Pakistan

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday issued a notification announcing that the deadline for taxpayers filing returns using manual forms rather than its web portal has been extended until November 30. According to the notification, the tax body stated that it is discontinuing the use of manual forms to file returns in favour of digitising all of its data. However, it recognised that until last year, a “small fraction of people” were still filing tax returns manually. “As a special dispensation, it has been decided that a cell in each tax office of Pakistan dealing with such taxpayers (manual filers) will provide all legal and technical support to such taxpayers,” the notification read. “Such taxpayer’s return filing date is hereby extended till [November 30], in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 214A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, for smooth completion of the process.” The notification requested that taxpayers filing manually contact their respective tax offices, where they would re...

An Islamabad court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case related to controversial social media posts. The National Cybercrime Investigation Agency had registered a case against Mazari and Chattha, accusing the two of attempting to incite divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts and of creating the impression that the armed forces were engaged in terrorism within the country. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Muhammad Afzal Majoka had indicted the two in the case last week. Both had denied the charges. The court had summoned all prosecution witnesses for today’s hearing. The judge presided over the hearing today in which Chattha expressed a lack of confidence in the court, to which ADSJ Majoka said the case could have been transferred if the lack of confidence had been expressed before the couple’s indictment. He added that only the high court could transfer the case ...

After years of captivity at the Karachi Zoo, 24-year-old female brown bear Rano was flown to Islamabad on Wednesday, where she was moved to a sanctuary for a second chance at life. According to Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar, Rano was transported to the capital on a Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft, which took off at 8:30am and landed at the Nur Khan Airbase a little after 11:30am. From the Karachi Zoo, the bear was first taken to Faisal Base in a wooden brown crate on a cargo pickup truck, which Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) officials said she entered willingly and without having to be sedated. “At just three calls, she walked from the sleeping area in her enclosure and into the crate,” said Sana Raja of the IWMB in a video. She added that Rano did not show any signs of distress and was also eating well. The wooden crate in which Rano is being transferred. Meanwhile, Mahar said that the team continuously monitored the bear on the flight, while Rano, despite the roar of the C-130 e...

Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic socialist, won the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday, capping a meteoric rise from a little-known state lawmaker to one of the United State’s most visible Democratic figures. According to CBS, Mamdani received 1,035,645 votes (50.4 per cent) against 854,783 (41.6pc) for former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and 146,127 (7.1pc) for Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani will become the first Muslim mayor of the largest US city. He defeated Democratic former Governor Andrew Cuomo, 67, who ran as an independent after losing the nomination to Mamdani in the primary election. The campaign served as an ideological and generational contest that could have national implications for the Democratic Party. Democrats won two key state governor races, sending an early warning signal to Republican President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 midterms. The clean sweep among several ballots nationwide has boosted morale among Democrats bruised by Trump’s return to the White House ...

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Wednesday received a comprehensive briefing from the Foreign Secretary and concerned officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on regional developments and forthcoming international engagements.

A District and Sessions Court in Islamabad has acquitted Senator Azam Swati in two cases filed against him over his controversial tweets.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday termed population and climate change as “existential issues” that Pakistan must address to realise its potential. Pakistan is home to a vast population of over 251 million, according to the World Bank. The Bank states the annual population growth rate for 2024 at 1.5 per cent, with the government’s 2023 census showing that the population grew by 2.55pc from 207.7m in 2017 to 241.5m in 2023. “I am very clear: we cannot realise the potential of this country unless we address two existential issues — population and climate change,” Aurangzeb said while addressing a gathering of the business community in Karachi. “Only saying that we do not make emissions but have to adapt, so demonstrate it,” he said, referring to Pakistan’s oft-repeated argument that the country contributes less than 1pc to global carbon emissions but faces catastrophic climate change-induced events. “We have funding. First utilise the funding we have,” the finance minister stressed as he respond...

The Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) has officially launched its live E-challan system in Gujranwala, aiming to strengthen traffic law enforcement through advanced technology.

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was barred from travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah on Wednesday, despite directives from the Lahore High Court (LHC) allowing him to travel abroad. According to an October 30 court order — a copy of which is available with Dawn — the AML leader’s name had been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL), following involvement in several May 9 cases. The court had directed relevant authorities to allow him to travel. However, in a video message posted on the social media platform X, Rashid alleged: “Today, I was stopped from going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, despite having permission from LHC’s Rawalpindi bench under Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan.” The AML leader recalled that the “court had directed relevant authorities — who were present in the hearing — to comply and strictly adhere to the directives, yet I have been told that I can not go.” Rashid alleged that two airport officers told him he “could not go and refused to obey the court order”. Rashid vowed to fi...

