Pakistan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed deep condolences on Saturday for the loss of life caused by devastating floods in the country and said its upcoming Extended Fund Facility (EFF) review mission will evaluate whether the government’s fiscal policies and emergency provisions can effectively address the crisis, a senior official of the Washington-based lender said. “The mission will assess whether the FY26 budget, its spending allocations and emergency provisions remain sufficiently agile to address the spending needs necessitated by the floods,” said Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan. The flash floods have killed 972 people so far, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. The floods have destroyed crops, livestock and homes across Punjab and are now pushing into Sindh, threatening fresh food inflation and deeper hardship. The State Bank of Pakistan is expected to keep its key rate at 11 per cent on Monday, a Reuters poll showed, as policymakers weigh infla...

More drones to join flood relief, heavy-lift units prove useful in Multan

Rafts used for evacuation from submerged villages

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Accused include DBA secretary candidate; complainant alleges scam

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Babar is accused of robberies, carjacking and targeting schoolgirls

Accused would lure citizens to Cambodia, then kidnap and torture them

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was confirmed on Saturday to attend a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders in Qatar to denounce Israel’s attack on Hamas officials in Doha and to show solidarity with the Gulf state. Qatar said earlier today it would hold the emergency moot in light of the recent developments in the region. Foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Monday’s meeting would consider “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the state of Qatar” to be drafted on Sunday at a ministerial meeting. Israel targeted Hamas leaders on Tuesday in strikes on the Qatari capital, killing five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. The attack drew widespread international condemnation, including from Gulf monarchies allied with the United States, Israel’s main backer. Al-Ansari was quoted as saying by the official QNA news agency that the summit reflected “broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in the face of Israel’s cowardly aggression … and the categorical rejection of Israel’s st...

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a clarification on its recent circular regarding security arrangements for retired judges.

A Pakistan-India cricket match is always a blockbuster, but emotions will run even higher in Sunday’s Asia Cup clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who engaged in a four-day military conflict earlier this year. Even before the clashes in May, which nearly escalated into a full-blown war, bilateral cricket ties were suspended. The arch-rivals now play each other only in multi-team tournaments. Political relations have deteriorated further since the clashes, with several former Indian players urging the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to boycott what will be the first meeting between the teams since the recent hostilities. While the threat of a boycott is over, sparks may fly with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and his Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav ruling out dialling down aggression in the much-anticipated Group A fixture. While reigning T20 world champions India are the firm favourites to retain their title, Pakistan are on a high, having convincingly beaten Afghanistan to win the ...

More than 100,000 people massed on Saturday in central London for a march and rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, as anti-racism campaigners held a smaller counter-protest. Huge crowds, many draped in English and British flags, gathered through the morning just south of Westminster for what Robinson, a veteran of UK far-right organising, has branded the country’s “biggest free speech festival”. His latest ‘Unite the Kingdom’ event saw attendees march over Westminster Bridge before rallying near Downing Street for speeches by far-right figures from across Europe and North America. “The silent majority will be silent no longer,” Robinson told the crowd. “Today is the spark of a cultural revolution.” Supporters of British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, wave Union Jack, St George’s cross and Welsh flags as they walk through central London during a ‘Free speech’ march, on September 13. — AFP UK police said an estimated 110,000 people attended, noting ...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit the State of Qatar to participate in the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit being held in Doha on 15 September 2025.

The Sindh health department on Saturday reported the province’s fifth death from Naegleria fowleri. A 29-year-old from Karachi died on September 11 at a private hospital, Meeran Yousuf, the media coordinator for the Sindh health minister, told Dawn.com. “The patient started experiencing symptoms on September 7 and was admitted to the hospital on September 11,”. Yousuf added. “The presence of Naegleria Fowleri was confirmed in the patient on September 12 after the patient had passed away.” The media coordinator added that upon investigation, it was noted that the patient had not participated in any “water-related activities” and that his only exposure was the regular use of tap water for drinking and bathing. “This is the fifth death from Naegleria in Sindh in 2025,” Yousuf said. Commonly known as “brain-eating amoeba”, Naegleria Fowleri, is commonly found in warm fresh water —such as lakes, rivers and hot springs — and soil. Only one species, Naegleria fowleri, infects people. It infects people when water con...

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Saturday highlighted the need for “cordial” cohesion and relations between the bench and bars across the country, to preserve the rule of law. Speaking at a judicial conference in Muzaffarabad, the CJP said it was heartening to witness the “spirit of judicial fraternity between Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)” and extended “full constitutional [and] institutional support” from the Supreme Court to the AJK judiciary. “I earnestly urge my brother judges and my respected bar members of [AJK] to keep three foundational fundamentals in mind in progressing with their future,” CJP Afridi said. “I earnestly state, firstly, it is neither us sitting on the bench, nor for the worthy, respected bar members standing on the roster, but the litigant whose interest must always remain supreme.” He added that secondly, the relationship between the bench and the bar “should always be cordial, constructive and considered”. “Mind you, without this cohesion between the two pillar...

The Utah trade school student jailed on suspicion of fatally shooting United States conservative activist Charlie Kirk faces formal charges next week, according to the governor, following an act of violence widely seen as a foreboding inflexion point in American politics. Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested on Thursday night after relatives and a family friend alerted authorities that he had implicated himself in the crime, Governor Spencer Cox said on Friday, opening a press conference with the words, “We got him.” The arrest capped a 33-hour manhunt for the lone suspect in Wednesday’s killing, which US President Donald Trump has called a “heinous assassination”. Kirk, co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA and a staunch Trump ally, was gunned down by a single rifle shot fired from a rooftop during an outdoor event attended by 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 65 kilometres south of Salt Lake City. The sniper made his getaway in the ensuing pandemonium, captured in gr...

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has unveiled the schedule for its annual elections for 2026.