Pakistan

The Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday stated that the Afghan Taliban only participated in talks with Pakistan this past week to prolong a temporary ceasefire between the two nations and did not take any action against terrorist elements operating from their soil. Talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban followed weeks of shuttle diplomacy after deadly border clashes last month. On Friday, the talks broke down, with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif saying that the negotiations “entered an indefinite phase”, but a temporary ceasefire between Kabul and Islamabad still stands. In a lengthy statement published today, the FO said: “Anyone following the talks held under the mediation of brotherly countries of Turkiye and Qatar, could easily discern that the Taliban regime was only interested in prolonging the temporary ceasefire, but without taking concrete and verifiable actions against the TTP/FaK (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan/Fitna-al-Khawarij) and BLA/FaH (Balochistan Liberation Army/Fitna-al-Hindustan) elements pre...

The Islamabad district administration has reported a steady decline in dengue cases as a result of continuous surveillance and timely anti-dengue operations.

The opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), on Saturday rejected the proposed amendments to Article 243 of the Constitution under the 27th Amendment, calling them “person-specific.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia formally signed an agreement for Haj 2026, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. According to the report, “Saudi Deputy Minister for Haj and Umrah Dr Abdulfattah Bin Sulaiman Mashat and Secretary Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan Dr Syed Ata-ur-Rehman signed the agreement in Jeddah on Saturday.” Haj, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, is performed each year by millions of Muslims worldwide. Pakistan receives one of the highest Haj quotas from Saudi Arabia. Dr Syed Ata-ur-Rehman expressed gratitude for the Saudi government’s excellent efforts in hosting and providing facilities to the guests of Allah, the report added. “Like last year, Pakistani pilgrims will be provided with high-quality services this year,” the report quoted Dr Rehman as saying. The secretary further expressed the determination of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to complete arrangements for both government and private Haj schemes in a timely and effective manner, in accordance with the guideli...

Opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Saturday rejected certain changes suggested to Article 243 of the Constitution under the 27th Amendment, claiming they were “person-specific”. Yesterday, hours after the Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act 2025 was tabled in the Senate, the TTAP announced a nationwide protest movement against the proposed legislation starting today. Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who leads the alliance, TTAP Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas addressed a joint press conference in Islamabad. “Fundamentally, the concept of social contract implies how the state will take care of an individual’s basic rights. This is what the Constitution is all about,” Khokar noted. He stressed the concept of separation of powers provided in the 1973 Constitution, which meant that “no one institution will become so strong as to overpower other institutions”. “S...

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler, and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will visit Islamabad next week to discuss tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. He made the announcement while speaking to reporters on his flight returning from Azerbaijan. Talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which were taking place in Istanbul in the presence of mediators, broke down on Friday without any agreement, as negotiators failed to bridge deep differences over how to monitor and prevent cross-border terrorism, officials and sources said. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif insisted that the negotiations were “over” and had “entered an indefinite phase”. “Right now, as we speak, negotiations are over,” Asif told Geo News, alleging that the Afghan Taliban delegation again came to Istanbul “without any programme” and was unwilling to sign a written agreement. A senior security source confirmed that discussions had hit an impasse. “The talk...

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in the United States on Saturday for a landmark official visit, his country’s state news agency reported, a day after Washington removed him from a terrorism blacklist. Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. It’s the first such visit by a Syrian president since the country’s independence in 1946, according to analysts. The interim leader met Trump for the first time in Riyadh during the US president’s regional tour in May. US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said earlier this month that Sharaa would “hopefully” sign an agreement to join the international US-led alliance against the militant Islamic State (IS) group. The United States plans to establish a military base near Damascus “to coordinate humanitarian aid and observe developments between Syria and Israel”, a diplomatic source in Syria told AFP. The State Department’s decision Friday to remove Sharaa from ...

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will visit Islamabad next week to discuss tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Turkish president said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered the withdrawal of proposed immunity for the PM as part of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, urging that the premier must remain “fully accountable”. Taking to X, he ordered the withdrawal of a clause seeking to grant immunity to the PM in the 27th Amendment and said, “On my return from Azerbaijan, I have learnt that some Senators belonging to our party have submitted an amendment regarding immunity for the prime minister.” “While I acknowledge their intent in good faith, the proposal was not part of the Cabinet-approved draft. I have instructed that it be withdrawn immediately,” PM Shehbaz wrote. “As a matter of principle, an elected prime minister must remain fully accountable, both before the court of law and the people.” Separately, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, while speaking to reporters today, said that PM Shehbaz told him earlier that “he had no interest in getting immunity,” owing to the executive nature of his role as the prime minister. “The other p...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has instructed that the proposed constitutional amendment put forward by few senators from the PML-N, regarding immunity for the Prime Minister, should be withdrawn immediately.

