Pakistan

Civil society rallied outside the Hyderabad Press Club (HPC) on Thursday in scorching heat to commemorate International Labour Day. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Pakistan has yet to ratify 55 of its conventions and protocols. While labour laws exist in the country, enforcement is weak, and despite government promises to create millions of jobs, issues like low pay, lack of social protection, and poor representation remain unresolved. Rallying outside HPC today, civil society called for education, social protection and empowerment for the labour community. People performed theatre and dances to celebrate the day. Here are a few pictures. Workers of the Sindh Peoples Labour Federation hold a rally to mark International Labour Day outside HPC on May 1. — Umair Ali Brick kiln peasants participate in a rally to mark International Labour Day organised by SPARK outside HPC on May 1. — Umair Ali Artists present street theatre during Labour Day rally organised by SPARK outside HPC on May 1....

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Thursday announced the installation of emergency alert sirens across 29 districts to minimise risks to civilians in case of any potential aerial threats in the wake of the recent escalation with India, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. Tensions between the two countries have spiked following the April 22 attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, marking one of the deadliest assaults in the region since 2000. India has implied cross-border links without evidence, while Pakistan vehemently rejected the allegation and called for a neutral probe. “The emergency sirens are to be installed in high-risk areas to maximise coverage. The move aims to provide real-time alerts and warn the citizens beforehand in the case of an aerial threat,” the report said. As per a notification issued by the Directorate of Civil Defence KP, citizens are advised to “immediately seek shelter if they hear a siren”. They have also been instructed to avoid ...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday paid tribute to the workers of Pakistan and across the globe on the occasion of Labour Day, reaffirming the PPP’s historic and unwavering commitment to the rights, dignity, and empowerment of the working class.

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard a petition filed on behalf of five Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges challenging the executive’s role in transferring judges between high courts, arguing that such actions should be subject to judicial review.

ISLAMABAD - Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has said that the protection of workers’ rights is a shared national responsibility and essential for Pakistan’s development, as the country joins the global community in observing International Workers’ Day on May 1.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday emphasised that following the recent reduction of approximately Rs.

Pakistan on Thursday allowed 150 stranded Afghan trucks carrying goods for India to cross the Wagah Border, easing a weeks-long bottleneck, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The moves came nearly a week after Pakistan shut off its borders for any trade with India, including to or from a third country, in response to New Delhi’s measures following a deadly attack in occupied Kashmir. India, without proof, implied cross-border links, which Pakistan denied and instead sought a neutral probe. A document shared by the foreign ministry today, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, acknowledged a request made by the Afghan embassy in Islamabad on April 28 regarding containers stranded at different transit points in Pakistan. “The ministry has the honour to inform that in view of the brotherly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the government of Pakistan has decided to permit stranded Afghan trucks, carrying goods in transit to India, which entered Pakistan before April 25, 2025, to c...

• Academic, administrative activities disrupted • Several faculty buildings, roads remain inundated • Teachers residing on campus say water spoiled their household items KARACHI: Several roads, faculty buildings and houses on Karachi University (KU) campus remained inundated for the second consecutive day on Wednesday following a major leak in a pipeline, causing disruption in academic and administrative activities. Talking to Dawn, teachers residing on the campus shared that they had never such devastation before and that many of their colleagues had suffered huge losses on account of inundation that damaged furniture and electricity appliances in their houses and even contaminated underground tanks. “Water is still standing in our homes. Many of us have rented suction pumps today and are taking out water on a self-help basis,” a teacher said, regretting that there was no immediate response from the administration. Sources said the situation was dire yesterday when electricity supplies were suspended soon af...

Residents of Harpal village in Pakistan’s Sialkot district spent Wednesday in fear as tensions flared along the India-Pakistan border, just 300 yards from their homes.

School playing fields in Kashmir are being transformed into first aid camps for children to learn how to respond if war breaks out with India. Wearing a protective helmet and a fluorescent vest, 13-year-old Konain Bibi listened attentively to her first aid lesson. “With India threatening us, there’s a possibility of war, so we’ll all have to support each other,” she told AFP. The federal government has warned that it has “credible intelligence” that India was planning an imminent military strike. Already frosty relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted since a deadly assault on tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-held Kashmir last week. India blames Pakistan for the gun attack that killed 26 people on April 22, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving his military “complete operational freedom”, although Islamabad has denied any involvement. There are more than 6,000 schools, colleges and universities on the Pakistan side of the border — including 1,195 along the Line of Control (LoC), the heav...

