Pakistan

QUETTA: The body of a 14-year-old student, Muhammad Musawir Kakar, who was kidnapped for ransom on November 15, 2024 has been recovered by the police, Quetta DIG Aitzaz Ahmed Goraya said on Friday. He revealed that Afghan nationals were involved in the kidnapping. They abducted the boy with the help of local accomplices and later handed him over to the extremist group Daesh, also known as IS, which demanded a ransom of $12m from the victim’s father. The DIG added that after killing the boy, the kidnappers buried his body in the Maro Isplinji area of Mastung district. The grave was located by the police. The body appeared to be over two months old, he said, adding the postmortem report revealed the boy was shot in the chest and head. His identity was confirmed through DNA testing. “We tracked down the kidnappers, raided multiple locations, and eliminated some of them, but unfortunately, we were unable to ensure the safe recovery of the boy, for which we are deeply sorry,” said DIG Goraya. He added that the inv...

ISLAMABAD - Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), Chief of Army Staff (COAS), engaged with the probationary officers of the 52nd Common Training Program (CTP) of the Civil Services Academy during a session held at the Army Auditorium.

ISLAMABAD - The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court Friday, by accepting the review petitions, ruled the former ruling Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) is ineligible for reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies.

Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, on Friday suspended 26 members of the provincial assembly for 15 sessions over serious breaches of parliamentary rules and disorderly conduct during house proceedings.

NEW DELHI: India is vigilant of developments in its neighbourhood that “have a bearing” on its “interest and security”, the external affairs ministry said of a recent trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Bangladesh and China, adding that it factors in the “evolving context” in its bilateral relations with these countries. According to The Wire, during a trilateral meeting in Kunming, China, on June 19 involving Chinese vice foreign minister Sun Weidong, Bangladesh’s acting foreign secretary Ruhul Siddique and Pakistan’s additional foreign secretary Imran Siddiqui, the three sides agreed to explore cooperation in a number of sectors including trade, ‘maritime affairs’, health and the environment. Asked for comment on the meeting during the ministry’s weekly press briefing on Thursday, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that “we maintain a constant watch on the developments in our neighbourhood that have a bearing on our interest and our security”. “Our relations with individual countries, while they stand on th...

ISLAMABAD - The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday called upon Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs), district administrations, and relevant departments to remain on high alert and activate contingency plans as widespread rain and thunderstorms are expected to impact large parts of the country within.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that resolution of the Israel-Iran conflict will open the doors for peace and prosperity in the region.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Religious Affairs has been ordered to refund Rs36 billion to aspiring pilgrims who couldn’t perform Haj this year. The money would be returned to over 67,000 Pakistani pilgrims who were supposed to go on Haj through private tour operators but couldn’t over delays in payments. The sub-committee of Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs on Friday directed the ministry to fully reimburse the victims. The sub-committee’s convener, Senator Aon Abbas Buppi, announced that Rs36.43 billion held in Saudi Arabia must be refunded by August 15. There should be no deductions whatsoever, including currency exchange losses or service charges, Mr Bappi emphasised. Religious Affairs Secretary Dr Attaur Rehman informed the committee that Pakistan was allotted a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the Haj in 2025 by the Saudi government. Of this quota, 90,830 slots were allocated to private Haj operators. However, the Saudi government later revised its policy to only allow operators with a group of ...

• CB’s ruling overturns SC’s July 12, 2024 majority judgement; restores Peshawar High Court’s original verdict • Seven judges accept review petitions by ECP, PML-N et al; three judges ‘partially allow’ them • 77 reserved seats in national and provincial assemblies will be distributed among other parties • Ruling coalition can now comfortably achieve two-thirds majority in NA ISLAMABAD: The Constit­utional Bench (CB) on Friday overturned the Supreme Court’s earlier judgement in the reserved seats case — effectively taking away reserved seats from the PTI and handing them to their rival parties in the national and provincial legislatures. The decision, handed down by a majority of seven judges, supersedes the July 12, 2024 majority judgement by eight judges, which had declared the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) eligible for reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the assemblies. “[B]y majority of seven namely Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhter Afghan, Justice Shahid Bila...

