Pakistan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday announced a province-wide pen-down strike tomorrow (May 6) over the federal government’s alleged “discrimination” against KP. In a statement, CM Afridi contended that the Centre was discriminating against KP because the province has a government led by former premier Imran Khan’s PTI. “The federal government is deliberately discriminating against the province in the NFC (National Finance Commission) Award, electricity and gas,” the chief minister claimed. Since becoming the provincial chief executive in October 2025, Afridi has repeatedly accused the federal government of stalling the release of funds allocated for KP, particularly those committed for the merged districts under the NFC Award. In his announcement, the KP CM said that emergency services would be exempt from the pen-down strike. He urged all lawyers “who uphold the Constitution and the law” to participate in the strike. He also lamented that Imran and his wife Bushra Bibi were not being ...

LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Tuesday launched a crackdown on ‘anti-state’ social media activities, arresting 13 individuals in Punjab. “In a province-wide crackdown against anti-state social media activities, the NCCIA has arrested 13 individuals from different cities of Punjab during the last couple of weeks,” a spokesperson for NCCIA told Dawn. He said the crackdown has been launched on the instructions of NCCIA Punjab Director Muhammad Ali Waseem, who recently took charge. Those arrested were involved in running a campaign against the state, particularly the army and government functionaries, across various social media platforms, he added. Two of them were also allegedly involved in posting content targeting Gulf countries. The arrested suspects have been booked under different sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), 2016. According to the spokesperson, social media activists Usman, Qamar, Abbas, and Tahir Mushtaq have been arrested from Lahore; Hami...

During the Cold War, strategic restraint was understood as managed stability between superpowers.

Three historic cultural heritage sites from Sindh have been included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) tentative list.

The Islamabad High Court has directed authorities to remove YouTuber Rajab Butt from the Passport Control List (PCL), ruling that such restrictions must be lawful and justified.

Asif Ali Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif have expressed deep grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of prominent religious scholar Maulana Muhammad Idrees Tarangzai in a terrorist attack in Charsadda.

Pakistan’s passport issuance services have been fully restored across the globe after a four-day disruption caused by technical issues, officials confirmed.

Vietnamese President To Lam is expected to discuss expanding defence ties with India during a visit to New Delhi this week, including the potential purchase of BrahMos missiles jointly developed with Russia, two sources said. India, which has been building up domestic defence manufacturing for local use and exports, has already sold the supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines and signed a contract with Indonesia in March. A deal with Vietnam could be worth about 60 billion Indian rupees ($629 million), including training and logistical support, said one of the sources. India considers Vietnam a key part of its strategy to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region amid China’s growing influence. A third source said some defence cooperation announcements could be made during To Lam’s May 5-7 visit, though no signing of a weapons deal was expected. To Lam arrived on Tuesday in the eastern city of Bodh Gaya, a Buddhist pilgrimage site, on Tuesday. All the sources declined to be identified as they were not...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday strongly condemned missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), expressing complete solidarity with the country’s President Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “Pakistan stands firmly with our Emirati brothers and sisters as well as with the government of the UAE at this difficult time,” PM Shehbaz said in a social media post on X. “It is absolutely essential that the ceasefire be upheld and respected, to allow necessary diplomatic space for dialogue leading to enduring peace and stability in the region,” he said. On Monday, the UAE said it was targeted by Iranian strikes, including one on its vital Fujairah energy hub that wounded three Indians. Fujairah lies beyond the Strait of Hormuz, making it one of few export routes for Middle East oil that does not require passing through it. “These attacks represent a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression,” the UAE’s foreign ministry said, adding that the country res...

KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted the temperature in Karachi Division to remain hot but below 40°C. According to the PMD’s weather forecast till Thursday, “hot and humid” weather is expected to persist on Tuesday, with the maximum temperature forecasted to be between 37–39°C. Similar conditions will persist on May 6 (Wednesday) and May 7 (Thursday), PMD said in its advisory, when the maximum temperature will be between 36–38°C and 35-37°C, respectively. As per the forecast, “hot/very hot and dry weather” was likely to prevail over most parts of Sindh. Meanwhile, K-Electric’s Head of Distribution Operations, Khurram Abdullah, said on Tuesday that there will be no loadshedding in “any areas where the ‘feels-like’ temperature reaches 45°C”. Addressing a live session from the utility’s Facebook account, he added, “maintenance shutdowns have been suspended due to the heatwave”. He further stated that illegal connections (kundas) caused overloading, leading to localised faults and accide...

