Pakistan

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday said that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were headed in the “right direction”. An IMF mission led by Iva Petrova held a formal kick-off meeting with Pakistan’s economic team to review the implementation of the EFF and RSF. The programme’s performance as of the end of June this year — the period under review — has been mixed. The start of the next review period, ending December this year, has also been off the mark, particularly in revenue collection. The two sides now have to agree on corrective measures during their dialogue to meet the next biannual targets. Today, Aurangzeb spoke to reporters as he left a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue in Islamabad. The minister told reporters that the $7.1 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the $1.1bn Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) were being reviewed. “So far, so good,” he said. The EFF is undergoing its second review, while the RSF is being reviewed fo...

Four terrorists were apprehended during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Wednesday, a statement released by the military’s media affairs wing said. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an IBO on the reported presence of “terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Hindustan”. The state has designated Balochistan-based groups such as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. “During the conduct of [the] operation, own forces apprehended four [terrorists] trying to flee cowardly by disguising in women’s attire,” the ISPR said. “Weapons and ammunition was also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” it added. The ISPR further said that a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area, adding that security forces were determined to wipeout the “menace...

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have agreed to address all outstanding issues through dialogue and mutual understanding, sources revealed on Wednesday.

Security forces in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district have arrested four terrorists attempting to flee while disguised in women’s clothing.

The Toshakhana II case against PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi was heard inside Adiala Jail on Wednesday.

The United States will regard “any armed attack” on Qatari territory as a threat to Washington and will provide the Gulf Arab state with security guarantees, the White House said, after an Israeli strike on the country last month. “In light of the continuing threats to the State of Qatar posed by foreign aggression, it is the policy of the United States to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar against external attack,” said an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on Monday. In the event of an attack on Qatar, the United States will “take all lawful and appropriate measures — including diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military — to defend the interests of the United States and of the State of Qatar and to restore peace and stability,” the order said. The agreement comes after an Israeli strike on the key US regional ally on September 9, targeting officials from Hamas who were discussing a US peace proposal to end the conflict in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minist...

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira has criticized recent aggressive remarks by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders, terming such language inappropriate and undemocratic.

An Islamabad District and Sessions Court on Wednesday recalled the non-bailable arrest warrants issued against human rights defenders and lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha after the two appeared in court. Arrest warrants had been issued for the two lawyers yesterday for failing to appear before the court in a case related to controversial tweets. A junior lawyer informed the court that Mazari and Chattha had left for another appearance in Rawalpindi after marking their attendance earlier in the day. The case was heard by Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka, with police deployed outside the courtroom for tight security. While the couple appeared in court today, they did not respond with a confirmation or denial when the charge sheet against them was read out. “We will hire lawyers and can respond to the court regarding this after that,” Chattha said. “We have filed a new application regarding our documents … No indictment can be made until this application is decided.” The accused had ...

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has approved Pakistan Telecommunications Limited’s (PTCL) acquisition of mobile carrier Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers shareholdings, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. According to the telecommunication company’s website, one of its subsidiaries is mobile carrier Ufone. As part of the deal, Telenor and Ufone will merge. According to the press release, the merger was announced today at a press conference at the CCP’s head office. CCP Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu, CCP Registrar and Head of Legal Ambreen Abbasi and members Salman Amin and Shahzad Hussain shared the key highlights of the agreement. “They explained that [the] CCP conducted a comprehensive review of the merger transaction,” the press release read. “The review examined market structure, concentration levels, efficiencies, and potential competition risks.” Dr Sidhu emphasised that the commission’s decision “ensures a level playing field for all telecom operators and safeguards consumer ...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the Nawaz Sharif Cardiology Centre in Samli, Murree today.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that, with the assistance of Chinese technology, an anti-smog gun has been developed in just two months.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asia Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday refuted claims by Indian media that he had apologised to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the trophy handover issue at Sunday’s Asia Cup final. The closing ceremony of the men’s Asia Cup descended into farce on Sunday as the Indian cricket team refused to collect the winners’ trophy from the ACC chief, marking a historic low in cricketing relations between the two countries. Subsequently, Indian skipper Surya­ku­mar Yadav complained his side were denied the trophy after winning the Asia Cup. Later, Indian media alleged that Naqvi had himself refused to hand the trophy over to the Indian team. Today, several Indian outlets, including IndiaToday, Financial Express and Hindustan Times, reported that Naqvi had now apologised to the BCCI, but that he still refused to hand them the trophy. Responding to an India Today post about their report on social media platform X, Naqvi stated, “Indian media thri...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has allowed an underage girl to live with her husband but recommended steps to strengthen the legal framework around child marriages to protect minors, it emerged on Wednesday. According to the United Nations’ International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef), Pakistan is home to over 19 million child brides, with nearly 1 in 6 young women married before the age of 18 and as many as 4.8m girls married before the age of 15. “In view of the fact that the alleged detenue has attained puberty and appears to have given free and voluntary consent, she shall be at liberty to reside with the petitioner,” read a verdict issued by Justice Muhammad Azam Khan for a hearing held on July 11. The verdict was issued on a plea filed by Muhammad Riaz, challenging a June 23 order by an Islamabad-East district judge that denied the recovery of the girl after her family members allegedly “forcibly” took her away from the man’s house on June 21. According to the order, the birth certificate, which was...

