Pakistan

CM orders strict legislation against damaging surveillance cams

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Speakers at seminar stress urban-mobility reforms

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97 sexual assault cases reported in 11 months, yet no conviction

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The shooting of National Guard members in Washington, DC, over which an Afghan immigrant has been charged, has nothing to do with Afghanistan’s people or its government, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Wednesday. Muttaqi’s comments are the first on the incident by the Afghan Taliban government, and come a week after events in Washington when suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal is accused of opening fire on guard members, killing one and critically wounding another. On Tuesday, Lakanwal was charged with murder and other offences as he made his first court appearance, appearing remotely from a hospital bed. “This incident has nothing to do with the honourable people of Afghanistan or with the Afghan government,” Muttaqi said. “This is an individual criminal act, and the person who committed it was trained by the Americans themselves.” US officials have said Lakanwal was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan. He entered the US in 2021 through then-president Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welc...

Chief of the Army (COAS) Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir expressed satisfaction on Wednesday with the “robust defence collaboration” underway between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The two countries have long shared a multifaceted relationship rooted in strategic military cooperation, mutual economic interests, and shared Islamic heritage. These ties have encompassed economic assistance and energy supplies, with Riyadh being a significant source of financial aid and oil for Islamabad. In September, Islamabad and Riyadh signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both. A statement posted on X by state broadcaster PTV News said COAS Munir met Royal Saudi Land Forces (RSLF) Commander Lieutenant General Fahad Bin Saud Al-Johani at the General Headquarters. “COAS expressed satisfaction on robust defence collaboration between the two countries and emphasised upon the need for continued cooperation in training, capacity building, ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that bidding for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would be held on December 23 with a live media broadcast. The government has been seeking to sell a 51-100 per cent stake in the struggling national airline to raise funds and reform cash-draining, state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. It would be the country’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades. Four bidders have been pre-qualified for the sale: Lucky Cement Consortium, Arif Habib Corporation Consortium, Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited and Air Blue Limited. A press release posted on X by state broadcaster PTV News said that the prime minister held a meeting with all corporate entities and company representatives participating in the privatisation process of the national airline. “PIA’s bidding will take place on December 23, 2025, which will be broadcast live on all media,” the statement quoted the prime minister as saying. He said...

A Karachi anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday acquitted Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Dr Mahrang Baloch in a case of sedition and public mischief registered against her in October last year. Mahrang had been booked in the terrorism case by Malir district’s Quaidabad police on Oct 11, 2024, for allegedly inciting people by levelling “allegations against security institutions”. ATC Judge Ayaz Mustafa Jokhio announced the verdict today on Mahrang’s acquittal plea in the case, filed by Advocate Jibran Nasir. “I am of the view that there is no probability of the accused being convicted of any offence. I hereby allow this application and acquit the accused, Mst. Mahrang Baloch, d/o Abdul Ghaffar,” the court order read. The rights activist was cleared of charges under section 265-K (power of court to acquit accused at any stage) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Mahrang, as per the court order, appeared via video link from Quetta Prison, where she has been incarcerated after her arrest in March....

The Punjab government has officially permitted kite flying after 25 years, issuing a new ordinance—signed by the Governor—that conditionally allows Basant celebrations under strict regulations.

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on Wednesday declared Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Omar Ayub and Zartaj Gul as proclaimed offenders in the Sangjani Jalsa case.

Pakistan has sent an urban search and rescue team to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka, where severe flooding and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have claimed more than 400 lives. According to Radio Pakistan, a Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft carrying a 47-member team along with 6.5 tons of essential equipment has departed to participate in the humanitarian and rescue efforts. Speaking at a ceremony in Islamabad for seeing off the aid on Wednesday morning, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik said the urban search and rescue team was being sent to help the people affected by the cyclone in Sri Lanka. He asserted that Pakistan and its government stood in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. The NDMA chairman further said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had directed “full-out support” to assist those affected. “Pakistan has committed all-out support since November 28 when the cyclone impacted Sri Lanka,” he s...

India is willing to amend an order requiring smartphone makers to pre-install a state-run cybersecurity app, the telecoms minister said on Wednesday, signalling a softening government stance following a backlash over surveillance fears. Earlier in the day, the main opposition party took the government to task over the issue, while newspaper editorials joined privacy advocates in denouncing the move. The government is also likely to find itself at odds with phone manufacturers. Apple does not plan to comply with the directive, sources have said. “We are ready to make changes to the order based on the feedback we receive,” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia told lawmakers in parliament. The Indian government has confidentially ordered companies including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to preload new phones with an app called Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, within 90 days. The government says the app only helps track and block stolen phones and prevents them from being misused. Senior Congress ...

Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Zhaparov will undertake his maiden state visit to Pakistan from 03-04 December 2025.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has awarded the custody of a 13-year-old boy to his adoptive parents, ruling that a child’s preference and emotional well-being must take precedence in custody disputes.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestinian territory, with Pakistan, which voted in favour of the text, reiterating that Palestinians must be allowed to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. The resolution, titled ‘Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine’, was adopted with 151 countries voting in favour, 11 voting against and 11 abstaining, according to the summary posted by the UN. According to the summary, the UNGA, through the resolution, “stressed the need for urgent, collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues in the Middle East peace process and called for the timely convening of an international conference in Moscow — as envisioned by Security Council resolution 1850 (2008) — to advance a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement”. “The Assembly also called on both parties to act responsibly, urgently reverse negative trends and create the co...

Three police personnel were martyred on Wednesday in a bomb attack targeting a police mobile in the Panyala area of Dera Ismail Khan.

Pakistan has expanded its relief efforts for storm-hit Sri Lanka following the devastation caused by the recent severe storm and an official appeal for assistance by the Sri Lankan government.