Pakistan

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UAF, NWAFU agree to launch joint projects on climate change, soil health

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday blasted the Israeli cabinet’s approval of a plan to occupy Gaza City as a “dangerous escalation”. Earlier in the day, Israel’s political-security cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, nearly two years into its invasion of the Palestinian territory. The approval came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intended to take military control of the entire strip, American news agency Reuters reported. “We strongly condemn the Israeli cabinet’s approval of a plan to take illegal and illegitimate control of Gaza City. This tantamounts to a dangerous escalation in an already catastrophic war against the people of Palestine,” the prime minister said in a post on X. He added that the expansion of military operations will only worsen the already existing humanitarian crisis and derail any prospect for peace in the region. “We must not lose sight of the root cause of this ongoing tragedy: that is, Israel’s prolonged, illegal occupation of Palestin...

Auqaf dept to recover shrines generating millions in monthly revenue

Lok Virsa opens new cultural diorama at the heritage museum

Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has said Pakistan will welcome the United States or any other country's interest towards the resolution of Kashmir issue.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday reminded all political parties to submit their consolidated statements of accounts for the financial year 2024–25 by August 29, 2025, in line with the requirements of the Elections Act, 2017.

PTI’s Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan and Opposition Leader in the Senate Shibli Faraz, were removed from their seats, according to notifications by the respective houses’ secretariats that came to light on Friday. On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had disqualified the Senate and National Assembly opposition leaders, Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza and other PTI lawmakers following their convictions in cases related to the May 9 riots. According to the notification by the National Assembly Secretariat dated August 7, “ Consequent upon disqualification and de-notification of Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub Khan from being a member of the National Assembly (NA-18 Haripur) under Article 63 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan … the office of the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly has become vacant with effect from August 5th, 2025.“ A similar notification for Faraz was issued by the Senate Secretariat: “Consequent upon disq...

Security forces killed 33 terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Friday, the military’s media wing said in a statement. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a large group of terrorists belonging to the “Indian proxy Fitna al Khwaraj”, were trying to infiltrate through the Pakistan-Afghanistan border when they were detected by the security forces in the Sambaza area of Balochistan’s Zhob district on the night of August 7 and 8. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The statement added that the troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate, adding, “As a result of precise, bold and skilful engagement, thirty three Indian sponsored khwarij were sent to hell.” A large cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered, it added. “The security forces of Pakistan remain resolute and unwavering in their commitment to defend the nation’s frontiers a...

The Sindh Education Department has announced that all public and private schools in the province will remain closed on August 15 in observance of the Chehlum of Imam Hussain (RA).

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab has issued a flood alert for the River Sutlej and adjoining streams, warning of a possible surge in water levels due to the upcoming monsoon rains.

Pakistani security forces have killed 33 terrorists during an attempted infiltration along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border near Sambaza in Zhob District, Balochistan, the military’s media wing confirmed on Friday.

Amid a spate of terrorist and quadcopter attacks, police on Friday carried out a search and targeted operation alongside security forces in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu, arresting “14 terrorist facilitators and destroying three hideouts”. Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks, particularly targeting police personnel in Bannu in July. Bannu police spokesperson Khanzala Quraishi said in a statement: “Pakistan Army and police conducted a joint operation in Hoveed and Wazirabad areas based on intelligence inputs and arrested 14 facilitators of the banned organisation, while 3 hideouts of terrorists were demolished.” Quraishi added that the operation was carried out on information about the presence of terrorists in Wazirabad and Tudonar along the Tuchi River, where five suspected targets were cleared. Security forces also seized three vehicles, which included two motorcycles and a ricks...

Remittances from overseas Pakistani workers went up by 7.4 per cent on year-on-year basis for the month of July, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Friday. Every month, millions of overseas Pakistanis send money home. These remittances are now a cornerstone of Pakistan’s balance-of-payments, hitting a record $4.1 billion during March alone. “Workers’ remittances recorded an inflow of $3.2bn during July 2025,” a press release by the SBP read. According to the data released by the bank, the inflows were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($823.7 million), United Arab Emirates ($665.2m), United Kingdom ($450.4m) and the US ($269.6m). Last month, SBP’s data showed that workers’ remittances increased by 26.6pc to hit a record $38.3bn during the fiscal year 2025 as compared to the corresponding period of last year. It added that the workers’ remittances went up by 7.9pc to $3.406bn in June 2025, compared to $3.158bn during the same month last year. FY25 proved to be a relatively successful year for the governme...

A man in Peshawar was booked under the charges of cyberstalking and harassment on Friday by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) after he allegedly threatened to leak personal pictures of the complainant online. In a statement, NCCIA said that the suspect — who was arrested from the Faqirabad area of Peshawar — was posting photos of the complainant on TikTok and had threatened to post photos of an obscene nature on the platform. “The incident caused severe mental and social damage to the victim,” the NCCIA said. A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the suspect under Section 16 (Unauthorised use of identity information), Section 20 (Offences against dignity of a natural person), and Section 24 (Cyberstalking) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, as well as Section 419 (cheating by personatation) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Mukhtiar Ahmed, said in a statement that strict action would ...

New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India’s first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Trump on Aug 6 imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50pc — among the highest of any US trading partner. The US president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs, and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the people said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarit...

Pakistani security forces have downed an Indian drone in Lahore’s Manawan area, raising fresh concerns over cross-border surveillance activities.

Pakistan and Qatar have agreed to broaden their partnership to include joint efforts on tackling plastic pollution, promoting environmental sustainability, and boosting green investments, following a high-level meeting in Islamabad on Friday.