Minister says education equips youth to contribute to marine conservation and blue economy

300bps reduction in ERS rate, power relief to lift textiles, cement and steel

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KSE-100 slides nearly 5,000 points, or 2.6% WoW, as investors turn cautious

Former Fed official faces challenge of translating long-standing criticism into actionable reforms