Pakistan

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday extended its stay order on the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) decision regarding the K-Electric tariff, as hearings on multiple petitions continued.

The US Congress has formally acknowledged Pakistan’s victory over India in the four-day conflict.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said Wednesday that the crackdown on illegally residing Afghan and other foreign nationals is underway across the province.

Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi of the Federal Constitutional Court on Wednesday cautioned that the courtroom must not be used as a political stage, instructing parties to review the 27th Constitutional Amendment before proceeding.

Pakistan and Malaysia have agreed to strengthen collaboration in the digital and technology sectors, reaffirming their longstanding strategic partnership.

Federal Minister Khalid Hussain Magsi attended the convocation ceremony of COMSATS University Wah Campus, where he praised the graduating students and described them as the “bright future of Pakistan.

Punjab has reported 43 new dengue cases in the past 24 hours, including 15 infections in Lahore, provincial health officials said on Wednesday.

Air India is lobbying the Indian government to convince China to let it use a sensitive military airspace zone in Xinjiang to shorten routes as the financial toll from a ban on Indian carriers flying over Pakistan mounts, a company document shows. The unusual request comes just weeks after direct India-China flights resumed after a five-year hiatus following a Himalayan border clash between the nations. Air India has been seeking to rebuild its reputation and international network after a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in Gujarat in June, killing 260 people and forcing it to briefly cut flights for safety checks. But that effort is being complicated by the closure of Pakistan airspace to Indian carriers since diplomatic tensions erupted in late April. For Air India, the country’s only carrier with a major international network, fuel costs have risen by as much as 29 per cent and journey times by up to three hours on some long-haul routes, according to the previously unreported document submitted t...

A dramatic night of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup across the globe ended with joy and heartbreak in equal measure, and with 42 of the 48 teams at next year’s showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico now known. Scotland, in hair-raising fashion, and Austria, after snatching a late equaliser, ensured they will be appearing at the World Cup for the first time since 1998, joining Spain, Belgium and Switzerland as the final five of the 12 automatic qualifiers from Europe. Across the Atlantic, Curacao became the smallest country to ever win a berth at the finals, joining Haiti and Panama in locking up the three automatic berths from the North and Central American region. In Asia, Iraq kept their World Cup qualification dream alive with a penalty in the 17th minute of injury time to secure a place in the six-team inter-confederation play-off tournament in March. Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, New Caledonia, Suriname and Jamaica are the other teams in the playoff with two spots up for grabs. ...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia was being designated as a “major, non-Nato ally”. “Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-Nato ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Trump said during a formal black-tie dinner at the White House. “And I’m just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” Trump said of the designation, which only 19 other countries have previously received. View this post on Instagram According to Politico, the other countries in that category include Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. The status provides a US partner with military and economic privileges but does not entail security commitments. US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June had made Saudi Arabia safer, Trump added. Meanwhile, bin Salman had earlier promised to increase his country’s US investment to $1 trillion from a $600 ...

The Punjab prosecutor general has sought a mechanism to check existing and future faculty and staff for any sex offender records in an effort to combat sexual violence at educational institutions, it emerged on Wednesday. The proposal was made in a letter written on Tuesday by Punjab Prosecutor General Syed Farhad Ali Shah to the provincial Public Prosecution Department’s secretary, who will then forward the request to the federal law ministry. The letter noted that the Sex Offenders Register, a countrywide database maintained by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), was a “powerful tool in the fight against sexual violence and for the protection of the most vulnerable in our society”. However, Shah highlighted, there was a “critical gap in the safeguarding of educational institutions”. He contended that the full potential of the database for preventative measures remained “largely untapped, particularly in environments where children and young adults are most susceptible”. Therefore, the ...

The Punjab government has formed 12 joint investigation teams (JITs) to probe several cases registered against the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Lahore and Sheikhupura districts, it emerged on Wednesday. The teams were notified by the provincial home department in similar notifications, of which 11 are dated November 6 and one was issued on October 31. According to the notifications, seen by Dawn, the provincial government ordered the formation of five JITs under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 for as many cases registered against the TLP in Sheikhupura district. Of these, four cases have been registered in Muridke tehsil and one in Ferozewala tehsil. Another seven JITs have been formed to carry out the investigation in as many cases registered in Lahore. Of these cases, three have been registered in the Nawankot area, three in Shahdara Town and one in the Ravi Road area. For the cases registered in Sheikhupura, each JIT will comprise six members, including a superintendent of police (SP), sub-di...

The Pakistan Coast Guards (PCG) have seized a massive quantity of high-quality narcotics during a series of intelligence-based anti-smuggling operations in the Gwadar region, specifically in the areas of Hallery and Peshogan.

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that everyone should be allowed to meet PTI founder Imran Khan in jail, adding that such meetings would “not change anything.

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has called for proactive planning ahead of Ramazan.

ISLAMABAD: In a new twist to the solar debate, the government on Tuesday conceded that increasing net-metering solarisation has so far not had the negative impact on the national grid that is often claimed. “Solar generation is increasing, but this does not have a significant impact on the grid,” Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) CEO Rehan Akhtar said while testifying before the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra). Working under the Power Division, the CPPA is the key player responsible for the procurement of electricity from various sources and delivering to all distribution companies and handling their commercial affairs. He said the energy costs had led to a shift to solar power. “They are now consuming more due to solar availability but their offtake from the national grid has not changed. Their withdrawal from the grid is almost stable. They are drawing the same quantities they were drawing earlier,” he said, adding, however, that the same could not be predicted about the future. Ne...

ISLAMABAD: The country has laun­ched its first standardised bunkering operations at the Karachi Port, aligning Pakistan’s largest port with global maritime safety and operational standards. Bunkering at a port is the process of supplying ships with fuel (such as marine gas oil, heavy fuel oil, or alternative fuels like LNG) for propulsion and onboard machinery. It is a critical, tightly regulated operation that involves transferring fuel from land-based facilities, tanker trucks, or bunker vessels to the receiving ship’s fuel tanks. Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Tuesday said the initiative was launched to accelerate the modernisation of port services and a broader upgrade of Pakistan’s maritime infrastructure. He said the introduction of regulated bunkering would fill a long-standing gap in Karachi Port’s service offering, enabling it to compete more effectively with established bunkering hubs in the region and beyond. Vitol begins refuelling ships with its barge at Karachi Port as Cnergy...

PAKISTAN’s jails are bursting at the seams with undertrial prisoners who endure horrific living conditions on the premises. Many spend years behind bars — far longer than the maximum sentence for their crime. Some, convicted by lower courts, are later acquitted by the higher judiciary. In this context, last month the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of two brothers, who had earlier been found guilty of carrying out the 2005 PIDC bomb attack in Karachi. In its detailed judgement issued last week, the court advised the federal and provincial governments to enact laws for the compensation and rehabilitation of “victims of miscarriage of justice” and to hold public officials accountable for dereliction of duty. The ruling exposes a deeply flawed parole and probation process due to a legal system that functions for the privileged not the poor. Courts should focus on setting time limits for both police investigations and the conclusion of trials. A report by NCHR, National Academy for Prisons Administration...

Tierney and McLean scored two jaw-dropping injury-time goals to seal a 4–2 win over Denmark

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