Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, speaking to the media outside Lahore’s Data Darbar, said Pakistan delivered a powerful and unforgettable response to Indian aggression on May 9 and 10, asserting that the country emerged victorious in the eyes of the international community.

Despite a U.

Pope Leo on Saturday appointed a French archbishop as the new leader of the Vatican’s commission on clergy sexual abuse, in the US pontiff’s first public move to confront an issue that has damaged the global Church’s credibility. Thibault Verny, 59, will be president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors while also remaining the archbishop of Chambery in southeast France. The Vatican commission was created by Pope Francis in 2014 in an effort by the late pontiff to respond after sexual abuse scandals affected the Church in countries across the world. The scandals have damaged the Church’s standing as a moral voice, led to lawsuits costing millions in countries across the globe, and resulted in a number of resignations of bishops. Verny said he was committed to improving the Church’s safeguarding measures. “We will promote the […] equitable sharing of resources so that all parts of the Church, regardless of geography or circumstance, can uphold the highest standards of protection,” he said ...

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi on Saturday visited the entry and exit points of the central 9th Muharram procession at Imambargah Asna Ashri in Sector G-6 to personally inspect and supervise the security arrangements.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, met on Saturday with Dr.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Monday criticized the absence of an air ambulance during the recent tragic incident in Swat, revealing that although an air ambulance had been prepared, it was reportedly unavailable at the time.

The Dalai Lama said on Saturday he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death. The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110. “I have been able to serve the Buddhadharma (the teachings of Buddhism) and the beings of Tibet so far quite well,” he said between prayers, clearing his throat now and then. “And still, I hope to live over 130 years,” he said, sparking applause and cheers among his followers. The 14th Dalai Lama, already the longest-lived head of Tibetan Buddhism, spent about 90 minutes at the prayers in his temple. The ceremony was attended by thousands of followers from around the world who gathered in the nor...

Turkiye arrested three more opposition mayors early on Saturday as part of an investigation into alleged graft, officials from the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) said, denouncing it as a “political operation”. The early morning arrests were the latest move targeting elected officials of the CHP as the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan puts increasing pressure on the party, which won a huge victory against his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the 2024 local elections and is rising in the polls. The arrests were linked to an investigation into alleged graft which resulted in the removal in March of Istanbul’s powerful opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, whose jailing sparked mass protests in Turkiye’s worst street unrest since 2013. Imamoglu is Erdogan’s biggest political rival and the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential race. Earlier this week, police arrested more than 120 people as part of a probe into alleged graft in the opposition stronghold of Izmir, Turkiye’s t...

The federal government has officially notified a 10 percent increase in salaries for its employees, including personnel from the armed forces and civil armed forces.

Mobile phone and internet services were suspended in several cities across Pakistan on Saturday as part of enhanced security measures for the 9th of Muharram-ul-Haram, observed with solemnity to honour the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his companions.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had signed 12 trade letters to be sent out next week ahead of an impending deadline for his tariffs to take effect. “I signed some letters and they’ll go out on Monday, probably 12,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that the countries to which the letters would be sent will be announced on the same day. His comments come days before steeper duties — which the president said on Thursday would range between 10 and 70 per cent — are set to take effect on dozens of economies, from Taiwan to the European Union. The tariffs were part of a broader announcement in April where Trump imposed a 10pc duty on goods from almost all trading partners, with a plan to step up these rates for a select group within days. But he swiftly paused the hikes until July 9, allowing for trade talks to take place. With less than a week to go before July 9, Pakistan and the United States concluded a critical round of trade negotiations yesterday, reaching an understanding o...

The 9th Round of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) between Pakistan and Poland was held in Warsaw, where both sides reviewed the full range of bilateral relations and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation across multiple sectors.

In a successful intelligence-based operation, police and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) eliminated three suspected members of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Tipu Group in Lakki Marwat, officials confirmed Saturday.

Three suspected terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban’s (TTP) Tipu Gul group were killed in a joint operation by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district last night, police said on Saturday. Aamir Khan, the spokesperson for Lakki Marwat police, said in a statement today that the CTD, in collaboration with the local police, carried out an intelligence-based operation in the Bathani Neh area near Harama Tala village and killed three wanted militants. The police statement said that the terrorists belonged to the TTP’s Tipu Gul group and were involved in the targeted killing of Waheedullah of the CTD, Traffic Constable Anwar Sher and Constable Idrees. The statement added that the encounter lasted for about 25 minutes. The police identified the suspected militants as Waseemullah alias Umar Khattab, Qudratullah alias Abu Bakr, and Hijratullah alias Hijrat. They were residents of Gundi Khan Khel, Hijratullah, and Serai Gambila Town’s Harama Ta...

A devastating road accident near Langer Sarai in Muzaffargarh claimed six lives and left 18 others injured when a passenger bus collided head-on with a trailer.

Search and rescue operations stretched into Saturday as teams worked tirelessly for a second consecutive day to recover survivors and bodies from the rubble of a five-storey residential building that collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari’s Baghdadi area.

IT was an avoidable tragedy. Another residential building collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari neighbourhood on Friday, resulting in a number of casualties, including women and children. Nine deaths had been reported as these words were being written. It was the third structural collapse incident in the city in two days. A day earlier, the third-floor roof of a building had collapsed in the Moosa Lane area, killing two; separately, an entire section of a six-storey building had collapsed under the weight of its rooftop water tank in Ghulam Hussain Qasim Quarters, thankfully without casualties. In each case, the buildings had been previously declared unsafe by the Sindh Building Control Authority, but evacuation orders were repeatedly ignored. A review of the city’s records reveals that there have been multiple structural collapse incidents in Karachi in recent years, with many involving condemned buildings. The question naturally arises: why has the SBCA been so helpless in enforcing its writ? The problem is a multif...

The Armed Forces of Pakistan, including the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and heads of the Air Force and Navy, paid solemn tribute to Captain Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed, Nishan-e-Haider, on his 26th martyrdom anniversary.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a critical alert warning of potential Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to accelerated glacier melting triggered by an ongoing heatwave.

A FORMER security contractor for controversial new Israel and US-backed aid distribution sites witnessed colleagues opening fire several times on hungry Palestinians who had posed no threat. Speaking to BBC News, the contractor recalled one occasion when a guard had opened fire from a watchtower with a machine gun because a group of women, children and elderly people were moving away from the site too slowly. Although the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has denied the allegations, claiming no civilians ever came under fire at their distribution sites, the BBC recorded 24 incidents where aid seekers were killed in large numbers. The GHF began its operations at the end of May after an 11-week total blockade of Gaza by Israel, during which no food entered the territory. Since it started, Israeli forces have killed more than 400 Palestinians trying to retrieve food aid from its sites, the UN and local doctors say. Guards ‘fire into unarmed crowds, then laugh about it’ Describing the incident where guards fired...