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The Pakistan Sports Board said on Thursday that the hockey team’s participation in the 2025 Men’s Hockey Asia Cup and the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) Junior Men’s Cup — both hosted by India — remained unconfirmed. Earlier today, Indian media outlets reported that Pakistan had been cleared to take part in both events, scheduled from August 27 to September 7, and from November 28 to December 10, respectively. In exclusive comments to Dawn.com, Pakistan Sports Board spokesperson Khurram Shahzad said that the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) issued a request about whether or not the national hockey team can travel to India to play in the Asia Cup, amid spiking tensions between the two nations. “On June 19, the Pakistan Sports Board sent this request to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, which forwarded it to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a final decision,” Shahzad said. “However, no decision has been taken on this yet.” Shahzad noted in his comments that...

Posts from multiple users on the social media platform X on Sunday claimed that Russia had officially signed the joint statement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in favour of Pakistan over India. However, no such development occurred. The SCO is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping comprising members such as China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and Iran. Their defence ministers’ meeting was held on June 26 as a precursor to the annual summit of their leaders set for the autumn. The defence ministers attending the SCO meeting failed to reach a consensus on a joint statement due to India’s refusal because of what it said was “a lack of consensus on referring to ‘terrorism’”. Russia and India are close allies with significant military and defence interests, while the former’s relationship with Pakistan has seen significant growth in recent years. On Sunday, digital news outlet The Daily CPEC shared a post on X that read: “Breaking: Russia has officially signed the joint SCO statement, su...

Pakistan defeated Japan 64-39 to storm into the final of the Asian Youth Netball Championship in Jeonju-si, South Korea, on Thursday, remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament. The Green Shirts had a strong start with a 21-7 lead over Japan in the first quarter. By halftime, they extended the score to 34-19. The third quarter saw Pakistan lead 42-28 before ending the game at 64-39 and sealing their spot in tomorrow’s final. View this post on Instagram Leya Raza Shah, Alisha Naveed, Sumayya Kouser , Haleema ,Jasmine Farooq, Sumayya ,Jasmine, Amani, Parisa and Farah Rasheed displayed top notch performances during the match, said a press release. The president, chairman and secretary general of the Pakistan Netball Federation congratulated the Pakistan team on winning the semi-final. Pakistan will play the final either against the Maldives or Chinese Taipei on Friday. On Sunday, Pakistan downed Japan 79-39 during their fourth group match.

Pakistan dominated the squash courts on Thursday as five players stormed into the semi-finals of the 32nd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships in Gimcheon, South Korea. All five athletes had commanding wins over their opponents with 3-0 defeats. Meanwhile, Sehrish Ali was knocked out of the tournament after Malaysia’s Syaurah A Sufian defeated her 3-0 in the Girls U15 quarterfinals. In the Boys U-19 category, third seed Abdullah Nawaz beat Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Kuen in straight sets 11-4, 11-6, 11-6. Top seed Nauman Khan beat India’s Harshal Rana 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 in the Boys U-15, while compatriot Ahmad Rayyan Khan beat Malaysia’s Armann Merzha bin Ashraff 11-7, 11-3, 11-3. Youngster Muhammad Sohail Adnan, top seed in the Boys U13, beat India’s 11-Abhyuday Arora 11-2, 11-8, 11-2. Over on the women’s side, Mahnoor Ali sealed her spot in the semifinals after demolishing India’s Anika Kalanki 11-6, 11-2, 11-3.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Wednesday re-elected to the Executive Council of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the term 2025–2027.

Pakistan on Wednesday beat hosts Indonesia 2-0 in their second group match in the qualifiers for the 2026 Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup, making a comeback from their defeat in the first group match last week. The national squad was drawn in Group ‘D’ of the qualifiers in Jakarta alongside Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan. Pakistan lost their first match of the campaign to Chinese Taipei 8-0 on June 29. Hailing today’s victory as a “milestone in women’s football”, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) wrote in an X post, “Pakistan defeats 95th-ranked Indonesia 2-0. Power, passion, and purpose on full display.” Nadia Khan opened up the scoring eight minutes into the match, before Suha Hirani doubled the lead in the 19th minute by scoring a penalty. View this post on Instagram “The onus was on Indonesia to find their way back, but despite introducing Isa, Helsya Maeisyaroh and Marsela Yuliana Awi into the mix, [Coach] Satoru Mochizuki’s charges were unable to overturn the defici...

