Pakistan

KARACHI: Police said on Thursday that a statue allegedly depicting a satanic figure was seized from Mehran Town in Korangi Industrial Area, after videos of the effigy went viral on social media. The videos posted on social media had shown a large white statue depicting what appeared to be a human male with a bull’s head sitting down. A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, told Dawn that police had seized the statue on Wednesday night after videos of it surfaced on social media. The official confirmed that the statue was supposed to be torched at a rally marking Youm Al Quds in the metropolis. He said no case has been registered nor had anyone has been arrested so far. In 2019, a 20-feet-high ‘satanic’ sculpture was the cause of much controversy at the Lahore Museum. The sculpture, striking due to its size and grotesque features, was criticised for its alleged portrayal of the devil and inappropriateness for its historic venue. Following the criticism, the sculpture was first covered and then r...

The Sindh government on Thursday announced a public holiday for March 13 (Friday). A notification issued by the government, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said: “The government of Sindh has been pleased to declare March 13, 2026 (Friday) as a public holiday throughout the province of Sindh for all government offices, autonomous bodies, semi-autonomous bodies, corporations, corporations and local councils under the administrative control of the government of Sindh, except essential services.” The notification did not state the reason for which the public holiday was being announced. However, a day earlier, Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah had said that the public holiday would be observed on Friday for Jummatul Wida.

Airlines in Pakistan, including Pakistan International Airlines, are raising fuel surcharges after war in the Gulf disrupted regional air routes and canceled about 300 flights from the country in recent days, airline officials and flight data show. PIA spokesman Abdullah Khan told Reuters that fuel costs have risen 34 per cent due to the Gulf crisis. He added that the airline was raising fuel surcharges on domestic flights by $20 and up to $100 on international flights. In the past 12 days, the airline has cancelled 165 flights, Khan said, with flights to the Gulf making up 34pc of PIA’s total flights. Other airlines operating in the country have also raised fares as jet fuel prices surge and flight operations are disrupted. Most international flights operated by Pakistani carriers are to the Middle East, making them particularly exposed to the conflict and airspace closures. Recently privatised PIA resumed flights to Europe and Britain after a year-long safety ban last year.

BAJAUR: A cop was wounded after unidentified assailants hurled a hand grenade at a police post in Bajaur district’s Khar tehsil, officials said on Thursday. According to police, the attack occurred on Wednesday night when unidentified attackers hurled a hand grenade at a police post located near the Jinnah Bus Terminal, a major bus station, located around three kilometres from Khar, the headquarters of the district. “One cop was slightly wounded in the attack which caused no damage to the post. Other personnel remained completely safe and secure,” Israr Khan, a spokesperson for the district police, told Dawn. However, Khan noted that a portion of a nearby hotel was damaged in the incident. He stated that a team of police personnel rushed to the scene immediately after the incident was reported and launched a search for those involved. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Law enforcement personnel have increasingly come under attack in KP in recent weeks. Last week, a police officer was martyred a...

ISLAMABAD: Less than a week after the government hiked the prices of petroleum products by a whopping Rs55, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Thursday notified a massive 19-22 per cent increase in the price of regasified liquified natural gas (RLNG) for sales at the distribution stage by the two Sui gas companies for the month of March. The increase was mainly because of increase in terminal charges amid lower import molecules and minor increase in import price, the dataset from the authority showed. The rare increase (19-22pc) in RLNG price for March has come following a minor 0.5pc increase in February and two consecutive monthly reductions in December (6pc) and January (5pc). The prices had cumulatively increased by 4.4pc in October and November. The Karachi-based Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) serves consumers in Sindh and Balochistan and its system losses at the distribution stage stand at 12.55pc, compared to 10.6pc a couple of months earlier. On the other hand, the Lahore-based S...

Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Thursday said that crossing Rs300 billion in revenue collection is a major milestone for the province.

The speed limits for vehicles on motorways and national highways were reduced on Thursday “in order to promote austerity measures and fuel conservation”, according to a handout issued by the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP). The development comes as the government in recent days announced a host of austerity measures to conserve fuel in view of the global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. The press release said that the step “was taken in light of the instructions of the prime minister of Pakistan to ensure efficient use of energy and to encourage fuel savings”. The speed limit for cars and light transport vehicles (LTV) has been reduced to 100 kilometres per hour from 120km/h on motorways. Meanwhile, the speed limit for passenger service vehicles (PSV) and heavy transport vehicles (HTV) on motorways has been reduced from 110 km/h to 90 km/h, the press release said. On national highways, the speed limit for cars and LTVs was reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h. For PSVs and HTVs, the ...

