Pakistan

Thailand’s former Queen Sirikit, the mother of the current King Vajiralongkorn and wife of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died late on Friday at the age of 93, the palace said. The royal family is venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide. Throughout her 66-year marriage to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Sirikit carved a dual reputation as a fashionista and the nation’s caring matriarch — with some Western media featuring her on magazine covers and comparing her to former US first lady Jackie Kennedy. “I had heard that she had been unwell and, given that she was in her 90s, I knew this day would come,” 53-year-old housekeeper Sasis Putthasit said early on Saturday in the capital Bangkok. “But I didn’t expect it to be today,” Sasis told AFP. “I feel sad because she was a mother figure to the country, and now she’s gone.” Sirikit had “suffered several illnesses” while h...

LAHORE: Lahore was declared the world’s most polluted city on Friday as a hazardous blanket of smog enveloped the metropolis, prompting authorities to issue a severe public health warning. The crisis was quantified by alarming data, with the city’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching a “hazardous” level of 362. The situation was even worse in specific neighbourhoods, with the Shalimar area recording a staggering AQI of 690, followed by Shadman at 611 and Syed Maratib Ali Road at 609. Other areas, including Iqbal Town, Lower Mall, and the Civil Secretariat also registered levels falling in the “emergency range”, posing serious health risks to the residents. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast no immediate respite, warning that a thick layer of smog is likely to persist over eastern Punjab, with a further increase expected in the coming days. Met Office sees no immediate respite The department explicitly identified industrial pollution and vehicle emissions as the primary drivers of smog an...

QUETTA: Unknown armed men abducted 18 labourers at gunpoint and set fire to numerous vehicles in an attack on Thursday night at a construction company camp and its crushing plant in Naal area of Khuzdar district, officials said. The incident marks the second kidnapping of labourers in the region in four days. The first incident took place three days earlier, although it was only made public by the officials yesterday. Levies officials said over two dozen armed men stormed the camp and crushing plant of a private construction company late on Thursday in the Naal area, about 80 km from the district headquarters of Khuzdar. “They set at least eight vehicles and other machinery on fire and took away workers with them [to an] unknown destination,” a senior Levies force official in Naal said. Assailants also set ablaze many vehicles; incident comes days after gunmen abducted nine labourers in Mastung The company manager, Zulfiqar Ahmed, said the attackers initially took 20 people. “The armed men kidnapped 20 labour...

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has backtracked from his proposed visit to Malaysia at the weekend to attend an Asean-related summit, joining the discussions “virtually” instead, it was officially announced on Friday. The opposition Congress party blamed the change of plan on Mr Modi’s fear of meeting President Donald Trump. The annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-nation grouping, as well as associated meetings, will be held from Oct 26 to 28 in Kuala Lumpur. The Hindu said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had not provided any reason for Mr Modi’s decision, though the paper quoted Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as saying that Mr Modi had cited the “ongoing Deepavali celebrations” as the reason for the change in plans. The MEA announced that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will represent Mr Modi and lead the Indian delegation at the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 27. Asean is a key pillar of India’s Act East Policy and Asia-Pacific...

• Adequate water availability anticipated in Punjab, Sindh • Sugarcane output estimated at 84.7m tonnes, rice at 9.4m tonnes ISLAMABAD: The federal government has set a wheat production target of around 30 million tonnes for the Rabi season 2025-26, banking on adequate water availability in Punjab and Sindh — the two main wheat-producing provinces. The wheat production target for the Rabi season 2024-25 was set at 27.92m tonnes, but the government exceeded it by achieving 28.42m tonnes. The target for 2025-26 was approved at a meeting of the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA), which also finalised the wheat policy to ensure farmers receive fair support prices, enabling them to cover production costs and earn reasonable profit margins, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research on Friday. In light of recent floods, the FCA recommended launching a campaign for early wheat sowing, ensuring the availability of quality certified seed of improved varieties through a t...

QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan-Afghanistan border continued to remain closed for all kinds of trade activities on Friday, due to persistent security concerns amid tensions with neighbouring Afghanistan. Officials denied reports that Islamabad had partially opened the border crossing at Chaman for Afghan transit trade. Even pedestrians are not allowed to cross the border from both sides, they added. “The border has been closed for the last 12 days and not opened for any commercial activities so far, including transit trade,” a senior customs official told Dawn. The official added that there were very few transit trade trucks parked at the Chaman crossing. The district administration officials also said that they have not yet received any instructions from the authorities from Islamabad about the opening of the border. The border opens for a very limited time for Afghan refugees, who were reaching Chaman from different areas of Balochistan and Karachi, to return to their home country. Officials said only vehic...

