Pakistan

The world’s largest sculpture of the Markhor, Pakistan’s national animal, has been installed at one of Kaghan Valley’s most picturesque locations, Bata Kundi.

The government of Pakistan has reduced the prices of light diesel, kerosene oil and other petroleum products, according to a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

A Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court issued directives on Monday for unfreezing the bank accounts of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust (SKTM) and Namal University in Mianwali. Judge Amjad Hussain Shah issued the instructions in a case pertaining to November 26 protests last year, in which incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, has been facing legal proceedings. SKTM, a charitable organisation established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan, and Namal University were both set up by Imran. The bank accounts of the two institutions were said to have been inadvertently frozen following the issuance of an arrest warrant against Aleema in the case. During today’s proceedings, Shah heard arguments on Aleema’s application for unfreezing her bank accounts. Representatives of the SKTM also attended the hearing and presented arguments in favour of restoring the bank accounts. For his part, prosecutor Zaheer Shah clarified that the prosecution had never sought, either verbally or in ...

The Federal Ministry of Interior on Monday dismissed 13 officers on charges of negligence, corruption and misconduct—many linked to the 2023 Greece boat tragedy—after rejecting their appeals against disciplinary action.

The provincial governments of Punjab and Balochistan have issued the official schedule for winter vacations in all public and private educational institutions.

India’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cyber security app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates. India is one of the world’s largest telephone markets, with more than 1.2 billion subscribers, and government figures show the app, launched in January, has helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones, including 50,000 in October alone. Apple, which has previously locked horns with the telecoms regulator over development of a government anti-spam mobile app, is among the companies, such as Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi bound by the new order. The November 28 order, seen by Reuters, gives major smartphone companies 90 days to ensure that the government’s Sanchar Saathi app is pre-installed on new mobile phones, with a provision that users cannot disable it. For devices already in the supply chain, manufacturers should push the app to phones via software updates, the ministry ...

Pak-EPA enforcement team inspects a vehicle for smoke emission under the ongoing vehicular emission testing drive in Islamabad on Sunday. — White Star ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Environment Protection Agency on Sunday warned owners of smoke-emitting vehicles of stringent action across the federal capital. It said any vehicle found releasing excessive emissions will face strict punitive measures. In a statement, Pak-EPA Director General Nazia Zaib Ali said the agency had intensified its enforcement operations as part of ongoing efforts to curb vehicular pollution, which she described as a major contributor to deteriorating air quality and recurring smog episodes in Islamabad. She said enforcement teams were carrying out regular inspections on major roads, intersections and high-traffic corridors to identify vehicles emitting excessive smoke. Violators would face on-the-spot fines, confiscation of vehicles, or both, depending on the severity of the offence, she added. Ms Nazia reminded the public that driving a ve...

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday his administration intends to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for “a long time” after an Afghan national allegedly shot two National Guard members near the White House, killing one of them. When asked to specify how long it would last, Trump said he had “no time limit” in mind for the measure, which the Department of Homeland Security says is linked to a list of 19 countries already facing US travel restrictions. “We don’t want those people,” Trump continued. “You know why we don’t want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn’t be in our country.” The Trump administration issued the pause in the aftermath of the shooting in Washington on November 26, that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guardsman critically wounded. A 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been arrested and charged with first degree murder in connection with the incident. Lakanwal had been part of a CIA-backed “partner force” fighting the Taliban in...

KARACHI: A woman and a teenage girl were killed and 20 others, including children, were injured after a “private” speedboat collided with a passenger launch at the sea near Manora on Sunday evening, officials said. South DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the wooden launch was heading towards Jetty No 1 from Manora Beach when it collided with the speedboat at about 6:30pm. The impact destroyed the launch, injuring 22 people from four families. They were rescued by the Pakistan Navy and Karachi Port Trust administration and shifted to a private hospital in Clifton and the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for treatment. Two females – Arousa Khurram, 30, and Muqaddas Ejaz, 17 – died during treatment, while two children were placed on ventilators due to their precarious condition. Some of the injured were identified as Daud Khurram, Khadija Jamshed, Yusra Ejaz, Saima Jamshed, Salman Aijaz, Ahad Jamshed, Huzaifa Afzal, Zara Ayub, Urooj Khurram, Amanullah, Arifa, Anushay, Sara, Rayan, Riyan, Ayesha, Mahak Taufiq ...

• Traffic police, KDA’s TEB, Cantt boards, SMTA are involved in regulating traffic, installation of signals, signs across city • Nearly half of city’s 130 traffic signals are out of order, say sources • Mass transit body recently installed 11 signals • Govt mulls single body for traffic engineering KARACHI: While the Sindh government appears to be overzealous about strict implementation of e-challans, the responsibility of traffic engineering remains scattered among multiple entities, hindering the development of a seamless and efficient transportation network in Karachi. Sources told Dawn that the absence of a unified traffic engineering authority was a significant obstacle to designing and implementing solutions — from road design to traffic signal timing — leaving the city’s traffic stuck in multiple gridlocks. They said that the challenging task of traffic engineering and management was at present shared among multiple entities, including the Traffic Engineering Bureau (TEB) of the Karachi Development Aut...

