Pakistan

Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday reaffirmed that the Pakistan Army remains fully focused on addressing both internal and external challenges, including hostile hybrid campaigns, extremist ideologies and divisive elements aimed at undermining national stability.

Pakistan has called on parties to the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — the Congolese armed forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels — to engage in “serious dialogue” and honour their commitments under existing peace agreements amid escalating violence and mass displacement.

A bus hostess was killed while nine other passengers were injured when a speeding bus collided with a trailer on the Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad-Multan Motorway (M4) near Khanewal late on Friday night. According to a statement by motorway police, the Lahore-bound bus, which was headed to Multan, collided with a trailer near Khanewal. Police said that the bus hostess succumbed to her injuries on the spot, while nine passengers were injured. The statement said that the accident occurred due to the driver’s “negligence and sleepiness”. It added that the injured, four of whom were in critical condition, were shifted to the Khanewal District Headquarters Hospital. Meanwhile, dense fog again forced motorways to close temporarily early on Friday, which reopened after 11am once visibility improved. The National Highway and Motorways Authority (NHMP) temporarily closed the entry of traffic at several points; M2 from Lahore to Kot Momin, M3 from Faizpur to Darkhana, M4 from Pindi Bhattiyan to Faisalabad, M11 from Lahore ...

The $686 million defence package offered to Pakistan by US President Donald Trump’s administration this week will transform the country’s ageing fleet of F-16 fighter jets into a modernised force capable of operating securely and efficiently alongside contemporary air forces, according to defence experts and officials. At its core, the upgrade will allow the F-16s to operate safely and effectively for at least another decade and a half by extending their service life, strengthening secure communications, enabling real-time sharing of tactical data, and ensuring sustained maintenance through comprehensive parts, training, and support. Enhanced mission planning and testing tools included in the package will also improve pilot proficiency and overall mission effectiveness. Beyond specific equipment, a substantial portion of the package is devoted to spare parts, maintenance, engineering, and logistics support. This includes replacement components, repair parts, technical documentation, engineering assistance, an...

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has reconstituted its political committee, reducing its size to 23 members and including representatives from the Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP).

A United Nations’ (UN) special rapporteur warned on Friday that PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to inhuman or degrading treatment, calling on Pakistani authorities to comply with international norms and standards. In September, his legal team approached the rapporteur to urge the Pakistani government to cease the alleged mistreatment of the couple. Prime Minister’s Aide Rana Ihsan Afzal, however, dismissed the concerns of the UN rapporteur and said Imran was being kept “according to prison rules and the jail manual”. “His children have access and he should schedule [a call] and put in the appropriate request. There is no issue or obstacle from the government of Pakistan,” said the premier’s aide. He added that the PTI founder is being provided facilities “greater than his rights” as a B-class prisoner. “He has the facilities of exercise available, good food is available and ample space is also available.” The UN official, Alice Jill Edwards, urged...

A coalition of unions, employers and religious groups filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to block US President Donald Trump’s bid to impose, open new tab a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly-skilled foreign workers. The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco is the first to challenge a proclamation Trump issued two weeks ago announcing the fee as the Republican president moves to further restrict immigration to the United States. Plaintiffs include the United Auto Workers union, the American Association of University Professors, a nurse recruitment agency and several religious organisations. They argued that Trump’s power to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals does not allow him to override the law that created the H-1B visa programme. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, in a statement, said Trump’s administration engaged in lawful actions “discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages, while providing certainty to employers who need to bring t...

Dense fog once again enveloped parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the night between Friday and Saturday, severely affecting routine life and disrupting road traffic due to extremely low visibility.

Thailand’s leader vowed to keep fighting on the disputed border with Cambodia as fighter jets struck targets on Saturday, hours after US President Donald Trump said he had brokered a ceasefire. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul posted on Facebook that the Southeast Asian nation would “continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people”. Trump, who brokered a ceasefire in the long-running border dispute in October, spoke to Anutin and Cambodian premier Hun Manet on Friday, and said they had agreed to “cease all shooting”. Neither of them mentioned any agreement in statements after their calls with Trump, and Anutin said there was no ceasefire. “I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke,” Anutin said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the continued fighting. Hun Manet, in a statement on Saturday on Facebook, said Cambodia continues to seek a peaceful resolution of disputes in line with the October agreem...

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique skipped scheduled visits to public sector health facilities in Multan on Friday and rather attended a wedding ceremony along with his official cavalcade comprising multiple SUVs and police mobile. The visit attracted strong criticism from social media after it transpired that the minister had attended the wedding ceremony of a son of a doctor who was recently held guilty of gross negligence in a medicines theft case and was awarded a major penalty under the Peeda Act. The minister returned to Lahore without discharging official assignments/meetings as announced officially and conveyed to the higher authorities of Multan, including the police. The issue came to the limelight when pictures of the minister with the doctor went viral on social media where critics accused him of misusing official resources for his private trip. Multan is 340km from Lahore. Kh Salman defends his visit being a public figure On Thursday, the office of the minister for the Specialis...

