Pakistan

A series of powerful earthquakes struck off the coast of Russia’s far east on Sunday, triggering a tsunami alert, the US Geological Survey said. Earlier 5.0-magnitude and 6.7-magnitude earthquakes did not initially trigger a tsunami alert, but were followed by a 7.4-magnitude quake at 0849 GMT (1:49pm PKT), prompting the USGS to warn that “hazardous tsunami waves are forecast for some coasts”. The USGS said it expected waves of between 30 centimetres and one metre (up to 3.3 feet) on Russian coasts, and less than 30cm (one foot) in Japan and the US state of Hawaii. The epicentre of the quakes was in the Pacific Ocean, around 150 kilometres east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, it said. The initial earthquakes were followed by several aftershocks, including another 6.7-magnitude quake, said USGS. Russia’s emergency situations ministry wrote on Telegram that it expected waves of up to 60cm in the Commander Islands in the southwestern part of the Bering Sea, and waves of 15 to 40cm in the Kamchatka penin...

A cricket match between Indian and Pakistani veteran players — part of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) — was called off after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to play against Pakistan, citing recent “geopolitical tensions” between the two nations, according to a statement issued by WCL on Sunday. The WCL is an international cricket league where retired, non-contracted international players return to competitive T20 cricket, according to the league’s website. The tournament commenced on July 18 and is being held in Birmingham, England. In a statement posted on X, WCL organisers announced that, “We have decided to call off the India vs Pakistan match,” saying that the match between the two countries was planned in light of recent positive development between India and Pakistan, indicating improved bilateral sporting ties. The statement cited a recent volleyball match between the rival nations and speculations around Pakistan’s hockey team touring India later this year. On Friday, Pakist...

Security forces in Balochistan have killed four terrorists belonging to the group "Fitna-e-Hindustan" during a successful operation, according to sources.

The government has decided to install 3,100 more surveillance cameras across Islamabad to further expand and enhance the Safe City system.

Interns from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) organization made a solemn visit to the Martyrs’ Memorial, Army Museum, and the Army Institute of Military History on Friday, honoring the nation’s fallen heroes.

Iran has replaced air defences damaged during last month’s conflict with Israel, Iran’s Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting the regular army’s deputy for operations, Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi. During the conflict in June, Israel’s air force dominated Iran’s airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country’s air defences while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory, successfully hitting strategic targets. “The Zionist enemy sought to destroy Iran’s defence capabilities, and some of our defence systems were damaged in this war; But with the efforts of my comrades, the damaged systems were replaced and deployed in predetermined locations,” Mousavi said. Admiral Mousavi added that Israel was not able to achieve its objectives and that the United States and NATO helped Tel-Aviv in the war. Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defence system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defa...

A Federal Constabulary soldier was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a forest checkpoint along the Karakoram Highway in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district, police said on Sunday. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Diamer Farrukh Rasheed said in a statement, “The deceased has been identified as Muhammad Gul Sher from Dera Ismail Khan. “The motive behind the attack is not yet known, and the police are investigating the case. The suspects fled with the gun of the deceased.” Senior Superintendent of Police Abdul Hameed told Dawn.com, “Unknown assailants opened fire at the checkpoint while the deceased was on duty and his colleagues were asleep.” He added that police teams were raiding nearby areas to look for the suspects. In his statement, he speculated that the case appeared to be related to terrorism, ruling out personal enmity or a timber smuggling attempt. The forest checkpoint was situated at the Thore Road, primarily to inspect vehicles for wood smuggling via the road, which connects the...

Interns from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) organization made a solemn visit to the Martyrs’ Memorial, Army Museum, and the Army Institute of Military History on Friday, honoring the nation’s fallen heroes.

The much-anticipated three-match T20 International series between Pakistan and Bangladesh kicks off today (Sunday), with the first match scheduled to begin at 5 PM local time at the iconic Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.

In a clip that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) put out following Pakistan’s 3-0 sweep over Bangladesh last month, Mohammad Haris beamed as his captain Salman Ali Agha quipped that “it was probably the first time he had used his brain.” The comment was ironic because Haris is known by the moniker ‘Mr Google’ among his teammates, because of his cricketing intelligence. Such PR content is primarily used to display camaraderie among the players and to provide fans with wholesome moments to cherish. At times, it also provides a peek into the dressing room. Haris, that night, had become the first non-opening batter from Pakistan to score a century in T20Is, while facing only 45 balls — the second least for any batter from his country — to reach the mark. It was also his first century across all T20s. Haris had long been censured for being a reckless slogger and considered not good enough for international cricket. He averaged a paltry 13.46 runs per dismissal and lasted only 11 balls per innings before the home T2...

