Pakistan

A huge plume of ash, gas and rock spewed forth Monday from Italy’s Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, after a portion of its southeastern crater likely collapsed, authorities said. Images showed a massive grey cloud billow forth from the volcano on the island of Sicily, beginning about 11:24am local time (0924 GMT), according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Surveillance cameras showed “a pyroclastic flow probably produced by a collapse of material from the northern flank of the Southeast Crater”, the agency said. A pyroclastic flow occurs when volcanic rock, ash and hot gasses surge from volcanos. They are extremely dangerous. The explosive activity “had transitioned to a lava fountain”, INGV said, with the plume of ash expected to dissipate towards the southwest. A red alert issued for aviation authorities said the height of the volcanic cloud was estimated at 6.5 kilometres. The nearby Catania airport was still in operation.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Monday said the government will have to prioritise high-value projects, as only Rs880 billion has been allocated for development in the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2025-26. The government has adopted austerity measures for the upcoming budget — set to be announced on June 10 — in line with the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement stricter spending policies and raise revenues to reduce the budget deficit and improve debt sustainability, as part of its $7 billion loan programme. The global money lender also expects Pakistan to achieve a 3.6 per cent economic growth with 7.7pc inflation next year. Speaking to reporters in Islamabad after a meeting of the Annual Plan Coordination Committee, the planning minister noted that since 2023, the development budget had decreased, stating that Pakistan was observing “tight financial discipline in order to balance spending and income” — a process he said had ...

A tragic incident unfolded as Abdul Rehman, a 32-year-old labourer, took his own life along with his two sons due to poverty and unemployment.

Salman Farooqi, the owner of a private company, has been arrested for assaulting a motorcyclist in Khayaban-e-Ittehad, DHA Phase 6, Karachi.

In the face of rising criticism of Israeli atrocities on Gaza, which has killed nearly 54,000 Palestinians, a man in the United States yelling “free Palestine” used incendiary devices to torch protesters rallying in support of Israeli hostages, injuring at least eight people in the US state of Colorado on Sunday. The FBI said it was investigating the incident as a “targeted terror attack” and identified the suspect as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman. He was booked into the county jail just before midnight on multiple felony charges, according to county records. His bond has been set at $10 million. The incident comes as pressure on Israel rises to cease what has been called a “genocide” in Gaza by the United Nations and Amnesty International among other international human rights organisations. Police in the city of Boulder said it was too early to determine a motive for the attack, which took place shortly before 1:30pm (12:30am PKT) at a demonstration outside a mall. The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish a...

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari stated that the recent victory in the PP-52 Sambrial by-election reflects the public's confidence in Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's commitment to public service.

The federal government has officially announced four public holidays in observance of Eidul Azha, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Monday.

The federal government on Monday announced a four-day public holiday on the festive occasion of Eidul Azha. According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, the government has declared a public holiday from June 6-9, 2025 (Friday to Monday). “The prime minister has been pleased to declare the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th (Friday to Monday) as public holidays on the occasion of Eidul Azha,” the statement said. Pakistan would observe Eidul Azha on June 7, the moon sighting Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee (RHC) announced last month after the crescent for the month of Zilhaj was not sighted. The committee’s meeting took place on a roof in Islamabad’s Kohsar Block, where the religious affairs ministry has its office. Addressing a press conference, RHC Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad said, “No testimony of sighting the moon of the month of Zilhaj was received from any part of Pakistan […]. Therefore, it was decided with consensus that Zilhaj 1, 1446AH would be on May 29, Thursday and Eidul Azha would be obs...

The Karachi police on Monday arrested a main suspect along with his two employees over charges of beating a citizen in the city’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The development came after a video of the incident went viral on social media earlier today, prompting authorities to take notice of it. The man, identified as Salman Farooqi, was arrested from DHA and his vehicle was impounded, Karachi South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said in a statement. The man, travelling in a luxury car, allegedly subjected a bike rider, who was accompanied by a woman, to torture on the Khayaban-i-Ittehad road after a minor accident. Earlier today, the police had arrested the suspect’s driver and guard during late-night raids on his home and office in DHA. DIG Raza clarified that the held suspect was not a government employee. Stating that the citizen who was subjected to violence had not approached the police to file a complaint, the DIG said the police were trying to contact his family. Meanwhile, the Gizri...

