Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday that his comments in the United States about the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqui were being “taken out of context” in the wake of criticism of the remarks by her lawyer. FM Dar is currently on a visit to the US. Dar spoke at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, a day ago, during which he had drawn a parallel with the case of Dr Aafia, who has spent years in a US prison, when responding to a question about former prime minister Imran Khan’s incarceration. He noted that Pakistan did not interfere in that process because “the Americans had followed their judicial system”. Similarly, he said, Imran was sentenced by Pakistan’s judiciary, which followed the due process of law. “When the due process is followed, others do not have the right to interfere,” he said. Dr Aafia, a neuroscientist and educator, was convicted by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on charges of attempted murder of US personnel in Afghanistan and has been s...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday said Pakistan was committed to building a secure and prosperous environment in the region with the help of partner nations. Over the past week, Pakistan has made efforts to expand defence cooperation with other nations. Saudi Arabia’s naval chief met with Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza in Rawalpindi on Thursday, while COAS Munir met Chinese senior political and military leadership in Beijing on Friday. A statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Islamabad hosted the Regional Chiefs of Defence Staff Conference under the theme of ‘Strengthening Bonds, Securing Peace’ today, attended by senior military officials from the United States, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The ISPR said COAS Munir formally welcomed the distinguished defence delegations and reaffirmed Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to peace, stability and constructive engagement across the region. “In an era de...

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The Asia Cricket Council’s (ACC) Asia Cup 2025 tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates from September 9-28, ACC President Mohsin Naqvi announced on Saturday. In a post on X, he said: “I am delighted to confirm the dates for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 in UAE. The prestigious tournament will take place from September 9th to 28th. We look forward to a spectacular display of cricket! Detailed schedule will be out soon.” Naqvi later announced the schedule for the tournament on X, with India and Pakistan set to clash on September 14. In addition to India, the Green Shirts will play Oman on September 12 and the UAE on September 17. Pakistan, India, the UAE and Oman will make up Group A, while Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Hong Kong will make up Group B. The group stage will be followed by a super four stage, in turn followed by the final on September 28. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman’s confirmation came after the tournament was already expected to be hosted in the UAE. The tournamen...

Senator Talha Mehmood, on Saturday, inaugurated a two-day free surgical eye camp jointly organized by the National Press Club (eye surgical eye surgical ) and Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi.

The United States space agency Nasa will lose about 3,900 employees under President Donald Trump’s sweeping effort to trim the federal workforce, at the same time as he prioritises plans for crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. In an emailed statement, Nasa said around 3,000 employees took part in the second round of its deferred resignation programme, which closed late on Friday. Combined with the 870 who joined the first round and regular staff departures, the agency’s civil servant workforce is set to drop from more than 18,000 before Trump took office in January to roughly 14,000 — a decrease of more than 20 per cent. Those leaving Nasa on the deferred resignation programme will be placed on administrative leave until an agreed departure date. An agency spokesperson said the figures could shift slightly in the coming weeks. “Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organisation and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuin...

IT is a worrying development. The Islamabad High Court has decided to put on hold an earlier ruling asking the government to form a commission to look into the misuse of blasphemy laws. The earlier judgement by Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan had come after months of hearings in which submissions were made indicating a pattern of entrapment, custodial abuse and investigative lapses in hundreds of online blasphemy cases. The court had rightly concluded that the matter was of public interest, and that the formation of a fact-finding commission was both urgent and necessary. That initiative now hangs in the balance. The division bench’s decision to put the single-bench order on hold, citing jurisdictional and procedural concerns, may be legally arguable, but the consequences of inaction are far more grave. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, often misused as tools of vengeance and coercion, have cost lives, ruined reputations and undermined public faith in the justice system. The court had been presented with serious conc...

Pakistan on Saturday convened the Central & South Asia Chiefs of Defence Conference in Islamabad, bringing together senior military leaders from the United States, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Communication services along Babusar Road have been restored with the assistance of the Special Communications Organization (SCO), according to a statement by the provincial government spokesperson.

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Saturday instructed all national sports federations to seek prior consultation and approval before participating in any sporting events held in India due to ’“security concerns”. Political tensions bet­ween the two nations over the years have cast a sha­d­ow over bilateral sporting events, causing major tournaments to hang in the balance. The countries’ teams have previously refused to travel across the border for sporting events, electing to play on neutral ground via a hybrid model instead. A circular issued today by the PSB said the decision was taken during the 34th board meeting held on Wednesday. The circular explicitly urged all national federations to strictly adhere to the directive. “In view of the current security situation, no national federation shall make any commitment or agreement regarding participation in sports events in India without prior permission from PSB,” it said. The PSB cited prevailing security concerns as a reason for the new directive. There ha...