The smog crisis in Punjab continues to worsen, with Lahore’s air quality reaching dangerously high pollution levels once again.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Peshawar Zone has thwarted an attempt to fraudulently obtain Pakistani citizenship, arresting an Afghan national and three accomplices involved in the forgery.

All was quiet in Sana Bahadar’s mind when she entered the squash court on the last day of October for her quarterfinal at the CNS Squash Championships. Her immediate aim: to clinch the fourth game and move a step closer to claiming another title. It wasn’t to be. The hotly-contested first three games had been indicative of a battle to the end and Sana would soon have to put her body on the line to win when her opponent’s racket hit her in the throat. Struggling to breathe as she clutched her throat, Sana stumbled out the glass door and into the stands. Her father, Sher, rushed over and crouched in front of her, asking what happened. He told a concerned referee rushing over that she had been hit in the throat, but the referee told him not to interfere during play. “I was speaking for Sana because you don’t understand sign language,” Sher quipped to silence the referee. He opened his mouth to argue with Sher but shut it just as quickly, staring at the medical officer and Sher attending to Sana. Her opponent, Sa...

Pakistan and Turkey have reaffirmed their commitment to close coordination on regional and international issues, pledging to work together for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.

• Article 175 tweak ‘ends judiciary as we knew it’, says senior counsel • Supporters believe new constitutional court will modernise judiciary ISLAMABAD: The initial draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, ta­­b­led in the Senate on Saturday, has led many legal experts to believe that the tw­­eaks would, in effect, dethrone the Sup­r­e­­me Court as the country’s highest judicial forum, ceding that position to a proposed Federal Constitutional Court (FCC). However, proponents of the amendment say the new constitutional court would modernise the judiciary, reduce backlogs and separate constitutional and appellate jurisdictions — a reform they argue will improve efficiency and clarity in the justice system. “Left with a limited jurisdiction of deciding ordinary civil, criminal and statutory appeals, the Supreme Court has now become all the more a ‘Supreme District Court’,” remarked a senior counsel who asked not to be named. He warned that the government could now amend laws like the Elections Act 2017 ...

A new viral trend is sweeping through Pakistan as motorists look for creative ways to dodge traffic fines under the newly implemented e-challan system.

The PML-N and the PPP on Saturday rejected the impression that the 27th Constitutional Amendment was rushed through without proper debate, saying the draft has undergone “extensive scrutiny”. Earlier today, after getting approval from the federal cabinet, the bill for the 27th Constitutional Amendment was tabled before the Senate and subsequently referred to the standing committees on law and justice. Speaking on Geo News programme Naya Pakistan, Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik said there was “no urgency” in convening the cabinet meeting even though Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the session virtually from Baku, Azerbaijan. Malik said there was “a lot of discussion” about the proposed constitutional amendment, adding that deliberations were continuing within party committees and that it was the parliamentarians’ right to propose amendments. He maintained that a “wrong impression” had been created that the process was being hurried. The state minister also said that some cha...

A simple yet graceful Change of Guards ceremony was held at Mazar-e-Iqbal in Lahore on Saturday morning to pay homage to the Poet of the East, Dr.

• After Rano’s relocation to Islamabad, bench broadens scope of petition to welfare of all zoo animals • In written order released on Saturday, court orders formation of new committee comprising govt officials and civil society members to inspect zoos across Sindh KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has ordered formation of a new committee to visit zoos across the province and suggest steps for improvement as well as sending the exotic animals to their natural habitats. Inviting suggestions to phase out zoos in the entire province, a two-judge SHC bench comprising Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Justice Syed Fiaz-ul-Hassan Shah declared that the court had decided to examine the whole concept of keeping zoos and caging animals. The remarks were part of a written order issued on Saturday regarding the Nov 6 hearing of a petition seeking shifting of lone female bear Rano from Karachi Zoological Gardens to Bear Sanctuary, Islamabad Wildlife Management Board. The order stated that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation...

PESHAWAR: The incidence of violence against health workers during door-to-door polio campaigns has declined in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ensuring the vaccination coverage of children who were previously inaccessible due to security reasons. Officials said that the number of violent incidents against polio teams had decreased in the current year due to foolproof security measures, as four policemen and one civilian were killed and three police officials suffered injuries. Also, 17 health workers were kidnapped during house-to-house vaccination campaigns. Official data shows that a total of 96 people have been killed by alleged terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2012 and they included 61 policemen, 27 health workers and five civilians. Also, 170 people, including 124 policemen, 28 health workers and 21 civilians, were injured in attacks on polio teams. During this period, 32 health workers, three civilians and one policeman were kidnapped during vaccination campaigns. KP records better vaccination coverage Of the...