Pakistan

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Inaugurates new Pink Bus route, announces free bikes for differently-abled children

Fireworks factories, LPG shops sealed as administration steps up campaign

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Lawmakers are set to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) at the United States Capitol on Wednesday on the second day of a visit to the US that has aimed to tout stronger-than-ever economic and security ties with Washington while brushing off scrutiny of his human rights record. President Donald Trump gave bin Salman a lavish welcome at the White House on Tuesday and defended him over the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, which US intelligence agencies have concluded the crown prince approved. A handful of Republican members of Congress, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast attended a black-tie dinner at the White House for bin Salman on Tuesday, according to a White House official. MBS was considered an outcast by Washington in the aftermath of the Khashoggi killing, but his rehabilitation was rubber-stamped this week. In...

Security forces killed four terrorists in separate engagements across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Wednesday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), multiple intelligence-based operations (IBO) were carried out between November 17 and 18, with the dead terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “On [the] reported presence of khwarij, an intelligence-based operation was conducted by the security forces in Bajaur district,” the statement read. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and after an intense fire exchange, one kharji was sent to hell.” The ISPR said that two more terrorists were killed in IBOs conducted in the areas of Spinwam and Zakir Khel in North Waziristan, while another terrorist was killed in an IBO in Dera Ismail Khan District. “Weapons and ammunition were ...

The PTI on Wednesday strongly condemned the Punjab government for unleashing “a reign of terror” on party founder Imran Khan’s sisters, party leaders, lawyers, and workers outside Adiala Jail, describing the act as utterly intolerable and completely unacceptable. The party announced that the opposition alliance would observe a countrywide ‘black day’ on Friday to demand the restoration of the Constitution, the rule of law and ‘real freedom’, as Imran repeatedly stated that the nation was left with no choice but to choose between freedom and death. Speaking at a press conference alongside Imran’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi — as well as Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and other party leaders, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja condemned the acts carried out on Tuesday night and issued a stern warning to the authorities. He stated that the PTI continued to urge those in power to abandon their “reckless arrogance” and act responsibly before it w...

European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis on Wednesday said that the country needed to “do more” in terms of fulfilling its commitments under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) ahead of a review. The status was granted by the EU in 2014, which led to a 108 per cent hike in Pakistani textile exports to the EU due to concessional tariffs. In October 2023, the European Parliament unanimously voted to extend the GSP+ status for another four years until 2027 for developing countries, including Pakistan, to enjoy duty-free or minimum duty on European exports. The upcoming GSP+ monitoring mission was delayed from June because of the Iran-Israel conflict and will scrutinise Pakistan’s record on 27 international conventions tied to the trade scheme, which grants duty-free access to most Pakistani exports. In an interview on DawnNewstv show ‘Doosra Rukh’ today, the EU ambassador was asked about whether Pakistan needed to do more to fulfil the requirements of the scheme, to which he sa...

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Soon Valley residents say life-saving treatment 60km away is costing them their health, savings

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Punjab law officer floats idea amid interns' recruitment

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State-owned energy company Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) is reclaiming land from the sea to create a launchpad to ramp up oil and gas exploration, US outlet Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Citing PPL’s General Manager Exploration and Core Business Development, Arshad Palekar, Bloomberg reported that the artificial island will be created about 30 kilometres off the coast of Sindh, near Sujawal. He said this on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in Islamabad. “Planned with a height of six feet, the platform will prevent high tides from interrupting round-the-clock exploration work,” he said. Pakistan’s drilling efforts are gaining fresh momentum after United States President Donald Trump indicated an interest in the country’s “massive oil reserves” in a social media post in July. Since then, Islamabad has awarded offshore exploration licenses to local companies PPL, Mari Energies Ltd and Prime International Oil and Gas Company. “The project, a first for Pakistan, builds on Abu Dhabi’s experience, where ...

Pakistan has prolonged its airspace ban on India until December 23, according to a fresh NOTAM issued by the Pakistan Airports Authority.

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