Pakistan

Punjab chief minister expected to inaugurate flyover, underpasses on June 30

Sugar prices have surged to Rs190 per kg in urban areas, up to Rs200 per kg in rural regions

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Incident took place near Sohni Waterfall, where victims were posing for photos

Water crisis looms large in Rawalpindi, Islamabad

Alleged victim claims Khanpur police stalling arrests

Members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s (BYC) Kech chapter continued their hunger strike for a second consecutive day on Friday, protesting the alleged “illegal detention” of their leaders and the “extrajudicial arrests of Baloch citizens”. BYC chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other activists were arrested on March 22 for “attacking” Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after their members faced a police crackdown in Quetta while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances. The BYC is a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018. They were sent to jail under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordnance, which empowers authorities to “arrest and detain suspected persons”. Mahrang and the other activists remain incarcerated. The Kech chapter launched a three-day hunger strike in front of the Turbat Press Club on Thursday, according to the group’s X account. “Despite the blistering 50°C heat, members of the Baloch nation are courageously parti...

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Clears Rs3.2b plan to procure 50 buses for BRT

Bench asks how SHO acted without FIA mandate

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has firmly stated that any relief for party founder Imran Khan will be pursued exclusively through the legal system, in accordance with the Constitution.

Three tourists lost their lives on Friday after they were buried under a glacial slide in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra district, according to officials. Mansehra Rescue 1122 spokesperson Amir Khadam Khan told Dawn.com that the incident occurred near Sohni Waterfall in the Naran area. “[The] tourists, hailing from Lahore, were taking selfies near the glacier when it slid down, burying them underneath.” He added that the bodies of the tourists were recovered from the glacier and moved to a nearby hospital, where they were identified as 35-year-old Mohammad Tahir, 22-year-old Mohammad Tayyab, and 13-year-old Abubakar. Adviser to Chief Minister KP on Tourism, Zahid Chanze,b extended his condolences to the bereaved families and said, “Arrangements were being made to dispatch the bodies to Lahore.” In a statement, he urged tourists to avoid taking selfies near dangerous spots and glaciers, saying glaciers were rapidly melting due to the hot weather. He also said that they would launch a campaign across the provinc...

The government has signed term sheets with 18 commercial banks for a Rs1.275 trillion Islamic finance facility to help pay off the mounting debt in its power sector, Power Minister Awais Leghari said on Friday. The government, which owns or controls much of the power infrastructure, is grappling with ballooning circular debt, unpaid bills and subsidies that have choked the sector and weighed on the economy. The liquidity crunch has disrupted supply, discouraged investment and added to fiscal pressure, making it a key focus under the $7 billion IMF programme. “Finding funds to plug the gap has been a persistent challenge, with limited fiscal space and high-cost legacy debt making resolution efforts more difficult. Eighteen commercial banks will provide these loans through Islamic financing,” Power Minister Awais Leghari told Reuters. “It will be repaid in 24 quarterly instalments over six years.” The facility, structured under Islamic principles, is secured at a concessional rate of three-month KIBOR minus 0.9...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir has stressed the “immense potential for a broader, multidimensional relationship built upon mutual respect” with the United States, the military’s media wing said on Friday. COAS Munir is on a five-day official visit to the US, where he met with President Donald Trump over luncheon, becoming the first serving army chief to have a face-to-face meeting with a sitting US president. National Security Advisor Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik — also the intelligence chief — has accompanied Field Marshal Munir. COAS Munir held an interaction in Washington DC with prominent US think tanks and representatives of the strategic affairs institutions, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release. Senior scholars, analysts, policy experts and representatives of leading international media outlets were also part of the “comprehensive and candid exchange”, ISPR added. The army chief “underscored the immense potential for a broader, multidimensional relations...

Pakistan qualified for the finals of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup after defeating France on Friday in the first semi-final match in Kuala Lumpur. “Excellent goals in the second half, followed by amazing goalkeeping in the shootout,” said the International Hockey Federation while praising the team. The national hockey team defeated France 3-2 in a penalty shootout after the match tied at 3-3 till regulation time. View this post on Instagram Rana Waheed Ashraf was declared the man of the match. View this post on Instagram Afraz Hakeem, Sufyan Khan and Muhammad Hammaduddin also scored goals for the national team. The final match will be played tomorrow (Saturday). View this post on Instagram Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Mir Tariq Hussain Bugti and Secretary General Olympian Rana Mujahid Ali Khan congratulated the national team on winning the game and expressed their best wishes for the final, according to a PHF statement. In the second semi-final, New Zealand will take on South Korea at 6pm PKT. The ...

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) staged a walkout from the Senate on Friday to protest the absence of government ministers during the session.

The Punjab Home Department said on Friday that five prison officers were suspended for allegedly being involved in the physical torture of inmates at Attock Jail. An under-trial prisoner was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the lavatory of the Attock District Jail in April. Prison officials had claimed that the prisoner had taken his own life by hanging himself with a drawstring. The inmate’s body was found by his fellow prisoners hanging from the window of the jail washroom. An order from the home department, issued a day ago, said Deputy Superintendent Executive Sarmad Hassan, Assistant Superintendent Mushtaq Ahmed, Chief Warden Muhammad Rafiq, Head Warden Zulfiqar and Warden Muhammad Ayub were placed under suspension for 90 days with immediate effect on charges of “inefficiency, negligence and misconduct” under Section 6 of Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act, 2006. A statement from the home department spokesperson said the five were suspended for “abuse of authority,...

Australia’s world-leading ban on under 16s joining social media sites cleared a big hurdle on Friday as a trial found digital age checks can work “robustly and effectively”, according to AFP. Australian lawmakers passed landmark rules to ban under 16s from social media in November 2024, approving one of the world’s toughest crackdowns on popular sites like Facebook, Instagram and X. Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and X could face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32m) for failing to comply with the legislation. They have described the law — which is due to come into effect by the end of this year — as vague, rushed and “problematic”. There has been widespread concern over children’s use of online platforms as evidence shows that social media can have negative effects on children’s mental and physical health. Digital age verification systems — which would be critical to the ban — can work, said the interim findings of an independent Age Assurance Technology Trial, conducted for the government. “Thes...

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed on Friday termed “Pakistani talent and Chinese technology an invincible wall” for peace, security and stability in South Asia during a dialogue held in Islamabad. Pakistan has held strong bilateral relations with China which has supported it through many investments and development projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), termed as a “lifeline” for the country’s economy. The senator’s comment came during a keynote address at the Pakistan-China Dialogue hosted by the Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) under the auspices of the “Friends of Silk Road”, according to a statement by the PCI. The event was attended by diplomats, parliamentarians, students and scholars. Mushahid, who serves as the PCI chairman, observed: “The global balance of economic and political power is shifting from West to East, heralding the Asian Century.” He lauded China’s “peaceful rise as a source of strength for developing nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America” and thanked Beijing fo...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed relevant authorities to prepare a comprehensive business plan for the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) within two weeks, aimed at reducing the country’s $4 billion annual maritime trade expense.