Pakistan

The Ministry of Defence on Friday officially notified Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir as the country’s first chief of defence forces (CDF), a day after President Asif Ali Zardari approved the appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said: “In exercise of the powers conferred under Article 243 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, read with Section 8A of the Pakistan Army Act, the president on the advice of the prime minister, is pleased to appoint Field Marshal Asim Munir (NI) M as the chief of army staff, concurrently the chief of defence forces for a tenure of five years.” A separate notification issued by the ministry also notified Zardari’s approval of the prime minister’s advice regarding the leadership of the air force. “In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 243 of the Consitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, read with Section 10B of the Pakistan Air Force Act, 1953, ...

Member of the National Assembly Naveed Qamar said on Thursday that the speaker of the house did not have the right to decide who would be the leader of the opposition, as it was the prerogative of the parliamentarians. After receiving approval from the incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, the PTI in October formally nominated Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to lead the opposition in the NA and Senate, respectively. However, the government has not yet formally recognised the nominations, with NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq terming the matter “sub judice”. In an interview with Nadir Guramani on the Dawn News TV programme Doosra Rukh on Thursday evening, Qamar said that it was not the authority of the speaker to decide not to act upon the nomination. “At one time it was definitely the entitlement of the speaker,” he said, referring to 2002, when Maulana Fazlur Rehman was made the opposition leader instead of the PPP’s Amin Fahim, even though the PPP had a grea...

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Friday condemned police action against Aurat March activists in Karachi a day earlier, calling on authorities to respect people’s access to civic spaces. On Thursday, a rights activist was ‘briefly detained’ from outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC), ahead of a press conference by Aurat March over the alleged abduction of two Baloch girls. The organisers said classical dancer and human rights activist Sheema Kermani was also manhandled by police, while other women participants were also “mistreated” by female officers on their way to the press club. Journalist Zofeen Ebrahim was also barred from attending the press conference, which was eventually held at the KPC. In a post on social media platform X today, the HRCP said it condemned the police obstruction of Aurat March’s scheduled press conference and the brief detention and manhandling of activists and reporters, including Kermani. “We are also alarmed that journalist Ebrahim was barred from entering the pr...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone call with his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, on Friday, expressing solidarity and offering “all possible” assistance to the southeast Asian country in the aftermath of recent cyclone-induced floods, according to state broadcaster PTV News. Monsoon rains paired with two tropical storm systems dumped record deluges across Sri Lanka, and parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia last week. The death toll from the floods and landslides in all affected areas has surpassed 1,000. Today, PM Shehbaz, “on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan, extended heartfelt condolences to the Malaysian prime minister over the precious loss of lives and damage to property due to rains, flooding, and massive landslides triggered by the recent storm,” a post on PTV News’ X account said. PM Shehbaz expressed his condolences over the loss of lives and prayed for the swift recovery of citizens who had been injured or displaced, the state broadc...

Aleema Khan, sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, has alleged that the incarcerated former premier is being kept in solitary confinement and subjected to torture.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday announced changes that sharply reduced the maximum validity period for employment authorisation documents (EADs) for several categories of foreign nationals, citing security concerns and legislation signed earlier this year. The move, the latest in a sweeping immigration crackdown by the administration of US President Donald Trump, took place just two days after it halted immigration applications for citizens from 19 nations. Under the new rules, the maximum validity period for initial and renewal EADs has been shortened from five years to 18 months for categories including refugees, asylum seekers, those granted withholding of deportation or removal, and applicants with pending adjustment-of-status or relief applications. Additional categories, including those paroled as refugees, granted temporary protected status (TPS) or under entrepreneur parole, will see the validity of their work permit reduced to one year or the end date of the...

Former special assistant to the prime minister Mirza Shahzad Akbar, who currently resides in the United Kingdom (UK), was declared a proclaimed offender on Friday in a case pertaining to alleged controversial statements made on social media platform X. The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) had registered the case against Akbar in July this year over allegedly defamatory and controversial remarks shared on his social media account. According to the court order, issued by Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Abbas Shah, the decision was taken after Akbar failed to appear before the court despite multiple summons. The order also directed the authorities concerned to issue an arrest warrant for Akbar to ensure his production before the court. The order noted that the accused did not cooperate with the investigation and remained absent during the legal proceedings. A challan in the case has already been submitted to the court. With the proclamation order now in place, law enforcement authorities are expect...

The Ministry of Defence on Friday issued the formal notification appointing Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as Pakistan’s first Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), following approval from President Asif Ali Zardari.

Pakistan’s military leadership on Friday paid homage to Nishan-e-Haider recipient Major Muhammad Akram on his 54th martyrdom anniversary, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

The US plans to expand the number of countries covered by its travel ban to more than 30, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Thursday. Noem, in an interview on Fox News’ ‘The Ingraham Angle’, was asked to confirm whether the administration of US President Donald Trump would be increasing the number of countries on the travel ban list to 32. “I won’t be specific on the number, but it’s over 30, and the president is continuing to evaluate countries,” she said. Trump signed a proclamation in June banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricting those from seven others, saying it was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats. The bans apply to both immigrants and non-immigrants, such as tourists, students and business travellers. Noem did not specify which countries would be added to the list. “If they don’t have a stable government there, if they don’t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are a...

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan on Thursday underscoring the importance of regional peace and stability agreed that Afghan Taliban regime must honour its commitments made to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by taking concrete and verifiable actions against terrorist.

• Invites legal opinion on whether provinces are bound by federal expenditure priorities • Seven working groups to be formed; second meeting to be held between January 8 and 15 ISLAMABAD: Building the case on overburdening and rising debt servicing costs post-2010, the federal government on Thursday proposed mobilising additional consolidated revenues amounting to more than five per cent of GDP over the next three years (roughly Rs6.5 trillion per annum at the current exchange rate). The suggestion came during the much-delayed inaugural meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC), which also sought legal opinion on whether provinces are bound by federal expenditure priorities. The Centre urged the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio by 3 to 3.5 percentage points from around 10pc at present in three years and asked the provinces to enhance their share of revenues to 3pc of GDP — through taxes on property, agriculture income and sales tax on services — from the existing 0.2...

WASHINGTON: Forty-four Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding immediate sanctions on senior Pakistani officials over what they described as an “escalating campaign of transnational repression and worsening human rights crisis in Pakistan”. The effort is led by Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Congressman Greg Casar, and includes signatures from Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, two Muslim members of the House known for their advocacy on Palestinian and other Muslim issues. In the letter, made public on Wednesday, the lawmakers called for targeted measures, including visa bans and asset freezes on officials responsible for threatening US citizens and residents who criticise Pakistan’s military establishment, as well as their family members in Pakistan. There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan’s Foreign Office, or the embassy in Washington. More than 40 lawmakers write to Marco Rubio, ask for sanctions against officials involv...

President approves summary sent by PM; COAS to concurrently hold position for five years; Air chief's tenure extended

PM vows to take bilateral trade to $200 million in next two years

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The Briton vowed to make changes to his set-up for 2026