Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The PTCL on Monday refused to share information with a parliamentary committee regarding the sale of a piece of land in Karachi, saying the state-owned company was not answerable to the National Assembly Sta­n­ding Committee on IT and Telecom. The issue at hand was a PTCL announcement in which the company said it would auction a property situated on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi. Committee’s Chair­man Syed Aminul Haq exp­ressed displeasure, saying the PTCL was not providing the proof of powers that allowed it to sell properties. The chairman of the committee asked the PTCL team about the specific clauses of the sale and purchase agreement that allowed PTCL to sell its properties without seeking permission from the government. The company did not provide information to the panel, but in a response to the IT ministry it stated that the PTCL’s Memoran­dum of Association allowed the company to sell its properties. At this, the lawmakers asked if the company had such powers to sell land and wondered whe...

Case reviewed by five-member bench led by CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja.

ISLAMABAD: Prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are expected to increase by Rs5.25 and Rs6.50 per litre, respectively, for the upcoming fortnight starting July 16, owing to a rise in global oil prices and import premiums. According to informed sources, the ex-depot price of petrol is projected to rise by about 2pc to Rs272.04 per litre, while HSD is likely to see a 2.5pc increase to approximately Rs279.48 per litre. The final prices will be announced after government approval. Currently, petrol is priced at Rs266.79 per litre following a Rs8.36 per litre hike on June 30. Widely used in motorcycles, rickshaws, and private vehicles, petrol has a direct impact on the budgets of middle- and lower-income households. Diesel, which fuels heavy transport, agricultural machinery, and trains, stands at Rs272.98 per litre after a Rs10.39 hike earlier this month. Its price is considered highly inflationary, influencing the cost of food and other essential goods. Transporters have already begun adjusting fares in ...

ISLAMABAD - In a significant diplomatic development, the interior ministers of Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq convened in Tehran for a landmark trilateral conference aimed at enhancing facilitation for religious pilgrims traveling between the three countries.

LAHORE - PML-N MPA and Chairperson of the Punjab Women Protection Authority Hina Parvez Butt has submitted an important resolution in the Punjab Assembly (PA) strongly condemning the brutal killing of nine Punjabi citizens in Balochistan.

PESHAWAR - The incidents of targeted killings continued to happen in North Waziristan, as according to the local police on Monday, unidentified gunmen shot dead a prominent tribal leader and his driver.

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Monday anno­unced a new initiative for underprivileged litigants to engage legal representation, at state expense. The initiative, launched under the auspices of the Law and Justice Commi­ssion of Pakistan (LJCP), will be implemented acr­oss all levels of the judiciary, from magistrate courts to the Supreme Court. The counsels in such cases would be given up to Rs50,000 in remuneration, which would be provided to them through the Dis­trict Legal Empo­werment Commi­ttees, to ensure equi­table access to justice for all citizens. The decision was taken during a meeting presided over by the chief justice at the Supreme Court Branch Registry in Quetta. The meeting reviewed institutional linkages between the bar associations of Balo­c­histan and LJCP in strengthening justice delivery. During the meeting, the CJP shared insights from his visits to some remote districts, where he noticed a gap in coordination bet­ween bar associations and the LJCP. He said that des...

• Urdu version to be available by July-end, Sindhi and Pashto versions will follow suit • New system will automatically pull data linked to filer’s CNIC, at-source deductions, bank details • PM seeks early release of income tax refunds for salaried individuals; wants Raast chairman, board to be appointed by September ISLAMABAD: In a move to simplify tax filing procedures for the salaried class, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has introduced a new interactive return form, which will incorporate an auto-fill system that seamlessly integrates data about purchases, asset details and tax deductions at source etc. — ultimately generating a single-form return upon completion. The new return form is currently available in English, while the Urdu version is set to come out by the end of this month. During the first rollout phase, the form will also be available in two regional languages, Sindhi and Pashto. More versions in regional languages — Punjabi and Balochi — are expected to be rolled out subsequently. Under ...

WASHINGTON: Puzzle fanatic Liza Fireman has finally earned a place in the Guinness World Records for accumulating the largest viral jigsaw puzzle collection, adding 4,060 unique designs. The 46-year-old Liza Fireman started her journey in 2019, driven not by desire for praise but by a deep love for puzzling, mainly the high-quality artistry of Ravensburger […]

U.S. President Donald Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday, and threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees a peace deal, a major policy shift brought on by frustration with Moscow’s ongoing attacks on its neighbor. But Trump’s threat of sanctions came with a 50-day grace period, a move that was […]

Iran said on Monday there would be no new nuclear talks with the United States if they were conditioned on Tehran abandoning its uranium enrichment activities. Washington and Tehran had been engaged in several rounds of negotiations seeking to strike a deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme, but Israel derailed the talks when it […]

Washington: The X account of Sesame Street’s Elmo, a beloved children’s TV character, shared antisemitic and anti-Donald Trump posts after being hacked on Sunday. A slew of messages calling for the extermination of Jewish people and labeling the US president a “puppet” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were shared on the account. Around 650,000 […]

LAHORE: Acclaimed actor Nausheen Shah shared her battle with depression, describing it as the darkest and most challenging period of her life. In a deeply emotional interview on a private television show, Nausheen revealed that she stepped away from the spotlight for nearly two years, during which she silently endured a severe health crisis. “I […]

The Wilayat of Nakhal in South Al Batinah Governorate has officially launched Oman’s longest tourist walkway, a landmark initiative aimed at enhancing the region’s tourism appeal. The recently inaugurated Nakhal tourist walkway is 3 kilometres long and connects the historic Nakhal Fort to the scenic Ain Al Thawarah Park. The Nakhal tourist walkway is designed […]

OpenAI, Alphabet’s Google, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s AI firm xAI have won contracts of up to $200 million each, aimed at scaling up adoption of advanced AI capabilities in the United States Department of Defence (DoD), the government agency said on Monday. The contracts will enable the DoD to develop agentic AI workflows and use them to address critical national security challenges, the department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office said. “The adoption of AI is transforming the [DoD’s] ability to support our warfighters and maintain strategic advantage over our adversaries,” Chief Digital and AI Officer Doug Matty said. US government agencies have been expanding their use of AI, driven by a White House order in April promoting adoption. President Donald Trump has also moved to soften regulations on technology by revoking a 2023 Biden-era executive order, which sought to reduce AI risks through mandatory data disclosures. Separately on Monday, xAI announced a suite of its products called “Grok f...

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday announced the dates for cricket’s return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, stating that matches will be played on June 12, 2028. Cricket is returning to the Olympics for the first time since the Paris Games in 1900 with a proposed six-team Twenty20 format for men and women in Los Angeles. The IOC had said in October 2023 that cricket’s inclusion had the potential to activate and engage new audiences, with the sport’s worldwide fan base estimated at 2.5 billion people. A press release issued today said the sport’s highly anticipated return was revealed with the official competition schedule. Cricket “will play out starting July 12, with the 20th and 29th of the same month earmarked for the medal matches”, the press release read. “There are no cricket matches scheduled on July 14 and 21 at LA28,” it added. “Most of the matchdays will be double headers, with the games starting from 9am and 6:30pm as per local Los Angeles time. It’s the same for the medal mat...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Sehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the government’s foremost goal is to enhance economic transparency through a digitization system. Presiding over the weekly meeting focused on a cashless and digital economy, PM Shehbaz said that digitising payment processes between the government and citizens would foster transparency and convenience for users. PM […]

LAHORE: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif formally inaugurated the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (PERA) at a formal ceremony held at the Lahore Expo Centre on July 14, 2025. The newly established Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (PERA) will start operations next week in Lahore Division and expand across the province by December. The authority […]

In a shocking disclosure, a visiting lecturer at Bahawalpur’s private university has been exposed for sexually harassing female students in the guise of academic assistance, ARY News reported. The Islamia University Bahawalpur Scandal was highlighted after a secret operation conducted by ARY News’ investigative program ‘Sar-e-Aam’, which caught the predatory professor red-handed while using his […]

A man was killed and three others were injured when the roof of a shop collapsed in Hyderabad’s Timber Market area as heavy rain caused urban flooding and brought civic life to a halt in the city on Monday, according to officials. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. They are also vital for agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people. Market Police Station House Officer Munir Abbasi told Dawn.com, “A person from Moro died and three others were injured when the roof of a shop collapsed in the Timber Market area.” A dust storm preceded rain in the city, Latifabad and Qasimabad. The Met Office recorded the speed of rainfall at 42 nautical miles per hour with 94 millimetres of rainfall in the city, while 56mm was recorded in Latifabad. However, the waterlogging situation remained equally bad in both areas, regardless of the...