Pakistan

American entrepreneur Michael Saylor on Sunday lauded Pakistan’s efforts to move towards cryptocurrency and digital assets, according to a press release from the office of the State Minister on Blockchain and Crypto Bilal Bin Saqib. Pakistan is establishing itself as a key player in the global cryptocurrency economy and setting trends rather than following them in the digital currency space, said Saqib, who is also the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) Chief Executive Officer. The PCC was officially launched in March to “regulate and integrate blockchain technology and digital assets” into the country’s financial landscape. According to the press release, Saylor had a meeting with Saqib and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, where the discussion revolved around how Bitcoin can serve as a tool for sovereign reserves, monetary resilience and driving long-term digital economic transformation. Calling Saylor “one of the most influential voices in Bitcoin’s institutional adoption”, the statement outlined that his en...

The Punjab government is set to unveil its annual budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 tomorrow afternoon, with a strong focus on development, social protection, and economic growth.

Group of Seven (G7) leaders will gather in the Canadian Rockies starting on Sunday amid growing splits with the United States over foreign policy and trade, with host Canada striving to avoid clashes with US President Donald Trump. While Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says his priorities are strengthening peace and security, building critical mineral supply chains and creating jobs, issues such as US tariffs and the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine are expected to feature heavily. US ally Israel launched a barrage of strikes across Iran on Thursday, a blow to Trump’s diplomatic efforts to prevent such an attack. The summit will take place in the mountain resort of Kananaskis, some 90 kilometres west of Calgary. The last time Canada played host, in 2018, Trump left the summit before denouncing then Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “very dishonest and weak” and instructing the US delegation to withdraw its approval of the final communique. “This will be a successful meeting if Donald Trump...

In response to escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, Pakistan has successfully evacuated 450 pilgrims from Iran, with additional evacuations planned from both Iran and Iraq in the coming days.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has reaffirmed her government’s commitment to supporting workers by ensuring access to quality education for their children.

The Punjab government is set to unveil its budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 tomorrow (Monday), with a total outlay exceeding Rs5,300 billion.

Ukraine on Sunday said it had received another transfer of 1,200 bodies from Russia as part of an exchange agreement struck in Istanbul talks earlier this month. “Another 1,200 bodies which the Russian side claims belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel, were returned to Ukraine,” Kyiv’s headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war wrote on social media. “In total, 4,812 bodies have been returned this week,” Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said on Facebook. “I am grateful to everyone involved in this humanitarian mission,” he said. Ukraine has not said whether it has transferred any bodies to the Russian side. The two sides agreed a large-scale exchange of prisoners and bodies of killed soldiers during their latest round of direct talks in Istanbul on June 2. Both Russia and Ukraine typically do not disclose their military losses. In a rare public estimate, President Volodymyr Zelensky told US news outlet NBC earlier this year that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers have bee...

Several suspects were arrested and a cache of heavy weapons seized during a joint search and strike operation carried out by the police, counter terrorism department, and the army in Bannu district of Khyber Pakthunkwa. In a statement, Bannu police spokesperson, Khanzala Quraishi, said law enforcement agencies received a tip-off about the presence of suspicious individuals in Barganto and Kam Chashmi areas within the jurisdiction of Domel police station. Acting on the information, a large-scale operation was swiftly launched on the instructions of Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan and led by District Police Officer Saleem Abbas Kalachi, on the reported presence of terrorists. Bannu Brigade Commander Brigadier Naveed Ahmed, SP CTD Fazal Wahid, SP Investigation Sajid Mumtaz, SP Rural Mahmood Nawaz, SDPOs, SHOs, CTD officials, Quick Response Force (QRF), Ladies Police, BDS, and Pakistan Army personnel participated in the operation. During the operation, police deployed modern technology, including drone camera...

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has called on the state to ensure the protection, facilitation, and respect of the business community, highlighting its pivotal role in Pakistan’s development and economic progress.

Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) surveyed the site of Air India plane crash that killed at least 271 people, sources said on Sunday, with families continuing to wait for DNA profiling results to identify charred bodies. Along with the NTSB, officials from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were in Ahmedabad in western India’s Gujarat state surveying the crash site, said one source with direct knowledge. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Gatwick Airport south of London began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday, and erupted in a huge fireball as it hit buildings below. All but one on board were declared dead in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade. Around 30 people died on the ground. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down. The secr...

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has declined a request from Opposition Leader Omar Ayub to constitute a parliamentary committee for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The International Finance Corporation will provide financial assistance of 400 million dollars for Reko Diq project.

