Pakistan

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British comedian faces five counts of sexual offences

Indian media has been abuzz with rumours

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United States President Donald Trump said in a television interview airing on Sunday that he does not know whether he must uphold the US Constitution. He also said he is not seriously considering running for a third White House term, after musing publicly over an idea clearly barred by the nation’s founding legal document. “I don’t know,” Trump responded when the host of NBC News programme ‘Meet the Press’, Kristen Welker, asked directly whether he believes he needs to uphold the supreme law of the land. Asked specifically whether American citizens and non-citizens alike deserve the due process of law, as the US Constitution states, Trump said: “I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.” The president’s aggressive moves to deport undocumented migrants — some without the benefit of a court hearing — have drawn widespread criticism, but Trump insists it is necessary in the face of what he has declared to be a “national emergency”. The suggestion of possibly seeking a third term in office has been sharply questioned by le...

ISLAMABAD: The two telecom companies have agreed to pay outstanding taxes totalling Rs26 billion to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) instead of pursuing further litigation after losing a case in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) Islamabad had decided to attach the bank accounts of the two telecoms before they could file an appeal against the court decision. The LTO remained operational on Saturday for the purpose of attaching the bank accounts of Telenor Pakistan and Deodar Pakistan, a subsidiary of Jazz. Following the promulgation of Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, the FBR has started recovery proceedings and enforcement measures. The FBR officials were preparing for a forceful recovery of taxes through the attachment of bank accounts of these two companies falling under the jurisdiction of the LTO Islamabad, as the head offices of both companies are situated in the federal capital. Both companies had gone to court over tax on equipment import However, a final settlement ...

A small plane has crashed into a backyard of a residential neighbourhood in southern California, in the United States, killing two people onboard and damaging homes, local authorities said. The Ventura County Fire Department said firefighters received reports on Saturday afternoon of a single-engine aircraft that had crashed into two houses in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles. Police and the medical examiner’s office “verified there were two passengers in the aircraft, both of whom were fatally injured in the accident,” the county fire department wrote on X. The two homes were occupied at the time of the crash but no injuries to residents were reported, the fire department said. Photo and video images posted by the department showed firefighters on top of a house with holes in the roof, a fence and brick wall between residences knocked down, and the tops of trees sheared off. The Simi Valley Police Department said officers had located the plane “in the backyard of a residence.” Police told CBS News that ...

President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated four ordinances on Friday — one of them to increase the salaries of federal ministers and ministers of state to match those of National Assembly members (MNAs). In February, the lower house of the parliament passed the Members of Parliament Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill 2025 — already approved by the Senate — with a majority vote, increasing the salary of the parliament members. The National Assembly’s Finance Committee, headed by NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, approved the proposed increase of the monthly salary of each MNA and senator to Rs519,000. Previously, lawmakers received a monthly salary of Rs180,000. “The federal ministers and ministers of state shall receive a monthly salary equivalent to the salary of a member of the National Assembly,” read the ordinance. The changes were made to the Federal Ministers and Ministers of State (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975. The ministers’ salaries will now be Rs519,000 per month and equivalent to the MNAs....

Afghanistan officials on Sunday expressed their concern that the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India would have a “direct negative impact” on Kabul and the region. After an attack on April 22 in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 people, India, without investigation or evidence, implied “cross-border linkages” of the att­a­­­c­kers. Pakistan has firmly rejected the claim and called for a neutral probe. In response to India’s aggressive moves against the country, Pakistan had announced retaliatory measures that have included halting all border trade, closing its airspace and ports to Indian carriers and expelling Indian diplomats. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Hekmatullah Zaland, the deputy director of the Afghan foreign ministry’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), said: “Since Pakistan and India are located in our neighbourhood, if this tension spreads, it will have a direct negative impact on the region and Afghanistan.” The CSS deputy director added, “We are currently interacting wit...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has directed Pakistan to proceed with further downsizing at the Utility Stores Corporation as part of its right-sizing initiative, with a deadline set for June 30.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with his elder brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday to discuss the evolving regional situation, particularly the escalating tensions with India following the Pahalgam firing incident.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar, has condemned India’s "irresponsible behavior" and called on the international community to compare the conduct of both nuclear-armed neighbors in light of recent developments.

