Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday directed the formation of a medical board in its verdict on a plea seeking the transfer of PTI founder Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment. A division bench, comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, presided over the hearing. IHC directed Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa to constitute a medical board and ordered that Dr Muhammad Arif and Dr Nadeem Qureshi be included. Dr Qureshi, who is a retina specialist from Rawalpindi’s Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, is also part of the medical board constituted on the orders of the Supreme Court. Dr Arif is the head of the ophthalmology department at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. In its order, the court also directed the authorities to ensure Imran’s meetings with his lawyers and family. Dr Qureshi was instructed to remain in contact with Imran’s family over his medical treatment. The written verdict, a cop...

Accurate GPS is a mainstay of modern life, but because of the Iran war, people in the UAE are finding that their phones think they are out at sea or in cities hundreds of kilometres away. Jamming and spoofing, used as a defensive tactic against missiles and drones, are to blame, experts say, but it’s not just enemy projectiles finding themselves lost in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “I was using the maps while driving until it started taking me through weird roads,” said Hind, a French resident of Dubai who gave only her first name. Instead, she was forced to head back to a main road and “relied on the road signs to figure out where I was”. Despite the occasional inconvenience, the bizarre information given by GPS services, such as delivery drivers floating somewhere in the middle of the Gulf, has become the subject of jokes on social media. Andrew, a delivery driver in Dubai originally from Uganda, said it had become a frequent problem. “For example, a delivery that should have taken 10 to 15 minutes ended...

Iran will ​avenge the blood of its martyrs, keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and attack US bases, new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba ‌Khamenei said on Thursday in a statement read out on state television, his first remarks since succeeding his father following his assassination. In the defiant address, Khamenei said the United States must close all its bases in the region. The strait, which runs past Iran’s coast and supplies a fifth of the world’s oil, should remain shut to put ​pressure on the enemy, he said. “The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used,” Khamenei said of the waterway. Ayatollah Mojtaba vowed to avenge the deaths since the start of the war, saying it would remain among his top priorities. “A limited amount of this revenge has so far taken concrete form, but until it is fully achieved, this case will remain among our priorities,” Khamenei said in a statement read on state television. “We will seek compensation from the enemy, and if they refuse, we will take as much ...

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday that Pakistan was playing the role of a “bridge builder” during the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. The war began as the US and Israel launched strikes on Tehran on February 28, which also resulted in the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In retaliatory strikes, Iran has targeted US assets and bases in Gulf countries, against which a resolution was adopted in the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Pakistan has been calling for de-escalation, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar holding phone calls with dignitaries from relevant countries over the past few days. On Thursday, Andrabi gave a round-up of the phone calls during his weekly press briefing. During the question-answer bit, a reporter mentioned that Dar had previously spoken about Islamabad “shuttling communications between Tehran and Riyadh to try to ease tensions”. “Has that been Pa...

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed was snapped up by Sunrisers Leeds — a Hundred franchise with links to the Indian Premier League — on Thursday despite fears Pakistani players would be frozen out due to political tensions. The England and Wales Cricket Board last month issued a statement saying all eight of the city-based franchises in the 100-ball-a-side competition were committed to selection based solely on performances. A longstanding political stand-off between India and Pakistan means the two nations only play each other in major global cricket events. Cricketers from Pakistan have not featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2009 because of diplomatic tensions. The only two Pakistan players in Wednesday’s women’s auction, Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal, went unsold. Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi withdrew from the men’s sale and fellow paceman Haris Rauf failed to attract an offer when put up for his reserve price of £100,000 at the auction in London on Thursday. But Sunrisers bought 27-year-old Ahmed for...

On the 13th day of the US-Israel war against Iran, the conflict appeared to be entering a more volatile phase in which the battlefield could gradually extend beyond conventional air and missile exchanges into attempts to weaken Iran from within; the maritime confrontation in the Gulf continued to tighten pressure on global energy markets and reinforce the centrality of oil flows in shaping the strategic calculations of the belligerents. Reports circulating among Iranian observers and security analysts suggested that Washington and Tel Aviv may now be testing a strategy aimed at fomenting internal dissent while maintaining external military pressure, with recent drone strikes on Basij security infrastructure inside Tehran. This was widely interpreted as an attempt to erode the regime’s internal control mechanisms and probe whether domestic instability could complement the ongoing military campaign. Rescue workers rest next to a damaged residential building in Tehran on March 12, 2026. — AFP The approach bears ...

KARACHI: Police said on Thursday that a statue allegedly depicting a satanic figure was seized from Mehran Town in Korangi Industrial Area, after videos of the effigy went viral on social media. The videos posted on social media had shown a large white statue depicting what appeared to be a human male with a bull’s head sitting down. A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, told Dawn that police had seized the statue on Wednesday night after videos of it surfaced on social media. The official confirmed that the statue was supposed to be torched at a rally marking Youm Al Quds in the metropolis. He said no case has been registered nor had anyone has been arrested so far. In 2019, a 20-feet-high ‘satanic’ sculpture was the cause of much controversy at the Lahore Museum. The sculpture, striking due to its size and grotesque features, was criticised for its alleged portrayal of the devil and inappropriateness for its historic venue. Following the criticism, the sculpture was first covered and then r...

