Pakistan

At least 29 schoolchildren and their driver were injured on Tuesday when a school van plunged off a steep mountainous road in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Sunday praised her administration's pace and dedication in completing development projects across the province, calling it a milestone achievement in record time.

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to set up ‘Chief Minister Health Vigilance Squad’ in the province, besides banning the use of mobile phones by nurses and paramedics. Presiding over a meeting here on Monday, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also directed implementation of ‘Red & Blue Code Emergency System’ in the hospitals across the province. She ordered that doctors at the public hospitals should be trained in the use of the code system. “The CM Health Vigilance Squad will visit the hospitals and review implementation of the directives of Ms Nawaz,” the meeting was told. The chief minister also directed provision of ventilators for children and adults in every teaching and district headquarters hospital. She reviewed the plan to deploy trained doctors in the districts in a phased manner, besides setting up catheterisation laboratories in the hospitals. Nurses, paramedics barred from using mobile phones She underscored the presence of consultants and heart surgeons in the district headquarters hospitals ...

Acknowledging strong Pak-ASEAN cooperation, Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Tuesday underscored the potential to further deepen ties across diverse areas including trade, tourism, connectivity, IT, and education.

An Islamabad court ordered the blocking of 27 YouTube channels for allegedly airing anti-state content and spreading “false, misleading and fake” information, it emerged on Tuesday. The federal government established the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to probe illegal activities on social med­ia. The NCCIA, operating under the Interior Divi­sion, has a key role in combatting cybercrime in Pakistan. Sub-Inspector (SI) Waseem Khan of the NCCIA’s Cyber Crime Circle informed the Islamabad judicial magistrate on June 24 that under Section 37 (unlawful online content) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, the department was conducting an inquiry regarding 27 “Youtube channels who are involved in disseminating and propagating fake and misleading information against the state Institutions which is likely to cause fear, panic, disorder or unrest in the general public or society along with defamatory and fake remarks/information, which violates the privacy and harms the dignity of the off...

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman delivered a forceful press conference in Lahore, warning that any attempt by Pakistan to recognize Israel or join the Abraham Accords would be met with strong public resistance.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday issued an alert for heavy rainfall in several parts of the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeast Punjab, Azad Kashmir and parts of Balochistan, for the next two days. Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat. They are crucial to replenishing water supplies and agriculture, and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security. However, they also wreak havoc by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. At least 19 people lost their lives in Balochistan, KP, and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi due to rain-related incidents in the past two days. An alert by the National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) about a possible flood-like situation in various parts of the country has prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to order the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) stands as the most vulnerable province in Pakistan to the ongoing monsoon crisis, revealing critical infrastructural weaknesses and governance gaps that intensify the disaster’s impact.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday appointed Qatari mountaineer and royal family member Sheikha Asma Al Thani as the brand ambassador for Pakistan’s mountains and tourism after she recently successfully summited Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest mountain on Earth located in Gilgit-Baltistan region. Known as the “Killer Mountain,” the 8,126-metre-high peak is considered one of the world’s most dangerous climbs due to its severe weather conditions and rough terrain. In a post on X, the premier felicitated Sheikha Asma on the achievement. “I am pleased to appoint Her Highness Sheikha Asma Al Thani as the Brand Ambassador for Pakistan’s mountains and tourism. “My heartfelt felicitations to Her Highness on her recent feat of scaling Nanga Parbat. It is truly inspiring,” he wrote. “Her achievement sends a powerful message of courage and determination, and stands as a testament to the enduring friendship between Pakistan and Qatar,” he added. In a post on Instagram, Sheikha Asma described the relentless challeng...

he government has decided to import up to 500,000 metric tons of sugar to ensure a stable supply and maintain affordable prices nationwide.

A woman was arrested in the Kata Kot area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Haripur district on Monday for allegedly beating her stepson to death, police said. In the first information report (FIR), seen by Dawn.com and registered at the Kot Najibullah Police Station, the seven-year-old victim’s father stated he was at work in Taxila when his wife called him after 3pm, informing him that his son “had been struck in the head by some people in the street.” “When I reached home, I found my son in a bed with his body bearing marks of brutal torture, and he was dead,” the victim’s father stated in the FIR. He added in the report that when he grilled his wife, she said the boy was making a noise inside the house, so she beat him with a stick. The complainant further requested the police to take legal action against his wife as she had allegedly tortured his child to death, the FIR said. According to Haripur District Police Officer Farhan Khan, the suspect was arrested within an hour of the FIR being registered. He added that...

