Pakistan

EPA told to deploy officers at all entry, exit points

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has arrived in London, where she is staying at Avenfield House.

A demolition operation carried out at a bird market in Lahore’s Bhati Chowk area, near Data Darbar, has become mired in controversy, with shopkeepers accusing the Punjab government of killing dozens of birds and other caged pets, allegations the government has denied. The operation was conducted on Wednesday morning by joint teams of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (Tepa) to launch the Bhaati Chowk remodeling project, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and control pollution. “The market consisted of a total of 149 shops, including some tuck (pan) shops. Around 13 to 14 [shops] were situated in the front, where the shopkeepers were able to take out the birds and cages late at night. The other shopkeepers could not do this since they closed the shops in the evening as per routine,“ Bahu Khan, Lahore Bhaati bird association office bearer told Dawn. “Thus, all birds (parrots, sparrows, etc) were buried to death after the field operation teams raise...

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Friday told a PTI delegation that the matter of the nomination of the opposition leader in the house is “sub judice”. After the conviction of Omer Ayub Khan in the May 9 cases, the party nominated Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai as opposition leader in the National Assembly. The speaker stated that the matter is under consideration during a meeting with a parliamentary delegation of the PTI — led by party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and comprising former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and other PTI members — at Parliament House. An official handout issued by the NA Secretariat also said that “during the meeting, detailed discussions were held regarding the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition in the House and the speaker informed the delegation that the matter was currently sub judice.” The speaker emphasised that the Parliament was the most important and credible institution of democracy, and all political parties s...

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Friday that his party would oppose any proposed amendment that seeks to reduce the powers granted to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held consultations with ruling allies to secure support for the controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment, with the government expected to table the bill in the Senate within days. “The provinces have a constitutional right to an increased NFC (National Finance Commission) award, not a reduced one,” he said, warning that if provincial rights were stripped, the JUI-F would “strongly oppose it.” Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Fazl said his party had agreed on certain points in principle, but would only comment further once a draft of the 27th Constitutional Amendment was presented. Commenting on proposed changes to Article 243, he said the matter must be viewed in two ways: “If it is used to affect democracy, the Constitution or politics, we will not accept it. But if it is purely...

Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi says Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train service will be resumed by the end of this year.

Pakistan on Friday strongly condemned India’s unilateral and illegal suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), calling on the international community to prevent the “weaponisation” of shared natural resources.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday condemned remarks by the province’s Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi, “disparaging the security forces and assailing counter-terrorism operations in KP.” Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail a day prior, the CM alleged that security forces in KP would bring dogs into mosques and tie them down there, thereby violating the sanctity of holy places. “When we would go and tell them that they are violating the sanctity of the mosque, they would tell us ‘you and these dogs are no different’,” CM Afridi said. “Despite this, we still support them … but do they know the pain of my people?” Taking to X and posting a video of the CM’s remarks, Kundi wrote that he condemned any rhetoric that undermined the “honour and sacrifice” of the armed forces. “The brave sons of our soil lay down their lives to protect our province — questioning their intent in sensational terms only damages morale and public safety,” he wrote. Kundi affirmed the importance of intelligence-b...

For nearly a year, engineers working at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), represented by the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP), have been raising their voices over what they describe as unfair treatment and safety concerns within the airline. Recently, however, the matter has escalated, turning into a protest, resulting in the delay of flights and leading to the suspension of a few SAEP officials. On Monday night, the aircraft engineers refused to issue clearance certificates to aircraft, because of which hundreds of passengers were stranded at different airports due to long delays in the flights, especially those scheduled for Saudi Arabia. Why are engineers protesting? According to SAEP representatives, the protest was carried out over two primary issues: salary disparities as well as safety and the unavailability of spare parts. SAEP members claim that while pilots receive salary hikes, engineers’ pay remains stagnant. Moreover, the engineers claim they are often told to reuse old aircr...

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday reserved its decision on a petition to stay the by-elections in Punjab Assembly constituency PP-73 Sargodha.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday arrived in Baku to attend the Victory Day ceremony of Azerbaijan at the invitation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

The government has assured that the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment will not alter the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, addressing concerns raised by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

A constitutional petition has been filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s Karachi Registry challenging the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, which the petitioner claims seeks to limit the constitutional jurisdiction and independence of the superior judiciary.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed the Punjab government to launch an extensive province-wide campaign against smoke-emitting vehicles to combat the worsening smog and air pollution.

Explosions at a mosque in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta that injured dozens of people during Friday prayers could have been an attack, officials indicated, with a 17-year-old identified as the suspected perpetrator. Police said 55 people were in hospitals with a range of minor to serious injuries, including burns, after the blasts at the mosque inside a school complex in the Kelapa Gading area. “The explosion was loud, so loud that I could not breathe because I was shocked,” said Luciana, 43, who was working at the school canteen at the time. She described multiple blasts and panic as dozens fled the complex. “I thought it was a short circuit or the sound system which exploded — we were so afraid, so we rushed out.” Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, speaking to the media after visiting a hospital, said the young male suspect was undergoing surgery, without giving more details or a possible motive. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his condolences over the incident in a post on X, offering prayers for t...

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday to challenge the “attempts to do away with the constitutional jurisdiction of the superior judiciary”, apparently by means of a 27th Constitutional Amendment. The proposed changes to the Constitution have raised concerns that the move could roll back some powers devolved under the landmark 18th Constitution Amendment and further “fine-tune” the structure and the functioning of the superior judiciary. “The said proposal, as publicly reported, contemplates the establishment of separate ‘Constitutional Courts’ and the curtailment or transfer of the existing jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the high courts of Pakistan conferred under Articles 184(3) and 199 of the Constitution. “Such an attempt, if permitted to proceed, would fundamentally alter the constitutional framework, destroy the independence of the judiciary, violate the doctrine of separation of powers, and extinguish the citizens’ right of access to justice and judicial review guarante...

The Foreign Office has confirmed that Pakistan is engaged in ongoing negotiations with the Afghan Taliban in Istanbul, advising the public and media to disregard unverified claims circulating on social media.

Parliamentary Secretary for Communications Gul Asghar Khan on Friday informed the National Assembly that the Hyderabad–Sukkur Motorway (M-6) project is progressing through multiple financing and partnership arrangements, with different sections expected to be completed between 2028 and 2029.

Forests across Punjab have suffered massive losses from recurring wildfires, with more than 6,000 acres reduced to ashes over the past three years.