Pakistan

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A 50-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her husband over a domestic dispute in Sindh’s Hyderabad with the man himself beaten to death by the wife’s family in retaliation, according to the police. Husri Station House Officer (SHO) Juman Khoso told Dawn.com that a man killed his wife over “some domestic issue” in the village of Khuda Dino Panhwar. He added that the victim’s family members beat the suspect to death as well after the alleged murder. “The suspect used an axe and sticks in beating his wife to death and was also mercilessly beaten,” he said. Khoso said that neighbours of the couple claimed the suspect often used to beat his wife over petty issues and such incidents had become a matter of daily routine. “Even neighbours had given up intervening to resolve the issue,” he added. The SHO said that as per the woman’s relatives, the suspect had previously served a jail term for the murder of two people. The bodies were taken to the local branch of Liaquat University Hospital and the police were repo...

Pakistan’s Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem and India’s Neeraj Chopra are set to lock horns next month at the Diamond League event in Silesia, Poland, in their first head-to-head contest since the Paris Olympics, it emerged on Saturday. The match-up comes amid heightened political tensions between Pakistan and India, which have spilt over into the world of sports. A press release from the Diamond League, issued on July 9, announced the athletes taking part in the upcoming competition in Poland, including Kenyan middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon. The contest between Nadeem and Chopra was described as “the first opportunity for revenge after the Paris Olympics”. “The Pakistani’s form remains something of a mystery, as he rarely appears on the European circuit,” the press release read. “The exception he will make on August 16 results from his desire to face Chopra.” The press release noted that Chopra threw 90 metres this spring, adding that he is “yearning for more”. Last week, Chopra headlined the ‘N...

Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Mir Sarfraz Bugti has strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in the province, particularly the targeted killings of passengers based on ethnic identity, termed a clear reflection of the nefarious designs of ‘Fitna al Hindustan’.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain’s health has been on the mend after he was admitted to the hospital, according to a video by a party official posted on Saturday. Hussain was recently hospitalised in London due to “severe illness”, where he underwent multiple tests. London-based senior party leader Mustafa Azizabadi told Dawn.com that the MQM founder’s treatment was ongoing and “hopefully it’s not something serious”. In a video message posted early on X today, Azizabadi stated that the MQM founder’s health had improved since yesterday. “Altaf Hussain bhai (brother) has undergone some tests and blood transfusion has been given. The tests show that Altaf bhai’s health … has greatly improved,” Azizabadi said. “Doctors are treating him according to the test results.” He highlighted that misinformation had spread about Hussain’s condition, calling it “upsetting”. An update from MQM Coordination Committee Deputy Convener Qasim Ali said doctors conducted a detailed medical examination and agreed ...

A meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council was held on Saturday, under the chairmanship of Justice Yahya Afridi, Chief Justice of Pakistan/Chairman Supreme Judicial Council at the Supreme Court, Islamabad.

Civil society activists have called for the expansion of the Pink Bus Service across Pakistan to ensure safer, more accessible, and dignified travel options for women, especially those commuting from rural and suburban areas to cities for education and employment.

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Saturday reviewed complaints against different judges of the superior judiciary, “unanimously” dismissing 19 of them. Earlier this week, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi called the SJC meeting to consider around two dozen pending complaints against superior court judges and a set of recommendations to streamline the process of handling complaints and to ensure transparency while probing allegations of misconduct against judges. According to a press release dated today, seen by Dawn.com, the council examined 24 complaints under Article 209 of the Constitution. It said, “19 complaints were unanimously decided to be filed while five others were deferred for the time being.” The meeting was chaired by CJP Afridi and attended by senior puisine judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar. The press release also said, “The proposed draft of SJC Secre...

Tensions within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have intensified amid reports of internal disagreements over Aleema Khan’s alleged interference in key party decisions, particularly regarding the nomination for a vacant Senate seat.