The Sindh government has constituted a five-member committee to investigate the recent collapse of a residential building in Karachi’s Baghdadi area of Lyari, which claimed 27 lives on July 4.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday asked the relevant authorities to present a comprehensive action plan to boost agricultural production and introduce agriculture reforms in the country.

Bullish sentiment returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index to a record-breaking level.

Posts from multiple users on social media platforms X and TikTok on July 4 shared a video allegedly showing a woman Punjab assistant commissioner slapping a local man for setting up an illegal roadside stall. However, the video actually shows a woman confronting a scammer and was shared as far back as October 2024. On July 4, an X user, who appeared to be anti-government based on his past posts, posted a video showing a woman hitting a man while a small crowd of people could be seen gathered around her. The post was captioned: “Government of Punjab, Pakistan, The assistant commissioner got angry over allegedly setting up a roadside stall illegally. Is an assistant commissioner authorised to slap a citizen like this? Does any law allow such humiliation of a citizen?” The post was viewed by 674,000 people. The video with the same claim was also shared here, here, here, here, here, here and here on X, and on TikTok here, here, here, here and here. A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim...

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday announced the 15-member squad for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh set to be held later this month. Pakistan’s tour will be a reciprocal one after they hosted Bangladesh for three T20Is over the last two months, all won by the home team and played in Lahore. According to a press release by the cricket board, Salman Ali Agha will continue to lead the side in the T20Is. “The three-match T20Is series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played from July 20-24 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka,” the statement said. The matches will be held on July 20, 22 and 24. The squad for the white-ball series against West Indies will be announced in due course, the statement added. Pakistan squad Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wicket keeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicket keeper), Saim Ayub, Salman M...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he has nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, presenting the US president with a letter he sent to the prize committee. The move comes as Israel continues its onslaught on Gaza, which has so far killed 57,523 Palestinians. Last year, the UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court said he, along with ex-defence minister Yoav Gallant, “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival”, including food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity. “He’s forging peace as we speak, in one country, in one region after the other,” Netanyahu said at a dinner with Trump at the White House. View this post on Instagram Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal lawmakers over the years and has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the...

The board of directors of K-Electric (KE) on Tuesday re-appointed Moonis Alvi as the chief executive officer (CEO), read a statement issued by the power company. “The board of directors, in its meeting held on July 7, 2025, has re-appointed Syed Moonis Abdullah Alvi as Chief Executive Officer of K-Electric with effect from July 30, 2025,” read a press release by KE. Alvi joined KE in 2008 and has held key roles in the organisation as the chief financial officer, company secretary and head of treasury prior to his appointment as CEO in 2018, KE said. “He brings to the helm 30 years of diversified financial experience and has led the creation of a future-ready entity by emphasising digitisation, customer centricity and investments across the energy value chain,” the electricity distribution company said. In 2020, Alvi and other senior officials of KE were booked after yet another unsuspecting citizen lost their life due to electrocution in Karachi. The government also constituted a special committee to act as o...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Tuesday handed Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other organisers of the group into police custody for 10 days, extending their three-month detention. In March, Mahrang and other BYC members were arrested for “attacking” the Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence”, a day after the group faced a police crackdown while protesting against alleged enforced disappearances. The BYC is a Baloch advocacy group working against enforced disappearances since 2018. Mahrang has been held at the Hudda District Prison in Quetta under Section 3 of the Mainte­nance of Public Order (MPO) — a law that empowers authorities to arrest and detain individuals suspected of posing a threat to public order. Mahrang’s counsel, Advocate Israr Baloch, told Dawn.com that the BYC organiser and five other activists were presented before Judge Saadat Bazai, who approved the state prosecutor’s request for their 10-day physical remand. The other activists were ...

The number of Pakistanis seeking political asylum in Europe has declined in 2024, following a record surge in 2023, according to the latest EU asylum trends report.