THE delay in wheat supply has put an immense strain on locals who say they cannot afford to buy flour from open market.—Dawn GILGIT: A severe wheat shortage is intensifying across Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), depleting the region’s reserve stocks and raising fears of a food crisis after the federal government failed to release subsidised supplies more than two weeks into the new fiscal year, GB food department has said. Officials with the food department said that wheat stocks have been completely exhausted. GB residents rely almost entirely on the subsidised wheat supplied annually by the federal government. While the federal government allocated Rs20 billion in its budget to procure over 170,000 tonnes of wheat for Gilgit-Baltistan for the current fiscal year, officials said not a single sack has been delivered. The delay is putting immense strain on locals who say they cannot afford to buy flour from the open market. Officials say not a single bag delivered though federal govt allocated Rs20bn for the purpose in...

The Sindh government has officially launched the second phase of its flagship People’s IT Program (PITP), aiming to equip 35,000 young individuals with cutting-edge digital skills in line with global industry demands.

Seven police personnel from Ladha and Sarwakai police stations in Upper South Waziristan have gone missing under mysterious circumstances, according to local authorities.

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank-financed ‘Pakistan Hydromet and Climate Services Project’ has concluded, but without delivering several of its originally planned components, including weather radars, automatic weather stations and observatories, according to the project’s completion report. The report reveals that during in June 2020, the hydro-meteorological and climate change services component was initially scaled back and later dropped. Activities aimed at improving the service delivery capacity of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, private sector engagement and mitigation of seismic and glacial hazards were also removed from the plan. Although the original project financing of $188m, approved in 2018, remained unchanged after the first restructuring, the second restructuring in June 2023 reduced the total budget to $168m due to exchange rate fluctuations. Despite this, the project was completed within the original budget, albeit after an 18-month extension — an outcome the Bank attributes to efficient res...

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousuf on Saturday walked back a statement that 40,000 religious pilgrims were missing, clarifying that the figure stemmed from a “misunderstanding” of outdated paper records that have not yet been fully digitised. He told reporters that approximately 40,000 pilgrims’ records remain in paper form and have not been transferred to the digital registry system. “It was never said that thousands of Pakistanis are missing,” Mr Yousuf said. “The records of around 40,000 pilgrims were previously maintained in paper form and have not yet been fully transferred to the central digital registry.” The initial report, which said tens of thousands of pilgrims (zaireen) had not returned from trips to Iran and Iraq, was first floated by the minister himself as he announced a travel system overhaul. To prevent future errors and enhance security, the Ministry of Religious Affairs launched a modern online registration system for all pilgrims travelling to Iran, Iraq and S...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Azerbaijan are expected to launch two freight train services, namely the ‘Pakistan-Azerbaijan Express’ and the ‘Pakistan-Iran-Azerbaijan’, aimed at promoting bilateral trade and economic cooperation. These two pilot cooperation projects were discussed in detail by delegations of both countries during a video conference in Islamabad on Saturday. Minister of State for Railways and Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and Deputy Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways Closed Joint Stock Company Arif Aghayev led delegations of their respective countries during the talks. The meeting discussed opportunities for cooperation in increasing freight volumes, port integration, joint investment projects, and transport routes that pass through Azerbaijan and Pakistan within the Middle Corridor, according to a press release by the Ministry of Railways. Delegations of both countries agreed to establish joint working groups to finalise freight transport initiatives and advance mutual cooperation in rail and trade secto...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly session, scheduled to begin at 9 AM on Saturday, faced delays as members continued to arrive late, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced a boycott of the proceedings.

• Punjab Assembly speaker says allegations of constitutional violations need to be first proven in ‘court or tribunal’ • Notices issued to 10 MPAs for payment of damages caused during budget session withdrawn LAHORE: In a significant step towards de-escalation of political tensions in the Punjab Assembly, PA Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan has formally rejected the petitions seeking the disqualification of 26 PTI members. This decision followed successful negotiations between the government and the opposition, and is expected to pave the way for the swift reinstatement of these suspended lawmakers. The ruling comes after weeks of parliamentary deadlock, which saw the opposition members suspended for “disorderly conduct” during the budget session on June 27. The suspension for 15 sittings was a direct response to protests that disrupted Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s speech and involved the use of “offensive, abusive, and unparliamentary language and slogans”, as well as alleged physical altercations. In his ...

Authorities have opened the spillways of Rawal Dam after persistent rainfall in the federal capital pushed the reservoir’s water level dangerously close to its maximum limit.

• IO highlights complex electronic fraud schemes devised by the suspect in interim charge sheet in data theft case • Says Armaghan planned to shift call centre operations to Lahore and Islamabad • Seeks more time to file final report as record from crypto exchanges still awaited KARACHI: The investigating officer (IO) of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has informed a judicial magistrate that the prime suspect in the credit card data theft case, Armaghan Qureshi, had rented two properties to set up call centres in Lahore and Islamabad after the murder of Mustafa Amir. The IO of the case, Ameer Ali Khoso, submitted this information in an interim charge sheet before the judicial magistrate (South), stating that more time was needed to file the final report as records from Binance and Coinbase were still awaited. He added that some documentary and digital evidence also remained to be collected. Regarding the call centre operations, the IO claimed that during interrogation, the suspect reveal...