Pakistan

The Government of Sindh has officially declared summer vacations for all public and private schools across the province amid rising temperatures during the ongoing summer season.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday decried decisions taken behind closed doors, saying that the provincial government would oppose those decisions that went against peace in the province and the people’s interests. He made the remarks during a visit to Bannu, after 15 police personnel were martyred and three sustained injuries after a suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post. According to a statement issued by the CM House, Afridi met the families of the martyred police personnel and also offered Fateha. The statement said that he also visited the hospital to inquire about the health of the injured personnel and directed officials to provide them with the best possible healthcare facilities. The statement quoted Afridi as saying that the KP police had shown bravery and courage against terrorism. He said that the people of the province had to stand up for their rights, otherwise the “imposed circumstances” would continue to prevail. “We have been continuously saying that terrorists a...

The Federal Constitutional Court has rejected an appeal filed by a private bank in an online banking fraud case involving a resident of Layyah and directed the bank to return the disputed amount to the customer.

The Met Office said Sibi remained the hottest city in the country on Sunday, where the temperature climbed to 43 degrees Celsius.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the Pakistan Air Force delivered a strong response to India during what he described as “Marka-e-Haq,” claiming that Indian confidence in Rafale fighter jets was severely undermined.

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday that the Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned and handed a “strong demarche” over the suicide attack in Bannu, which claimed the lives of 15 police personnel. In a statement, the FO said, “The Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today to deliver a strong demarche regarding the cowardly vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) attack carried out by terrorists of Fitna al Khawarij on the Fateh Khel police post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu District on May 9.” Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balo­chistan. “The ministry conveyed that a detailed investigation into the incident, along with evidence collected and technical intelligence, indicates that the attack was masterminded by terrorists residing in Afghanistan,” the FO said. “Reiterating Pakistan’s grave concern ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that the promotion of the IT sector and expansion of IT-related exports remain among the government’s top priorities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday summoned the Afghan Chargé d’Affaires and delivered a strong demarche over the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack on the Fateh Khel Police Post in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 9 May 2026.

Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat on Monday announced a three-month-long summer vacation for schools in the province. In a statement released by his spokesperson, he said that the summer break would begin on May 22 and would end on August 23. He said that schools in the province would then open on August 24. The minister also posted the same on his official Facebook account. Last month, schools in the province were advised to alter working hours or declare early summer holidays due to excessive heat, which has prevailed over parts of the country over the past few weeks. The Punjab Disaster Mana­­gement Authority had issued urgent directives to educational instit­utions and district admi­nistrations across the province in view of a heatwave. The advisory had stated that schools should alter working hours or declare early summer holidays if excessive heat persisted; suspend all outdoor sports and activities immediately; ensure uninterrupted availability of clean, cold drinking water; maintain functi...

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has uncovered alleged large-scale irregularities in the Lyari Expressway Resettlement Project, including illegal allotments, fake documentation and suspected fraud involving billions of rupees, according to sources.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Monday that a plot to coerce a girl into carrying out a terrorist attack in Islamabad had been thwarted by intelligence agencies. The girl, who was reportedly arrested before she could carry out a suicide bombing, will be released to her father under supervision instead of facing trial, he said. The chief minister, in a press conference alongside the suspect, emphatically denounced the perpetrators of exploitation against Baloch women and girls. He stressed that their actions had no connection at all to Baloch tradition or history. “We are faithful to our tradition,” he said, adding, “These people have no connection to Balochiyat, and the way they are using our women in this war is shameful. I am so ashamed that I cannot even tell the media the details.” According to details shared by Bugti, the girl’s name had initially appeared on social media as a missing person, but an investigation by intelligence agencies ascertained that she was allegedly training at a t...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed deep concern and strongly condemned the firing incident at the dera of Punjab Assembly member Ayub Gadhi in Toba Tek Singh.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday ordered an inquiry into an attack in Toba Tek Singh that left PML-N MPA Col (retired) Sardar Ayub Gadhi injured and four of his aides dead. The incident occurred on Sunday night, when Gadhi was sitting with his friends in his outhouse (Dera) in Chak 184-GB. Subsequently, unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate fire. In a statement on Monday, PM Shehbaz expressed deep concern and strongly condemned the incident. He also directed the relevant authorities to swiftly complete the inquiry so that those responsible could be identified and brought to justice. Calling Gadhi one of the PML-N’s hardworking workers, the prime minister said that the attack on the MPA while he was listening to public grievances was extremely concerning. He offered prayers for those who lost their lives in the incident and for the recovery of the injured. Those killed in the incident on Sunday night were identified as Zaigham Abbas (41), Nadim Noor (45), Khaliqdad (49), and Haq Nawaz (55). Police s...

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday allowed an application filed by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz seeking the return of Rs70 million deposited as surety for bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. The case by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) pertains to alleged money laundering and income beyond means via “dubious” business transactions of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills, of which Maryam was a major shareholder. At the outset of the hearing, a NAB deputy prosecutor submitted an affidavit to an LHC full bench about the withdrawal of its plea before the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging directives for the closure of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills investigation against Maryam. At this, Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, who headed the bench, accepted Maryam’s application with instructions to the registrar’s office to return the surety amount. Justice Muhammad Jawad Zafar and Justice Abher Gul Khan were the other members of the bench. The chief minister, through her counsel Javed Arshad, had filed ...

The inquiry committee investigating the One Constitution Avenue scandal is expected to submit its report to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later this week, according to sources.

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre has successfully completed the Food Security Support Project 2025-26 in Pakistan, providing essential food assistance to vulnerable and food-insecure families across the country.

Iran on Monday asserted that it made “legitimate” demands in its latest formal response to the United States’ peace proposal, after US President Donald Trump rejected the reply as “totally unacceptable”. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had called for an end to the war across the region, the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, and the release of frozen assets abroad in its response. “We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” said Baqaei in a weekly press briefing. He said Iran’s demands included “an end to the war in the region”, lifting the US blockade and “piracy”, and the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks”. “Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security.” Baqaei said Washington continued to uphold ...

The Supreme Court has clarified several important issues of law relating to the transfer of property through “haq mahr” (dower).

An American national and a French woman evacuated from the cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive, officials said on Monday, as the complex operation to repatriate those on board continued. The French woman, one of five passengers from France flown back from the MV Hondius and placed in isolation in Paris, started to feel unwell on Sunday night, and “tests came back positive”, said Health Minister Stephanie Rist. Late on Sunday, the US health department said one American national evacuated from the ship had “mild symptoms” and that another had tested positive for the Andes virus, the only hantavirus strain that is transmissible between humans. Three passengers from the ship, a Dutch couple and a German woman, have died, while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents. No vaccines or specific treatments exist for hantavirus, which is endemic in Argentina, where the ship set sail in April. But health officials have insisted that the risk for...

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis increased by 11.