Pakistan

Jerusalem: Atop air strikes, displacement and hunger, an unprecedented water crisis is unfolding across Gaza, heaping further misery on the Palestinian territory’s residents. Gaza was already suffering a water crisis before nearly 22 months of war damaged more than 80 percent of the territory’s water infrastructure. “Sometimes, I feel like my body is drying from […]

CHILAS: The body of a man who went missing in 1997 has been discovered on a melting glacier in the Kohistan mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan, exposed nearly three decades later due to climate change-induced ice melt. The remains were found in the Lady Meadows area of Palas, Kohistan, and identified as those of Naseer Uddin, who […]

An Indian army officer brutally tortured airline staffers in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) over a dispute of excess baggage. According to SpiceJet, its two employees were seriously injured in the attack by the Indian army officer. “SpiceJet strongly condemns the violence against its employees and will pursue this matter to its fullest […]

GILGIT: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced a Rs4 billion relief and rehabilitation package for flood-affected areas of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif distributed compensation cheques among floods/rains-affected families in a ceremony held in Gilgit. Addressing the ceremony the Prime Minister said that each family who lost a loved one received Rs1 million, […]

KARACHI: The German Consulate General in Karachi has formally resumed German visa services for non-European Union (EU) citizens, including Pakistani nationals. Earlier, the consulate had put operations on hold last week due to undefined reasons, triggering doubts among visa applicants. The visa section will start operations from Tuesday, August 5. Applicants can submit their applications […]

The Rawalpindi administration on Monday banned all assemblies and gatherings for a week, citing an “imminent threat”, ahead of the PTI’s planned nationwide August 5 protest. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at the Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and also faces pending trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the protests of May 9, 2023. He has issued a nationwide protest call, which will reach its “peak” on Aug 5 to mark the second year of his incarceration in multiple cases. Imran has decried the lack of any “meaningful momentum” for the protest and ordered PTI members to immediately shun all their differences. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja previously said the party has no plans to gather workers at a specific place for the Aug 5 agitation, and instead it will protest at different locations across the country. An order issued yesterday by Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hassan Waqar Cheema said it was brought to his attention by the District Intelli...

KARACHI: The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is set to launch a direct bank payment system, which will be operational under the umbrella of the dynamic pilot initiative “Sahulat Accounts”, starting from August 13, 2025, ARY News reported. By this initiative, transparency, security, and dignity in financial support disbursement will be enhanced for many qualified […]

Two men were gunned down and three others were wounded in a suspected targeted attack in Gulistan-i-Johar on Monday evening, according to police. Gulshan Superintendent of Police (SP) Ahmed Iqbal Memon told Dawn.com that five persons were shot and injured by unidentified gunmen at Pehlwan Goth, near the Sindh-Balochistan Housing Society. “The injured were taken to a nearby private hospital, where two of them were pronounced dead,” Memon said, adding that the exact motive was being ascertained. Meanwhile, a statement from Sharqi police station read that the victims were sitting at a battery shop at the time of the incident. “Initial information suggests that two motorcyclists came to the shop and opened fire,” the statement read. “There are reports about the presence of a car at the scene but these are being confirmed.” The statement added that forensic evidence has been collected from the crime scene, including bullet casings. East Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Farrukh Raza said in a statement that polic...

The United States could require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot programme launching in two weeks, a government notice said on Monday, an effort that aims to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas. The programme gives US consular officers the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, according to a Federal Register notice. Bonds could also be applied to people coming from countries where screening and vetting information is deemed insufficient, the notice said. US President Donald Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focus of his presidency, boosting resources to secure the border and arresting people in the country illegally. He issued a travel ban in June that fully or partially blocks citizens of 19 nations from entering the US on national security grounds. Trump’s immigration policies have led some visitors to skip travel to the US. Transatlantic airfares dropped to rates last seen before the C...

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday he will substantially raise tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil. Trump last week said he would impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India and added that the world’s fifth-largest economy would also face an unspecified penalty, but gave no details. Later, Trump mou­nted a sharp attack and said: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.” Over the weekend, two Indian government sources told Reuters that India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite Trump’s threats. In turn, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had accused India of effectively financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow. In a post on Truth Social today, Trump assailed New Delhi for buying Russian oil and then selling it. “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big prof...

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi on Monday emphasized that the Supreme Court is not a forum for fact-finding and will only entertain matters involving violations of law.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday held his second phone call with United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio since visiting Washington and an improvement in bilateral ties. There has been a surge in relations between the US and Pakistan, with both nations inking a trade deal last week in which Washington lowered tariffs on Islamabad to 19 per cent, while tapping the latter’s oil reserves. The positive signals, which began emanating soon after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, seem to be turning into full-blown bonhomie. From acknowledging Pakistan’s counterterror cooperation in the arrest of an Islamic State-Khorasan operative to claiming credit for stopping a nuclear war in South Asia, the country has perhaps featured more in this US president’s day-to-day media interactions than any past ‘commander-in-chief’. In a post on X today, the Foreign Office (FO) stated that the two top diplomats had their most recent interaction over the phone. “The two leaders discussed a range ...

In a landmark move to enhance regional connectivity and maritime tourism, Pakistan has issued its first-ever international ferry licence.

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja said Monday that providing fast and uninterrupted internet is among the government’s top priorities, especially as internet usage in Pakistan has increased by 25% over the past year.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalized plans for a nationwide protest scheduled for tomorrow, August 5, under the banner of Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan (Movement for the Protection of Pakistan's Constitution).

A teenage girl was gunned down allegedly by her uncle on Monday in a ‘honour’ killing case in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram district. The incident comes a few days after the killing of a man and a woman in the Degari area of Quetta on the orders of a tribal jirga ahead of Eidul Azha for so-called ‘honour’. The police had subsequently arrested at least 14 suspects for their involvement in the incident. According to Battagram police Public Relations Officer Ghulam Nabi, “The uncle of the victim allegedly gunned down his niece in the name of honour.” A first information report (FIR) dated Aug 4, seen by Dawn.com, said that the incident occurred during the early hours of Monday. In the FIR, the suspect confessed that he had been a guest at his brother’s house for two days. “My brother went outside at night and told me to take care of the house,” the FIR quoted him as saying. He further said that he heard the sound of the gate of the house opening at around 2am, prompting him to wake up. “Using a flashlight, I sa...

Police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan on Monday arrested four individuals in a case involving a viral video wherein suspects were involved in the harassment of a teenage girl. The action was taken on KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s instructions after the incident was highlighted by journalists. “A video of a young girl had gone viral on TikTok in which the girl was being harassed by men while she was dancing at a private event,” Mardan police spokesperson Muhammad Faheem Khan said. He added that the Mardan police took prompt action and arrested four people. “The men physically harassed the victim, who was used to be sent to private parties by her relatives.” The police spokesperson said that after the video went viral on TikTok, journalists including Asad Ali Toor brought up the issue with the KP chief minister, who then ordered the Mardan District Police Officer (DPO) Zahoor Babar Afridi to take action. “The girl’s grandmother and close relatives are among the arrested individuals, who used to send the...

US president says will substantially raise tariff New Delhi terms move unjustified

New FBR circulars ease tax rules; soften enforcement powers

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