Pakistan

A Lahore court on Friday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Senate opposition leader and PTI leader Shibli Faraz as well as summoned his party’s founder Imran Khan in connection with a case involving an alleged attack on the Islamabad Police outside Khan’s residence in 2023. In March 2023, the Islamabad police lodged a first information report (FIR) against PTI founder Imran, party leader Faraz, along with 150 other party workers, for harassing and hurling life threats at an Islamabad police team when it visited Zaman Park in Lahore to arrest the former premier for skipping proceedings in the Toshakhana case. The FIR was registered by the Race Course police on the complaint of Islamabad Secretariat Station House Officer (SHO) Nadeem Tahir, who alleged that Imran, with the connivance of Faraz and 150 charged party workers, committed a crime by dodging and barring the Islamabad police from discharging their duty. Today, Judicial Magistrate Sohail Rafique, presiding over the case, ordered a non-bailable ar...

A group of non-Muslim senators have written a letter to Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani for the formation of a minority caucus in the House to represent their rights, it emerged on Friday. A caucus refers to a formal or informal group within Parliament or provincial assemblies, often focused on specific issues or the interests of particular groups. At present, the most prominent one in the Senate is the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus (WPC), a cross-party forum for women parliamentarians to address issues related to women, girls and gender equality. The letter dated July 24, seen by Dawn.com, was signed by Senator Khalil Tahir Sandhu (PML-N, Punjab), Senator Gurdeep Singh (PTI, KP), Senator Poonjo Mal Bheel (PPP, Sindh), and Senator Danesh Kumar (BAP, Balochistan) and addressed to the chairman Senate. “We, the undersigned non-Muslim members of the Senate of Pakistan, respectfully submit this joint request for the activation and formal recognition of the minority caucus within the Senate, and for our inclusion...

A terrorist attack on the Basia Khel police station in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district was successfully foiled, with the attackers forced to flee after a swift response by security personnel, a statement issued on Friday said. Bannu Police Spokesperson, Aamir Khan, told Dawn.com, “A big group of terrorists attacked the Basia Khel police station in the early hours of Friday using heavy weapons. However, the cops present at the police station bravely thwarted the attack.” Terming the attack “cowardly”, he added that all the police personnel present at the station were safe. “Station House Officer (SHO) Asmatullah Khan Niazi led the operation, and the collective and timely response of the police team forced the terrorists to flee,” said Khan. Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan and District Police Officer Saleem Abbasi commended the Basia Khel police station personnel for “braving the situation and responding promptly to protect the police station and their colleagues from harm”, the statement said. Pakistan...

At least seven children were killed and 26 others injured Friday after part of the roof and walls of a government-run school collapsed in western India, police said. “Seven children have lost their lives so far and 26 others are injured,” Nand Kishore, a police officer in the state of Rajasthan, told AFP. There were around 60 students, teachers and staff members in the single-storey building when the accident happened in Jhalawar district, some 322 kilometres (200 miles) from the state capital Jaipur. Kishore said the structure collapsed when students were attending their classes early on Friday. Villagers rushed to the site and rescued many injured children who were taken to the closest medical facilities. Local media reports said the building was in a dilapidated condition and several complaints had been previously been raised about it. It had also been raining heavily in the area over the past few days. According to local news outlets, the children who died were between eight and 11 years of age, while two...

Maritime Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry stated on Friday that the Gwadar Port had the potential to generate over $850 million in annual exports through consistent investment, strategic policymaking, and improved infrastructure, a press release issued by the ministry said. Gwadar Port is a deep-sea port located in Balochistan, strategically positioned near the Strait of Hormuz. Touted as a game-changer for Pakistan’s economy, the port is meant to boost regional trade, create jobs, and attract foreign investment. Speaking during a high-level meeting on the operationalisation of Gwadar Port today, Minister Chaudhry stated that “with consistent investment, strategic policymaking, and improved infrastructure, the port had the potential to generate over $850m annually through value-added fisheries and date exports.” According to the statement, the meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MoMA) and representatives from relevant ministries and organisations, including Gwadar P...