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday apologised to mixed martial arts player Shahzaib Rindh for the “inordinate delay” in the government’s promised financial reward and support. In September, Rindh made history when he won the Karate Combat Championship (KC-49) in Singapore, becoming the first-ever world champion from Pakistan after defeating Brazil’s Bruno Roberto De Assis in the final. Following the win, President Asif Ali Zardari had presented Rindh with a cheque worth Rs100 million, the Balochistan government announced Rs2m as a cash prize, while a former minister had also promised him 25 acres of land. Tarar’s apology today comes after Rindh, in a post on X on Wednesday, had slammed the government for its “fake promises” of Rs5m in cash and an additional Rs80m to support his training and upcoming matches. “Our politicians are corrupt,” Rindh alleged, adding that the last time he won, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced rewards for him. “It was all [a] lie; I never got [a] penny from t...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has reiterated that the development priorities for the Model Villages Project will be aligned with the needs of the people.

At least six people were killed and 22 were injured in an armed attack by the Jaish al-Adl group on a courthouse in Iran’s restive Sistan-Baluchestan province on Saturday, state media reported. Three attackers were killed, according to the report by IRNA. Jaish al-Adl confirmed the deaths of its three members in the clashes with security forces in Zahedan, the capital of the far southeastern province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan. A toddler and a 60-year-old woman were among those killed, as well as three soldiers and law enforcement personnel assigned to the courthouse, the head of the province’s judiciary told IRNA. He did not identify the sixth dead person. He said the attackers wore explosive vests and carried grenades. It was not clear if they had detonated them. Jaish al-Adl, which claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Telegram account, said it had killed at least 30 members of the judiciary and security forces. It said it targeted judges and court personnel, whom it accused o...

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Saturday stated that Pakistan hosted the largest contiguous arid mangrove forest in South Asia, primarily located in the Indus Delta region of Sindh, which has the potential to generate annual revenue of $20–50 million depending on market prices and volume.

Pakistan has called for de-escalation and ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war and stressed that “echoes for peace must be heard” as Ambassador Usman Jadoon addressed a United Nations briefing. “Peace in Ukraine is long overdue,” Ambassador Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told the UN Council, which debated the situation in Ukraine on Friday after Russia invaded its neighbour in March 2022. “The calls for ending this conflict should not be allowed to go unheard or masked by the continued drums of war,” he added, highlighting that the conflict was now four years old. Pakistan, as a consistent advocate for peace, has called for de-escalation and giving primacy to dialogue over fighting, said Ambassador Jadoon, who at that time was chairing the 15-member meeting. “Only a sincere and meaningful dialogue which addresses mutual security concerns of all sides, is anchored in the principles of UN Charter and international law, and respects the relevant multilateral agreements ...

The Karakoram Highway (KKH) was reopened on Saturday as aid and rescue operations continued in Gilgit-Baltistan after flash floods battered the region. 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 Monday, floods swept across GB, causing landslides and leaving many stranded. At least nine people died and more than 500 houses, roads and other infrastructure were damaged as a result. In a statement today, GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said: “The Karakoram Highway is open for all types of traffic.” He recalled that the main artery had been blocked due to landslides and mud flow on Friday, adding that machinery was sent to restore the road. Faraq further said that rescue and search operations were underway across the region. The recent floods have caused severe destruction in the region, particularly in the Kunduz region and the Gha...

China’s premier Li Qiang warned on Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against the security risks, saying a global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating. His remarks came just days after United States President Donald Trump unveiled an aggressive low-regulation strategy aimed at cementing US dominance in the fast-moving field, promising to “remove red tape and onerous regulation” that could hinder private sector AI development. Opening the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, Li emphasised the need for governance and open-source development, announcing the establishment of a Chinese-led body for international AI cooperation. “The risks and challenges brought by artificial intelligence have drawn widespread attention […] How to find a balance between development and security urgently requires further consensus from the entire society,” the premier said. Li said China would “actively promote” the d...

• Foreign minister says Pakistan-US mineral deal to be finalised soon • Ex-State Dept official Elizabeth Horst made acting envoy to Pakistan WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday and discussed trade, investment, counterterrorism cooperation and the clash between India and Pakistan in May, according to officials from both countries. The meeting — the first such engagement between the foreign ministers of the two countries in three years — is being considered a breakthrough in diplomacy between Pakistan and the US. On the same day, the US named an acting ambassador in Islamabad. In Washington, Mr Dar and Secretary Rubio held their first meeting since working together in May to negotiate a ceasefire that ended a dangerous military standoff between India and Pakistan. In a post shared after the meeting, Mr Dar said he discussed bilateral relations with Secretary Rubio. “We reaffirmed our commitment to the long-term Pakistan-US partnership, with renewed focus on eco...