Pakistan

Security forces have secured the area as investigations continue

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Wednesday said four civilians, 27 policemen and 11 security personnel had been martyred, while 54 terrorists had been killed in terrorist attacks and subsequent operations in Balochistan since July 5. Highlights: 4 citizens die in armed attack in Hanna Urak on outskirts of Quetta on July 4/5 9 policemen martyred, 15 terrorists killed in July 6 attack on Ziarat checkpost 18 policemen martyred, 11 terrorists killed so far in ongoing Ziarat clearance operation 11 soldiers lose lives, 14 terrorists eliminated in today’s attack on army convoy in Bela-Winder 6 terrorists killed in Kharan operation, 8 in Dalbandin “We will hunt you, and we will hurt you everywhere,” DG ISPR declares Addressing a press briefing in Rawalpindi, the DG ISPR noted that there have been “three major terrorist incidents” in the past four days. He provided details of each of those incidents — an armed attack on the outskirts of Quetta on July ...

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) on Wednesday said the Pakistan Navy (PN) and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), after 12 hours of search and rescue operations in the deep sea, had successfully located and identified the wreckage of K2 Airways’ cargo Boeing 737 aircraft, which was reported missing last night. The wreckage was recovered from 53 nautical miles south of Ormara, the PAA said. The authority added that various air and sea-borne assets were used by the navy and the maritime agency to locate the wreckage of the ill-fated cargo plane. The bodies of the crew members have not been found yet, and “efforts are underway”. The PAA also said that further details will be released as the search operation continues. A K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft disappeared from radar over the Arabian Sea, about 300 kilometres west of Karachi, late on Tuesday night. K2 Airways is a private airline based in Karachi. The carrier was established in May 2018 after being granted an airline charter licence by...

A powerful heatwave continued to affect large parts of Pakistan on Wednesday, with soaring humidity and light winds pushing the heat index to hazardous levels in several cities, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Wednesday said security forces had eliminated 54 terrorists during a series of operations launched in response to three major terrorist attacks in Balochistan over the past four days, while 42 civilians and security personnel lost their.

A strategic compact between Pakistan and the US is a real possibility, and it needs to be viewed through the lens of American security and geopolitical interests at a time when multilateralism and international law are in retreat. Washington’s stake in the stability of South Asia — particularly Pakistan and its volatile neighbour, Afghanistan — is shaped by broader great-power competition. Instead of a wasteful rivalry, Professor Stephen Walt’s theory of offshore balancing offers a more pragmatic, cooperative alternative. Walt argues that the US should maintain a light offshore presence, backed by regional bases that reassure allies rather than provoke rivals, while avoiding a dangerous head-on military build-up against China. Pakistan’s own alliance-building reflects a similar logic. Walt’s ‘balance of threats’ theory holds that India’s aggressive posture, geographic proximity and growing power push Pakistan to carefully balance its ties with both China and the US. This dynamic opens space for a degree of US...

Says there is no alternative to continued engagement, dialogue and diplomacy to achieve shared goal of peace

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has declared the 'Apni Chhat Apna Ghar' programme and its related housing schemes as the provincial government's flagship initiatives, directing authorities to ensure their effective implementation without any negligence.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Ahmad Al-Malkiy on Wednesday called on Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

A Qatari tanker loaded with liquefied natural gas (LNG) was at risk of exploding, one source said, after it sustained significant damage in an attack on the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. While the LNG industry has experienced a few accidents at onshore facilities, there has never been a catastrophic LNG cargo-tank explosion on a commercial LNG carrier at sea. Recent targeting of energy shipping vessels by belligerents in both the Ukraine and Iran wars has raised concerns, however. Tuesday’s incident involving the tanker Al Rekayyat marks the second case this year of an LNG vessel being caught up in a war-related attack. In March, the Russian LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz caught fire in the Mediterranean after it was struck by Ukrainian naval drones, forcing its crew to abandon ship, according to Russia’s transport ministry. What is LNG and how is it stored and transported? LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to around minus 162 degrees Celsius. Cooling turns the gas into a liquid and shrinks ...