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai warned on Friday that cross-border clashes with Cambodia that have uprooted more than 130,000 people “could develop into war”, as the countries traded deadly strikes for a second day. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later on Friday. A steady thump of artillery strikes could be heard from the Cambodian side of the border, where the province of Oddar Meanchey reported one civilian — a 70-year-old man — had been killed and five more wounded. More than 138,000 people have been evacuated from Thailand’s border regions, its health ministry said, reporting 15 fatalities — 14 civilians and a soldier — with a further 46 wounded, including 15 troops. “We have tried to compromise as we are neighbours, but we have now instructed the Thai military to act immediately in case of urgency,” said Wechayachai. “I...

The Sindh Department of Colleges has raised serious concerns over the growing number of leave applications being submitted by college teaching staff, warning that such disruptions are detrimental to academic continuity.

At least nine people have died as floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain continue to wreak havoc on Gilgit Baltistan, officials said on Friday. The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as the region experienced cloudburst-induced floods that claimed lives and damaged infrastructure. On Monday, floods triggered by heavy rain swept through GB’s Babusar area in Diamer district and Naran, leaving many stranded. Subsequently, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a landslide alert for the northern areas of the country. GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, in a statement, confirmed that nine people have lost their lives in the floods and landslides across the region — including two women and two children — while the search for people swept away by the flood is still underway. In his statement, he estimated that the “number of people swept away by floodwater could be around 12-14.” On the other hand, more than a dozen people were reported to be injured...

At least nine people, including children, were killed in central Vietnam when a bus crashed early on Friday, the government said. The accident, which took place at 1:45am in the central province of Ha Tinh, left another 16 injured, the government said in a statement. Traffic accidents are common in Vietnam, with road crashes killing 5,024 people in the first half of this year, down from 5,343 in the same period of 2024, according to data from the government’s National Statistics Office. The government report said the bus was en route from the capital Hanoi to Danang when it veered off the road and hit traffic signposts before rolling over. All of the injured have been hospitalised with multiple injuries, the government said, adding that the dead are aged between four and 49.

A “notorious drug dealer” was arrested in an injured condition after an exchange of fire with the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district, the spokesperson of Swabi Police said in a statement on Friday. According to the statement, police were conducting a search operation on Thursday night in various areas within the limits of Kalu Khan police station, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Circle Shakeel Khan, Station House Officer Abdul Wali Khan, along with a police team, against the presence of drug dealers and criminals. “Police received a tipoff from an informant that notorious drug dealers and wanted suspects were spotted at Wazir Shaheed Road,” the statement said. “A police team was immediately formed to arrest them. Upon seeing the team, the drug dealer opened fire to evade arrest. The police also returned fire using the right of self-defence. The drug dealer was arrested in an injured condition.” Police recovered 400 grams of methamphetamine (crystal meth) and a pistol with cartridges from the...

ISLAMABAD - Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS) and Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) signed an agreement on establishing the Joint Laboratory on Modern Agriculture Science and Technology to strengthen collaborative research in high-yield and high-quality crop breeding, sustainable agricultural development.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Thursday called for concrete steps to expand economic ties between Pakistan and the ASEAN region.

In a joint intelligence-based operation, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and intelligence agencies have arrested a terrorist affiliated with the outlawed group Fitna al Khawarij and recovered a significant cache of arms and explosives.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has instructed that taxpayer harassment will not be tolerated and has constituted a high-level committee to address the concerns raised by the Chambers of Commerce.

Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly launch initiatives aimed at uplifting economically disadvantaged and deserving segments of society.

At least nine people, including two women and two children, have lost their lives in the ongoing flood emergency in Gilgit-Baltistan, while 10 to 12 others remain missing, according to government spokesperson Faizullah Firaq.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has said that Pakistan’s enemies will continue to face disappointment due to the unwavering unity and solidarity of its people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar has arrived in Washington, D.

Shehbaz restores merged dists quota in medical colleges, universities Forms committee for improving civil service structure Lauds WB support for Pak position on Indus Water Treaty.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday said it was ready for talks with India and reiterated that any misadventure or aggressive design by India would be met with a robust and resolute response.