Pakistan

A massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in eastern Iraq has left at least 69 people dead and 11 others missing, the city’s health authorities and two police sources told Reuters on Thursday. Reuters’ footage of the aftermath of the overnight fire showed the blackened exterior of “Corniche Hypermarket” building, with rescue teams and security forces still at the site. Videos verified by Reuters showed firefighters spraying water on the blazing building overnight and people climbing from the roof with the help of rescue teams. View this post on Instagram “We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris,” city official Ali al-Mayahi told Reuters. Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person told AFP that his five relatives died in an elevator. Several people told AFP they lost family members, including mothers and children who had gone to shop and dine at the mall. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the province’s governor said initial res...

The Taliban government said on Thursday it had not arrested or monitored Afghans involved in a secret British resettlement plan after a data breach was revealed this week. Thousands of Afghans who worked with the United Kingdom were brought to Britain with their families in a secret programme after a 2022 data breach put their lives at risk, the UK government revealed on Tuesday. The scheme was only revealed after the UK High Court lifted a super-gag order banning any reports of the events. UK Defence Minister John Healey said the leak was not revealed because of the risk that the Taliban authorities would obtain the data set and the lives of Afghans would be put at risk. “Nobody has been arrested for their past actions, nobody has been killed and nobody is being monitored for that,” the Afghan government’s deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, told reporters on Thursday. “Reports of investigation and monitoring of a few people whose data has been leaked are false.” After the Taliban swept back to power in 2021...

The price of 24 karat per tola gold decreased by Rs.

Two people lost their lives and three others were injured after a building’s roof collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari area on Thursday.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has said he is not aware of any planned visit by US President Donald Trump to Pakistan.

Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi has summoned a session of the provincial assembly on July 20, a day before the scheduled Senate elections in the province.

Two people died and three others were injured when the roof of a six-storey building collapsed in the Khada Market area of Karachi’s Lyari, rescue and police officials said. The incident occurred almost two weeks after a five-storey building collapsed earlier this month in Lyari’s Lea Market, killing 27 people. This incident raised serious concerns about building safety, prompting authorities to evacuate other dilapidated buildings in the city. Regarding the incident today, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassaanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn.com, “Two women have died in the accident, while more than two others are reported to have been injured.” Providing details of the incident, he said: “The building was dilapidated. Some labourers were working on the roof of the sixth floor when it collapsed.” He added that the rescue operation has been completed. Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) South, Asad Raza, confirmed that the two people were killed and three others were injured in the incident. “The top floor of the si...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday chaired a high-level review meeting on development projects under the current fiscal year, directing that third-party validation be made mandatory to ensure transparency in key public welfare initiatives including clean drinking water, electricity, communications, and education.

The Pakistan Army on Thursday rescued over 20 people trapped in flood-hit areas of Jhelum, Punjab, as part of ongoing relief and rescue operations following heavy monsoon rains across the province.

US President Donald Trump is expected to visit Pakistan on September 18, 2025, as part of his upcoming tour of South Asia, according to official sources.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will travel to Kabul on a day-long visit for the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Joint Feasibility Study of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project, the Foreign Office announced on Thursday.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa promised to protect the rights of Druze citizens on Thursday as a ceasefire appeared to be holding in the country’s south following US intervention to end fighting between government forces and Druze fighters. Overnight, the government’s troops withdrew from the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, where scores of people have been killed in days of conflict pitting local fighters against the Damascus authorities and Bedouin tribes. The violence in Syria escalated sharply on Wednesday as Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus while pressing attacks on government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying Israel aimed to protect Syria’s Druze minority. Describing Syria’s new rulers as “barely disguised jihadists”, Israel has bombed repeatedly this year, saying it will not allow Syrian government forces to deploy into areas near its frontier. Facing calls from Israel’s own Druze minority to shield Syria’s Druze, Israel has also seized ground in the south. In ...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to ensure easy access to agricultural loans for small and medium-scale farmers, particularly those owning less than 12 acres of land, emphasizing that their access to modern agricultural facilities must be a top priority.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called an emergency meeting in response to the devastation caused by relentless monsoon rains across Punjab, particularly in Rawalpindi and surrounding cities, where at least 63 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents over the past 36 hours.

ISLAMABAD - A high-level Chinese police delegation on Wednesday called on Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, with both sides agreeing to enhance collaboration between the police departments of Beijing and Islamabad.

The third spell of monsoon rains is expected to hit Karachi starting tomorrow (Friday), bringing light to moderate showers to the city, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

The federal government has approved civil awards for 71 Pakistani citizens in recognition of their exceptional bravery and dedicated service to the nation.

Rawalpindi - A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) here on Wednesday allowed former Punjab chief minister Pervez Elahi not to appear before an accountability court hearing a corruption reference against him.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh Police killed two militants linked to the outlawed group Fitna al-Khawarij during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) near Mochko on Hub River Road, officials confirmed on Thursday.

Heavy monsoon rainfall has wreaked havoc across Punjab and Balochistan, leaving at least 59 people dead in the past 24 hours and causing widespread flooding and destruction.