Pakistan

Hundreds of people in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) have fallen victim to water-borne diseases owing to a severe shortage of clean drinking water following devastating floods in the region, government data showed on Thursday. The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as unprecedented heat­­waves, erratic weat­her patterns and glacial melting have triggered cloudbursts and intense floods across the region. On Wednesday, a glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) swept away part of the Karakoram Highway (KKH), while on Tuesday evening, a powerful torrent surged through the Juchar nullah in Gulmit, Gojal, and Hunza, triggered by accelerated glacier melt. “Diamer, Shigar, Skardu, Astore, and Gilgit are most affected by poor and unsafe water, with the people of these districts being admitted to hospitals and clinics every day,” said GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq. A government report said children under the age of five have also begun falling victim to cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid and p...

More than 360 people fell ill in Indonesia’s town of Sragen in Central Java after consuming school lunches, an official said on Thursday, in the largest food poisoning case to hit President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme. Since its launch in January, the free school meals programme has been marred by mass food poisoning cases across the archipelago, affecting over 1,000 people. Sragen government chief Sigit Pamungkas told Reuters that 365 people fell ill and a food sample was being tested in a lab. The government would pay for any medical treatment if needed. Wizdan Ridho Abimanyu, a ninth grader at Gemolong 1 middle school, told Reuters he was woken at night by sharp pain in his stomach. He had a headache and diarrhoea, which he deduced had been caused by food poisoning after seeing schoolmates’ social media posts complaining of the same. The likely contaminated lunch was turmeric rice, omelette ribbons, fried tempeh, cucumber and lettuce salad, sliced apple and a box of milk, cooked in a c...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a warning of accelerated snow and glacier melt in Gilgit-Baltistan as temperatures in the region remain 7-9 degree celsius above normal.

Pakistani embassies across the world celebrated Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day with traditional zeal and fervour by holding flag hoisting ceremonies and highlighting historical significance of the day.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday visited the under-construction Technology Park in Islamabad and expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work on the project.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the schedule for a by-election on the general Senate seat from Punjab, vacated after the disqualification of PTI’s Ejaz Chaudhry.

A prestigious awards ceremony was held at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday to confer Pakistan’s highest civil and military honours on prominent national figures.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have called for rising beyond divisions and standing united for a Pakistan that is built on justice, equality, and service to all, as the nation celebrates Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day today. They said the day served as a reminder of courage, unity, and sacrifices that led to the creation of Pakistan and paid homage to founding father Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the workers of the Pakistan Movement for their struggle and sacrifices. In his message on the occasion, President Zardari emphasised that the nation had “reaffirmed its strength, resolve, and unity in the face of external aggression”. “Our success in Marka-i-Haq and Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos is a landmark moment in our history,” he said. “It was a demonstration of unshakable national will, professional excellence, and united purpose.” In July, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said this year’s Independence Day would be marked as “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth). The term is used by...

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has congratulated the nation on Pakistan’s Independence Day, calling it a day of sacrifice, struggle, and the fulfillment of the dream of freedom.

At least five cops were martyred and another eight left injured as militants attacked police checkpoints at different locations late at night in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, Upper Dir and Lower Dir, police said on Thursday. Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — including Bannu, Peshawar, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks on police forces. The country has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. In KP’s Upper Dir, three cops were martyred after their mobile was attacked by terrorists, while another six were injured in the same attack, the police said in a statement. Police have launched a search operation to find the perpetrators, and the injured were rushed to the nearby hospital. Meanwhile, in Lower Dir, “two separate terrorist attacks on police checkpoints in the areas of Maidan, Lajbok and Sha...

Oman’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) has issued updated regulations for the Wage Protection System (WPS) under Ministerial Resolution No.