At least three members of a family died and three others went missing on Sunday after their car plunged into a river stream in the Shinbar area of district Nagar, Gilgit-Baltistan. Rescue 1122 official Nizamuddin told Dawn.com that the family was returning from a marriage ceremony when their car plunged into a stream, resulting in the drowning of six people and injuries to one. He said rescue divers had recovered three bodies, while a search operation was ongoing to locate the remaining three missing individuals. Sajid Ali, spokesperson for the Nagar district police officer, also confirmed the incident and said the car was en route to Chalt Bala when it plunged into the river stream. He added that the bodies were transported to the District Headquarters Hospital in Nagar, while the injured had been referred to a hospital in Gilgit for further treatment. The spokesperson identified the deceased as Ghulam Abbas, Sher Baz Ali, and Zohaib Ahmad. Those reported missing are Sharafat Hussain, Muhammad Hussain, and A...

Police have registered a first information report (FIR) in the case of a 14-year-old girl with mental and physical disabilities being allegedly sexually assaulted in Punjab’s Hafizabad district. Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers data reveals that a total of 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported from across the country last year. In the first six months of 2024, 862 cases of child sexual abuse, 668 cases of abduction, 82 cases of missing children and 18 cases of child marriages were reported. 48 cases of pornography after sexual abuse were also recorded. The victim was brought to the hospital due to her health condition, where, during a medical check-up, it was discovered that she was six months pregnant. An application for action was filed by the victim’s family on Saturday at the City Hafizabad Police Station, on which case number 1152/25 was formally registered on Sunday under Section 376 (3) (Whoever commits rape of a minor or a person with mental or physical disability, shall be punished with death or i...

Karachi is expected to receive rain on Monday, accompanied by a dust thunderstorm, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). The PMD has predicted that a “westerly wave is affecting upper parts of the country & moist currents also penetrating in eastern parts of the province”. Cloudy weather with temperatures ranging from 36–38 degrees Celsius is expected to persist throughout the metropolis tomorrow. Humidity levels are expected to touch 70-80 per cent in the morning. “Dust-thunderstorm /rain likely in Karachi division on tomorrow & isolated places at outskirts of Karachi division on Tuesday,” the weather advisory read. Under the influence of this system, the following parts of Sindh are expected to receive rain accompanied by dust thunderstorm at isolated places today: Ghotki, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Qamber Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Dadu, Nosheroferoz, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tharparker, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, T.M.Khan, T.A.Yar, Hyderabad, Mitiari, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin and Jamshoro ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s Adviser on Information, Barrister Dr Saif, has reaffirmed that health and education remain top priorities for the provincial government.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast the arrival of a westerly weather system in the country on Monday (tomorrow), likely bringing rainfall to the outskirts of Karachi.

US President Donald Trump hosted the largest US military parade in decades on his 79th birthday on Saturday, as protesters rallied across the country to accuse him of acting like a dictator. Trump hailed the United States as the “hottest country in the world” after watching tanks, aircraft, and troops file past him in Washington to honour the 250th anniversary of the US army. But it formed a stark split screen with turmoil at home and abroad, as police used teargas to disperse protesters in Los Angeles and US ally Israel traded missile fire with Iran in a rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East. Trump’s parade on an overcast night in Washington came after tens of thousands of “No Kings” demonstrators thronged the streets in cities including New York, Philadelphia, Houston and Atlanta. Trump largely avoided his usual domestic political diatribes in an unusually brief speech, and instead focused on praising the US army, saying that they “fight, fight, fight, and they win, win, win”. View this post on Ins...

THE ‘ancient’ sculpture.—Dawn MITHI: An apparently centuries-old wooden sculpture of a robed, bearded man has been discovered in the hilly region of Karoonjhar, Nagarp­arkar, intriguing historians and archaeologists about its cultural origins. Sources privy to the discovery said the artefact was recovered near a seasonal riverbed in the Karoonjhar hills by area residents and social activists. The intricately carved wooden statue depicts a robed man with traditional features, and is believed to be of considerable antiquity. Preliminary observations suggest it may be linked to ancient eastern cultures, though its exact provenance remains unclear. Researcher and writer Khalid Kumhar, who had extensively documented the historical geography of Tharparkar, remarked that the design and posture of the statue appeared to reflect influences of East Asian or Chinese culture. “The statue does not match known relics of Buddhist or Jain iconography common to this region,” he noted. The discovery drew the attention of the S...

ISLAMABAD: Vowing to start work on Hyderabad-Sukkar Motorway (HSM) this year, federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Saturday said the project had been divided into five segments. The minister also revealed that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has expressed willingness to fund the project while final decision regarding the loan approval was expected in September this year after its board meeting. Commenting on the media talk of Sindh chief minister regarding the motorways, Mr Aleem said that he takes responsibility for the past year only but does not want to comment on the inaction of previous governments regarding the construction of the HSM and Karachi motorways. He emphasised the corporate importance of connecting Karachi Port to the National Motorway network, highlighting that without this connection, the motorway’s utility for import, export, and business would be of no use. Minister vows to start work on the project this year He pointed out that various political parties, including t...