Rawalpindi | Pakistan

Rawalpindi police on Saturday denied reports regarding the closure of markets across the city until further notice, terming them baseless. A statement posted on the social media platform X quoted City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Mahmood Hamdani as saying that no directives had been issued by Rawalpindi police regarding the closure of markets. He said that all markets and businesses were open as usual till 8pm as per the government’s policy. He added that effective security arrangements were being ensured in view of the “movement of foreign delegations”. He said police teams were actively conducting search, sweep, and combing operations in different parts of the city to maintain law and order. He said police were working day and night to ensure foolproof security at all times. Separately, Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema also shared visuals regarding reports of hotels and markets being closed until further notice. “This news is fake and not issued by the district administration. The publ...

Heightened diplomatic activity in Islamabad has prompted authorities in Rawalpindi to enforce a comprehensive security plan, with sweeping restrictions coming into force from midnight.

The Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education on Thursday postponed the matric examinations scheduled to be held on April 10 (Friday) — when the federal capital will be abuzz with diplomatic activity during talks between the US and Iran. In a statement, it said that the exams at 64 examination centres across the city had been postponed. However, it said that exams in other districts of Rawalpindi Division would continue as per the schedule announced. According to a statement issued by the Rawalpindi BISE, the postponed exams included compulsory Urdu and geography. A new date for the postponed papers would be announced later, and the candidates would be duly informed, the statement said. The district authorities of the twin cities have declared two local holidays in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on April 9 (today) and April 10 (Friday) to ensure security for the scheduled peace talks between Iran and the United States. Due to the sensitivity and importance of the talks, comprehensive security measure...

Matriculation examinations set for tomorrow in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been deferred, with revised dates to be announced in due course.

District administrations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi have announced local holidays in the twin cities on April 9 (Thursday) and 10 (Friday). In a post on the social media platform X, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Irfan Nawaz Memon said, “Local Holidays Announced in Islamabad – 9th & 10th April.” He also shared the notification by the office of the Islamabad district magistrate. However, he added, essential services will remain operational. According to the official, these included the Capital Development Authority, the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration, Islamabad police, the Islamabad Electric Supply Company, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd and hospitals. “Citizens are advised to plan their activities accordingly. Thank you,” he said. Separately, a notification issued by Rawalpindi DC Hassan Waqar announced a local holiday in the territorial jurisdiction of Rawalpindi on April 9 and 10. “However, all emergency dealing departments/ institutions/ authorities shall remain operational,” the notif...

Security sources said that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fell on a house in Chaklala area of Rawalpindi early Tuesday morning. They said that no loss of life was reported in the incident. However, they said that the house had sustained some damage. Last week, four people were injured after a “few rudimentary” drones launched by the Afghan Taliban were intercepted in various cities of Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. The development came amid Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, which was launched on the night of February 26, following unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border. The ISPR said the drones were intercepted through “soft and hard kills” and did not reach their intended targets. “However, the debris from these drones resulted in injuries to two children in Quetta and a civilian each in Kohat and Rawalpindi,” the military’s media affairs wing said. The military spokesperson had also stated in late February that Afghan forces attempted to use “rudimentary drones”...

ISLAMABAD - Panic gripped the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and flight operations at Islamabad International Airport saw a brief suspension after Air Defence forces intercepted and destroyed two drones in Islamabad on Friday.

Thunderstorms lashed the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Wednesday, bringing both heavy and light showers that cooled down the atmosphere and created pleasant weather conditions.

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Saturday sentenced 47 proclaimed offenders, including prominent PTI leaders Hammad Azhar, Omar Ayub and Zartaj Gul, to 10 years in prison in the May 9 GHQ attack case. District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Shah, who presided over ATC No. 1, penned a 16-page detailed judgment, which is available with Dawn. The convicts included Senator Shibli Faraz, Murad Saeed, Shahbaz Gill, Zulfi Bukhari, as well as ex-MNAs Kanwal Shauzab, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Muhammad Ahmed Chattha and Sheikh Rashid Shafique. The court imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each and ordered the confiscation of their property in favour of the state. Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9, 2023, triggered widespread riots across Pakistan, during which government buildings and military installations — including the GHQ in Rawalpindi — were stormed and vandalised. Following the unrest, a crackdown was launched against the PTI, with dozens of terrorism cases lodged against its leaders and supporters. Several of...

Pakistan Super League franchise (PSL) Multan Sultans on Monday was sold to Walee Technologies for a record Rs2.45 billion ahead of the tournament’s 11th edition. At the auction in Lahore, show host Fakhr-i-Alam informed bidders that the winning bid would also cover the annual fee to maintain ownership of the team for the next 10 years. Speaking at the auction ceremony, the new owner of the team announced that they would be changing the name to Rawalpindi. “Are you ready for a surprise? We will be going for Rawalpindi!” announced the company’s chief executive officer, Ahsan Tahir. Speaking at the ceremony, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi congratulated Walee Technologies on their successful bid and expressed gratitude to former board chairman Najam Sethi for his vision for the Multan Sultans franchise. “Multan Sultans was created by Najam Sethi sahib; we are so pleased he is with us today,” Naqvi said, inviting Sethi onto the stage. In his remarks, Sethi said, “I’m obviously delighted to be h...

A five-year-old boy was critically injured and his one-year-old brother also hurt after a metal kite string slashed their necks in Gulistan Colony, Rawalpindi, in a disturbing incident linked to illegal kite flying.

