Pakistan

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast mainly hot and dry weather across most parts of the country during next 24 hours, with very hot conditions expected in southern regions.

Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed authorities to formulate a comprehensive strategy to meet future energy needs through renewable sources, while calling for stricter action against electricity theft.

United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would briefly pause an operation to help escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing “great progress” toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran. Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined the effort that began on Monday to escort stranded tankers out of the Gulf. The strait has been virtually shut since the conflict began, blocking some 20 per cent of world oil supplies and igniting a global energy crisis. “Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized...

Four people have been killed in political unrest after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist party celebrated victory in state polls in West Bengal, police and party officials said on Wednesday. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept polls in the key eastern state of more than 100 million people, winning 206 of the 294 assembly seats, according to results announced on Monday, for its first-ever victory in West Bengal. West Bengal had been ruled by Modi’s fierce critic and adversary Mamata Banerjee as chief minister since 2011. Banerjee, leader of the regional All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), also lost her seat in the polls and has rejected the results. Police said clashes between rival party supporters erupted in the state capital Kolkata after results were announced on Monday. Analysts say the BJP’s victory in the largely Bengali-speaking state is one of its most significant since Modi was first elected prime minister in 2014, expanding its dominance beyond the Hindi-speaking heartlan...

A spell of hot and dry weather persisted across most parts of Pakistan on Wednesday, with several areas of Sindh and Balochistan experiencing extreme temperatures.

In a televised message marking Marka-i-Haq, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday warned that Pakistan’s reaction to any miscalculation in the future would be “more intense and decisive”. Last year’s military conflict with India, starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the end of Pakistan’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, with a ceasefire ending a military escalation between the two countries on May 10, has been called “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by the state. In his message, Asif said Marka-i-Haq was not just a “memorable episode for Pakistan, but a line that we have drawn forever”. Anyone on the other side of this line should understand that Pakistan exercised tolerance and restraint during the 2025 episode, he said, warning that in case of an “incorrect assessment or miscalculation” in the future, the response would be “more intense and decisive”. He added that Pakistan did not want any fighting in 2025, and it desired the same today. “But there should not be any doubt; Pakistan does not only re...

A cadet of the Pakistan Army has been declared the “Overall Best Foreign Military Cadet” at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, according to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Tuesday.

Celebrations were held across Pakistan on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of the success of Marka-e-Haq, with events highlighting patriotism and national unity.

British police are setting up a new team of 100 officers, including counter terrorism specialists, to help protect Jewish communities across London after a series of anti-Semitic attacks, including the stabbing of two men. The plan announced on Wednesday for a dedicated protection team comes as officers announced more arrests for anti-Semitism, including detaining a 35-year-old man after rocks were thrown at an ambulance belonging to the Jewish community. London’s top police boss Mark Rowley said Jewish communities were facing “sustained threats” from hostile state actors as well as extreme right-wing groups and elements of the extreme left. Detectives are examining whether the arson incidents have possible Iranian links, after British security officials warned that Iran was using criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity. Since late March, there have been a number of high-profile arson attacks with four Jewish ambulances burned and synagogues targeted. Last week, two Jewish men were also stabbed. Both v...

ISLAMABAD: State-run Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) on Wednesday floated urgent tenders for the import of two liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery between May 12-14 and May 24-26 amid rising temperatures and power shortfall. The company set May 7 (Thursday) as the deadline for bids, which will be opened the same day, given the urgent need to meet the power demand expected to spike again as the cargo imported in the last week of April has been consumed. The tender comes after authorities’ expectations of the Middle East crisis easing and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz did not materialise. Last month, PLL had rejected two bids for the same delivery period but accepted one cargo at $18.4 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Qatar, a long-term LNG supplier to Pakistan, had been reluctant to dispatch LNG cargoes stranded in the Gulf amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, three LNG cargoes from Qatar destined for Pakistan were turned back from the strait due to security reasons. Bot...