The 11 Pakistani fishermen in Indian custody.—Courtesy Coastal Media Centre KARACHI: Indian forces have detained 11 Pakistani fishermen, including two boys, from Pakistani waters near Kajar Creek and confiscated their boat. However, Indian media reported that their Coast Guard had on Dec 10 apprehended the 11 Pakistani fishermen after their boat was allegedly found inside Indian waters near Jakhau. According to Kamal Shah of the Coastal Media Centre, all 11 fishermen belonged to Ibrahim Hyderi and they were out on a fishing expedition. As news of their arrest reached Ibrahim Hyderi, there was utter confusion and panic in their homes. The fishermen, said to be related to each other, live in close vicinity to each other, which created an atmosphere of mourning in their neighbourhood. All those captured are residents of Ibrahim Hyderi; their families seek govt intervention The fishermen’s families have urged that the government intervene in retrieving them. Local residents and area leaders have also demanded tha...

ISLAMABAD - At the invitation of the leadership of the Pakistan Foreign Service Academy, Ambassador of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Kistafin delivered a lecture to the Academy’s students on the prospects for developing cooperation between Kazakhstan and Pakistan, as well as Central and South Asia.

KARACHI: Several media bodies on Friday condemned the government’s unannounced restriction on advertisements to Dawn Media Group’s TV and radio outlets — imposed after curtailing ads to its flagship newspaper — and called on the authorities to immediately rescind the ban. In a statement, the Council of Newspaper Editors (CPNE) said Dawn is among Pakistan’s most respected media outlets, and stopping the release of government ads to the group amounted to financially crippling the organisation. Attributed to CPNE’s president and secretary general, the statement recalls Dawn Media Group has been providing unbiased information since the creation of Pakistan. The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) also spoke out against the stoppage of government ads to Dawn Media Group outlets, saying it is ‘dismayed’. “For the last 13 months, Daily Dawn was suffering from [the] curtailment of government advertising, but now the news channel and radio [channel] owned by Dawn Media has also been subjected to denial of governmen...

• International Stabilisation Force ‘won’t fight Hamas’; Indonesia says it is preparing to deploy 20,000 troops for health, construction-related tasks • Muslim bloc foreign ministers back UNRWA amid talk of ‘terror designation’ WASHINGTON: International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorised stabilisation force, two US officials told Reuters, but it remains unclear how Hamas will be disarmed. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) would not fight Hamas. They said lots of countries had expressed interest in contributing and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, composition, housing, training and rules of engagement. An American two-star general is being considered to lead the ISF but no decisions have been made, the officials said. Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in...

• Calls for lasting ceasefire, humanitarian access and reconstruction in Gaza • Meets Iranian president; cites mutual support during external aggression • Holds informal interactions with Putin and Erdogan, Tajik and Kyrgyz presidents ISLAMABAD: Turkish Pre­sident Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed Ankara’s readiness to contribute to a mechanism established to maintain stability amid ‘extended ceasefire’ between Pakistan and Afghanistan, after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at an international forum on Friday urged the global community to press the Afghan Taliban to honour their international obligations and curb terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil. President Erdogan made the offer during a meeting with PM Shehbaz on the sidelines of the international forum held in Turkmenistan, where the premier also held meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyzstan Pres­ident Sadyr Japarov. Addressing the event dedicated to the...

• IBCC notifies new policy after unanimous approval by all boards • Single Secondary School Certificate proposal still under review ISLAMABAD: The Inter-Board Coordination Commission (IBCC) on Friday notified a new policy allowing students with an arts background in matric to enroll in pre-medical and pre-engineering groups (FSc) at the intermediate level. The notification, issued by the IBCC, which is the main coordinator for all education boards, stated that arts students could register in these groups starting from the first annual examinations of 2026. “Consequent upon the recommendation of the Sub-Committee and response received from Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PM&DC), Higher Education Commission (HEC), National Curriculum Council (NCC) and Provincial Curriculum Authorities, the IBCC Forum [meeting of all boards] in its 183rd meeting held on Dec 4-5, 2025 has unanimously resolved that the students who have passed the SSC (Arts Group) may be allowed to register f...

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has held that a husband cannot be prosecuted for rape of his wife unless the pronouncement of divorce takes legal effect in accordance with the mandatory requirements of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance (MFLO) 1961. Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh issued the ruling on a petition filed by Jameel Ahmad seeking the quashing of an FIR registered at Police Station City Liaqatpur under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which prescribes punishment for rape. The complainant had alleged that the petitioner lured her into cohabitation and later married her on April 22, 2024. She claimed she later discovered he was already married and, upon her protest, he divorced her on Oct 14, 2024. According to the FIR, three days later — on Oct 17 — the petitioner and a co-suspect allegedly entered her home at night, where the petitioner raped her at gunpoint. The petitioner, however, denied the allegation of a live-in relationship and contended that the FIR was fabricated as retaliation for the divo...

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