Pakistan

CCTV footage backs claims of illegal detention of victim's husband

Govt approves purchase of 300 machines

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Stress access to information, learning, expression and participation

Officials ordered to ensure washing of roads, bazaars and streets

At least one person was killed and 14 were injured in an explosion in the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, a local official told Iranian news agencies, but the cause of the blast was not known. State television said the explosion occurred at an eight-storey building, “destroying two floors, several vehicles, and shops” in the area of Moallem Boulevard in the city. Rescue and firefighting teams were on site to provide assistance, it added. Local fire chief Mohammad Amin Lyaghat said that the explosion was caused by a gas leak. “The initial cause of the building accident in Bandar Abbas was a gas leak and buildup, leading to an explosion. This is the initial theory,” said, in comments broadcast on state television. The official IRNA news agency quoted the Director General of Crisis Management in Hormozgan province, Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, as saying, “Those injured in the incident are being transferred to hospital by emergency responders.” Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not inv...

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Court observes existing benefits fall short of meeting workers' needs

ISLAMABAD: The National Dialogue Committee (NDC) on Saturday expressed concern about the health of incarcerated PTI founder and ex-premier Imran Khan, demanding that he be allowed to meet his personal physician. The development two days after the government confirmed Imran underwent a medical procedure for an eye ailment last week at a hospital in Islamabad, drawing outrage from the PTI that claimed that neither the party nor his family were informed about the procedure. On Saturday, the NDC — set up by ex-PTI leaders, including Fawad Chaudhry, Dr Shahzad Waseem and former Sindh governor Imran Ismail — met in Islamabad. Chaudhry, Ismail, former Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar and veteran politician Munir Ahmad Khan were among those who attended. In a statement released after the meeting, the NDC expressed serious concern over the PTI founder’s health as well as the government’s confirmation that Imran underwent an eye procedure last week. It demanded that a meeting be arranged between Imran and his personal physi...

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Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday the government would not allow anyone to malign the country while travelling abroad, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. According to the report, he made the remarks during a visit to Jinnah International Airport. “Passengers with unverified and illegal documents will not be allowed to travel abroad,” the report quoted him as saying. He also said professional beggars disguised as passengers would not only be offloaded but would also face legal action, the report said. The minister asserted that those in possession of valid travel documents had neither been stopped in the past nor would they be stopped in the future. He said facilitating passengers was the government’s priority. He lauded the officials from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for ensuring travellers had valid documents and ensuring an effective checking process, the report added. Earlier this month, while chairing a meeting to review the performance of the Immigration Wing of the FIA, Naqvi had...

Elena Rybakina took revenge over world number one Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final on Saturday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2hrs 18mins. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. “Hard to find the words now,” said Rybakina, and then addressed her beaten opponent to add: “I know it is tough, but I hope we play many more finals together.” Turning to some Kazakh fans in the crowd, she said: “Thank you so much to Kazakhstan. I felt the support from that corner a lot.” This was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open last year for the second time but lost the French Open and Melbourne title deciders. She was into her fourth Australian Open final in a ro...

At an Indian gourmet food store, Avanti Mehta is organising a blind tasting of drinks sourced from France, Italy and India. No, this isn’t wine, it’s water. Participants use tiny shot glasses to check the minerality, carbonation and salinity in samples of Evian from the French Alps, Perrier from southern France, San Pellegrino from Italy and India’s Aava from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains. “They will all taste different … you should be choosing a water that can give you some sort of nutritional value,” said Mehta, who is 32 and calls herself India’s youngest water sommelier, a term usually associated with premium wine. Her family owns the Aava mineral water brand. Premium water is a $400 million business in the world’s most populous nation and is growing bigger as its wealthy see it as a new status symbol that fits in with a spreading wellness craze. Avanti Mehta, 32, India’s youngest water sommelier, talks about different brands of packaged water at “Sip and Sense”, a water tasting event in Hyderab...

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami on Saturday warned the United States and Israel against an attack, saying his country’s forces were on high alert following Washington’s heavy military deployments in the Gulf. He also insisted the Islamic republic’s nuclear expertise could not be eliminated, after Trump said he expected Tehran to seek a deal to avoid US strikes. “If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime (Israel),” Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news agency. He noted that Iran’s armed forces were “at full defensive and military readiness”. Washington sent a naval strike group to the Middle East led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, with Trump threatening to intervene militarily after a deadly crackdown by Iranian authorities on two weeks of anti-government protests. The deployment has raised fears of a possible direct confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with mi...

A local PPP activist was gunned down in Karachi’s Pak Colony area late on Friday night, police said on Saturday. South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the shooting occurred at Qaim Khani Clinic, located near Warisi Mosque in Hasrat Mohani Colony, within the jurisdiction of Pak Colony Police Station. “Political and social figure Abdul Rasheed Qureshi was present at the clinic where he was receiving medical treatment and was receiving an intravenous (IV) drip due to ill health,” DIG Raza said. “During this time, unknown assailants, for reasons yet to be determined, opened fire, as a result of which Qureshi died on the spot,” he said. The DIG added that Qureshi was immediately moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. “Upon receiving information about the incident, the Pak Colony station house officer (SHO), along with a heavy contingent of police, reached the scene,” the DIG said. “Police are investigating the incident from various angles,” he sa...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid homage to 10 security personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty in Balochistan, reaffirming that the fight against terrorism will continue until it is completely eradicated.