The US State Department has announced the phased closure of its consulate in Peshawar, saying it would transfer operations to the embassy in Islamabad, it emerged on Wednesday. “Responsibility for diplomatic engagement with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will transfer to the US Embassy in Islamabad.  This decision reflects our commitment to the safety of our diplomatic personnel and efficient resource management,” it said in a statement. While our physical presence in Peshawar is changing, the administration’s policy priorities in Pakistan remain steadfast.  We will continue to engage meaningfully with the people and officials of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to foster economic ties, promote regional security, and advance the interests of the American people,” it said. “The department, through the US Mission to Pakistan, remains dedicated to advancing the US-Pakistan relationship through our remaining diplomatic posts in Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore,” it said. The Independent had reported about the consulate’s closure in March. T...

A man accused of murdering 15 people in an anti-Semitic mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach is facing a raft of fresh charges, court records released on Wednesday showed. Naveed Akram is accused of opening fire as families thronged Bondi Beach for a Hanukkah celebration in December. The 24-year-old has already been charged with dozens of serious crimes, including 15 murders and committing an act of terrorism. Court records showed he is now facing 19 additional charges, including multiple counts of shooting with intent to murder, wounding with intent to murder, and discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest. Akram, who is being held in a high-security prison, is yet to indicate how he will plead. His father and alleged co-conspirator Sajid, 50, was shot and killed by police during the assault. The charges were released after a sweeping inquiry opened public hearings into Australia’s deadliest mass shooting for 30 years. “The sharp spike of anti-Semitism that we have witnessed in Australia has been...

WASHINGTON: On the first anniversary of the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, a growing body of commentary from US and international analysts suggests that the next such crisis between the two nuclear-armed neighbours is not only more likely, but will prove dangerous with fewer opportunities for outside powers to contain it. In a piece published on Tuesday, The Washington Post warned that the world may be underestimating the risks. “You know the world scene is chaotic when we’re approaching the first anniversary of a shooting war between two hostile nuclear powers and very few Americans remember it,” the newspaper noted, adding that another crisis is “probably not a question of if, but when.” The editorial described the May 2025 conflict as a new form of “non-contact” war, involving missiles, drones and air power without a ground invasion. It cautioned that both sides may now believe they can fight a limited conventional war without triggering nuclear escalation — a conclusion that could prove dangerously fla...

NEW DELHI: The chief minister of West Bengal, who was swept from power this week by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in state elections, said on Tuesday that she had “not been defeated” and would not resign, in an unprecedented political twist. The BJP defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has been in power in West Bengal since 2011, securing more than two-thirds of the 294 seats when votes were counted on Monday. The BJP has never ruled West Bengal, a populous eastern state that borders Bangladesh, and its victory is considered a political milestone as the party now controls almost all states in eastern India. The TMC tally fell to 80 seats from its earlier 215, with Banerjee herself losing her seat. Banerjee said about 100 seats were “forcibly taken” from her party, which also had to contend with a “biased” Election Commission. She did not back her accusation with evidence. “I will not resign, I did not lose... officially, through the Election C...

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan Tuesday issued a consolidated compendium of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure greater efficiency, transparency, and uniformity in judicial and administrative functions.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Tuesday, expressed his deep grief over the tragic explosion at a fireworks factory in Liuyang, Hunan, China that claimed precious lives and left others injured.

Islamabad - Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue, diplomacy, and peaceful coexistence in South Asia.

LAHORE - The Punjab government led by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has decided to introduce artificial intelligence (AI)-based monitoring of sanitation services across the province, launching a “smart cleanliness” drive under the Suthra Punjab Programme.

RAHIM YAR KHAN - Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has said that his party is planning to launch a nationwide protest movement against inflation and lawlessness immediately after Eid-ul-Adha, with active participation from the legal fraternity.

ISLAMABAD/MAKKAH - The Hajj 2026 operation under the government scheme is progressing rapidly, with 35,135 pilgrims having arrived in Saudi Arabia so far.