Pakistan and India are expected to play against each other “likely” on September 7 in the Asia Cup 2025 — set to begin on September 4 or 5 in the UAE, according to a report by The Times of India on Wednesday. The T-20 tournament will mark the 17th edition of the Asia Cup, beginning with a group stage and then a super-four round. The participating teams include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the UAE. According to Asia Cup’s website, recent political tensions between India and Pakistan have made UAE the frontrunner to host the tournament or serve as part of a hybrid hosting model. The multi-nation tournament was initially going to be hosted solely by India. According to the Indian media report, a 17-day window has been almost finalised by the Asian Cricket Council, where India and Pakistan are to clash on September 7. The two teams could also see a second match on September 14, depending on how the teams progress. The report said that all the participating teams are currently in the pr...

The Quad grouping of the United States, India, Japan and Australia called on Tuesday for the perpetrators of a militant attack that killed 26 in India-occupied Kashmir to be brought to justice without delay. The April 22 attack in held Kashmir’s Pahalgam sparked heavy fighting between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry as India blamed it on Pakistan, which strongly denied the allegations while calling for a neutral investigation. The US State Department issued a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the grouping, who met in Washington, but stopped short of naming Pakistan or blaming Islamabad. “The Quad unequivocally condemns all acts of terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism,” the ministers said in the statement. They called on all members of the United Nations to cooperate actively with “all relevant authorities” in delivering justice to the “perpetrators, organisers, and financiers of this r...

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has urged the international community to stand with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism, highlighting the country’s role as a frontline state that continues to pay a heavy price in this global war.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to enhancing its water storage capacity in response to India’s efforts to exploit water resources as a strategic tool.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday urged the UN Security Council not to remain “a bystander” amid the deepening humanitarian crisis in war-shattered Gaza, with Israeli military operations and attacks on civilians seeking aid continuing to exact a devastating toll on lives and infrastructure.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and India on Tuesday in pursuance of the Agreement on Consular Access, 2008 exchanged the lists of 246 Indian and 463 Pakistani prisoners in each other’s custody through diplomatic channels.

ISLAMABAD: The National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) has confirmed another polio case in Pakistan, bringing the total number of cases in the country in 2025 to 14. According to the Polio Reference Laboratory, the latest case was reported from North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where a 19-month-old child was diagnosed with the virus. The breakdown of […]

Pakistan has called for the internal reform of the UN’s counterterrorism architecture with a balanced and rights-based global framework. The country was appointed as the vice chair of the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) Counter-Terrorism Committee on June 4. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the appointment reaffirmed the international community’s trust in the country’s counterterrorism credentials. A press release issued today by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN said that speaking at the UN headquarters a day earlier, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that the counterterrorism architecture should be capable of addressing Prolonged conflicts, while eliminating injustice, oppression and violations of international law under the pretext of counterterrorism, and ending conditions conducive to terrorism. “We must also clearly distinguish between terrorism and the legitimate struggle against foreign occupation and the right to self-determination,” he was qu...

Pakistan and India have exchanged updated lists of prisoners held in each other’s custody, in accordance with the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, which mandates the exchange of such information twice a year—on January 1 and July 1.

ISLAMABAD - Defence Minister Khawaja Mu­hammad Asif on Monday said that Pakistan’s stance was rec­ognized and upheld during the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where India was unable to as­sert its position.

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday welcomed the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague to issue a “supplemental award” in the Indus Waters case, urging India to resume the functioning of the Treaty, which it has held in abeyance since May. According to the PCA’s rules, a supplemental award is an additional ruling issued by a court or tribunal after its initial decision, usually to address a specific issue that wasn’t fully resolved or to clarify certain points, such as jurisdiction, competence, or interpretation of a treaty or agreement. India in April held the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following the attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 — an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad without evidence. Pakistan termed any attempt to suspend its water share an “act of war”, noting the IWT had no provision for unilateral suspension. It later said it was considering court action, citing a violation of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. “In a supplemental...

Pakistan on Monday called on India to immediately restore the normal functioning of the Indus Waters Treaty and fulfill its obligations under the agreement.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has cautioned India to reconsider its aggressive stance towards Pakistan, asserting that New Delhi cannot impose its will on Islamabad or undermine regional stability.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday stressed that Pakistan’s current foreign policy’s focus is on geo-economics, calling for the reimagination of regional cooperation within South Asia. In recent months, Pakistan has increasingly sought to restore relations with neighbouring countries. On June 19, Pakistan, China and Bangladesh launched a trilateral cooperation mechanism, pledging to pursue “win-win cooperation” in what marked a subtle yet significant shift in South Asia’s strategic landscape. In recent months, Pakistan and Afghanistan have set out to restore their strained ties as Pakistan seeks to pursue a “secure and prosperous future” for itself, according to Dar. Speaking at an event held to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSI), Dar stressed the significance of using foreign policy as a tool to promote the country’s economic interests, stating that enhancing trade, prompting foreign investment, attracting remittances and technology flow...