In a significant crackdown on human trafficking, Iranian authorities have rescued ten Pakistani nationals who were being held hostage by traffickers under false promises of passage to Europe.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will auction several immovable properties of Bahria Town on Thursday, June 12 at 11:00 AM at its Regional Office near Lal Masjid, Islamabad.

The 46th Steering Committee meeting of the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme was held in Islamabad on Monday with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in the chair.

Headline inflation rose 3.5 per cent year-on-year in May 2025, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday. On a month-on-month basis, it decreased by 0.2pc in May as compared to a decrease of 0.8pc in the previous month, according to data. This was higher than the finance ministry’s expectations, which had anticipated inflationary outlook to “remain between 1.5-2.0pc in May, with a possible rise to 3.0-4.0pc by June”. The finance ministry had depicted a cautious outlook towards growth in Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM), presenting a rising trajectory for inflation during May and June. Topline Securities, in a note, said that inflation during 11MFY25 had averaged at 4.61pc compared to 24.52pc in 11MFY24. Year-on-year Urban: Food item prices that increased included: chicken (51.96pc), pulse moong (31.13pc), fresh fruits (29.5pc), butter (26.15pc), milk powder (21.80pc), sugar (21.71pc), honey (21.23pc) and condiments & spices (19.98pc). Non-food items prices that increased: ...

Iran is poised to reject a US proposal to end a decades-long nuclear dispute, an Iranian diplomat said on Monday, slamming it as a “non-starter” that fails to address Tehran’s interests and leaves Washington’s stance on uranium enrichment unchanged. “Iran is drafting a negative response to the US proposal, which could be interpreted as a rejection of the US offer,” the senior diplomat, who is close to Iran’s negotiating team, told Reuters. The US proposal for a new nuclear deal was presented to Iran on Saturday by Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, who was on a short visit to Tehran and has been mediating nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington. But after five rounds of talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to resolve the nuclear standoff, many issues remain unresolved. Among clashing red lines is Iran’s rejection of a US demand that Tehran commit to scrapping uranium enrichment, viewed as a potential pathway to develo...

PML-N’s Hina Arshad Warraich secured a Punjab Assembly seat (PP-52) in Sialkot by a wide margin amid rigging allegations by the PTI, according to preliminary results issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday. The by-election for PP-52 (Sambrial) took place yesterday, two months after the seat had fallen vacant following the demise of PML-N MPA Arshad Javed Warraich — father of the winning candidate. Analysts had expected a tough one-on-one contest between the ruling PML-N and the PTI-backed aspirants, whereas the PPP had also been running an aggressive campaign in Sambrial to perform better in the race. According to Form-47 issued by the ECP today and signed by Returning Officer Muhammad Iqbal, Warraich clinched the seat by winning 78,702 votes. Warraich’s main opponent, Fakhir Nashat Ghumman, who was an independent candidate backed by the PTI, was the runner-up with 39,018 votes. PPP’s Raheel Kamran Cheema ranked third with 6,832 ballots cast in his favour, followed by Tehreek-i-Labbaik P...

Petrol and diesel prices may rise in the upcoming Budget 2025–26 as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Pakistan to impose a carbon levy on fossil fuels and internal combustion engine vehicles, according to informed sources.

The UAE Dirham (AED) is currently trading at 76.

No casualties were reported when unknown men opened fire on a polio vaccination team in Diamer district, where Gilgit-Baltistan recorded its first case of the year. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the virus, challenges such as security issues, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation have slowed progress. According to a first information report (FIR) registered at the local police station, the incident occurred on Sunday when unknown armed men opened fire on a polio team in the village of Sheikho in Tangir Valley, the constituency of GB’s Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan. However, the polio team remained safe. According to the FIR, as soon as the polio vaccination team returned to Sheikho village after completing their duties, two unknown armed men stopped the team’s vehicle at the RCC bridge. “You all are ruining the environment here by bringing [unveiled] women from Gilgit in the name of the polio camp...

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that fiscal space will be provided in the next PSDP for the projects of strategic importance envisioned under Uraan Pakistan.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Hina Arshad Warraich has secured a resounding victory in the PP-52 Sambrial by-election, according to unofficial results from all 185 polling stations.