• Punjab Governor Saleem Haider Khan says alliance serves country’s interests • Calls for allowing KP CM Afridi’s meeting with Imran Khan • KP’s Kundi says his office will play role of bridge between Centre and province PESHAWAR: Punjab Gov­ernor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan on Friday said the alliance between his PPP and the PML-N was a political “compulsion” rather than an act of affection, aimed at maintaining political stability after the 2024 general elections. “At least two parties had to join forces for the formation of the government,” he added while addressing a press conference with his Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa counterpart Faisal Karim Kundi at the Governor’s House in Peshawar. The Punjab governor noted that the alliance serves the country’s interests. “Pakistan is our top priority,” he added. Mr Khan conceded that party workers from both sides were finding it difficult to accept the alliance. “The PPP’s inclusion in the government was borne out of necessity, not choice, and it has come at a political cost ...

• Interior ministry notifies fresh ban on group • First Barelvi group to be declared proscribed • Rana Sana claims TLP was created to ‘steal PML-N votes’, rules out negotiations • Tanzeemat Ahl-i-Sunnat raises concerns over mosque takeovers • SIC chief rejects ‘politics of violence’ under Barelvi banner ISLAMABAD: With the government’s ban on Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) now in force, the once-influential religio-political group finds itself increasingly isolated as, unlike after the previous ban in 2021, no major religious or political party has come forward in its defence this time around. The Ministry of Interior on Friday formally notified the ban on TLP, a day after the Punjab government’s proposal was ratified by the federal cabinet. The notification, SRO 2011(1) of 2025, highlighted that the TLP has been declared a proscribed organisation under Section 11B(1)(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 and placed on the Act’s First Schedule. The party may appeal to a review committee comprising officer...

A Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday directed the relevant authorities to block the national identity card (CNIC) and passport of PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, over her failure to attend the hearing despite the execution of a non-bailable arrest warrant against her. The development came in a case pertaining to a protest staged by the PTI in November last year, in which the court has issued arrest warrants for her multiple times. The last non-bailable arrest warrant for Aleema in the case was issued on October 22 over her persistent absences from the hearings. It was executed yesterday as Punjab Sub-Divisional Police Officer Azhar Shah presented the warrant before an Islamabad High Court bench and obtained Aleema’s signature on the spot. During today’s hearing, ATC Judge Amjad Ali Shah observed that Aleema “is present everywhere but doesn’t appear before the court”. Her attendance at the court would be ensured, he remarked. The judge directed the National Database and Registration ...

Three separate controversies involving leaked text messages from private online group chats have rocked US political circles this month, revealing racist, anti-semitic and violent statements from figures across the ideological spectrum. The messages — sent privately but now public — include racial slurs, praise for Nazis, and threats of political violence, raising questions about why those involved felt comfortable expressing such views despite the risk of exposure and censure. The online posts have also deepened concern among civil society groups and political language experts that violent rhetoric and racist hate speech are becoming normalised in America, particularly after decades of hard-fought civil rights victories that sought to dismantle such ideologies. People have long expressed violent or racist views in private settings, but experts say the leaks of the text messages are noteworthy because they surfaced the unfiltered — and to many shocking — views of political figures. A Politico report on Octobe...

ISLAMABAD - Mr Jean Henri Todt, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Friday.

RAWALPINDI - General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, NI, NI (M), Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), while on an official visit to Maldives, called on Dr Mohamed Muizzu, President of Maldives, Mr Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, Defence Minister and Major General Ibrahim Hilmy, Chief of Defence Force of Maldives.

ISLAMABAD - Total number of pending cases in the Supreme Court has declined from 60,446 to 56,169 by October 2025, said the statement issued by the apex court SC Public Relations Office here on Friday.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that the persistence of polio in Pakistan and its neighbouring country was a moment of introspection, urging the government authorities as well as the polio workers to put in their enhanced efforts to purge the country of this crippling disease.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Friday held separate meetings with transport ministers and senior officials from various countries on the sidelines of the Regional Transport Ministers Conference (RTMC).

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Türkiye have explored new avenues of maritime cooperation, including the possible launch of a ferry service between the two countries and collaboration in shipbuilding, ship operations, and the shipbreaking industry.

ISLAMABAD - The interior ministry on Friday issued a formal notification proscribing the far-right religio-political party Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) for its links to terrorism, a day after the federal cabinet gave the approval.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has said that the transit trade with Afghanistan would remain suspended for the foreseeable future till the current security situation is evaluated.

HANGU/ISLAMABAD - Three police personnel including Superintendent of Police Asad Zubair Khan were martyred when their vehicle hit an IED in Darband area of district Hangu on Friday.

Shehbaz Sharif says new scheme such as Trans-Afghan Railway, Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul Railway Corridor to boost regional connectivity Invites Qatari investors to explore new avenues of collaboration.