The protest by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft engineers over unpaid salary increments and administrative pressure entered its second consecutive day on Wednesday, disrupting the national carrier’s flight operations.

The government is set to table the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Senate on Friday, where it will be immediately referred to the Senate Committee for review, sources confirmed.

The air quality in Lahore showed signs of improvement on Wednesday, with a significant drop in smog as the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 163, according to air monitoring data.

United States President Donald Trump speaks often with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and trade teams from both countries continue to hold talks, the White House said on Tuesday. “The president and his trade team continue to be in very serious discussions with India,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “I know the president has great respect for Prime Minister Modi, and they speak pretty frequently.” Trump said last week in South Korea that he wanted to reach a trade deal with India — signalling a thaw in relations that soured to their lowest point in decades after the US president doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50 per cent as punishment for India’s purchases of Russian oil. Indian refiners cut Russian oil imports after Washington imposed sanctions last week on Moscow’s top two crude exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil. Earlier this month, Trump claimed that Modi has agreed to cut Russian oil imports — something New Delhi has not commented on. A White House official said New Delhi h...

A fresh spell of snowfall and rain has gripped the northern regions of Pakistan, deepening the cold and disrupting travel across parts of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The Trump administration is considering a Saudi Arabian request to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two sources familiar with the matter said. A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal earlier this year to US President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, one of the people and a US official said. The Pentagon is now weighing a potential sale of 48 of the advanced aircraft, the US official and the person familiar with the talks told Reuters. The size of the request and its status have not been previously reported. The US official and a second US official, who acknowledged the weapons deal was moving through the system, said no final decision has been made and...

Karachi police said on Wednesday that a man had been arrested for allegedly firing on citizens who had torched a heavy vehicle that had struck a young man and injured his wife a day earlier. Angered citizens on Tuesday had set a dumper truck on fire in the city’s Garden area after it crashed into a couple on a motorcycle, killing 23-year-old Shahzeb Shahid and injuring his wife Misbah. A case was also registered against Liaquat Mehsud, the Sindh president of the All Dumper Truck Owners Association, and other suspects for firing on the enraged protesters at the scene. South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza on Wednesday said that police had arrested one suspect, identified as one of Mehsud’s gunmen, on charges of firing on the protesters. The weapon used in the incident was also recovered, he said in a statement. “Raids are being conducted to arrest the president of the dumpers association, Liaquat Mehsud,” he added. Ex-MQM-P lawmaker booked under Peca for threatening Mehsud Separately, Garden poli...

Former minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed on Wednesday that the “impacts” of the efforts of a trio — comprising him and other ex-PTI leaders — for political stability in the country and the release of political prisoners, including PTI founder Imran Khan, would start bearing fruit in the next 10 to 15 days. Fawad, along with fellow former PTI leaders Mehmood Moulvi and Imran Ismail, has been insisting on talks between the government and the PTI, in what they say is an effort to bring the political temperature down and pave the way for Imran’s release, who has been in jail since 2023. “I am very pleased that the efforts for political stability and to secure the release of political prisoners, including Imran, have resulted in significant initial successes, and their impact will start becoming evident in the next 10 to 15 days,” Fawad posted on social media platform X. He reiterated that himself, Moulvi and Ismail were making these efforts for “political stability in Pakistan”, expressing the optimism that differe...

One of the 13 people injured in a gas blast at the Supreme Court’s canteen a day earlier succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, according to hospital officials. Dr Abdul Khaliq, the head of the Burn Care Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, said that 19-year-old Asad Muneeb, who was a air conditioner technician (AC), did not survive. He said that the victim had sustained burn injuries on 80 per cent of his body. The doctor also said that another person injured in the incident had been discharged. “Out of the 11 remaining patients, four are critical. Five of them will have plastic and skin surgeries within the next two weeks,” he said. Talking about the gas blast, he said that in such cases hot air enters the lungs, severely damaging them in the process. He said that chemicals were also released in such a situation, which could further exacerbate one’s injuries. “Our plastic surgery team for burn injuries is doing their best,“ he said. As many as 13 people were burnt, two of them...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday extended heartfelt congratulations to the Sikh community in Pakistan and around the world on the 556th birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, being observed on November 5, 2025.

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani called on President Asif Ali Zardari in Doha today.