Pakistan

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Bangladesh will hold elections in February 2026, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said on Tuesday, the first polls since a mass uprising overthrew the government last year. “On behalf of the interim government, I will write a letter to the chief election commissioner requesting that the election be arranged before Ramazan in February 2026,” Yunus said in a broadcast on the one-year anniversary of the ousting of ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus, 85, is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections, and has said he will step down after the vote. “We will step into the final and most important phase after delivering this speech to you, and that is the transfer of power to an elected government,” he said. Yunus had earlier said elections would be held in April, but key political parties have been demanding he hold them earlier and before the month of Ramazan. “I urge you all to pray for us so that we can hold a fair and smooth election, enabling all citizens to ...

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A mother of seven children was shot dead allegedly by her husband in an ‘honour’ killing case in Chakiwara area of Lyari on Tuesday, according to police. “Bakhtawar, 40, was shot and killed by her husband at Miranaka [in Chakiwara, Lyari],” Chakiwara Station House Officer (SHO) Sajid Dharejo told Dawn.com. “The husband was arrested, and the pistol used in the murder was recovered,” he added. The police official said that the woman was asleep inside their home near Koyla Godam, Street-7, at around 1:30am when the suspect fired four shots. She sustained three bullet wounds and died on the spot. “The murder appears to be an outcome of ‘honour’ killing,” Dharejo continued. During the initial probe, the arrested man told the police that his wife used to talk with a man on her cell phone. He had warned her not to do it, but she did not give any heed to his warning, the husband claimed. The SHO said the husband is a labourer and hailed from Mansehra. The body of the victim was shifted to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital ...

A United States Coast Guard investigative board concluded on Tuesday that the “inadequate design” of the Titan submersible was a primary contributing factor in its implosion in 2023 that left five people dead. The Titan was on a tourist expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic — a British passenger liner that sank in 1912, killing at least 1,500 on board — when it lost contact with its support vessel during descent. Its remains were found four days later, littering the seabed about 488 metres from the bow of the Titanic wreck. The implosion was preventable, the chair of the US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation, Jason Neubauer, said as a 300-page report was released following a two-year probe. “There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework,” he said in a statement. A media spokesperson at OceanGate, the US-based company that managed the tourist submersible and suspended all operations after the inciden...

The Punjab government has decided to convert all stations and stops of the Orange Line Train to solar power.

Surging floodwaters and a torrent of mud swept through a village in the northern Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, killing at least four people while more than 50 others were missing, authorities and local TV channels said on Tuesday. Teams from the army and disaster response forces had reached the area, local authorities said, with workers trying to rescue people trapped under debris and sludge. TV news channels showed floodwaters and mud surging down a mountain and crashing into the village, sweeping away houses and roads as people ran for their lives. The mudslide cleaved through Dharali village, burying some houses, according to a video update shared by the state chief minister’s office. Four people were killed and many more had been rescued so far, Uttarkashi district administrator Prashant Arya told local media. “A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement,” the Central Command of the Indian Army sa...

Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, has emphasized that genuine judicial reform must begin at the grassroots level by strengthening district courts, which serve as the public’s first point of contact with the legal system.

The Gates Foundation announced on Monday it will invest $2.5 billion in women’s health globally by 2030, with Pakistan among the countries set to benefit from work in maternal health, nutrition, contraception, and related areas. Research and development (R&D) in women’s health remains chronically underfunded worldwide, with limited investment in areas like gynaecological and menstrual health, obstetric care, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, and maternal nutrition, the foundation said in a statement. Citing a 2021 McKinsey & Company analysis, it said just one per cent of healthcare R&D targets female-specific conditions beyond cancer. Common issues like preeclampsia, endometriosis, and menopause remain largely overlooked despite affecting hundreds of millions. “Investing in women’s health has a lasting impact across generations. It leads to healthier families, stronger economies, and a more just world,” said Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation. “Yet women’s health continues to be ignored, ...

JHANG, PAKISTAN — At an age when many are still exploring their futures, Malik Tayyab has already emerged as a powerful force in digital marketing.

Police intercepted the sisters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his cousin Qasim Khan on Chakri Road as they attempted to visit him at Adiala Jail.

