Pakistan

Kristi Noem, who oversaw United States President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown and faced bipartisan criticism in hearings this week, will leave her role as homeland security chief at the end of the month. Trump will tap Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her, he said on his Truth Social platform, a move that would require US Senate confirmation. Noem, a former governor of South Dakota, became one of Trump’s most high-profile cabinet secretaries with social media posts that portrayed immigrants in harsh terms, highlighting cases of alleged criminal offenders and using vitriolic language. She faced criticism in January when she quickly labelled two US citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis as committing “domestic terrorism”. Videos that emerged after the deaths undercut the assertion by Noem and other Trump officials that the two deceased — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were violent aggressors. The public backlash for deaths led the Trump administration to ...

Pakistan expressed “serious concern” on Thursday on recent attacks targeting Azerbaijan and Turkiye, calling for restraint and emphasising the need for dialogue and diplomacy. The calls comes against the backdrop of an ongoing war between Iran and the US and Israel, which has expanded across the Middle East with Tehran targeting US bases and assets in other countries and Tel Aviv targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. On Thursday, a drone struck an airport building in Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhichevan and exploded. Two people were injured in the incident, for which Azerbaijan held Iran responsible, but Iran has denied involvement in the incident and blames Israel. On Wednesday, Turkiye summoned the Iranian ambassador after a missile — apparently targeting a Cyprus base — landed in Turkish territory. Iran’s armed forces have also denied firing any missile towards Turkiye. Following the two incidents, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement that Pakistan expressed “serious concern” over the recent attacks target...

The Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Friday that a fighter jet, which was on a training mission, crashed in the northeast Indian state of Assam. “The Su-30MKI which was on a training mission, crashed in the area of Karbi Anglong, Assam, approximately 60km from Jorhat,” the IAF said on X. Search operations are under way, the IAF added. Earlier, the IAF had said that the fighter jet had not returned or made contact at its expected time after taking off from Assam at 7:42pm local time (1412 GMT) on Thursday. “An IAF Su-30 MKI is reported overdue. The aircraft had taken off from Jorhat, Assam and was last in contact at 7:42pm. Further details are being ascertained. Search and rescue mission has been initiated,” it said in a post on X. The IAF has been beset by incidents involving fighter jet crashes in the recent past. Su-30 MKI’s crash comes around 10 days after the IAF lost a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas light combat aircraft as it overshot the runway at a frontline airbase, sustaining major damage to its ...

Araghchi says ready and 'waiting' for US invasion; Tehran strike sparks Bahrain refinery blaze

Cabinet committee mulls Covid-style curbs as Iran war triggers crisis

Islamabad warns country-specific arrangements risk undermining NPT

Security officials say Afghan Taliban regime has become a 'proxy master'

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Procurement done through open bidding, Senate told

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Shariat Appellate Bench seeks responses from federation, provinces

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Legal experts express concern over new amendments to NAO

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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari gave his assent on Thursday to the NAB (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which allows for an extension in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairperson’s term by another three years. The president’s approval came hours after the bill was rushed through both Houses of Parliament amid the opposition’s outcry and a day before the term of incumbent NAB Chairman Lt General (retired) Nazir Ahmed was set to expire. Ahmad became the NAB chairman on March 4, 2023, after his predecessor Aftab Sultan resigned, citing “interference” and “pressure” as the reasons for his departure. An official source told Dawn that a notification extending the term of Lt General (retd) Nazir Ahmed for another three years had also been issued, and he would now hold the office till March 2029. Amendments Previously, a NAB chairman served a non‑extendable term of three years and was not eligible for reappointment under the NAB Ordinance. An amendment to its Section 6 now allows the chairman to serve a three...

India clung on to beat England by seven runs in a thrilling T20 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai on Thursday, despite Jacob Bethell’s superb 105. After Sanju Samson’s scintillating 89 laid the platform for India to pile up a massive 253-7, England fell just short in what would have been a record chase, finishing on 246-7. Phil Salt (5), Harry Brook (7) and Jos Buttler (25) fell early, but Bethell, aided by Will Jacks (35) kept England in the hunt. The left-hander hit seven sixes and eight fours in his 48-ball thrash before his run out in the final over finally allowed India to celebrate in front of 35,000 jubilant fans in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. India will face New Zealand in Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad as they attempt to become the first team to retain the trophy and the first to win it on home soil. The hosts, having been asked to bat by Brook, earlier flayed England’s attack to all parts of the ground, hitting 19 sixes and 18 fours. Samson signalled his intent with a four and six off Jofra Archer’s first ...

Pakistani, Indian and Hollywood celebrities call for dialogue, prayer and restraint amid escalating ME conflict

Gohar Rasheed and Kubra Khan open up about evolving personalities, playful disagreements and spiritual beginnings