Pakistan

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.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was told on Monday that Pakistan’s information technology exports were expected to reach $4.5 billion to $4.6bn, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The development came as the premier chaired meeting to review the affairs of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication. During the meeting, the premier was told that the number of domestic internet connections had increased from 1.9 million in 2024 to 5.1m in 2026. He was also told that IT exports were expected to reach between $4.5bn-$4.6bn during the current fiscal year, the PMO said. Further, the premier was told that the recent 5G spectrum auction had generated $509m dollars in revenue. The meeting was also told that, under efforts to promote artificial intelligence, “Indus AI Week” was organised in February 2025 across 30 cities, attracting over 100 international delegates and featuring 88 pavilions. The meeting was told that fibre connectivity had been provided to government schools and health uni...

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Monday announced a major reduction in tariffs at Gwadar Port aimed at boosting global transit traffic, according to an official statement. According to the statement, the minister said that berthing fees for container ships have been reduced by 25 per cent, while port charges on international transshipment containers have been cut by 40pc. He added that port charges on transit container cargo have also been reduced by up to 31pc. Further, a one-month free storage facility has been introduced for general cargo, compared to the standard five-day allowance at other national ports, the minister added. “Ships bringing transit and transshipment cargo have been given major relief,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying. “These incentives take effect immediately, and further adjustments will be reviewed in phases based on operational data and market response,” the minister added, noting that future revisions would be guided by cargo trends, regional competition, ...

Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb has called on the judiciary to encourage alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and detailed the Supreme Court’s ongoing efforts to establish a mediation centre. In remarks aired on television on Monday, the SC judge stressed the need for mediators to be referred more cases, saying, “For that, the courts have to be willing to refer cases to mediation and must never think that by doing so, they are shying away from their primary responsibility of adjudication.” He noted that, having already paid lawyers, parties were reluctant to pay a fee for mediators and, therefore, some mediation centres had a policy of pro-bono mediations. “To encourage parties to go into mediation, what we have decided now is to train as many judges as mediators, and also officials in the high court and the Supreme Court who are law graduates, who will be willing to conduct mediation in their own pay scale,” the judge said. Justice Aurangzeb, along with Lahore High Court’s Justice Jawad Hassan, was presenti...

KARACHI: Twenty-five sacrificial goats worth Rs1.9 million were stolen from Gulistan-i-Jauhar, police said on Monday. Malir Cantt Station House Officer (SHO) Agha Abdul Rasheed told Dawn that a man had bought 25 goats and housed them at an empty plot in Block 8. The police official said that the man had also hired a watchman to watch the animals. However, on Saturday night, around three to four suspects arrived at the location in a Suzuki van and took away all the goats, the SHO said. According to SHO Rasheed, the watchman told police that he was awake at the time of the incident, but the suspects tied a cloth over his face and forcibly took away the goats. The official said that police had obtained CCTV footage from the area and asked the owner to lodge a first information report (FIR) to initiate legal proceedings. However, so far, the owner appeared reluctant to pursue the case, the official said. In 2024, a truck containing a consignment of sacrificial goats was hijacked by four armed men in Gulistan-i-Ja...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued an alert for glacial lake outburst floods (Glof) for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, it emerged on Monday. According to the alert issued by the PMD on Sunday night, a moderate westerly wave was expected to enter the upper regions of the country. It said that the weather system was expected to hit KP and extend to Gilgit-Baltistan by Monday. During this period, the department predicted widespread rain and wind-thunderstorms, with isolated heavy falls in mountainous catchments. “The weather patterns significantly elevated the risk of Glofs, debris flow, and flash flooding in vulnerable areas, especially in Swat, lower Chitral, Dir, Upper Hazara, Kohistan, Hoper, Ghulkin, Shishper, Ghizer, Hunza, Nagar, Ghanche, Shigar and Astore,” it said The Met department advised people in glacial valleys to avoid proximity to riverbanks and stream beds during the rainfall; monitor local nullahs for sudden changes in water colour (muddiness) or unusual sounds (g...

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has advised mobile phone users to ensure their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) remain valid and updated to avoid suspension of SIM cards.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has warned customers of possible internet service degradation during scheduled maintenance work on an international submarine cable from May 11 to May 18.

Australia will use the upcoming white-ball tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh to test their depth after naming squads featuring three potential debutants, selectors said on Monday. All-rounder Liam Scott has been included in the ODI squads for Pakistan and Bangladesh, with Victoria batter Ollie Peake joining him in the Pakistan squad. T20 specialist Joel Davies has been included in the squad for three T20Is in Chattogram, Bangladesh, starting on June 17. Mitchell Marsh will captain all squads, with Australia to play three ODIs against Pakistan in Rawalpindi and Lahore from May 30 before travelling to Bangladesh for three ODIs in Dhaka in the run-up to the T20 series. “It’s always exciting to see new players get an opportunity to play international cricket and be a part of the national team,” selector George Bailey said in a statement. “The blend of experienced players coupled with new or returning players will provide a nice mix for these subcontinent tours.” Fast bowlers Billy Stanlake and Riley Meredith retur...

Field Marshal Munir says Pakistan’s defence is completely impregnable against external aggression PM Shehbaz Sharif pays tribute to leadership of armed forces for extraordinary valour during Marka-e-Haq Pakistani nation, armed forces well capable, ready to defend territorial integrity: President.

Islamabad - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to China from May 23 to 25, in what is being seen as a significant diplomatic engagement aimed at further strengthening the longstanding strategic partnership between Islamabad and Beijing.