Police in Japan’s Shiga prefecture have arrested an Indian man for allegedly raping a teenage girl last month, local news outlet Kyoto Shimbun reported. Shiga’s Otsu police arrested the man, identified as a 24-year-old temporary worker, on Thursday on suspicion of assaulting and raping a teenage high school girl. The man allegedly assaulted the “girl living in the prefecture, including by choking her, and then having sexual intercourse with her at a hotel in Otsu city”. The incident took place in the early hours of June 21, according to the report, which was also carried by Tokyo Reporter. It quoted the Otsu police as saying that the suspect and the girl did not know each other. The man had gone with her to the front of a hotel under the pretence of asking for directions, then forced her into a room, the police said. The suspect denied the charges and was quoted as saying, “I did not force her.” In May, Japanese police said they arrested a former taxi driver on suspicion of drugging and raping a female passen...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur met with Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Ahmad Shakeeb, to discuss bilateral relations, mutual cooperation, and regional stability.

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday departed from Kuala Lumpur to Islamabad after a successful two-day visit to Malaysia for the 32nd Asian Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Bahraini counterpart Gen Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa have stressed the need to further boost collaboration in counterterrorism and anti-human trafficking efforts between their countries. Pakistan and Bahrain share close fraternal ties based on shared culture and religion, with both countries having cooperation in security and economy. Naqvi met with Gen Rashid in Manama on Thursday, according to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA). Both officials emphasised the need to “further strengthen their security collaboration”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported today. The two sides held discussions on bilateral cooperation in counterterrorism, combating human trafficking and anti-narcotics efforts. They also mulled making the Pakistan-Bahrain Joint Security Committee more effective. The Bahraini interior minister expressed his appreciation for cooperation and coordination between the two countries in various fields, including security, according to Radio Pakistan. “We value t...

A farm worker was in critical condition on Friday, his family said, after being injured during a raid by US immigration agents on a legal cannabis farm in California that resulted in the arrests of 200 undocumented migrants and clashes with protesters. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, called demonstrators involved in attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents “slimeballs” and said they should be arrested. In another development, a district judge ordered a halt to “roving patrols” in Los Angeles by federal agents who were detaining suspected undocumented migrants without probable cause and denying them due process. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered an end to the arrests, which she said were being made “based upon race alone”, on whether a person was speaking Spanish or English with an accent or because of their place of work. Trump’s remarks and the court order come a day after a chaotic raid on a cannabis plantation in Ventura County, some 56 miles (90 kilometers) from L...

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has issued a flood alert for hill torrents (Rod-Kohi) in the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts, warning of a potential medium flood due to ongoing monsoon rains in the Koh-e-Suleman region.

KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday expressed concern over federal policies that were “creating major hurdles” in the development of Sindh’s energy sector and said that despite the province’s vast potential to serve as a key contributor to the nation’s energy needs, current federal approaches were obstructing progress on multiple fronts. Speaking as the chief guest at the Sindh Energy Diversity Conference, Mr Shah described the province as the country’s “energy basket,” endowed with rich reserves of coal, natural gas, wind and solar energy. However, Mr Shah pointed out that federal policies had created ongoing challenges that hindered energy sector development in the province. He also recounted historical setbacks, including investor reluctance after the 1996 government change and federal opposition to wind power projects in Sindh. Mr Shah urged the gathering of stakeholders, experts and policymakers to discuss the province’s vast energy resources and the urgent need for sustainable energy s...

Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja stressed the government’s focus on artificial intelligence (AI) training in education and the workforce, Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. The interest shown by children in AI tools has doubled during the past year, according to a report, with businesses also employing them on a wide scale. However, experts have warned that AI’s development should not be guided by market forces alone and stressed its regulation. Khawaja met with Google’s Regional AI Developer Ecosystem and Communities team on Friday to explore strategic collaboration in advancing Pakistan’s AI landscape. In the policy discussion, the minister emphasised the government’s strategic focus on AI training across three critical domains: mainstream education from kindergarten to university; workforce development, including freelancers; and industrial innovation. According to Radio Pakistan, the minister also stressed the need for inclusive access to tools such as the AI Seekho programme, sandbo...

The nine Punjabi passengers brutally martyred in a terrorist attack by the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in Zhob, Balochistan, have been laid to rest in their respective hometowns across Punjab under tight security arrangements.

A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane’s engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report on the world’s deadliest aviation accident in a decade released on Saturday by Indian accident investigators. The report by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the June 12 crash raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches. Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. In the flight’s final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. “The other pilot r...

Peshawar - Advisor to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Saif, has stated that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi are being denied even the basic rights and facilities typically granted to ordinary prisoners.