Pakistan

China is concerned about recent border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan and has asked the two countries to protect their nationals and investments in the region, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Monday. Intense border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan started late on Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that 23 Pakistani troops were martyred and 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed when Islamabad responded to aggression by Kabul. Afghanistan claimed it carried out the attack as a “retaliatory” measure, accusing Islamabad of conducting air strikes in its territory earlier this week. For its part, Islamabad has not confirmed whether it was behind the air strikes but maintains that Kabul should “stop harbouring the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan on its soil”. In response to Islamabad’s repeated calls to bar terrorists from using its territory for cross-border attacks, Afghanistan denies the allegation of allowing terrorist out...

Spinner Noman Ali grabbed four wickets to restrict South Africa to 216-6 at the close of play on day two of the first Test in Lahore on Monday, despite a fighting half century from Tony de Zorzi. Spinners dominated on a turning Gaddafi Stadium pitch as all the day’s 11 wickets went to slow bowlers, with South African left-armer Senuran Muthusamy taking a career-best 6-117 to dismiss Pakistan for 378. Zorzi was holding the fort at the close with 81 not out and Muthusamy on six as South Africa trail by 162 runs in the first innings. Zorzi batted with guts, knocking nine boundaries and a six, combating Noman, who claimed 4-85. South Africa started off well with 45-0 on the board when Noman removed touring skipper Aiden Markram for 20 and Wiaan Mulder for 17 — both caught behind by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. Ryan Rickelton, who scored a punishing 71 with two sixes and nine boundaries, and Zorzi added 94 for the third wicket, taking on the spinners with some aggressive shots. It was part-timer Salman Agha who b...

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index plummeted by over 4,600 points on Monday due to continuing political uncertainty, the weekend conflict with Afghanistan and the ongoing crackdown on the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The benchmark KSE-100 index opened at 163,098.19 points before dropping by 4,654.77 points, or 2.85 per cent, to close at 158,443.42. Of 482 active scrips, only 74 advanced , 375 declined while 33 remained unchanged. The PSX had experienced a sharp decline over the previous week as a combination of global and domestic uncertainties dented investor sentiment. Intense border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan that started late on Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning cast a shadow over the bourse. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said 23 troops were martyred and 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed when Islamabad responded to aggression by Kabul. Meanwhile, a crackdown against TLP protesters early Monday, who had been camped at M...

Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the 2025 Nobel economics prize on Monday for their work on how innovation and the forces of “creative destruction” can drive economic growth and lift living standards across the globe. Their research explains how technology gives rise to new products and production methods which replace old ones, resulting in a better standard of living, health and quality of life. “Over the last two centuries, for the first time in history, the world has seen sustained economic growth. This has lifted vast numbers of people out of poverty and laid the foundation of our prosperity,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize, said in a statement. Economic growth not guaranteed The laureates have also shown that such progress cannot be taken for granted, the Academy said, while two of the prize winners highlighted that US President Donald Trump’s trade policies would impinge on growth. “Economic stagnation, not growth, has been the norm for most of human histo...

Amid loud protests and uproar from the opposition benches, the Punjab Assembly on Monday passed the Punjab Local Government Bill 2025.

Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif on Monday said that organizing armed mobs, blocking roads, and taking people hostage in the name of religion amounts to desecration of faith.

For the first time in the province’s history, the Punjab Environment Department has issued a comprehensive environmental compliance report on brick kilns located along the Motorway.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari has said that the provincial government is taking concrete measures for the welfare of the people.

On the directive of Prime Minister of Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has dispatched another relief consignment for the people of Palestine.

In a day of high political drama at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, PTI’s Sohail Afridi was elected the province’s new chief minister. However, his victory unfolded amid walkouts, protests, and a deepening constitutional crisis over whether the outgoing CM, Ali Amin Gandapur, had even truly vacated his seat. As chants of “Sohail Afridi zindabad” echoed through the assembly hall, the opposition staged a walkout, declaring the entire process “unconstitutional.” Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, however, pressed ahead and ruled it lawful under Article 130, declaring Afridi’s election valid even as questions swirled over Gandapur’s disputed resignation, returned by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi for having “disparate signatures.” The episode has set off a flurry of debate: can a new chief minister be elected when the previous one still holds office? Lawyers have since weighed in, dissecting whether the assembly’s actions uphold or undermine the constitutional process. An attempt to thwart the will of the many “The opposi...

The price of per tola 24 karat gold reached an all-time high on Monday, rising by Rs 5,500 to Rs 428,200 compared to Rs 422,700 on last day, according to the All Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, arrived here in Egypt, on a special invitation from U.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has stressed the need for all institutions to remain fully prepared to tackle natural disasters and protect human lives.

QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court has ruled that prisoners convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1997 are not legally entitled to any form of general or special remission or pardon. The court declared that Section 21-F of the ATA explicitly excludes terrorists from eligibility for clemency or sentence reduction, leaving no room for interpretation or relaxation. A two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Kamran Khan Mulakhail and Justice Najamuddin Mengal announced the verdict while hearing several constitutional petitions filed in 2023 and 2024, dismissing all of them collectively. According to the judgement, the petitioners had argued that they were entitled to the president’s pardon under Article 45 of the Constitution and to general or special remission under the Pakistan Prison Rules, 1978. However, the court held that the insertion of Section 21-F in 2001 was specifically intended to permanently exclude terrorism convicts from the scope of pardons. The bench noted that the amendment was a ...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) nominee, Sohail Afridi, has been elected as the new Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after securing 90 votes in the provincial assembly.

KARACHI: A female chimpanzee named Bibi, who had been living in solitary confinement at the zoo for a long time, died on Saturday. Sources said the chimp had been under treatment for months. Speaking to Dawn, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) official Daniyal Sial confirmed her death, saying that “senility” had been declared the cause of death in her post-mortem report. “Bibi has been under treatment for a long time for multiple health complications, mainly resulting from old age,” he said, adding that she was around 40 years old. According to the KMC sources, Bibi was handed over to the zoo after being caught by the police in an operation Bibi was captured after she and her mate had escaped from a PECHS house in 2000; the male chimp was killed in police operation in the year 2000. She, along with her mate, had escaped from a house in the PECHS area where they had been kept illegally as “pets”. “The male chimp had to be killed when it had grabbed a police official while Bibi was captured and brought to t...

The opposition in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly walked out shortly after Monday’s session began to elect a new chief minister, following the resignation of former leader of the house, Ali Amin Gandapur.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Adviser on Information, Barrister Dr Saif, has asserted that the “dream of forming a fake government” in the province will never be realised.

Peshawar Cantonment greeted me Friday with the calm of an old outpost that has seen too many eras pass through.

The Federal Ministry of Interior has convened a high-level meeting today to decide the future of Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan under Proof of Registration (POR) cards.