Chinese president Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia from May 7-10, where he will participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Kremlin said on Sunday. In a statement on Telegram, the Kremlin said that Xi will discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin the development of the two countries’ strategic partnership, as well as signing a number of documents. “During the talks, the main issues of further development of relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction, as well as current issues on the international and regional agenda will be discussed,” the Kremlin said. The Soviet Union lost 27 million people in World War II but pushed Nazi forces back to Berlin, where Hitler died by suicide and the red Soviet Victory Banner was raised over the Reichstag in 1945. Several other national leaders are expected at the celebrations, including the presidents of Brazil and Serbia, and the prime minister of Slovakia. Putin has proposed a three-day ce...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted rainfall across various regions of the country today (Sunday), including parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Balochistan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace and stability while emphasizing the country’s right to defend its sovereignty and national interests.

Karachi could experience isolated dust and thunderstorms accompanied by rain on Monday evening, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Sunday. The PMD has predicted that a westerly wave is affecting the upper and central parts of the country. Weather was expected to remain “hot and humid with chances of isolated dust-thunderstorm and rain on [Monday] evening,” in Karachi, according to the PMD’s forecast. It added that there were chances of thunderstorms and rain in the outskirts of Karachi in the evening. Dust storms and thunderstorm-related rain are likely at isolated places in Jamshoro, Tando Mohammad Khan, Badin, Hyderabad, Mitiari, Tando Allahyar, Mirpurkhas, Nosheroferoz, Sanghar, Khairpur, Ghotki, Umerkot, Tharparker, Badin, Shikarpur and Kashmore districts today, the PMD said. Its advisory said that windstorms, thunderstorms, hailstorms, and lightning may damage loose structures like electric poles, trees, vehicles and solar panels. “Farmers are advised to manage their crop activities kee...

Samsung has asked an Indian tribunal to quash a $520 million tax demand for allegedly misclassifying imports of networking gear, arguing officials were aware of the practice as India’s Reliance imported the same component in a similar manner for years, documents show. Samsung becomes the second major foreign company in recent months to challenge an Indian tax demand. Volkswagen has sued Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in court for a record demand of $1.4 billion for misclassifying its component imports. In the Samsung case, tax authorities in January asked Samsung to pay $520m for evading the 10-20 per cent tariffs by misclassifying imports of a key mobile tower equipment, which it then sold to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s telecom giant, Reliance Jio, from 2018 to 2021. In its 281-page challenge at the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal in Mumbai, Samsung criticises Indian authorities for being “fully aware” of the business model as Reliance had a “long-established practice” of importi...

Two more bodies of Pakistan nationals who lost their lives in a tragic boat accident off the eastern coast of Libya, arrived at Lahore Airport on Sunday, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan. The incident occurred during the night between April 12 and 13, when a migrant boat capsized near Libya’s eastern shoreline. The accident was the latest in a series of mishaps over the past few years in which hundreds of Pakistanis were killed in the Medi­ter­ranean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean while trying to reach Europe from Africa. The victims were identified as Sufyan and Nadeem Ahmed, residents of Gujranwala, APP reported. State Minister for Public Affairs Rana Mubashir Hussain and Member Punjab Assembly Mian Imran Javed received the bodies at the Lahore Airport cargo department. Later, the bodies were handed over to the grieving families. Prayers were also offered for the departed souls. Speaking on the occasion, Hussain expressed deep sorrow and grief and expressed solidarity with the bereaved families. ...

A madrassah teacher in Muzaffargarh district of Punjab was arrested for allegedly raping an 11-year-old student at a seminary, it emerged on Sunday. Last year, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers data revealed that a total of 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported from across the country. In the first six months of 2024, 862 cases of child sexual abuse, 668 cases of abduction, 82 cases of missing children and 18 cases of child marriages were reported. 48 cases of pornography after sexual abuse were also recorded. “A case has been registered against a madrassa teacher at the Mirhazar police station,” a police spokesperson said. The spokesperson continued that the police took immediate action and arrested the suspect. The first information report (FIR) was registered under Section 376(iii) (rape of a minor) of the Pakistan Penal Code. The teacher took the student to his residential room in the madrassa and raped the student twice, according to the FIR. “A case was registered o...

PROLOGUE India has become infuriatingly formulaic when it comes to Pakistan. Here’s how the script goes. There’s an attack in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. India blames Pakistan. The Indian media — mainstream and social — start beating war drums. Retired Indian military officers and other analysts are invited by the Studio Corps who declare, wage and win a war against Pakistan. The hysteria has reached fever-pitch since the arrival on the scene of a Hindutva-driven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under Narendra Modi, and of social media platforms. In bashing Pakistan, some even calling for its dismemberment, there’s no real difference between the right and the left in India or the many shades in between. Once again, after the April 22 Pahalgam attack, we are at that stage; once again there’s talk in India of punishing Pakistan. Even the negligible few who caution against rashness nonetheless muse about how to punish Pakistan without starting an Armageddon. There are almost no voices challenging India’s occupation ...