Pakistan

Police on Monday arrested three suspects who allegedly gang-raped a woman last week in the Bakot area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Abbottabad district, springing into action after the incident sparked social media outrage. Abbottabad police spokesperson Azam Mir Afzal told Dawn.com that the suspects had allegedly gang-raped a woman from Rawalpindi on Wednesday. “District Police Officer (DPO) Umar Tufail took action and ordered the immediate arrest of the suspects after the incident was highlighted on social media, including Facebook and TikTok,” Spokesperson Afzal said. He added that the Bakot station house officer (SHO), Arshad Khan, was sent to the village, where he had also found the local community angered over the incident. On the SHO’s complaint, a first information report (FIR) was lodged at the Bakot police station yesterday under sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 375A (rape) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the FIR, a copy ...

Pakistan on Monday unequivocally condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem by Israeli ministers, calling Tel Aviv out for its “shameless actions which are inflaming tensions in Palestine and the wider region”. Early on Sunday, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, shielded by Israeli police, led a large group of illegal settlers in a provocative march and mass incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, coinciding with the Jewish commemoration of Tisha B’Av, Anadolu Agency reported. According to the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, at least 1,251 illegal Israeli settlers stormed the mosque compound in the morning hours, performing Talmudic rituals, singing, and dancing under heavy police protection. Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam after Makkah and Madina. Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, the Al-Aqsa compound is administered by a Jordanian religious foundation, and Jews can visit but may not pray there...

Electricity consumers across Pakistan may soon receive much-needed relief as the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has proposed a reduction of Rs1.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday for a one-day visit to assess flood-affected areas, meet with the provincial leadership, and oversee relief efforts for displaced families.

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has launched a nationwide minority registration drive aimed at promoting equal citizenship and inclusive access to civic services for minority communities across Pakistan.

A high-speed trailer truck crashed in Karachi’s upscale Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Monday morning, injuring two people, according to Rescue 1122. The city has lately witnessed a rise in traffic accidents, especially involving heavy vehicles, including dumpers and water tankers, which killed nearly 500 people and injured 4,879 in 2024, according to hospital data. According to a spokesperson for Rescue 1122 Sindh, the trailer was travelling at a high speed when it crashed into a bungalow in DHA Phase 2. He said that as soon as Rescue 1122’s Central Command and Control team received the information, the urban search and rescue team, along with two ambulances and one disaster response vehicle, rushed to the scene. “Two people trapped as a result of the collision were rescued safely,” he said, adding that they were transported to the hospital via ambulance with minor injuries. He added that both of the injured victims were trailer staff. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza confirmed that th...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Adviser for Information, Barrister Dr.

Pakistan has strongly condemned the provocative and deeply offensive desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by thousands of Israeli settlers, including senior ministers, officials, and members of the Knesset, under the protection of Israeli occupying forces.

At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen, in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday. Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The UN’s migration agency said 157 people were on board. The accident occurred off Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states. Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said. UN agency the International Organisation for Migration earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead. The IOM’s country chief of mission, Abdusattor Esoev, told AFP that “the fate of the missing is still unknown.” Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia whic...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers accompanied by settler groups under the protection of Israeli police, calling it a grave violation of international norms and a provocation against the Muslim world.

DERA GHAZI KHAN: A man and a woman who had married of their own free will a year ago were shot dead on Sunday, allegedly by the woman’s brother in the jurisdiction of Muhammad Pur Dewan police station in Rajanpur district. Rajanpur District Police Officer (DPO) Farooq Amjad told Dawn that Saqlain, son of Ghulam Sadiq, a resident of Muhammad Pur Dewan, had contracted marriage with Ayesha Bibi, a year ago, without the consent of her family. He said that on Sunday, when the couple was in their house, the armed suspect barged in and opened indiscriminate fire, leaving his sister and her husband dead on the spot. The DPO said that on being informed of the incident, the police acted promptly and arrested the suspect. The police, after collecting evidence from the crime scene, moved the bodies to the hospital for autopsy. According to initial investigation, the double murder was committed over ‘honour’. A case is yet to be registered. NOSE CHOPPED OFF: Four assailants chopped off the nose of a man in a brutal attack...

QUETTA: Nearly two dozen armed men stormed the Zard Ghulam Jan Mangochar Grid Station late on Saturday night, damaging the control room and other equipment after taking security guards and the Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) staff hostage. “Around 20 armed men attacked the 132kV grid station in the wee hours, causing massive damage to the grid station,” Qesco officials said on Sunday. The armed men snatched the 12-bore rifle from the security guards and vandalised the premises while holding the staff at gunpoint. They opened fire inside the grid station, damaging the control room, high-power transformer, current transformers, conservator tank, radiator tubes, AC/DC panels, auxiliary panels, and other essential electrical equipment, according to a Qesco spokesperson. After holding the staff and guards at gunpoint for some time, the attackers reportedly threatened them to vacate the premises immediately or risk losing their life. Subsequently, the staff and guards fled to safety. Later, Qesco officials s...

Former Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and PTI leader, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, has been detained for four days under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO), officials confirmed on Sunday.

ISLAMABAD - Iranian President Dr.

Shehbaz Sharif warmly receives Iranian President at PM House Dr Masoud Pezeshkian given a guard of honour PM, Iran President exchange views on regional, global developments Islamabad, Tehran exchange 12 agreements, MoUs.

ISLAMABAD - A total of 299 people, including 140 children, have lost their lives, and 715 others—among them 239 children—have been injured in flash floods and torrential rains that have swept through vulnerable areas of the country since June 26, according to the latest figures issued by the National Disaster Management.

ISLAMABAD\GAZA - On the special directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, government of Pakistan today will dispatch another consignment of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, Palestine.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Iran on Sunday agreed on Silk road,Gawadar to Chabahar Projects for enhancing the regional economic and trade integration.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Iran have reaffirmed their commitment to further broaden bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.

ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar yesterday reaffirmed historic Pakistan-Iran ties.