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry is currently addressing a press conference. The press briefing comes amid persisting security concerns in the country, particularly Balochistan. The DG ISPR said he would provide details of the recent terrorist incidents in Balochistan and inform about the background of those. He noted that there have been “three major terrorist incidents” in the past four days. The first took place on July 4/July 5 when “Fitna al Khawarij terrorists attacked the innocent local population” in Hanna Urak, he said, adding that the residents fought back very valiantly and “forced those terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al Khwarij to flee”. The Pakistani government uses the term “Fitna al-Khawarij” to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates. “During that, four brave innocent citizens were martyred and six were injured,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said. Detailing the second incident, he recalled that FAK terrorists ca...

Pakistan and China have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their strategic security partnership, expanding counterterrorism cooperation, enhancing border management, combating illegal immigration and drug trafficking, and facilitating greater people-to-people exchanges during a high-level meeting held at the United Nations Headquarters.

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry on Wednesday criticised laws enacted by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expanding MPAs’ powers and immunities, taunting the PTI over its former pledges to end “VIP culture”. The KP Assembly passed three acts on April 30, which pertained to immunities and privileges of MPAs, the speaker and the deputy speaker, as well as salaries and allowances of lawmakers. Although KP Gov­ernor Faisal Karim Kundi assen­ted to the laws on May 6, the legislation has remained under wraps. The Acts and the gazette notifications have yet to be uploaded to the KP Assembly website. Commenting on the new laws, Chaudhry criticised the PTI for providing major privileges to KP members despite making promises to end “VIP culture”. He noted that the party had claimed that under its leadership, assembly members would live as common people. “Do common people receive the conveniences of free travel, free arms licences, free stays at rest houses, blackout windows [and] special number plates on their cars, se...

A United Nations inquiry on Wednesday expressed concern at reports of abuse against a prominent Palestinian doctor seized by the Israeli military in Gaza in December 2024, who is still being held in Israel. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, called for the immediate release of Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip. Rights groups and Abu Safiya’s lawyer have said his life is in imminent danger, and he continues to be held without charge, according to the Physicians for Human Rights Israel, an Israeli rights group. “The actions of the Israeli Prison Service guards towards Palestinian detainees raise grave concerns of violations of international law that likely amount to international crimes. “Dr Abu Safiya’s medical condition is the direct result of these actions,” the UN inquiry said in a statement. An Israel Prison Service (IPS) spokesperson said on Wednesday, “The allegations and character...

The Balochistan government has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the terrorist attack on the Mangi Dam Pumping Station No.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index tumbled by over 4,600 points on Wednesday as US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was “over”. The KSE-100 index dropped by 4,626.19 points, or 2.48 per cent, to close at 181,629.36 points from the previous close of 186,255.55. The market saw a sharp decline after 1:30pm, reaching an intraday low of 179,504.34, down by 6,751.21 points compared to the previous close. The decline followed Trump’s statement that the Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding to end the war with Iran was “over”. Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, noted that investor sentiment weakened following Trump’s comments, reigniting concerns over potential disruptions to oil supplies from the Middle East. He added that the market opened on a negative note amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty after US airstrikes on Iran in response to attacks on vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then said it hit dozens of US military fa...

Says he ​directed the operation from an Indian jail cell using smuggled cellphones

Body recovered from sack in Old City

A Chinese industry regulator warned users on Wednesday of a “security backdoor” embedded in versions of US artificial intelligence company Anthropic’s coding tool, Claude Code. The alleged backdoor could allow the software to “transmit sensitive information”, including users’ locations and identity-related identifiers, back to Anthropic’s servers without users’ consent, said China’s National Vulnerability Database (NVDB), a cybersecurity platform. Claude Code is an AI coding agent that can generate computer code, debug software and review code based on user prompts. San Francisco startup Anthropic blocks users and companies in China and other nations it deems adversarial from accessing its products, but it is still possible to use them in the country through a VPN or third-party proxy services. The NVDB, which is affiliated with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on its website that it had recently “detected that the AI coding tool Claude Code contains security backdoor risks, posin...

The hosts completed their first home Test series triumph for four years