Pakistan

The Jaffar Express from Quetta to Peshawar has been cancelled for the fourth consecutive day, railway sources confirmed.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday directed the Ministry of Defence to ensure that a senior Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer — either the Deputy Director General or the relevant Sector Commander — appears for an in-camera briefing in the case of missing citizen Omar Abdullah. The direction came after the federal government transferred Rs5 million into the account of Abdullah’s family. During the hearing, Additional Attorney General and officials of the defence ministry presented the receipt of the online transfer before the court. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, while addressing the victim’s father, remarked that the family would receive the money by tomorrow, but added that compensation could not heal the trauma caused by enforced disappearances. “This money cannot cure the family’s suffering,” the judge observed. He further warned that the matter could lead to criminal proceedings at any stage, criticising parliament for its silence on the issue. “This is the work of parliament, but ...

Water inflow at Kotri Barrage on the Indus River continues to rise, inundating nearby villages and destroying rice and other crops.

UNITED NATIONS: As President Donald Trump claimed being close to a deal to end the war in Gaza and bring prisoners home, an increasingly isolated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday tried to rebut what he called “the false charge of genocide”. He also denounced several Western countries for embracing Palestinian statehood, accusing them of pushing his country into “national suicide”. The Israeli leader, who has an International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes, addressed mostly empty chairs in the UN General Assembly, as scores of delegates — including the Pakistan contingent — walked out when he took the stage. At the same time, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters blocked traffic near Times Square in New York to protest the killing of more than 65,000 people in Gaza by Israeli strikes in less than two years. Israeli leader speaks to empty chairs as scores of delegates exit UNGA hall to boycott his address “War criminals don’t deserve any peace of mind. Th...

DUBAI: Under fire after their twin thrashings at the hands of India in the ongoing Asia Cup, Pakistan proved they were good enough to make it to the tournament’s final when they edged Bangladesh by 11 runs in their last Super Four outing on Thursday and all their matters now for the side are the title honours. For the national side’s head coach Mike Hesson, whose credentials were questioned after India outplayed them in the group-stage and Super Four clashes, Pakistan deserved to be in the final after beating all of their opponents through the course of the tournament apart from the archrivals. And it’s India only, who’ll be in Pakistan’s way to their Asia Cup title ambition come Sunday. “We’ve deserved this opportunity, and now it’s up to us to make the most of it,” Hesson told reporters on Thursday night. “All the games before this were about getting into a position to win the trophy. “We know that the only match that really counts is the final, and that’s our focus, to play our best game when it matters.” ...

ISLAMABAD: Members of a Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) subcommittee have forwarded several proposals to be considered while drafting rules for evaluating high court judges and setting criteria for their elevation. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail-led subcommittee met on Friday with Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) representative Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon, Senator Farooq H. Naek from the treasury benches and Senator Barrister Syed Ali Zafar from the opposition in attendance. The JCP subcommittee decided to consolidate and circulate each suggestion among all members for discussion at the next meeting, scheduled for the coming week and postponed proceedings, with an understanding to thoroughly discuss draft suggestions on framing benchmarks to assess judicial performance of sitting judges of the high courts. One of the proposals was to consider the time period within which a judgement is delivered after it has been reserved by a high court judge, since inordinate ...

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has dismissed petitions filed by cinema operators seeking to extend the scope of the Motion Pictures Ordinance, 1979, to cover Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, ruling that the law cannot be applied to digital streaming services. Justice Raheel Kamran, delivering a detailed 20-page judgement, observed that the ordinance was enacted in a pre-digital era to regulate films exhibited through cinematographs in cinemas and other public venues, and was not designed for online streaming services. The petitioners, including NC Entertainment (Pvt) Ltd, had argued that requiring cinemas to obtain film certification while leaving digital platforms unregulated was discriminatory and infringed their fundamental rights. They contended that censorship principles under Section 6 of the Ordinance, derived from Article 19 of the Constitution, should apply equally across all platforms to uphold social norms of decency and morality. Says extending Motion Pictures Or...

• Decision taken on PM’s directive after committee’s recommendation • FBR analysis points to widespread reluctance in voluntary asset valuation ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic U-turn, the government on Friday scrapped the asset valuation column from the tax return form for 2025 — just a day after issuing a strongly worded clarification — bowing to mounting pressure from various stakeholders. The lightning-fast reversal, prompted by criticism from tax practitioners, lawyers and other groups, has reignited debate over policy consistency and digital reforms aimed at documenting the cash economy. The income tax return form for 2025, released on July 7, had required taxpayers to declare the market value of their assets, as outlined on page 66 of the form. Since then, taxpayers had been submitting returns with the flexibility to either declare the estimated market value of their assets or enter zero in the designated column. This practice continued even as nearly 2.7 million taxpayers filed their returns under the same ar...

ISLAMABAD - Chairperson of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Mrs Farzhana Naek, held a productive meeting with the President of the Norwegian Red Cross, Ms Siri Hatlen, to strengthen humanitarian cooperation and explore avenues for enhanced support to the people of Pakistan most affected by climate change.

KARACHI - The University of Karachi has cancelled the LLB degree of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, an Islamabad High Court (IHC) judge, according to a notification issued by the varsity on Friday.

LAHORE - Punjab University (PU) and Shaikh Zayed Hospital on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide practical training opportunities for students of Allied Health Sciences.

LAHORE - Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Dr Usman Anwar on Friday visited the under-construction heavy vehicle driving training school at Manawan Traffic Police Lines and chaired a meeting with Chief Traffic Office (CTO) Lahore Dr.

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict in a case concerning a domestic dispute between a father, his son, and his daughter.

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday suspended notices issued by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to six journalists, including Lahore Press Club President Arshad Ansari.

Karachi - President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed the confidence that new phase of CPEC project will usher in fresh opportunities for Pakistan’s economic progress and will further deepen the all-weather Pakistan-China partnership.

RAWALPINDI - The Joint Exercise Druzhba-VIII between the Pakistan and Russian Armies is being conducted from September 15–27 in the Counter-Terrorism domain.

Abbottabad artist welds discarded metal into powerful works that carry messages of resilience, sustainability and hope

Al Jazeera's news coverage of Gaza also earns its place among nominations

NFL refuses demand for ownership and promotion rights

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