Pakistan

Detained leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have written a letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, raising serious concerns over what they describe as repeated obstruction in providing medical and legal access to the party’s founder, Imran Khan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday arrived in Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Council’s (OIC) Executive Committee. The Extraordinary Open-Ended Ministerial Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee is set to be held tonight in Jeddah. It will “consider the illegal decisions of the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at expanding settlements, pursuing annexation, and attempting to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied West Bank”, according to the Foreign Office (FO). Dar was received at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the OIC Ambassador Fawad Sher, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq, and Consul General in Jeddah Syed Mustafa Rabbani, FO said. The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the Israeli government approving a proposal to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property” for the first time since the occupation of the...

New Zealand’s “street-smart” cricketers can find a way to beat England and guarantee their semi-final place at the T20 World Cup, coach Rob Walters said on Thursday. A win for New Zealand in Friday’s Super Eights clash in Colombo will see them top Group 2 and join the already-qualified England in the final four. A defeat would leave the door ajar for Pakistan to beat eliminated Sri Lanka on Saturday with the second semi-final berth then being decided on net run rate. Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand were in trouble at 84-6 against Sri Lanka on Wednesday before the captain steered them to 168-7 and a thumping 61-run win which knocked out the co-hosts. “I think if you look historically at the Black Caps, you would probably say that they’re a team that have been great problem solvers,” Walters told reporters. “They are street smart; they find a way to understand the conditions quickly. “It’s certainly something that we pride ourselves on. We can adapt to conditions quickly and find a method.” England are the only ...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s petitions seeking the suspension of their sentences in the £190 million corruption case on March 11. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan resumed the case proceedings on Thursday. During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure as dozens of lawyers affiliated with PTI stood up and approached the rostrum simultaneously. “What is this? Are you trying to influence the court?” the IHC chief justice asked. Imran’s counsel, Barrister Salman Sardar, replied: “Not at all.” He argued that the matter had assumed greater urgency in view of the former premier’s sudden eye ailment. He further submitted that Bushra Bibi, despite being a woman, was serving a seven-year sentence and that her petition for suspension of sentence had been fixed after six months. “We request you to suspend the sentence. The last order was passed on November 9,...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has announced that the year’s first total lunar eclipse will occur on March 3 and will be partially observable in several cities across Pakistan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday departed here for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Pakistan’s benchmark equity index, the KSE-100, gained 4,266.79 points by market close on Thursday, signalling recovering sentiment after previous sessions saw a sustained sell-off. The advance placed the index 2.59 per cent above its previous close of 164,626.29 points. During trading, a total of 291 scrips advanced, 145 declined, and 131 remained unchanged from their previous close. A total of 355,320,144 shares were traded by market close. The index touched an intraday low of 162,953.63 and a high of 169,374.27. The range reflected the elevated volatility that has persisted from earlier in the week into today’s trading. According to Topline Securities, “as the session progressed, the tone changed”. The brokerage house noted that selling pressure eased, and buyers returned with renewed confidence, turning a tentative recovery into a broad-based rally. The strong close suggested some improvement in investor sentiment. On Wednesday, the index had also staged an early rebound, but ultimately closed in the red,...

The imprisonment and reported deteriorating health of former prime minister Imran Khan came under sustained scrutiny in the UK Parliament on Tuesday. Peers across party lines pressed the Labour government to intensify diplomatic engagement with Islamabad and consider linking aid and trade to human rights benchmarks. The issue was raised during oral questions led by Labour peer Baroness Alexander of Cleveden, who asked about discussions with the government of Pakistan regarding Imran’s incarceration. Responding on behalf of the Foreign Office, Minister of State Baroness Chapman of Darlington reiterated that while Pakistan’s judicial processes are a matter for its own authorities, the UK had consistently raised concerns over fundamental rights. “While Pakistan’s judicial processes are, of course, a matter for Pakistan, we are clear that the Pakistani authorities need to respect fundamental freedoms, including the right to a fair trial, due process, humane detention and access to appropriate medical treatment,” ...

The number of births in Japan fell for the 10th straight year in 2025, official data showed on Thursday, highlighting the challenges for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. A total of 705,809 babies were born in Japan, the preliminary health ministry data showed, down 2.1 per cent from 2024. The data includes births to Japanese nationals in Japan, foreign births in Japan and babies born to Japanese nationals overseas. Meanwhile, 505,656 couples got married in 2025, up 1.1pc, while the number of divorces fell 3.7pc to 182,969 cases. There were 1,605,654 deaths, down 13,030 or 0.8pc from 2024. The internal affairs ministry estimated Japan’s overall population as of February at 122.86 million people, down 0.47pc, or 580,000, from a year ago. The world’s fourth-biggest economy has one of the world’s lowest birth rates and a falling and ageing population. This is leading to a host of problems, including labour shortages, a ballooning social security bill and fewer working people paying tax. That in turn is adding to Ja...

