Pakistan

Karachi residents faced disruptions in their daily commute on Monday morning due to traffic jams caused by repair work on tattered and flooded roads in the aftermath of last week’s heavy rains. Torrential rains on August 19 had flooded neighbourhoods, severely strained Karachi’s fragile infrastructure, left people stranded on roads for hours, disrupted industrial operations and led to prolonged power outages. Thoroughfares are still riddled with potholes, exposing the devastation of Karachi’s road network and posing serious dangers to commuters across the metropolis. Subsequently, as Karachiites left their homes for offices and schools this morning, they faced hurdles caused by accumulated rainwater and “development work” being carried out to repair the ruined roads, as reported by the traffic police. Areas in the Malir, East and Korangi districts were affected, with locations including the busy thoroughfare of Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road near Shaheen Complex. Dawn.com staffers also reported traffic congestion nea...

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced on Monday that the spillways of Tarbela Dam were opened at 8:00 am to manage rising water levels.

On the special directives of the Prime Minister, Pakistan has dispatched another consignment of humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.

In a bid to improve public convenience, Director General of Passports Mustafa Jamal Qazi has announced a new administrative structure for passport services across Punjab.

The World Bank on Monday approved a $47.9 million grant to improve primary education in Punjab, saying the project will expand early childhood schooling, re-enrol out-of-school children and strengthen teacher support. The move came over a month after the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the World Bank teams conducted the 12th and final mission to review and evaluate progress against the targets set under the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project. “The World Bank has approved a US$47.9 million grant, funded by the Global Partnership for Education Fund, to help improve girls’ and boys’ participation at pre-primary and primary levels in Pakistan’s Punjab province,” the organisation said in a press release dated August 23, shared on social media today. According to the press release, the GRADES-Balochistan project will also improve the responsiveness of the education sector to climate change and emergencies. Among the four million children that the project aims to benefit are 80,000 out-of-...

India has reached out to Pakistan under the framework of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), sharing early flood warnings for the first time since the May military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, official sources confirmed on Monday.

Pakistan Railways has unveiled plans to launch a high-speed bullet train service between Lahore and Karachi by 2030, cutting travel time between the two provincial capitals from 20 hours to just five.

India fears a planned Chinese mega-dam in Tibet will reduce water flows on a major river by up to 85 per cent during the dry season, according to four sources familiar with the matter and a government analysis seen by Reuters, prompting Delhi to fast-track plans for its own dam to mitigate the effects. The Indian government has been considering projects since the early 2000s to control the flow of water from Tibet’s Angsi Glacier, which sustains more than 100 million people downstream in China, India and Bangladesh. But the plans have been hindered by fierce and occasionally violent resistance from residents of the border state of Arunachal Pradesh, who fear their villages will be submerged and way of life destroyed by any dam. Then in December, China announced that it would build the world’s largest hydropower dam in a border county just before the Yarlung Zangbo river crosses into India. That triggered fears in New Delhi that its longtime strategic rival — which has some territorial claims in Arunachal Prad...

Pakistan Railways has suspended train operations between Quetta and Peshawar for two days due to the prevailing flood situation.

Mansehra - Additional Deputy Commissioner (Relief) Mansehra, Asad Lodhi, has said that 95 percent of compensation has been paid to victims of the recent floods in Haleem Dairy and Neel Bund, the main disaster-hit areas of the district.

ISLAMABAD - An international conference on Kashmir, titled “Jammu and Kashmir in the Current International Political Scenario,” was convened at the European Press Club Brussels, bringing together diplomats, political leaders, academics, and activists to deliberate on the longstanding dispute.

Fatima Sana will lead the women’s side in the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced a 15-member squad for the tournament set to take place in India and Sri Lanka in September. Pakistan will play all their matches of the 50-over World Cup in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo when India hosts this year’s tournament from Sept 30 to November 2. Following India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy earlier this year, a “hybrid model” was decided upon whereby India would play all its matches in Dubai, chosen as a neutral venue. The women’s national selection committee named the squad for the tournament, and announced that the same squad will also feature in a three-match ODI series against South Africa, scheduled at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from Sept 16-22. “Uncapped right-handed batter Eyman Fatima, who recently made her T20I debut against Ireland, is part of the ODI squad,” PCB said. “Fatima Sana, who represented Pakistan in the previous edition o...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif was hosted at a dinner reception by Thailand’s former Prime Minister and prominent business leader in the telecommunications sector, Thaksin Shinawatra.

DPM holds series of high-level engagements in Dhaka Dar, Yunus discuss revitalising SAARC for regional connectivity Bilateral agreements signed to strengthen cooperation Both sides call for tapping trade potential Dar’s visit marks first trip to Bangladesh by Pakistani foreign minister in 13.

Rivers Indus, Chenab likely to become furious in next 24 hours: FFD India releases water into Tawi River n Seven die in DI Khan in rain-related incidents Flash floods claimed 788, lives, injured 1,018 since June 26: NDMA.

ISLAMABAD - China has said the Pakistani Army serves as the ballast of national stability and a staunch defender of the China-Pakistan friendship and cooperation, guaranteeing economic as well as regional prosperity.

Islamabad - Supreme Court’s Justice Athar Minallah has cast doubts on the autonomy of Pakistan’s judicial system, saying the country needed “an independent judiciary and judges”.

The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee on Sunday announced that the moon of Rabi-ul-Awwal 1447 Hijri was not sighted in any part of the country.

• FIR lodged against Chanesar Town chairman Farhan Ghani on terrorism, attempted murder charges • This is not a political matter and we will address it through legal means, says elder brother KARACHI: Chanesar Town chairman Farhan Ghani, younger brother of senior Pakistan Peoples Party leader and local government minister Saeed Ghani, was booked, arrested and remanded in a terrorism and attempted murder case for allegedly assaulting a government employee overseeing fibre optic network laying work on Sharea Faisal. Police got one-day remand of Farhan from a duty magistrate on Sunday. He will be produced before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday (today). In a statement, Saeed Ghani, who is also the president of the PPP Karachi division, said that a dispute occurred on Sharea Faisal within the remit of the Chanesar Town and a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against his brother Farhan and some others. “Soon after, Farhan and his associates voluntarily surrendered themselves to the authorities. ...

LAHORE: A young man who was allegedly tortured by some street vendors over a petty dispute of Rs30 succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital here on Sunday. He was identified as Rashid and his brother Wajid had already died of severe torture marks at the spot. The incident went viral on social media when a video clip showed some street vendors subjecting both brothers to severe torture on a road in Raiwind area two days back. They were lying in a pool of blood and the suspected attackers holding clubs in hands were spotted torturing them at a public place with many onlookers and passersby standing around. According to the video clip, no one from the passersby tried to rescue the two young men when they were being tortured by the attackers. There were reports that the police traced and arrested two of the suspected attackers after lodging a case against them. A police official said Wajid and Rashid had argued with a street vendor over the price of the fruit. He said the minor issue later led to the heated ...