Pakistan

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Deputy Ameer Liaqat Baloch has affirmed that the "Haq Do Balochistan March" will proceed as planned, stressing that no one in Balochistan feels secure.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) on Tuesday directed three pharmaceutical companies to recall “substandard” medical devices from the market and advised pharmacists and chemists to stop supplying these products. “[The] Central Drugs Laboratory Karachi informed the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan that the samples of the below-mentioned medical devices have been declared as ‘Substandard’,” an alert issued by Drap stated. The alert identified Zindagi Auto Disable Syringe 5ml, the Ultra Fine SMD Painless Syringe 5ml and Ultra Fine SMD Painless Syringe 3ml as the substandard devices. “Use of these syringes, in invasive or intravenous procedures, poses a significant risk of introducing microbial contaminants into the patient’s body, which may result in localised infections, abscesses, or life-threatening systemic infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals,” Drap said. “All pharmacists and chemists working at distribution and pharmacies should immediately check their stocks and st...

Overseas Employment Corporation (OEC), an attached department of the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OP&HRD), would export the manpower to the State of Kuwait.

An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Tuesday acquitted two Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) workers facing charges of involvement in the 1997 murder case of former Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) managing director Shahid Hamid. The two accused — Mohammad Minhaj Qazi alias Asad, and Mehboob Ghufran alias Athar — along with their alleged accomplices, had been charged with the killing of the then-managing director of the KESC, his driver and a guard in Karachi’s DHA neighbourhood on July 5, 1997. An ATC had already sentenced Saulat Mirza to death in 1999 in this case and he was executed in Balochistan’s Machh jail in 2015. During the proceedings held at Karachi jail today, the court acquitted Qazi and Ghufran for lack of evidence and ordered their release, if they were not nominated in any pending case. Defence counsel Advocate Mushtaq Ahmed contended before the court that Qazi had no connection with the case. He said that according to the first information report, the complainant had only seen Mirza o...

The Punjab government has officially declared all public parks across the province as ‘no smoking zones’ under the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers' Health Ordinance 2002.

Social media platform TikTok on Tuesday launched a new search guide designed to help users in Pakistan access authoritative and up-to-date information during the ongoing monsoon flood season, according to a press release issued by its public relations firm. With the onset of the monsoon season, which typically lasts from late June to September, different parts of the country witness heavy rainfall and a heightened risk of extreme weather events like flash floods and landslides, especially in its northern and western regions. “Now, users searching for flood-related updates on TikTok will now see a prominent banner urging them to verify information through credible sources,” the press release read. “This guide connects users directly with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), from where users in Pakistan can access verified information regarding natural disasters,” it added. The guide also connects users to TikTok’s Safety Centre resources and provides a direct link to TikTok’s Tragic Event Support...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has voiced strong criticism of recent political and judicial developments, warning that sidelining the opposition in a democracy borders on monarchy.

At the prestigious Cercle National des Armées in Paris—France’s historic military command center—a high-level signing ceremony took place, symbolizing a new era of strategic cooperation between France and Pakistan.

Police on Tuesday arrested three suspects over the alleged gang-rape and robbery of a woman in Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi area. According to a statement by the Malir Police spokesperson Mohammed Imran, “Police arrested three suspects from the Ibrahim Hyderi area based on technical sources and intelligence information.” The suspects were part of a group involved in the alleged gang-rape and robbery of a woman in the area, the statement said. “The suspects not only looted gold ornaments, cash and valuables from the house but also allegedly raped the woman,” it added. During the initial investigation, the suspects confessed to their involvement with two other accomplices, the statement said. “The suspects forcibly removed the woman’s earrings and fled with them,” it added. Police said that they recovered one loaded pistol from the suspects. It futher said that raids were being conducted at various locations to arrest the other two members of the gang. The statement continued, “The criminal records of the suspects ...

Pakistan on Tuesday signed an agreement with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide free cancer medicines for 8,000 children annually. The WHO and the health ministry formalised Pakistan’s participation in the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines (Global Platform) to “provide quality-assured medicines — free of cost — to children affected by cancer in the country, where over 8,000 new cases are diagnosed annually”, said a WHO press release. The agreement, signed by Health Minister Mustafa Kamal and WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Dapeng Luo at a ceremony in Islamabad, will remain in force until Dec 31, 2027 and “may be extended by written agreement of the parties”. In addition to the provision of medicines, WHO will continue to support Pakistan’s Ministry of Health and provincial authorities with technical guidance, resources, and operational support to fight childhood cancer. The agreement aims to increase the survival rate of children fighting with cancer from 30 per cent to 60...