• Afridi announces weekly protests outside IHC, Adiala jail • Claims Imran kept in isolation and visitors denied access • Alleges KP kept deprived of NFC share since 2018 • Special assistant says provincial cabinet to meet every Friday PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on Sunday that the powers-that-be wanted to push the PTI into a conflict, but the party would remain peaceful and not opt for confrontation. “However, the PTI will never hesitate to offer sacrifice,” Mr Afridi added while addressing a news conference at the Chief Minister’s House. He maintained that efforts were being made to corner the PTI, but his party would continue to hold peaceful protests. “Persistent efforts have been made to isolate the PTI, and peaceful protesters were even shot at,” the chief minister said. ‘Imran in isolation’ He continued that PTI founder Imran Khan was being kept in isolation and solitary confinement, and that all his visitors, including the chief minister himself and Mr Khan’s sister...

AFGHAN refugees return to Afghanistan after deportation.—Dawn/file ISLAMABAD: Afghan refugees, awaiting resettlement in the US, have urged the Trump administration to resume the programme, saying that they were living in Pakistan under extreme hardship and constant fear of deportation. The statement from the Afghan P1/P2 case holders came days after the US administration abruptly halted the processing of all immigration requests from Afghan nationals indefinitely after the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House. “We, the Afghan allies and partners of the United States with completed P1/P2 cases, express our deep concern and urgent plea for assistance. Our cases were fully processed, and we were awaiting our flight dates when, on January 20, 2025, the programme was suspended without explanation,” the statement shared with the media said. “For more than three years, we have been living in Pakistan under extreme hardship and constant fear,” it said, while also condemning the Washington atta...

• Suicide bomber, three other terrorists killed at FC HQ • Banned BLA claims responsibility for both assaults QUETTA: Security forces foiled an armed attack on the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in the Nokundi area of the district, killing three attackers late on Sunday night. An FC South spokesman said a group of terrorists targeted the FC headquarters in Nokundi town. “A suicide bomber detonated himself at the main gate of the headquarters, and after the blast, at least half a dozen armed terrorists attempted to force their way into the camp,” the spokesman said, adding that the FC Quick Response Force immediately retaliated and killed three terrorists who had entered the FC fort along with others. Sources said heavy gunfire and multiple blasts were heard from inside the fort. Security forces, however, successfully foiled the attack, according to the FC spokesman. “A clearance operation is under way inside the fort,” he said, adding that the situation was under control. On the other hand, some sources cla...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday said that the PTI’s provincial government would participate in the National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting on December 4 and “fight the case for our province and its people” in the best possible manner. The 11th NFC was constituted on Aug 22 to finalise a new award for sharing federal divisible resources between the Centre and the provinces. The first meeting was originally scheduled for Aug 27, then delayed to Aug 29 for unspecified reasons. This, too, was postponed on the request of the Sindh government due to flood-related engagements. The session was later rescheduled for Nov 17, then Nov 18, and again deferred at the desire of the Prime Minister’s Office. Earlier this week, CM Afridi said that the federal government still owed Rs1.3 trillion under the NFC framework to the province. Addressing a press conference in Peshawar today, the CM said that the erstwhile tribal areas were merged with KP administratively in 2018, but they were yet to be fin...

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, where the two discussed “defence and security cooperation, military exchanges, training collaborations and regional peace and stability”, a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday. Abdelatty arrived in Islamabad last night for a two-day official visit and also met President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar earlier today. The FO statement said during his meeting with Field Marshal Munir, “both sides reaffirmed the importance of continued high-level engagement between the armed forces of the two countries”. Egyptian FM meets Zardari Abdelatty also called on President Zardari at Aiwan-i-Sadr today. A statement by the President’s Secretariat said Zardari told the Egyptian FM that “Pakistan values its longstanding ties with Egypt, which are rooted in shared faith and mutual respect, and looks forward to advancing the relationship in a more structured...

Visiting FM Dr Abdelatty holds extensive talks in Islamabad

Punjab uses clean air programme with AI systems at the centre of forecasting, enforcement and public response

Aurangzeb highlights rising industrial output and investment interest

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday termed the allegations of rigging in November 23 by-elections, particularly in NA-18 Haripur, as “baseless”. By-elections were held for six National Assembly and seven Punjab Assembly seats earlier this month. The PML-N fielded its candidates on all seats except a provincial one in Muzaffargarh, and secured victory on all 12 of them. However, opposition party PTI alleged rigging with leader Asad Qaiser rejecting the results. “As usual, certain specific elements are levelling baseless allegations to make the recent by-elections (particularly NA-18 Haripur) controversial. These allegations include portraying the appointment of the district returning officer (DRO) and returning officer (RO) in NA-18 Haripur as a conspiracy,” the election regulator said in a statement. Terming such claims “entirely contrary to the facts”, the ECP explained that due to a shortage of staff during general elections, it was not possible for the Commission to appoint ROs and DROs its...

JUI-F chief says war is not a solution to any problem