The Gilgit-Chitral road, which was submerged in the flood in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, has not been restored even after five days, officials confirmed on Tuesday. Pakistan has been grappling with severe flooding caused by cloudbursts, glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) and intense monsoon rains since June. These extreme weather events have resulted in several deaths and injuries across the country, with the GB region among the hardest hit. “Five days ago, heavy stones and debris accumulated in the river due to the flood at Gopis Khatam, which diverted the river towards the Gilgit-Chitral road, from which the road is now submerged for 2,000 feet,” said Ghufranullah Baig, the deputy director of Disaster Management Authority in GB’s Ghizer district. “Due to this situation, inter-provincial land connectivity between GB and Chitral regions has been cut off,” he added. He said that due to the difficulty of accessing the hard rock and debris on the road, the road could not be restored immediately. “...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed India’s occupation of Kashmir the “defining conflict” of South Asia as Pakistan marked six years on Tuesday since New Delhi deprived the held region of its special autonomy. Pakistan is observing Youm-i-Istehsal (Exploitation Day) today to mark the sixth anniversary of India revoking Kashmir’s special autonomy and to show solidarity with Kashmiris. On Aug 5, 2019, India’s Narendra Modi-led government stripped the Muslim-majority territory of its special status by repealing Article 370 of the constitution, splitting the former state into two territories directly ruled by New Delhi. “India’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir remained the defining conflict of the South Asia region, and the driver of India’s continued rogue behaviour,” PM Shehbaz said in a statement. The premier also recalled the recent India-Pakistan conflict, noting: “India’s unprovoked aggression against Pakistan in May 2025, and its swift and comprehensive military defeat are only the latest evidence...

United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25 per cent “very substantially” over the next 24 hours, given India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. “India has not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t do business with them. So we settled on 25pc but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil,” he told CNBC in a televised interview. “They’re fuelling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy,” Trump said, adding that the main sticking point with India was that its tariffs were too high. He did not provide a new tariff rate for India. Trump last week said he would impose a 25pc tariff on goods imported from India and added that the world’s fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty, but gave no details. Later, Trump mou­nted a sharp attack and said:...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed satisfaction over the increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio resulting from reforms in the Federal Board of Revenue.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday announced that the federal government has directed the Balochistan government to operate direct flights from Quetta to Iran and Iraq to facilitate Arbaeen pilgrims.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a sobering report highlighting the extensive devastation caused by ongoing monsoon rains across Pakistan.

The Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and a Chinese company agreed to boost investments at the port, the maritime affairs ministry said on Tuesday. Pakistan recently increased efforts on the commercialisation of the Gwadar Port, which was built more than a decade ago but remains a non-starter. In January, the government sought the private sector’s support in routing their cargoes through the port, seeking detailed proposals to enhance trade. “China’s Xinning Enterprise have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Gwadar Port Authority to stimulate major industrial and commercial investments at Gwadar Port and its Free Zone, underscoring Gwadar’s growing role as a key regional hub for trade and economic activity,” the maritime affairs ministry said in a press release today. The ministry said that the LoI, which outlines plans for diverse ventures, was signed between Xinning Enterprise’s Yi Jiang and maritime affairs ministry’s additional secretary Umer Zaffar Shaikh, while GPA Chairman Noorul Haq Baloch attended the ev...

A roof collapse due to heavy rains killed a 17-year-old girl and injured three other family members in Punjab’s Rawalpindi district in the early hours of Tuesday morning, rescue officials said. Starting in late June, monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across the country by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. Roof collapses are a particularly common occurrence due to a large number of mud houses that are unable to withstand the heavy downpour. According to Rescue 1122, the roof collapse occurred on Daultala Road of Gujar Khan tehsil. A neighbour of the family reported that the side walls of their house collapsed and the roof caved in at about 1:30am while they were sleeping. According to the neighbour, “all the people in the neighbourhood rushed to the rescue” upon getting the information. The victims were pulled out of the rubble and taken to the hospital. Rescue 1122 District Emergency Officer Muhammad Sibghtullah said t...

In a significant political development, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has disqualified nine lawmakers, including Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Umar Ayub and Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz.