Pakistan

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Many Punjab cities record hazardous air quality

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Department officers empowered to register cases

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An additional district court in Islamabad awarded compensation amounting to Rs5.4 billion to the families of eight victims of the 2010 Airblue plane crash, which killed all 152 people aboard in the Margalla Hills. The court, headed by Rasool Bashir Mirjat, dismissed an appeal filed by Airblue, upheld the airline’s liability in the case, and imposed a penalty of Rs1 million on the airline for delaying the proceedings. Airblue Flight 202, which had taken off from Karachi in the morning, crashed into Islamabad’s Margalla Hills, killing all 152 people on board on July 28, 2010. According to a Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) investigation report, the crash was classified as a “Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT), in which the aircrew failed to display superior judgment and professional skills in a self-created unsafe environment. In their pursuit to land in inclement weather, they committed serious violations of procedures and breaches of flying discipline, which put the aircraft in an unsafe condition o...

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Monday told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that the local government (LG) elections in the province would be held on a “party basis”. An assistant advocate general (AAG) shared this information about LG elections — which have been delayed for long and are not expected to be held before the second quarter of next year — during a hearing of petitions filed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-backed lawmaker Sheikh Imtiaz and others, who have challenged the Punjab Local Government Act 2025 (PLGA). Contrary to the AAG’s claim, the local government law enacted in October states that the elections are to be held on a non-party basis. But, the AAG submitted a report on behalf of the local government secretary today, which said that any political party wishing to contest the LG polls “may allow its candidates to contest elections for any political office on its ticket”. “Section 55 of the PLGA does not, in any manner, put any party at a disadvantage compared to others,” he said. At that, L...

Winter vacations in colleges across Punjab will begin from December 23 and run till January 10, according to a revised schedule issued on Monday. The Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat made the announcement in a post on the social media platform X. Earlier this month, the Punjab government announced the winter vacation schedule for public and private schools in the province. According to a notification by the School Education Department, the break will be from Dec 22 to Jan 10. In Sindh, all schools and colleges will remain closed for winter vacations during the last week of the month, starting from Dec 22 till Dec 31. Meanwhile, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government last week announced that winter vacation for the educational institutions will start from Jan 1 in the summer zone and run till Jan 15. In the winter zone, educational institutions will remain closed from Dec 23 till February 28.

A Bangladeshi student political leader from the National Citizen Party (NCP) was shot and injured in Khulna on Monday, according to The Daily Star. The development comes after Sharif Osman Hadi, a key figure in last year’s student-led uprising that toppled longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was shot in the head by masked assailants in Dhaka on December 16 while launching his campaign for an election due in February. He died last Thursday in Singapore after six days on life support. According to The Daily Star, the injured 42-year-old Mohammad Motaleb Sikder is the NCP’s divisional chief in Khulna. “Miscreants opened fire targeting his head around 11:45am (10:45am PKT) near Gazi Medical College Hospital in the city,” the paper reported, quoting Rafikul Islam, the officer-in-charge of Sonadanga Model Police Station. “He was rushed to Khulna Medical College Hospital in critical condition.” Quoting the officer, the publication reported that Sidker was “out of danger”, as the bullet entered through one side of...

National champions are typically forged from years of rigorous training, determination and a foray into the sport in childhood. But Umul Banin Nasry is anything but typical. Her journey to fencing stardom began with one element; curiosity. Barely one month after taking up the sport, she won gold at the national fencing championships, although her gold medal at last month’s 35th National Games holds a sense of greater grandeur for her. Now, as the 21-year-old awaits her international debut and a chance to become Pakistan’s first fencer at the Olympics, her journey is intentional, fuelled by an unwavering commitment to training and family support in defiance of societal disapproval. It all began five years ago. Banin was intrigued by some women at her college in Quetta practicing “weird stepping movements”, only to find out it was for a sport called fencing. She tried her hand at it — quite literally — and immediately fell in love with a sport she had only seen online. Her coach signed her up for the 4th Nation...

The year 2025 proved to be one of the most challenging periods for Pakistan Railways, marked by frequent derailments, accidents, acts of sabotage, and persistent operational delays, according to official data released by the department.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday paid visits to several revered holy shrines in Baghdad during his four-day official trip to Iraq.

A prominent American publication has described 2025 as a year of dramatic transformation in Pakistan–United States relations, pointing to a major shift in Washington’s diplomatic priorities in South Asia.

The Sindh High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a contempt of court petition linked to the academic degree controversy of former judge Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, postponing the matter until after the winter holidays.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) extended on Monday an interim order that suspended a Karachi University (KU) syndicate and Unfair Means Commi­ttee’s declaration cancelling the law degree of former justice Tariq Mehmood Jahnagiri, who was removed as an Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge last week. Jahangiri has found himself mired in a fake degree controversy since last year and has been facing legal proceedings in the SHC and IHC over the matter. While an IHC division bench, led by Chief Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, ruled on December 18 that his degree was “invalid” and his elevation to the high court was “without lawful authority”, the SHC extended today its order under which KU’s August 2024 decision to cancel his degree remains suspended. The order has been suspended until the next hearing, the date for which will be decided later. The decision was taken by a two-judge bench, comprising Justices Yousuf Ali Saeed and Abdul Mobeen Lakho, as it heard a contempt plea filed against the KU Vice Chancellor (...

The Punjab government on Monday informed the Lahore High Court that forthcoming local government elections in the province will be conducted on a party-based system, allowing political parties to issue tickets to their candidates.

The Punjab government has abolished the British-era Forest Act and introduced a modern, technology-driven system designed to curb corruption and strengthen environmental governance.

Head coach Shahid Anwer said that Pakistan had achieved their goal of playing “fearless but not careless cricket” after they won the Under-19 Asia Cup with a crushing victory over India on Sunday. Opener Sameer Minhas led the way for Pakistan at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai with a breathtaking 172 to set up a massive 191-run victory for his side. “We began a process on June 17 [this year],” recalled Shahid at a news conference in Islamabad on Monday, following the team’s arrival and a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif where a Rs10million cash award was announced. “It was an unprecedented step … we called up 70 players, conducted trials and gave each player four matches each and then they participated in a regional One-day tournament,” he added. “The top performers, 30 of them, then took part in a five-month long camp … that’s how the team was made. “We wanted to play fearless but not careless cricket. We wanted a united team and the result is in front of us.” Team mentor and manager Sarfaraz Ahmed...

Bangladesh has rejected India’s dismissal of a protest outside its high commission in New Delhi as “misleading propaganda”, saying the incident was “highly regrettable“. According to Bangladeshi media, around 20 to 25 protesters gathered in front of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Saturday evening. According to mission officials, the protesters raised anti-Bangladesh slogans and issued threats against the Bangladesh high commissioner, Prothom Alo reported. In response, the Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a statement on Sunday saying India had taken note of “misleading propaganda in sections of the Bangladesh media on the incident”. “The fact is that about 20-25 youth gathered in front of the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on December 20 and raised slogans in protest against the horrendous killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh, while also calling for the protection of all minorities in Bangladesh,” he said. According to Prothom Alo, Das — a garme...