An Indian pilot group has submitted a letter to the aviation ministry suggesting that electrical failure, and not pilot action, could have caused the deadly Air India crash last year. The submission by the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), which has more than 5,000 members, comes ahead of the expected final report into the crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that killed 260 people shortly after takeoff on June 12, 2025. As required by international law, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) published a preliminary report on July 12, one month after the disaster, when the plane exploded into flames shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India. That 15-page document said the fuel supply to the jet’s engines was cut off moments before impact, raising questions about possible pilot error. It did not mention whether the turning off of the fuel switches could have been caused by pilot manoeuvre, or by any kind of malfunction. The FIP letter, dated May 1 and seen by AFP, offers what it cal...

Pakistan on Monday conducted a successful test of its Fateh missile system as part of the Exercise Indus, underscoring its operational readiness, official sources said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday strongly condemned missile and drone attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates.

ISLAMABAD: Former Nadra chairman Tariq Malik has been named one of the world’s top 25 identity leaders by US-based company Okta. The list, by Okta Ventures, the venture investment arm of Okta, is a “diverse compilation of forward-thinking developers, strategists, business leaders, and public servants”. “The honorees are being recognised for their tireless efforts in software creation, standards evolution, and strategic implementation to keep digital transactions safe and seamless. Their work tackles some of the most pressing challenges in the digital age,” it said. To mark the honour, Malik has been featured on the Nasdaq billboard in Times Square, New York City, alongside 24 other global leaders. In his featured interview, Malik said: “Digital identity succeeds or fails not on technology, but on whether its governance can withstand political pressure.” He argued that identity systems must be treated as core governance infrastructure, supported by institutional independence, legal safeguards, and accountabili...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday held a meeting with Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, Norway’s Deputy Foreign Minister, to discuss the evolving regional situation and bilateral relations.

The weather in Karachi remained hot and dry on Tuesday, though temperatures are expected to fall slightly compared to the previous day, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

A blast at a fireworks factory in China’s Hunan province has killed 21 people and injured 61, prompting a call from President Xi Jinping for a thorough investigation, state media reported on Tuesday. The explosion in Liuyang, under the administration of Hunan’s capital city of Changsha and a hub for fireworks manufacturing, occurred on Monday at around 4:40 pm (0840 GMT), according to reports by CCTV and Xinhua. Social media footage showed massive plumes of smoke billowing up into clear blue skies against a backdrop of lush, green mountains. Reuters verified the location shown in the footage, which was posted on social media on May 4, as Changsha. A Xinhua video showed thick clouds of smoke rising from a large site littered with collapsed buildings and debris. Five rescue teams of nearly 500 personnel, together with three rescue robots, were dispatched to the scene, adopting a “human machine coordinated approach” to conduct grid-style searches, according to Xinhua. Two black powder storage warehouses within t...

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict, which provided legal cover to the otherwise controversial One Constitution Avenue project, significantly boosted its market value and attracted around 70 new high-net-worth investors. Former prime minister Imran Khan was also among these investors, but sources told Dawn that the cricketer-turned politician had already sold his apartment (C11E) in 2022 and this property is now registered in the name of Shahid Naseer. The Supreme Court bench, headed by then chief justice Saqib Nisar and comprising Justices Ijazul Ahsan and Faisal Arab, in its verdict had directed the defaulting construction company to pay Rs17.5 billion to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in eight annual installments. Before becoming a judge, Justice Ahsan had also served as a lawyer of the said company. The company deposited first installment of Rs1.7 billion, but later reneged on its commitment. SC’s 2019 ruling triggered investment surge in contested high rise According to the sources, the ...

• Verdict authored by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani declares Council’s 2025 opinion against Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza ‘null and void’ • Judgement says advisory body overstepped its constitutional mandate under Articles 229 and 230 ISLAMABAD: In a landmark verdict, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has no legal authority to issue opinions on the criminal culpability of individuals. In a detailed order written prior to his transfer to the Lahore High Court, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani declared the CII’s 2025 opinion, which labelled cleric-turned-YouTuber Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza a blasphemer, as “illegal, without lawful authority, and null and void”. The court held that the constitutional body had grossly overstepped its mandate by entertaining a reference from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) against him. The judgement stressed that under Articles 229 and 230 of the Constitution, the CII’s advisory jurisdiction is strictly limited to p...

The Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) provided humanitarian assistance to over half a dozen sailors stuck aboard an Indian offshore tug and supply vessel in the Arabian Sea, security sources said on Monday. The rescue and support operation for the crew, which included six Indians and one Indonesian national, was initiated after the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre in Mumbai contacted Pakistani authorities and requested assistance. They reported a technical fault on the MV Gautam, which was en route from Oman to India, security sources said. The Pakistan Navy deployed the PMSS Kashmir to carry out rescue operations. Emergency assistance, including food, medical aid, and technical support, was provided to the crew of MV Gautam, the sources said, adding that support operations for the vessel remain ongoing. Last month, the Pakistan Navy carried out an operation in the Arabian Sea and rescued 18 crew members, including foreign nationals, of a merchant vessel following a distress ca...