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ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Saturday congratulated the Pakistani team on winning the Asian Under-16 Volleyball Championship.

Pakistani cueists won two titles in one day at the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) world snooker championships on Friday, with Muhammad Asif clinching the IBSF World Masters Snooker Championship and Hasnain Akhtar claiming victory in the World U17 Snooker Championship. Asif secured victory over Indian Brijesh Damani with a score of 4-3 by the seventh frame of play. Earlier, Hasnain beat Wales’ Riley Powell 4-0 in the final of the under-17 tournament The former world amateur champion advanced to the final after securing a 4-2 win over India’s Manan Chandra in the semi-final held on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain. The frame scores were 118-6, 0-84, 25-76, 92-11, 87-62, and 72-41. View this post on Instagram Asif qualified for the semifinals of the masters after defeating Habib Sabah (Bahrain) 4-0 (68(68)-8, 57-37, 68(68)-8, 40(40)-8) in the quarterfinal on Thursday. In the pre-quarterfinals, Asif defeated Mohamed Shehab (UAE) 4-2 (56-68, 21-72, 57-21, 80(80)-0, 68-45(43), 68-58). The...

Around 13,000 to 15,000 Pakistani students go to the United Kingdom for permanent residence every year, a Foreign Office (FO) official told the Senate on Friday. “Every year, 13,000 to 15,000 Pakistani students go to the UK for permanent residence,” a FO representative told the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis in a meeting chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada. “Pakistani students prefer to settle in the UK rather than return to the country,” the official added. “These students are willing to work even for minimum wage.” According to the official, Pakistani students then become part of the UK labour market. The FO representative told the panel that there are currently 1.8 million Pakistanis living in the UK. “Pakistani citizens face difficulties [in the UK] due to lack of English proficiency,” the official added. Earlier in the week, UK’s government launched e-visas for Pakistani students and workers as part of an “enhanced” border and immigration system. The announcement came just a day after t...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced that the first batch of 300 Pakistani agriculture graduates had completed their hands-on training in China’s Shaanxi province as part of a joint agriculture training initiative. Last July, it was announced that 1,000 students would travel to China for modern agricultural vocational training at the government’s expense. The first batch of students was sent to China at the beginning of the academic year 2024-25, while the next batch would be sent to Chinese agricultural universities after learning Chinese in Pakistan. In a post on X, the PM said it was “very heartening” to hear that the 300 students completed their training “in important areas of water saving irrigation, seed production, animal husbandry, agriculture production and prevention of post-harvest losses”. “My special thanks to the Chinese leadership, [the] Shaanxi Government and the two universities,” PM Shehbaz said, referring to North West Agriculture and Forestry University and Yangling Vocational...

The United Kingdom on Wednesday removed Pakistan from its Air Safety List, thereby allowing Pakistani airlines to now apply to operate flights to the UK, according to a statement from the British High Commission in Islamabad. Debt-ridden Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was banned from flying to the European Union, UK and the United States in June 2020, a month after one of its Airbus A-320s plunged into Karachi’s Model Colony, killing nearly 100 people. The ban on operating to Europe was lifted in November last year. Today’s development comes after a team from the UK Department for Transport concluded an aviation security ins­pection at Islamabad Inter­nat­ional Airport on Thursday, declaring Pakistan’s security arrangements “satisfactory and in line with international standards”. “Following air safety improvements, the UK’s Air Safety Committee has lifted UK restrictions on Pakistani carriers,” said a statement from the British High Commission. “Individual airline carriers will still need to apply for ...

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, has revealed that nearly 40,000 Pakistani pilgrims who traveled to Iran, Iraq, and Syria are either missing or have overstayed, with no official record of their whereabouts.

In a major development for Pakistan’s aviation sector, the United Kingdom has officially lifted its long-standing ban on Pakistani airlines, a move confirmed by British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and welcomed as a positive step in UK-Pakistan relations.

The United Kingdom’s government on Tuesday launched e-visas for Pakistani students and workers as part of an “enhanced” border and immigration system. The announcement came just a day after the two countries formally signed the Trade Dialogue Mechanism Agreement and decided to establish the UK-Pakistan Business Advisory Council to institutionalise bilateral economic cooperation. In a statement today, the British High Commission (BHC) in Islamabad said: “The UK Government is replacing physical immigration documents for most student and worker visas with a digital proof of immigration status, an e-visa.” British High Commissioner Jane Marriott said on X that the facility was for “most students and workers applying for more than 6 months”. An e-visa is an online record of a person’s immigration permission in the UK and will make the visa process easier and more secure, the BHC noted in its statement. “E-visas are tried and tested, with millions of people already using them on select immigration routes,” it highl...