Silver prices in Pakistan continued their upward trend on Thursday, with the rate of silver (chandi) reaching Rs.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the formation of a medical board while announcing its verdict on a petition seeking the transfer of Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment.

A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI’s investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau’s New York Field Office three years ago, according to ​a source familiar with the matter and recently published Justice Department documents reviewed by Reuters. The details of who accessed a server at the FBI’s New York Field Office, ‌including the allegation that a foreign hacker was involved, are being reported here for the first time. In a statement, the FBI said what it described as a “cyber incident” was “an isolated one”. “The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network. The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time.” Although the source said the intrusion appeared to have been carried out by a cybercriminal rather than a foreign government, ​the incident underscores the files’ potential intelligence value, one academic said. The legally mandated publication of US Justice Department docu...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Saudi Arabia on Thursday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East following the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

The repatriation of Pakistanis from Iran continued on Wednesday as 228 more people arrived in the country through the Taftan Border Crossing, officials said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has forwarded a summary to President Asif Ali Zardari seeking approval for the appointment of Nehal Hashmi, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, as the governor of Sindh.

Pakistan has completed the visa process for 90 per cent of pilgrims set to perform Hajj in 2026, citing the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 Index closed lower on Thursday, shedding 1,437.04 points, 0.92 per cent, after a highly volatile trading session. The decline followed a turbulent start to the day. At the open, the market had dropped more than 1,700 points by 9:55am before staging a brief recovery, rising 968.93 points later in the morning. During the session, the index recorded an intraday high of 157,080.28 points and a low of 153,503.70 points, highlighting sharp swings in investor sentiment. Trading volume stood at 202,928,283 shares at a value of 20,373,653,824. The top active stocks were led by Hascol Petroleum Limited, which gained 7.71pc to Rs17.46 with a volume of 38,337,773 shares. It was followed by K-Electric Limited, which rose 1.34pc to Rs7.59 on a volume of 38,053,693 shares, and Dost Steels Limited, which fell 2.48pc to Rs5.50 on 25,149,001 shares. The volatility comes as global oil prices surged more than 9 per cent, pushing crude back above $100 a barrel after fresh Iranian strikes on energy sup...

An individual was arrested after an attempt on the life of senior Kashmiri politician Farooq Abdullah, Indian media reported on Thursday. Abdullah, a former chief minister of India-occupied Kashmir, was at a wedding ceremony in occupied Jammu’s Greater Kailash area when the attacker brandished a pistol and tried to approach the politician, The Hindu reported, citing initial reports. The suspect was overpowered by the security personnel guarding Abdullah, president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) party and father of CM Omar Abdullah. “Eyewitnesses said he opened fire. However, the police have not confirmed it,” stated The Hindu. Occupied Kashmir’s Deputy CM Surinder Choudhary and adviser to CM Nasir Aslam Wani were also present at the event. The police, in a statement carried by The Hindu, said there was “an attempt made on the life of Dr Farooq Abdullah when he was attending a marriage ceremony at Royal Park, Greater Kailash”. “The security personnel of J&K Police and NSG (National Securit...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed its registrar’s office to assign numbers to the appeals filed by Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana-II case after resolving objections raised over the late filing of the petitions.

The United States has announced that it will permanently close its consulate in Peshawar, The Independent reported on Thursday. According to the British publication, the consulate is the US’ closest diplomatic mission to the Afghan border and was a primary operations and logistics point at the time of its invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The US State Department notified Congress of its intent to close the consulate, saying that it would save $7.5 million per year without undermining the advancement of US national interests in Pakistan. According to The Independent, a copy of the notification was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. “The move has been under consideration for more than a year since the Trump administration began downsizing nearly all federal agencies and is not related to the Iran war,” The Independent said. The joint US-Israeli war against Iran, launched on Feb 28, sparked protests in various cities, and caused the US Consulate in Karachi to suspend its operations after an incident w...

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) has introduced a new facility to enhance passenger services at Islamabad International Airport with the launch of a currency exchange counter in the international arrivals lounge.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Secretary Information Nadeem Afzal Chan hosted an Iftar dinner in honour of the children of Pakistan Sweet Home, attended by prominent political, social and business personalities.