Pakistan

Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry has called on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan to promote genuine and active political figures within the party, criticising the current overseas leadership for its lack of effectiveness.

The budget session of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly will be held today (Monday), with Speaker Nazir Ahmed presiding over the proceedings.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited various development sites in Lahore on Sunday, reviewing ongoing and completed infrastructure projects, including the newly constructed "Route 47.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called an urgent meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) today at 12 PM at the Prime Minister’s House to discuss escalating regional tensions and national security matters.

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting to review the current situation in districts bordering Iran which were facing food and fuel shortages due to the Iran -Israel war. The meeting focused on the availability of food supplies, fuel provision and safe return of pilgrims and students from Iran, and the overall security and administrative conditions in these areas. The meeting was briefed by authorities concerned on the current management strategies and future plans. “At present there is no food shortage in the border areas,” officials concerned claimed at the meeting. However, reports reaching here say that the situation is not normal and the people are facing food and fuel shortages in these areas. The chief minister ordered authorities concerned to ensure uninterrupted food and fuel supplies in these regions to prevent any public inconvenience. He also instructed the departments concerned to maintain electricity and LPG supply by implementing alternative sol...

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Sunday that Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with neighboring Iran in the face of Israels unprovoked and unjustified aggression. Talking to a private news channel, he said that Pakistan condemned the attacks carried out by Israel and is gravely concerned about the potential for further escalation in the region. The threat of a wider war in the Middle East is real, he warned, calling for an immediate end to the hostilities. He said the recent crisis has revitalized Pakistan-Iran relations, with brotherly ties growing stronger. Offering his analysis on the situation, he said, Israels existence poses a continuous threat to regional peace. The concept of peace with Israel is inherently contradictory. He asserted that Israels so-called invincibility has been badly exposed. The spirits of the people of Gaza remains unshaken like rock solid. He emphasized that Israel must abandon the illusion that bombing Muslim populations will crush their willpower. T...

KARACHI: Citizens, particularly university students, have been facing immense trouble in crossing the main University Road now when all pedestrian bridges along it have been removed by the authorities working on the Red Line project. The bridges had to be removed to construct the infrastructure for the BRT (bus rapid transit) system. The situation has been causing a lot of trouble especially to female students of higher education institutions, located along the University Road since the footbridges were dismantled about three months ago. In the absence of the bridges, the people attempting to cross the road have to put their lives at risk as the road remains packed with speeding vehicles. Many accidents have taken place along the road. The victims included female students of the University of Karachi and the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology. The issue has also led to increased travel cost for many students as they now have to take a cab or some other public transport means to get to the...

The Government of Pakistan is expected to extend the closure of its airspace for Indian aircraft for another month, as tensions with India persist following the Pahalgam incident, official sources confirmed on Sunday.

LAHORE: Veteran politician and prominent businessman Jahangir Khan Tareen is reportedly eyeing another political comeback, this time under the flag of PPP. The speculations have gained traction after a video went viral online showing Mr Tareen seated alongside PPPP South Punjab president Makhdoom Ahmad Mahmood. Responding to a question regarding his potential return to politics, Mr Tareen remarked that if he were to resume politics, he would “stand with the PPP.” While there has been no formal announcement of Mr Tareen’s affiliation with PPP, the comment has stoked a flurry of rumours. Unconfirmed reports suggest President Asif Zardari, the co-chairman of PPP, may meet Mr Tareen on Wednesday to seal the deal. However, senior PPPP leader Khawaja Rizwan Alam has dismissed the reports. He said due to President Zardari’s parliamentary obligations, no such meeting was possible this month. Mr Tareen has been away from the political scene since his defeats in last year’s general election from Multan and Lodhran. A s...

ISTANBUL: Foreign ministers from Muslim countries on Sunday urged Israel to end its aggression towards Iran, without mentioning the US strikes on the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites. Ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) “condemn firmly the aggression of Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran, stress the urgent need to stop Israeli attacks and their great concern regarding this dangerous escalation”, said a statement, issued after the end of a summit in Istanbul this weekend. It made no direct reference to the US bombardment of Iran’s key nuclear facilities early on Sunday, after President Donald Trump decided to join Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme. But the OIC did denounce the “destabilisation policies of Israel in the region and its recent attacks on Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, constituting a flagrant violation of sovereignty and security of these countries and international law”. Omits mention of US strikes on nuclear facilities; Dar wants Israel held accountable, s...

• Amb Iftikhar terms targeting of nuclear sites clear breach of international law • IAEA chief says such attacks may result in radioactive releases with great consequences • Guterres calls US bombing ‘perilous turn’ UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan joined China and Russia in circulating a draft resolution at the UN Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians and a return to diplomacy following US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The strikes, which targeted Iran’s Fordow — where uranium is enriched to 60 per cent — and two other facilities have been described as a dangerous escalation with potential global ramifications. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, told an emergency session of the Council: “Pakistan has condemned the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which come on the heels of a series of brazen attacks by Israel.” He added that specific targeting of nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) s...

NEW YORK: A US attack on Iranian nuclear sites could push oil prices even higher and trigger a knee-jerk rush to safety, investors said, as they assessed how the latest escalation of tensions would ripple through the global economy. The reaction in Middle East stock markets, which trade on Sunday, suggested investors were assuming a benign outcome, even as Iran intensified its missile attacks on Israel in response to the sudden, deep US involvement in the conflict. Investors said they expected US involvement would cause a stock market selloff and a possible bid for the dollar and other safe-haven assets when major markets reopen, but also said much uncertainty remained. “I think the markets are going to be initially alarmed, and I think oil will open higher,” said Mark Spindel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital. Economists warn dramatic rise in oil prices may damage global economy “We don’t have any damage assessment and that will take some time. Even though (Trump) has described this as ‘done...

PAKISTAN and India are closer to war than ever before despite a fragile ceasefire, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has warned, calling the situation in the region “incredibly perilous” and the threshold for full-scale conflict “dangerously low”. Mr Bhutto-Zardari, also a former foreign minister, said that on the final day of last month’s deadly clashes, India deployed a dual-use cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, forcing Pakistan to make a split-second decision on whether it was under nuclear attack. “In that atmosphere you’ve got only a few seconds to decide looking at an image: is this missile going to be used within the nuclear connotation or not? And in those split seconds, decisions are made,” he told The Sunday Times during a visit to London. “We’ve achieved a ceasefire, but we haven’t achieved peace. And that’s problematic because following this recent conflict, we have lowered the threshold for full-blown military conflict to the lowest it has ever been, to what I believe are da...

ISLAMABAD - The United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran was in progress on Sunday night till last reports came in.

ISLAMABAD - World states including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Oman as well as United Nations and OIC have condemned the US forces strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday terming the aggression a violation of the international law.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday condemned the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities which followed the series of attacks by Israel.

KARACHI - Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif has said that only the State has the authority to declare jihad as no individual or group is empowered to do so.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened a crucial meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) today.

ISLAMABAD - Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Engineer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has strongly condemned the US attack on Iran, stating that America has destroyed global peace through its aggression.

ISLAMABAD - Kashmiri leader and social activist Mushaal Mulick has expressed deep concern over the alleged attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities by the US.