The Sindh government on Thursday announced a public holiday for March 13 (Friday). A notification issued by the government, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said: “The government of Sindh has been pleased to declare March 13, 2026 (Friday) as a public holiday throughout the province of Sindh for all government offices, autonomous bodies, semi-autonomous bodies, corporations, corporations and local councils under the administrative control of the government of Sindh, except essential services.” The notification did not state the reason for which the public holiday was being announced. However, a day earlier, Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah had said that the public holiday would be observed on Friday for Jummatul Wida.

Airlines in Pakistan, including Pakistan International Airlines, are raising fuel surcharges after war in the Gulf disrupted regional air routes and canceled about 300 flights from the country in recent days, airline officials and flight data show. PIA spokesman Abdullah Khan told Reuters that fuel costs have risen 34 per cent due to the Gulf crisis. He added that the airline was raising fuel surcharges on domestic flights by $20 and up to $100 on international flights. In the past 12 days, the airline has cancelled 165 flights, Khan said, with flights to the Gulf making up 34pc of PIA’s total flights. Other airlines operating in the country have also raised fares as jet fuel prices surge and flight operations are disrupted. Most international flights operated by Pakistani carriers are to the Middle East, making them particularly exposed to the conflict and airspace closures. Recently privatised PIA resumed flights to Europe and Britain after a year-long safety ban last year.

BAJAUR: A cop was wounded after unidentified assailants hurled a hand grenade at a police post in Bajaur district’s Khar tehsil, officials said on Thursday. According to police, the attack occurred on Wednesday night when unidentified attackers hurled a hand grenade at a police post located near the Jinnah Bus Terminal, a major bus station, located around three kilometres from Khar, the headquarters of the district. “One cop was slightly wounded in the attack which caused no damage to the post. Other personnel remained completely safe and secure,” Israr Khan, a spokesperson for the district police, told Dawn. However, Khan noted that a portion of a nearby hotel was damaged in the incident. He stated that a team of police personnel rushed to the scene immediately after the incident was reported and launched a search for those involved. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Law enforcement personnel have increasingly come under attack in KP in recent weeks. Last week, a police officer was martyred a...

ISLAMABAD: Less than a week after the government hiked the prices of petroleum products by a whopping Rs55, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Thursday notified a massive 19-22 per cent increase in the price of regasified liquified natural gas (RLNG) for sales at the distribution stage by the two Sui gas companies for the month of March. The increase was mainly because of increase in terminal charges amid lower import molecules and minor increase in import price, the dataset from the authority showed. The rare increase (19-22pc) in RLNG price for March has come following a minor 0.5pc increase in February and two consecutive monthly reductions in December (6pc) and January (5pc). The prices had cumulatively increased by 4.4pc in October and November. The Karachi-based Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) serves consumers in Sindh and Balochistan and its system losses at the distribution stage stand at 12.55pc, compared to 10.6pc a couple of months earlier. On the other hand, the Lahore-based S...

Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Thursday said that crossing Rs300 billion in revenue collection is a major milestone for the province.

The speed limits for vehicles on motorways and national highways were reduced on Thursday “in order to promote austerity measures and fuel conservation”, according to a handout issued by the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP). The development comes as the government in recent days announced a host of austerity measures to conserve fuel in view of the global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. The press release said that the step “was taken in light of the instructions of the prime minister of Pakistan to ensure efficient use of energy and to encourage fuel savings”. The speed limit for cars and light transport vehicles (LTV) has been reduced to 100 kilometres per hour from 120km/h on motorways. Meanwhile, the speed limit for passenger service vehicles (PSV) and heavy transport vehicles (HTV) on motorways has been reduced from 110 km/h to 90 km/h, the press release said. On national highways, the speed limit for cars and LTVs was reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h. For PSVs and HTVs, the ...

Silver prices in Pakistan continued their upward trend on Thursday, with the rate of silver (chandi) reaching Rs.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday ordered the formation of a medical board while announcing its verdict on a petition seeking the transfer of Imran Khan to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment.

A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI’s investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau’s New York Field Office three years ago, according to ​a source familiar with the matter and recently published Justice Department documents reviewed by Reuters. The details of who accessed a server at the FBI’s New York Field Office, ‌including the allegation that a foreign hacker was involved, are being reported here for the first time. In a statement, the FBI said what it described as a “cyber incident” was “an isolated one”. “The FBI restricted access to the malicious actor and rectified the network. The investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have further comments to provide at this time.” Although the source said the intrusion appeared to have been carried out by a cybercriminal rather than a foreign government, ​the incident underscores the files’ potential intelligence value, one academic said. The legally mandated publication of US Justice Department docu...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Saudi Arabia on Thursday to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East following the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

The repatriation of Pakistanis from Iran continued on Wednesday as 228 more people arrived in the country through the Taftan Border Crossing, officials said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has forwarded a summary to President Asif Ali Zardari seeking approval for the appointment of Nehal Hashmi, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, as the governor of Sindh.

Pakistan has completed the visa process for 90 per cent of pilgrims set to perform Hajj in 2026, citing the Ministry of Religious Affairs.