The district administration on Thursday imposed Section 144 in the districts of Upper South Waziristan and Lower South Waziristan due to rising security concerns and to facilitate the movement of logistics for security forces. Officials said the move aims to ensure public safety, maintain law and order, and facilitate the uninterrupted operational movement of security personnel. Upper South Waziristan Deputy Commissioner Asmatullah Wazir confirmed that Section 144 has been enforced in the tehsils of Sarvekai and Sararogha from 6am to 6pm. During this period, all movement will be strictly prohibited, and all markets and commercial centres will remain closed. The affected routes include Makin, Sararogha, Kot Kai and Spinkai Raghzai up to Nazar Khel. Additionally, the route from Dargai Bridge through Madi Jan, Sheen Warsak and Moley Khan Sarai to Chagmalai will also remain closed. Officials said in the statement that residents have been instructed to stop their vehicles at least 50 metres before approaching secu...

BANNU: A tragic incident during Taraweeh prayers on Wednesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district has left the area in mourning after militants raided a mosque and abducted three brothers, two of whom were police personnel. Eyewitnesses reported that 10–12 armed men entered the mosque, held worshippers hostage, and abducted three brothers before fleeing to an unknown location. The abducted individuals were identified as Saeed Akhtar, a clerk at the commissioner’s office, and Amjad and Hazratullah serving in the Wazir subdivision’s police force. Police officials confirmed that the two abducted police personnel were later brutally killed and their bodies were dumped along Marwat Canal Road, while the third brother remains missing. Local Chairman Masoom Wazir said he received information about two bodies and, upon reaching the site, found both victims covered in blood. The bodies were immediately taken to the District Headquarters Hospital. RPO Bannu Sajjad Khan stated that the kidnappers were affiliated with...

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday framed charges against main suspect Armaghan Qureshi and co-accused Sheraz alias Shavez Bukhari in the Mustafa Amir murder case. Amir, 23, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by his friends — Armaghan and Sheraz — in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Jan 6, 2025. According to the police, the accused stuffed Amir’s body in the trunk of his car and torched it in the Hub area of Balochistan. Both accused denied the charges before the court, which also summoned witnesses and adjourned the hearing until March 12. A final charge sheet against Armaghan in the murder case was filed in August 2025. In the document, Investigating Officer (IO) Muhammad Ali had said that the last known location of the victim and the two suspects was Armaghan’s house in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The IO stated that blood collected from Armaghan’s house allegedly matched samples taken from the body recovered from the car in Hub. The report claimed that CCTV foot...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is set to formally roll out the province’s inaugural e-taxi initiative today, ushering in a new phase of environmentally sustainable urban transport.

Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh of the Lahore High Court has ruled that public servants cannot claim the right to serve at a station of their choice, observing that transfers are a routine and essential component of government service.

The US Justice Department announced the arrest on Wednesday of a former Air Force fighter pilot who allegedly trained Chinese military personnel without authorisation. Gerald Brown, 65, was arrested in Indiana after having recently returned to the United States from China, where he had been since December 2023, a Justice Department statement said. He is accused of having “conspired with foreign nationals to provide combat aircraft training to pilots in the Chinese Air Force” without a required license from the US State Department, the statement said. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel posted on X: “Major story… the FBI and our partners have arrested a former US Air Force Pilot who was allegedly training pilots in the Chinese military.” Brown had a 24-year career in the US Air Force during which he “commanded sensitive units with responsibility for nuclear weapons delivery systems, led combat missions, and served as a fighter pilot instructor and simulator instructor on a variety of figh...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted predominantly dry weather across most parts of the country on Thursday, with chilly conditions continuing in mountainous regions during early morning and nighttime hours.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday commended the country’s security forces for conducting coordinated counterterrorism operations across the northern and southern borders, as well as in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in the killing of 34 militants.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed the federal government’s unwavering support for the swift completion of development schemes across Sindh during a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

WITHIN hours of the bombing of an Islamabad Imambargah on Feb 6, Pakistani intelligence and law enforcement zeroed in on a home in Hakimabad, Nowshera, 49km east of Peshawar. “It was a race against time. Sifting through technical data, establishing coordinates and isolating the target,” a senior security official said. “It didn’t take long before we knew the location.” By late evening, they had already laid siege to the residence, taken up position and called out those inside to come out, hands raised, and surrender. For a moment, there was no movement. But then, someone showed a raised hand from behind the door, indicating their willingness to surrender. Except that he didn’t. Aiming a 9mm gun straight at the security cordon, the lone gunman fired straight shots, hitting an assistant sub inspector of the police right in the chest, killing him on the spot, and injuring two intelligence officers. The exchange of fire didn’t last long, though. Within minutes, the gunman, said to be in his mid-thirties, was shot...

THE chaos at the country’s major airports seems to be subsiding, with some order gradually restored after the state’s ham-handed efforts to crack down on unlawful travel. The past few months had been a nightmare, with passengers travelling abroad from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad routinely complaining of long queues, repeated questioning by security personnel, and extremely long waits for immigration clearance. It seems that some unscrupulous elements had also jumped at the opportunity to fleece time-stressed travellers by furtively offering ‘facilitation services’ in exchange for extortive ‘fees’. Some passengers had even complained on social media that the free-to-use luggage trolleys meant to facilitate travellers had ‘disappeared’ from their usual drop-off spots, and they were forced to pay to use one. Then there were the reports of passengers being denied boarding on flimsy pretexts, or for no reason at all. It seems that the growing discontent finally forced the authorities to restore some order. While...