Pakistan

The loud echo of hammering fills a wide, desolate compound littered with piles of debris, as labourers carefully demolish the remaining structure of a collapsed five-story building in a neglected neighbourhood of Karachi. Until recently, this building on a pothole-ridden street in Lyari town was home to multiple families, playing a central role in the neighbourhood’s daily life. But decades of neglect and structural deterioration led to a tragic collapse earlier this month, resulting in the deaths of 27 people and injuries to several others, leaving dozens homeless. Most of the victims belonged to the Hindu community. “It felt like a bomb exploded over my head. All I recall is being pulled out of the rubble by people, and there was a lot of screaming,” Rashid Ali, who miraculously survived a fall from the rooftop with a fractured right leg, told Anadolu. Another resident, Chaman Meshuri, described two distinct jolts that shook the building moments before it collapsed, allowing some residents to escape. “I was...

Pakistan on Tuesday signed an agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities.

Acting Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Zaheer Iqbal Chanar, has reinstated 26 opposition members from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who were previously suspended.

The Pakistani and Saudi naval chiefs held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the regional maritime security situation and enhancing defence cooperation. The two countries conducted a bilateral training drill involving their special forces with a high-intensity final test exercise in Karachi in February. The bilateral training exercise was held between the Special Operations Forces (SOFs) of Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) and Special Service Group of Pakistan Navy (SSG-N). A statement issued today from the Pakistan Navy’s (PN) Director General Public Relations said RSNF Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Ghuraybi met Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf at the Naval Headquarters in Islamabad, on Tuesday. The Saudi naval chief was received by Admiral Ashraf and presented with a guard of honour. He was also introduced to the principal staff officers. “During meeting, both leaders discussed matters of mutual interest, regional maritime security situation and avenues for enha...

Punjab government launched Punjab Counter Narcotics Force on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has emphasized the need for the highest level of training for police officers to enable them to efficiently discharge their duties.

At least five people, including children, have died in rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, where relentless monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides, wreaking havoc across the region.

China has broken ground on what it says will be the world’s largest hydropower project, a $170 billion feat capable of generating enough electricity each year to power Britain. The scheme dwarfs the mighty Three Gorges Dam, currently the world’s largest, and Chinese construction and engineering stocks surged after Premier Li Qiang unveiled it on the weekend. For Beijing, the project promises clean power, jobs and a jolt of stimulus for a slowing economy. For neighbours downstream, it stirs old anxieties about water security: the Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions. What exactly did China approve? The plan involves five dams along a 50-kilometre stretch where the river plunges 2,000 metres off the Tibetan Plateau. First power is expected to be generated in the early-to-mid 2030s, but beyond that and the price tag, China has published little information about how it intends to build the project. Why are neighbours concerned That lack of information is compound...

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Sargodha on Tuesday sentenced Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar and 32 other Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers to 10 years of imprisonment each in connection with the May 9 riots case.

Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, held a meeting with Vice Admiral Mohammad Bin Abdul Rehman Al-Ghoraibi, Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, to discuss matters of mutual interest, regional maritime security, and enhanced bilateral collaboration.

The Punjab government on Tuesday officially launched the Punjab Counter-Narcotics Force, aimed at intensifying efforts to eradicate drug abuse and trafficking across the province.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday met with the Special Envoy for Global Affairs of the Austrian Chancellor Peter Launsky, on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development here.

A young student was allegedly beaten to death by his madressah teachers on Monday evening in Swat’s Chaliyar village, according to the police. Swat District Police Spokesperson Moin Fayaz said in a statement that the victim, Farhan, had missed classes for a few days before the incident occurred. Police and eyewitnesses said that three teachers reportedly beat Farhan in front of fellow students. “He had just returned to school after being absent for some days,” said one of Farhan’s classmates, who chose not to be named. “Our teachers started hitting him hard. Later, they dragged him into a side room and kept beating him. I was called in to bring water. He drank a little, then put his head in my lap — and just went silent.” Farhan was rushed to the nearest hospital by students and teachers, but doctors declared him dead upon arrival, according to Fayaz. A first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, has been registered against all three suspects under Sections 302 (premeditated mu...

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is accelerating preparations to resume direct flights to the United Kingdom in August 2025, following the recent lifting of a five-year ban on Pakistani airlines by British authorities.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced plans to hold a public rally at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on August 5, calling for the release of party founder Imran Khan.

At least five children lost their lives in rain-related incidents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district as torrential rains triggered flash floods in various parts of the region, rescue officials said on Tuesday. Monsoon rains continue to lash many parts of the country, prompting authorities to release an urban flooding warning. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 221 people have been killed and more than 500 others injured in rain-related incidents since June 26. According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson Shafiqa Gul, a woman and her two sons were attempting to cross a stream in the Sur Dherai area of Malam Jabba, when her children drowned. “The mother, holding her 10-month-old baby in her arms, was trying to guide her seven-year-old son across the stream when a flash flood struck. In the chaos, she lost control, and the child in her arms was swept away,” Gul said. The bodies of the two sons were recovered by rescue personnel after hours of coordinated effort, the official added. I...

Rescue teams in Rawalpindi are searching for Colonel (retd) Ishaq Qazi and his daughter after their car was swept away by powerful floodwaters on Tuesday.

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has announced significant policy changes to enhance the security, legal recognition, and accuracy of identity documents for families and children across Pakistan.

The United States will soon require international visitors to pay a “visa integrity fee” of at least $250, a new addition to existing visa application costs, according to a provision in the Trump administration’s recently enacted domestic policy bill, CNN reported on Tuesday. In the fiscal year 2024, the US issued nearly 11 million non-immigrant visas according to the State Department. These encompass international students, many leisure and business travellers and other temporary visitors. The new fee will apply to all visitors requiring non-immigrant visas to enter the US. This does not include tourists and business travellers from countries that are included in the Visa Waiver Programme — including Australia and many European countries — that do not need visas for stays of 90 days or less. The fee is to be paid at the time visas are issued. Although there will be no fee waivers for the payment, the provision states that travellers who comply with the terms of their visa can have the fee reimbursed after th...

Iran has no plans to abandon its nuclear programme, including uranium enrichment, despite “severe” damage to its facilities after US strikes last month, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday. For now, enrichment “is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe”, Araghchi told Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier”. “But obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists,” he continued, calling it a source of “national pride”. He stressed that any future nuclear deal would have to contain the right to enrichment. When asked whether any enriched uranium had been saved from the strikes, Araghchi said he had “no detailed information”, but that Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation is “trying to evaluate what has exactly happened to our nuclear material, to our enriched material”. Washington bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 22 to support Israel’s 12-day military offensive, including the Fordow underground uranium enrichment site located south o...