In a significant update on the appeals filed by former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the £190 million case, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has indicated that the matter is unlikely to be taken up for hearing in 2025.

Supreme Court judge, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, on Thursday urged the government to recognise mining as a formal industry, highlighting the harsh and often deplorable conditions faced by miners, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The mineral sector currently contributes only about 3.2 per cent to Pakistan’s GDP. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has repeatedly highlighted the mining potential across the country, even going as far as to say that if the country managed to harvest its mineral reserves that valued “trillions of dollars”, it could allow the country to say farewell to global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Addressing a high-level national conference under the theme ‘Workers and Employers in 2025: Navigating Change with Harmony’, Justice Mandokhail said, “In the eyes of the law and Islam, employers and workers are equal, and the Supreme Court stands as the ultimate guardian of their rights.” He expressed deep concern over the absence of institution...

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar, briefed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Group of Ambassadors in New York on the evolving security situation in South Asia, highlighting India's recent provocative actions.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar today held a telephone conversation with the Republic of Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.

Three Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police personnel were martyred and two injured late Wednesday night in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Bannu, officials said. According to a statement issued from the office of Bannu Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sajjad Khan today, the gun battle took place in the Spin Tangi area of Chashmi, Bannu. Bannu CTD personnel Assistant Sub-Inspector Benyamin Khan, Constable Inam Khan and Constable Musawar were martyred. Two constables, Wafid Khan and Imran, were wounded. He said two khawarij — a term the state uses to refer to terrorists — were killed and another two injured in police firing, and their accomplices took bodies and injured with them. “Weapons, ammunition, IEDs (improvised explosive device) and hand grenades were recovered from the terrorists, which were seized by the police,” the spokesman said. As soon as the incident was reported, RPO Khan, Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kalachi, and CTD Superintendent of Police reached the CTD hospita...

The ongoing heatwave in Sindh is expected to subside from May 2, the Pakis­­tan Meteorological Depart­ment (PMD) said on Thursday. Climate change is a pressing reality for Pakistan, directly impacting millions of lives. Heatwaves, intensified by climate change, are becoming more frequent, prolonged and severe, disproportionately affecting communities with limited resources to adapt. “The prevailing heatwave condition over most parts of the province is expected to subside from tomorrow,” the PMD said in its advisory issued today. “A westerly wave continues to grip the upper parts of the country,” it added. According to the advisory, thunderstorms and light rain were expected in Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Mitiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Badin, Tharparker, and Umerkot with occasional gaps from May 2 to 5. “Strong windy conditions are likely in most parts of the province during [the] next two days,” the advisory said. The forecast also said that Karachi was likely to experience hot and...

Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has issued a stern warning to India, accusing the Modi-led government of politicizing the recent Pahalgam incident for electoral gain and exploiting the deaths of its own citizens.

A large number of foreign tourists have cancelled their trips to Gilgit-Baltistan due to heightened tensions between Pakistan and India, depriving local tour operators of much-needed earnings, a trade body official said on Thursday. The April 22 attack in India-occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 people, mostly tourists, marking one of the deadliest assaults in the region since 2000. New Delhi has implied cross-border links without evidence, while Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership have rejected the accusation and called for a neutral probe. Tensions have since spiked, with Pakistan reinforcing its forces and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi granting “operational freedom” to his military. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said yesterday morning that there was credible evidence of an Indian attack within 36 hours, while Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan wouldn’t strike first, but would respond decisively and strongly in the face of aggression. With tensions running high, Pakis...

Pakistan’s aviation authorities have announced the temporary closure of specific sections of airspace within the Karachi and Lahore Flight Information Regions (FIRs) from May 1 to May 31, 2025, citing security concerns.

The Pakistan Army is carrying out large-scale war exercises in response to the recent Indian false flag operation in Pahalgam, located in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Radio Pakistan reported, citing security sources.