The ocean hidden under the icy shell of Saturn’s moon Enceladus harbours complex organic molecules, a study said on Wednesday, offering further evidence that the small world could have all the right ingredients to host extraterrestrial life. Just 500 kilometres (310 miles) wide and invisible to the naked eye, the white, scar-covered Enceladus is one of hundreds of moons orbiting the sixth planet from the Sun. For a long time, scientists believed Enceladus was too far away from the Sun — and therefore too cold — to be habitable. Then the Cassini space probe flew past the moon several times during a 2004-2017 trip to Saturn and its rings, discovering evidence that a vast saltwater ocean is concealed under the moon’s kilometres-thick layer of ice. Since then, scientists have been sifting through the data collected by Cassini, revealing that the ocean has many of the elements thought to be needed to host life, including salt, methane, carbon dioxide, and phosphorus. When the spacecraft passed over the moon’s sout...

A man allegedly shot dead his brother, sister-in-law, and their two daughters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Abbottabad district on Wednesday, according to the police. Abbottabad Police Spokesperson Azam Mir Afzal told Dawn.com that the incident took place in the Bandi Attai area of Havelian. “The suspect allegedly killed his brother along with his family members, but the motive behind the murders could not be immediately ascertained.” He said a police team had been dispatched to the area and a first information report (FIR) was being registered at the Havelian police station. According to the spokesperson, the suspect killed his brother, his sister-in-law, and two nieces before fleeing the scene. The spokesperson added that police had reached the spot and the bodies of the victims were shifted to the Havelian hospital for post-mortem. More to follow

Foreign observation mission Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has officially released its report on Pakistan’s 2024 general elections, highlighting “conditions which appeared to limit fundamental political rights and impacted one party’s ability to fairly contest the election”. “Additionally, it noted a shutdown of cellular services on election night, which reduced the transparency of the process and impacted the efficiency of receiving results,” a COG press release said on Tuesday. The report had been the subject of some controversy after media reports suggested the Commonwealth had buried the report after finding the elections to be riddled with problems. The COG noted areas for improvement and provided recommendations for strengthening the independence of the country’s democratic institutions, the press release said. A “Letter of Transmittal”, written by COG Chairperson Dr Goodluck Jonathan and included in the report, noted the denial of election symbol to the PTI, the consecutive convictions of the party’...

The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has issued its long-delayed final report on Pakistan’s 2024 general elections, voicing strong concerns over transparency, fairness, and curbs on political freedoms.

The federal government has stepped up reconciliation efforts with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) by initiating direct engagement with its leadership to ease ongoing tensions.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have extended heartfelt felicitations to the government and the people of the People's Republic of China on their seventy-sixth National Day.

US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday unveiled a 20-point plan for Gaza. Subsequently, eight Arab or Muslim-majority nations — Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt — “welcomed the role of the American president and his sincere efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza”. In Pakistan, the government’s so-called approval of the plan had drawn flak from politicians, journalists and activists alike, who termed the deal a “two-state surrender’’ with the scales weighing heavily in Israel’s favour. Subsequently, signs began appearing that not everyone was happy with the draft made public by the White House. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar seemingly distanced Pakistani decision-makers from the plan. He also made it clear in so many words that the US peace plan for Gaza would not be acceptable if the am­e­ndments — jointly pro­posed by eight Muslim co­u­n­tries — were not included. This came after Trump had previously...