The United Kingdom has introduced a digital visa system for Pakistani nationals on most student and worker routes, replacing traditional physical immigration documents with an online eVisa.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid an official visit to the United Arab Emirates. He met with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to strengthen bilateral cooperation in security, counter-narcotics, and immigration matters. Minister Naqvi received a warm welcome at the UAE Ministry of Interior, […]

Indian government seeks to eradicate influence of Pakistani artists – again

Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed on Friday termed “Pakistani talent and Chinese technology an invincible wall” for peace, security and stability in South Asia during a dialogue held in Islamabad. Pakistan has held strong bilateral relations with China which has supported it through many investments and development projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), termed as a “lifeline” for the country’s economy. The senator’s comment came during a keynote address at the Pakistan-China Dialogue hosted by the Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) under the auspices of the “Friends of Silk Road”, according to a statement by the PCI. The event was attended by diplomats, parliamentarians, students and scholars. Mushahid, who serves as the PCI chairman, observed: “The global balance of economic and political power is shifting from West to East, heralding the Asian Century.” He lauded China’s “peaceful rise as a source of strength for developing nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America” and thanked Beijing fo...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani citizens planning to visit Sweden in 2025 must meet strict financial documentation requirements to secure a short-term Sweden Schengen visa. Among the most critical documents is a bank statement, which serves as proof that the applicant has sufficient funds to cover their stay in the Scandinavian country. Sweden, known for its rich cultural […]

The German Embassy in Islamabad has introduced a new Consular Services Portal aimed at simplifying and accelerating the application process for Pakistani citizens seeking work visas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close coordination with the Iraqi Airways, successfully facilitated the repatriation of 268 Pakistani nationals earlier Monday through two special flights from Basra to Karachi and Islamabad.

Uzbekistan Airlines on Saturday flew its inaugural Pakistani route from Islamabad to Tashkent, marking a key moment in connectivity between the two nations, a statement from the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said. Uzbekistan announced earlier this year that air routes between Karachi, Samarkand and Bukhara would be launched, describing it as a significant step to foster closer ties between the two nations. According to a PAA statement, the flight took off at 1:09pm with 126 passengers on board, with Zone 1 of Islamabad International Airport specially adorned with colourful balloons for the milestone. “The event was graced by the esteemed ambassadors of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan,” the statement read, adding that the Chief Operating Officer of Islamabad Airport, the managing director of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation and the Country Manager of Uzbekistan Airlines also attended. “Guests warmly welcomed passengers at Stand 3 and a formal cake-cutting ceremony was held in the ...

The Ministry of Religious Affairs confirmed on Friday that 18 Pakistani pilgrims, including 10 men and eight women, passed away during Hajj 2025 in Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed all relevant authorities to provide every possible assistance for the safe return and protection of Pakistani pilgrims currently in Iran.

Former Pakistan women’s captain Sana Mir became the first female cricketer from the country to be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame on Monday. She took the top spot in women’s one-day international rankings in 2018 and helmed the team that took home gold from the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Her rise dovetailed with the growth in sporting opportunities for Pakistani women, who were not allowed to play in open fields until the early 2000s. Sana played 226 international matches since her 2005 debut. She is one of only nine women cricketers to have taken 100 wickets and scored 1,000 runs in ODI matches. She also led Pakistan to two World Cups and five T20 World Cups. She was among seven notable cricketers added by the ICC today, the others being India’s MS Dhoni, Australia’s Matthew Hayden, New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori, England’s Sarah Taylor and South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith. The ICC said that with over 200 international wickets against the white-ball, Sana was ren...

KARACHI: It is disappointing that only two Urdu films will be released on Eidul Azha. They are: Love Guru directed by Nadeem Baig and Deemak helmed by Rafay Rashdi. Although half-a-dozen Pakistani films hit the cinema screens on Eidul Fitr (five Urdu and one Punjabi), they did not manage to create a splash in the placid waters of our local movie scene. It is abundantly clear now that the only way for the film exhibitors and cinema owners to do business is by virtue of big Hollywood releases. For example, prior to Eidul Azha, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the popular franchise starring Tom Cruise, did well at the box office. (It is difficult to ascertain the exact number that it has managed to attract because MI is still in theatres.) On Eidul Azha, too, a couple of major English language films — apart from a few Turkish projects dubbed in Urdu — will be there to compete with the Pakistani movies: Ballerina and Karate Kid: Legends. The former is a spin-off of the John Wick series and the latter a th...