Rawalpindi to mark festival in phases with cantonment events today, tomorrow and celebrations across city on Feb 12–13

Four young girls sustained serious burn injuries in a house fire in Rawalpindi’s Niazi Town area on Wednesday, according to rescue officials.

RAWALPINDI - Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), HJ, COAS & CDF, on Thursday attended the Christmas celebrations at Christ Church in Rawalpindi, joining the Christian community in commemorating the joyous occasion.

PTI founder Imran Khan‘s sisters — Aleema Khan, Noreen Khan Niazi and Uzma Khan — ended their sit-in and left Rawalpindi’s Factory Naka on Tuesday night, hours after they were again barred from moving towards Adiala jail in a bid to meet the incarcerated ex-premier. Over the past several weeks, the PTI founder has been denied meetings in prison with his family, party members and lawyers, prompting them to stage sit-ins near or outside the prison complex every Tuesday and Thursday — the court-mandated days for visiting Imran. At times, police also used water cannons and baton charges to disperse them. A Dawn correspondent said that the PTI founder’s sisters left Factory Naka at around 9:30pm and moved towards Gorakhpur on foot, before heading home. Meanwhile, traffic resumed on the thoroughfare as soon as the 6-hour sit-in ended. Half an hour before that, the Saddar police station house officer arrived at the protest site and began negotiations with PTI’s Shaukat Basra and Meena Khan Afridi. After initial talk...

PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters, party workers and supporters are continuing their sit-in past midnight at Factory Naka, near Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, to demand their court-mandated meeting with the ex-premier. A court order issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on March 24 this year mandated that meetings with Imran would be permitted twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, the PTI maintains that the order is not being honoured. Despite the IHC’s order, Imran’s sisters — Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan and Noreen Khan Niazi — along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, have tried and failed to meet Imran over the past several weeks. Last Tuesday, after being denied a meeting with the PTI chief, his sisters and party supporters staged a sit-in, which was dispersed early morning with water cannons. Late on Tuesday night, Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas arrived at the protest site and began one-on-one consultations with PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raj...

At least four bodies have been recovered after a Rawalpindi-bound hi-ace van plunged into River Jhelum on Thursday, with four others missing, Rescue 1122 said. The van, carrying 12 passengers, was coming from Hajera in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and plunged into the river while navigating a turn near Garari Bridge in the Kahuta area of Rawalpindi on Thursday morning, as per Rescue 1122 sources. According to Rescue 1122, four people have been confirmed among the drowned. District Emergency Officer 1122 Rawalpindi Sighbatullah said that four people have been rescued so far and were rushed to the Kahuta Tehsil Hospital in Rawalpindi. Superintendent THQ hospital, Dr Samina, also confirmed that the rescued persons had been shifted to the medical facility. The Rescue 1122 official also confirmed that “four bodies of the drowned victims, including a female, had been retrieved and shifted to hospitals, where their identity was being ascertained”. He added that the van had been pulled out of the water, and a search ...

• PTI slams water cannon ‘assault’ on Imran’s sisters and party workers, warns against his transfer to another jail • Privilege motion moved in NA after Khattak injured in melee • Opposition plans ‘national conference’ on Dec 20-21; says party founder inseparable from nation, politics • PM’s aide says all doors to talks with PTI now closed as party passed ‘point of no return’ • Gohar wants ‘common sense’ to prevail, questions move to isolate major party RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: Politi­cal temperatures rose further on Wedne­sday, as Rawalpindi police sought a legal opinion on the question of registering an FIR against PTI leaders and supporters over a protest outside Adiala jail, even as the party moved a privilege motion in the National Assembly over alleged use of force against its workers, and voiced alarm at reports of Imran Khan’s possible transfer to another prison. The PTI also joined other opposition parties in warning that efforts to “minus” the incarcerated former premier and clamp down on peaceful prot...

Local public transporters on Sunday announced a wheel-jam strike for tomorrow (December 8) in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, rejecting the local administration’s request to delay the protest against the new traffic ordinance, which has raised fines for heavy vehicles. The strike was announced on the call of the Punjab Public Transport Association. Before the announcement, representatives of the association, along with the Goods Transporters Association, met City Traffic Police officer Farhan Aslam and Regional Transport Authority Secretary Asad Shirazi. The administration urged transporters not to observe a wheel-jam strike in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. However, local transporters refused to withdraw their decision, insisting they would go ahead with the strike to pressure the provincial government into repealing the ordinance. “We tried to convince the transporters not to go for a wheel-jam strike, but they demanded to abolish the new amendments, and it was beyond our authority to do anything ab...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday announced the allocation of 80 electric buses for Rawalpindi, aiming to improve public transportation and reduce congestion. The chief minister was scheduled to inaugurate the new transport system in the garrison city on October 15, but the ceremony was cancelled due to the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan protest in Islamabad. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the electric bus initiative in Rawalpindi today, CM Maryam said, “The electric buses are equipped with modern amenities, including air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, and charging ports.” The initiative, the chief minister highlighted, is part of a broader effort to enhance infrastructure and public services in Rawalpindi. Other projects include signal-free corridors, flyovers, and hospitals. “The government has allocated significant funds for road construction and improvement,” she said, adding that the electric buses are part of a larger plan to promote sustainable transportation and reduce pollution. “The bu...