Pakistan

President approves summary sent by PM; COAS to concurrently hold position for five years; Air chief's tenure extended

PM vows to take bilateral trade to $200 million in next two years

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The Briton vowed to make changes to his set-up for 2026

A torch-lighting ceremony is scheduled for Friday morning at the Quirinal Palace

The 28-year-old clocked 1:29.84 to finish ahead of American Ryan Cochran-Siegle

He was also ordered to cover the estimated 1.5 million euros legal cost

Magassa secured a vital point in the visitors' battle to avoid relegation

Costume designer researched mid-19th-century styles for the outfits

Princess of Wales unveils Oriental Circlet at state event

Doctor jailed for selling ketamine to Matthew Perry

'Euphoria' Season 3 set for April with new character developments

German great believes championship will be decided only on the pitch

Several universities in the United Kingdom have suspended or restricted admissions for students from Pakistan and Bangladesh following tougher immigration rules introduced by the Home Office and rising concerns over alleged visa abuse, the Financial Times has reported. At least nine higher education institutions have placed the two countries in a “high-risk” category for student visas and have tightened their enrolment policies to protect their ability to sponsor international applicants, according to the report published on Thursday. The move follows a surge in asylum claims lodged by international students, prompting UK ministers to warn that the study route “must not be used as a backdoor” to settlement. Among the universities taking action, the University of Chester has suspended recruitment from Pakistan until autumn 2026, citing a “recent and unexpected rise in visa refusals”. The University of Wolverhampton is not accepting undergraduate applications from either Pakistan or Bangladesh, while the Univer...

The federal government on Thursday ruled out any further meetings for Uzma Khanum and others who violated the prison code while meeting PTI founder Imran Khan. Uzma met the party founder in prison on Tuesday after weeks of effort. The meeting took place as rumours regarding Imran’s health began circulating in local and foreign media, despite claims by the government and PTI leaders that the former prime minister was in good health. These speculations, however, gained traction due to the government’s reluctance to let visitors, including his family members and legal team, meet Imran over the past few weeks. Uzma subsequently detailed instructions from Imran to the party regarding political and other matters. Addressing a press conference with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on the entire situation, the information minister announced: “There is no room in the [prison] rules for political discussions and it was reported that political discussions occurred, so meetings are now banned for Uzma Khan. This won’t happ...

Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir was appointed Pakistan’s first chief of defence forces (CDF) on Thursday after President Asif Ali Zardari signed off on the summary recommending the appointment. A press release from the presidency said the president also signed off on the two-year extension in the tenure of Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu and extended his best wishes to both military commanders for their upcoming terms. The CDF position, created under the 27th Constitutional Ame­nd­ment, will replace the now-abolished office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) chairman, which formally ended on November 27. It would be a dual-hatted position combined with the office of the army chief. Following the appointment of the COAS as CDF, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conveyed his best wishes to Field Marshal Munir. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, the premier said that the appointment of the chief of defence Forces is aligned with contemporar...

President Donald Trump’s envoys were to meet Thursday with Ukrainian negotiators for the third time in two weeks to press his plan to end the war as his administration eased economic pressure on Russia. Two days after the envoys met Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Treasury Department partially suspended measures that Trump had announced in October when he finally vowed to get tough on Moscow. The Treasury Department suspended until at least April 29 economic sanctions against Lukoil-branded gas stations outside of Russia. A ban remains on place to prevent the money from flowing back to Russia, which has been under sweeping US and EU sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump’s sanctions had been one of the most concrete means to pressure Russia, which European diplomats accuse of trying to avoid pressure by pursuing negotiations. Easing isolation Steve Witkoff, Trump’s business partner-turned-roving global ambassador, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, will meet in the M...