Pakistan

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has departed for China to attend the 14th Joint Coordination Committee meeting on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, scheduled in Beijing on Friday.

The Balochistan High Court on Monday granted bail to tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz Satakzai, a key suspect in the Degari honour killing case involving the brutal murder of a couple allegedly on the orders of a local Jirga.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed from London on Monday for New York, where he will lead Pakistan’s delegation at a high-level segment of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) session. At the UNGA session, PM Shehbaz “will urge the international community to resolve the situations of prolonged occupation and denial of the right to self-determination,” particularly in India-occupied Kashmir and Palestine, an earlier statement by the Foreign Office (FO) said. “He will also highlight Pakistan’s perspective on the regional security situation, as well as other issues of international concern, including climate change, terrorism, Islamophobia, and sustainable development.” The FO, in its statement, said PM Shehbaz would attend several “high-level events” on the sidelines of the UNGA session, including a moot of “select” Muslim leaders with US President Donald Trump. Further, during his visit, he will meet several world leaders and senior UN officials to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. “He w...

The Supreme Court Registrar’s Office has returned constitutional petitions submitted by five judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), raising objections over their admissibility.

Chairman of the Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and Australian High Commissioner Neil Hawkins on Monday held detailed discussions on advancing bilateral relations and exploring new avenues of cooperation in diverse fields.

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is all set to host an international conference on biosciences on September 23, aiming to foster collaboration and shape the future direction of biosciences.

Posts from multiple pro-Pakistani accounts on social media platform X since September 18 shared a video, claiming that it allegedly showed the Indian Army chief admitting to the loss of four Rafale Jets during the May standoff between India and Pakistan. However, the video is doctored and does not show the Indian Army chief. Pakistan and India fought in a four-day conflict earlier in May 2025. Indian fighter jets were shot down by the Pakistan Air Force on the night of May 6-7 in response to the Indian Air Force’s late-night missile strikes at six Pakistani sites, including Subhan Mosque in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East, Bilal Mosque in Muzaffarabad, Abbas Mosque in Kotli, Umalkura Mosque in Muridke, the village of Kotki Lohara in Sialkot district, and Shakargarh. Pakistan took down six Indian jets, including three advanced French Rafale planes, one Su-30MKI, one Mirage 2000 and one MiG-29, within a 40-minute span. Not one Pakistani jet crossed the border or engaged in close combat. On Sept 18, an X account, tha...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday departed from London for New York to participate in the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

India men’s captain Suryakumar Yadav claimed matches against Pakistan can no longer be considered a real rivalry after his side extended their recent dominance over the Green Shirts with a six-wicket victory in their Asia Cup Super Four clash on Sunday. India’s second win over Pakistan at the T20 tournament padded their head-to-head record in the format to 11-3 against the Green Team, with one match tied. Pakistan still has a lead in the overall record against India across all three formats with 88 wins against India’s 79 victories. Played against the backdrop of lingering tensions between the two nations in the wake of their military conflict in May, there were no handshakes between the players once again. “According to me, if two teams play 15-20 matches and if it is 7-7 or 8-7, then that is called a rivalry,” Suryakumar told reporters. “But 13-0, 10-1. I don’t know what the stats are. But this is not a rivalry anymore.” Defending champions India dropped four catches during the match, and Suryakumar said th...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Monday inaugurated the electric bus service in Sahiwal, expanding the modern public transport initiative after its recent launch in Sargodha.

The 23rd relief consignment, comprising 100 tons of humanitarian aid, was dispatched to Gaza via a special flight from Allama Iqbal International Airport, with support from the Alkhidmat Foundation and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Sunday launched the second phase of the Green Tractor Scheme, bringing relief to thousands of farmers across the province.

China’s top internet regulator announced on Monday a sweeping two-month crackdown on social media, vowing to combat content containing “malicious incitement of conflict” and “negative outlooks on life such as world-weariness”. Beijing requires social media companies to moderate content on their platforms, with posts strictly controlled to avoid anything deemed to be too subversive, vulgar, pornographic or generally harmful. The notice from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) follows announcements of penalties this month against three popular digital platforms, which it said had neglected content management duties. On Saturday, the CAC said it would carry out “disciplinary and punitive measures” against micro-blogging platform Weibo and short video platform Kuaishou, accusing them of highlighting celebrity news and “undesirable” content. The announcement followed similar action taken by the CAC on September 11 against the Instagram-like Xiaohongshu, known as Rednote in English. Authorities have not sp...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Monday issued a bailable arrest warrant for PTI senior leader Asad Qaiser in a case related to the March 2023 clashes outside the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC). Hours-long clashes took place between PTI workers and the Islamabad police on March 18, 2023, when former prime minister Imran Khan arrived at the FJC to attend a hearing in the first Toshakhana case, in which he was later arrested in August that year and has been behind bars since then. The same day, the Punjab police personnel had entered Imran’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore, which had also been the venue of a chaotic stalemate between the cops and the PTI just days before. ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra presided over today’s hearing. Advocate Sardar Masroof Khan, Amna Ali and others appeared as the legal team for the PTI leaders, while Advocate Sardar Muhammad Razzaq was present as former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi’s counsel. The judge issued a bailable arrest warrant for Qaiser, ordering that h...

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab has said that water levels remain normal across most areas of the province, though the Sutlej River continues to experience medium to low flood at various headworks.

Venture capital is starting to trickle back into Pakistan. In the latest round, mobility startup BusCaro raised $2 million last week, bringing its total funding to $3.5m. The round was led by UAE-based Daman Investments, with participation from US/Saudi Cartography Capital, New York’s Epic Angest, UK’s Wahed Ventures, the Aga Khan Development Network’s Accelerate Prosperity, and a mix of angel investors. BusCaro, which offers shared commute services, was born in late 2022 — a time that could not have been less propitious for mobility startups. The world was emerging from the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war had triggered a global crisis, Pakistan was reeling from floods, and the local mobility sector was collapsing. Airlift and Swvl had folded, and Uber had exited Pakistan. What was once the hottest space had suddenly become a no-go zone. That’s when Maha Shahzad, former general manager of Swvl, launched BusCaro — putting its first bus on the road just a day after Swvl shut down. The journey since then has be...

Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan visited Lahore Airport on Sunday to oversee the dispatch of a humanitarian aid consignment for the people of Gaza and Palestine, organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday underscored the importance of unity and solidarity, terming them the foundation of Pakistan’s recent emphatic victory against Indian aggression and a prerequisite for lasting economic strength.

The federal government has decided to take political and religious parties into confidence regarding the ongoing nationwide cervical cancer vaccination campaign.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested 89 terrorists in 940 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) launched across Punjab over the past three months, the department said in a statement on Monday. There has been a recent uptick in terror attacks in Pakistan over the past year. The CTD regularly carries out operations to prevent and investigate terrorism-related activities and gather intelligence. During the three months, 14 terrorists were arrested in Lahore, 14 in Rawalpindi, seven each in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur, six each in Jhang and Sargodha, five in Sahiwal, four from Gujranwala and three each from Bahawalnagar and Gujrat, the statement read. “Of the arrested terrorists, 55 belong to Fitna al Khawarij, five are from ISIS (Islamic State), and two each are from Al-Qaeda, Hizb-ut-Tahrir and Jeay Sindh,” the statement added. The state uses the term Fitna al Khawarij to refer to terrorists of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to the CTD, items seized during the raids include 2...