At least 18 people were killed in eastern India on Tuesday after a bus ferrying Hindu pilgrims collided with a truck loaded with cooking gas cylinders, officials said. Visuals from the site in Jharkhand state showed the mangled wreckage of the bus, with its rear portion almost entirely burnt. Local lawmaker Nishikant Dubey said the pilgrims were travelling to a Hindu shrine to celebrate the sacred month of Shravan, coinciding with the onset of the monsoons in the subcontinent. “Eighteen devotees lost their lives due to a bus and truck accident,” Dubey said on social media. The pilgrims were carrying holy water from the Ganges to offer to the Hindu god of destruction, Lord Shiva. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his “deepest condolences to the families of the devotees who lost their lives”. “The road accident in Jharkhand’s Deoghar is extremely tragic,” his office said on social media. Tens of thousands of people die in road accidents in India every year, according to official data. More than 172,000 die...

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the schedule for by-elections on 52 vacant local government seats in 19 districts of Sindh, with polling set for September 24, 2025.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has reaffirmed his government’s commitment to transforming the education system to meet international standards.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has thrown down the gauntlet to the federal government and political opponents, daring them to dislodge his government through democratic means.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met Khair Muhammad, father of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Shahzaib Rind, at the PM House and handed over a cheque of Rs5 million on behalf of the government.

Heavy rain killed more than 30 people and forced authorities to evacuate tens of thousands as swaths of northern China were lashed by torrential downpours that sparked landslides and flooding, state media said Tuesday. Weather authorities have issued their second-highest rainstorm warning for the capital Beijing, neighbouring Hebei and Tianjin, as well as 10 other provinces, state news agency Xinhua said. The rains are expected to last into Wednesday, it added. As of midnight Monday, the heavy rainstorms had left 30 people dead in Beijing, Xinhua said, citing the city’s municipal flood control headquarters. More than 80,000 people have been evacuated in the Chinese capital alone, local state-run outlet Beijing Daily said on social media. The death toll was highest in Miyun, a suburban district northeast of the city centre, it said. “This time the rain was unusually heavy, it’s not normally like this,” a resident of Miyun, surnamed Jiang, told AFP as water streamed down the road outside her house. “The road is...

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday said the Israel-Palestine question was a “test case” for the United Nations and the world as he addressed a high-level conference on the two-state solution in New York. Dar was addressing a rescheduled global conference on “The Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” at the United Nations headquarters. The three-day moot, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, comes amid renewed international efforts calling for an end to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza ongoing for over 660 days, with France announcing it will formally recognise the State of Palestine. “The Palestinian question is a test case for the United Nations and the world. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering and principled support for the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, including their right to a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” Dar tol...

Public entry to Sindh’s museums and heritage sites will be free from August 1 to 14 this year as part of Independence Day celebrations, the province’s Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Archives Department announced on Tuesday. According to a notification issued in this regard, this year’s celebration theme will be “Marka-i-Haq”, referring to Pakistan’s military response to Indian aggression during May, including Operation Bunyanum Marsoos. The two countries entered a brief but intense military escalation after India, without evidence, blamed Pakistan for the April 22 Pahalgam attack. On May 6–7, New Delhi launched air strikes that killed civilians, followed by a week-long missile exchange. A US-brokered ceasefire ended the war. The list of museums includes several government-owned sites, including Quaid-i-Azam House Museum in Karachi, Sindh Provincial Museum in Hyderabad, Folk and Craft Museum in Sehwan Sharif, Banbhore Museum near Thatta, Kotdiji Museum in Khairpur, and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Museum...

The Gilgit-Baltistan government on Tuesday announced that it would compensate people affected by the recent rain-induced floods that damaged houses and other infrastructure, adding that the search for missing tourists has been intensified. The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as unprecedented heat­­waves, erratic weat­her patterns, and glacial melting have triggered cloudbursts and intense floods across the region. On July 21, floods swept across GB, causing landslides and leaving many stranded, and damaging more than 500 houses, roads and other infrastructure. At least 10 people died and four were injured as a result. The Babusar Highway was partially reopened yesterday as the search for missing people continued. In a statement today, GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said those affected by the floods will be compensated for their losses. “The rehabilitation of the affected people is underway in Thak, Niyat village, Batogah, Thor, Kunar, Tangir district and Khanba...

The Indus River is experiencing a surge in water levels, prompting authorities to declare medium flood conditions at Guddu and Sukkur barrages, according to the Flood Forecasting Division.