India and China are discussing resuming border trade five years after it was halted, foreign ministry officials on both sides have said, as US tariffs disrupt the global trade order. Past trade across the icy and high-altitude Himalayan border passes between the neighbours was usually small in volume, but any resumption is significant for its symbolism. The two major economic powers have long competed for strategic influence across South Asia. But caught in global trade and geopolitical turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, the countries have moved to mend ties. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to hold talks in New Delhi on Monday, according to Indian media, after his counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Beijing in July. That, as well as agreements to resume direct flights and issue tourist visas, has been seen as an effort to rebuild a relationship damaged after a deadly border clash in 2020 between their nations’ troops. “For a long time, China-India border tr...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due in London to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, to take stock ahead of US President Donald Trump’s key talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Zelensky, who was in Germany on Wednesday, has been working with European leaders to press Trump not to allow Putin to carve up Ukraine’s territory at the Alaska summit. He is due to meet Starmer at 9:30am local time (1:30pm PKT) at the British premier’s official residence, 10 Downing Street. On Wednesday, Trump joined a Germany-hosted virtual meeting with European leaders, including Zelensky, who sought to set red lines ahead of the summit on ending the war in Ukraine. Zelensky said he warned Trump that the Russian leader was “bluffing” about his desire to end the war. Trump later threatened “severe consequences” if Putin does not agree to peace in Ukraine and while he did not specify what the consequences could be, he has warned of economic sanctions if his meeting on Friday pro...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir has reaffirmed that the Pakistan Army is fully prepared to counter conventional, non-conventional, and hybrid threats, vowing to safeguard the country’s sovereignty at all costs.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar has said that the nation is celebrating a “true Independence Day” after defeating an enemy five times bigger, reaffirming the party’s commitment to strengthening democracy and national integrity.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has extended warm greetings to the people of Pakistan on the occasion of the country’s 78th Independence Day, reaffirming Washington’s commitment to deepening bilateral relations.

A minor girl was among three people killed while more than 100 people were injured by aerial firing in Karachi on the eve of Independence Day, according to hospital officials. Incidents of aerial firing are a routine occurrence on occasions such as Independence Day and New Year’s Eve despite bans imposed in the past, often leaving dozens injured. According to a statement issued by police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, a total of 109 people with bullet injuries from aerial firing were brought in from different areas across the metropolis to three major hospitals. Three people were said to be in critical condition. However, police put the injury toll as 67, according to a statement from the office of the Karachi Additional Inspector General (AIG) Javed Alam Odho. Azizabad Station House Officer (SHO) Waqar Kaiser told Dawn.com, “A seven-year-old girl was watching Independence Day fireworks from the second floor gallery of her house in Azizabad Block-8 when a bullet struck her in the head. “A while later, her mother s...

LAHORE: Police attempted to arrest Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Advocate Haider Majeed, who was convicted by a military court, when he was finally released from Kot Lakhpat Jail after completing the two-year term, on Wednesday. PTI leaders Shayan Bashir and Rai Muhammad Ali Kharl, along with party workers, accorded a warm welcome to Advocate Majeed. The workers passionately chanted slogans in favour of the PTI founder Imran Khan and Majeed. Soon after Mr Majeed came out of jail, police pounced and arrested his father and brother. However, Mr Majeed managed to slip away on a motorcycle and reached Model Town courts. Reacting to the police action, Mr Bashir wondered that the Punjab police have become so confused as it did not want to let the PTI leader remain free despite completing his two-year “illegal confinement.” “We strongly condemn the illegal detention of Advocate Majeed’s father and brother,” Mr Bashir added. Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2025

GILGIT / LAHORE: Hun­dreds of travellers and tourists were stranded in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on Wendesday after a glacial lake outburst flood (Glof) swept away part of the Karakoram Highway (KKH), while authorities in Punjab ordered communities along the Sutlej River to evacuate amid forecasts of heavy monsoon rains and floods. In Gulmit, Gojal, Hunza, a powerful torrent surged through the Juchar nullah on Tuesday evening, triggered by accelerated glacier melt. The floodwaters destroyed a women-owned restaurant, a government tourist facilitation centre, orchards, farmland, and critical infrastructure including electricity and internet poles, according to Rescue 1122 officials. A bridge and sections of the KKH were swept away, leaving no alternative route for locals and tourists travelling to and from China via the Khunjerab Pass. “Never experienced such intensity of floods in the nullah,” Saeed Jan, a local resident, told Dawn. The destruction of a fibre optic line has left the area without mobile and interne...

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have extended heartfelt congratulations to the nation on Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day, expressing gratitude to Almighty Allah for the country’s progress and resilience.