• Losses of Rs342bn in six months seen as ‘Rs1.9bn daily drain’ on public finances • Circular debt crosses Rs4.9tr; unfunded pensions, weak governance deepen fiscal strain ISLAMABAD: With relentless financial haemorrhaging of nearly Rs342bn in just six months, the cumulative losses and unfunded pension liabilities of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have crossed Rs7.5tr — almost three times the country’s defence allocation of Rs2.55tr for FY26, and over seven times the upcoming year’s Public Sector Develop­ment Programme (Rs1tr). The Ministry of Finance informed the Cabinet Commit­tee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSOEs) on Friday that total SOE losses now exceed Rs5.8tr — nearly one-third of the recently passed Rs17.5tr federal budget for 2025-26. Presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurang­zeb, the meeting was briefed by the Central Monitoring Unit of the Finance Division on the biannual performance of federal SOEs for the period July to December 2024. The report outlined the worsening state of SOEs, in...

SWAT/PESHAWAR - Eleven tourists were swept away due to flash floods in the Khwaza Khela area of district Swat on Friday.

Lahore - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said on Friday that those who tried to minus Nawaz Sharif had themselves been marginalized.

ISLAMABAD - The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday rejected the ruling of Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench in reserved seats review case, describing it as a flagrant breach of the party’s constitutional rights, a murder of justice, and a direct assault on the Constitution and democracy.

• Reiterates firm support for two-state solution to Israel-Palestine conflict • Insists Trump’s Nobel nomination a joint civil-military decision • Dismisses claim Islamabad sought ceasefire ISLAMABAD: Foreign Mini­ster Ishaq Dar on Friday ruled out the possibility of Pakistan joining the Abraham Accords, stating that such a move would effectively mean abandoning the country’s longstanding support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict and recognising Israel. Speaking at a news conference at the Foreign Office, Mr Dar, who also serves as deputy prime minister, reiterated Pakistan’s firm support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His comments came in response to recent remarks by US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who suggested that more countries, which were not previously “contemplated”, were preparing to join the US-brokered accords, which normalise ties with Israel. Witkoff had joined President Donald Trump at the White House lunch for Army Chief Fie...

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday expressed profound sorrow over the tragic loss of lives in a flash flood that struck the Swat River near Khwazakhela, claiming the lives of several tourists.

• Additional burden on consumers to be offset by disbursement through BISP • Committee approves supplementary grants worth Rs856bn; passes the buck on sugar import to minister-led body ISLAMABAD: The government has increased the price of gas by 50 per cent in an apparent move to meet the demand of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet approved the hike in fixed gas charges for all consumers from July 1. The rate for non-domestic consumers has been increased by 29pc to cumulatively raise an additional Rs72 billion. The ECC meeting on Friday, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also approved supplementary grants of Rs856bn. However, the committee failed to reach a decision over the import of sugar and passed the responsibility to a political committee led by the National Food Security and Research minister. Increase in gas price The summary for the revised natural gas pricing structure for the fiscal year 2025–26 was moved by the Petr...

• Court of Arbitration rules that New Delhi’s decision to hold Indus treaty in abeyance doesn’t affect its competence to hear and decide disputes • Islamabad welcomes, India rejects ‘supplemental award’ as it exposes Kishenganga and Ratle hydel projects to Pakistan’s objections ISLAMABAD: In a major boon for Pakistan in its dispute over the ‘one-sided’ suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ruled that India’s actions have no bearing on its competence to adjudicate the matter. The court found that its competence cannot be affected by the unilateral decision of a party taken after the initiation of arbitral proceedings, regardless of whether India’s recent decision was characterised as a suspension of the treaty, or otherwise. The court further found that it has a continuing responsibility to advance proceedings in a timely, efficient and fair manner, notwithstanding India’s position on “abeyance”. It also declared that these findings also apply to the N...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Friday that Pakistan defeated India on all fronts in the recent brief war.

PESHAWAR - The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a polio case from District Tank in South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

ISLAMABAD - General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, NI (M), Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), visited Australia to attend the 14th session of Annual Defence and Security Talks.