Pakistan

Traders in Gilgit-Baltistan have decided to continue their sit-in despite the government agreeing to conditionally exempt imports routed through the Sost Dry Port from key federal taxes, trade leader Javed Hussain — who has been leading the protest — told Dawn.com on Thursday. Local traders in GB have been staging a protest sit-in, blocking the port since July. The protest was launched against the government’s taxation policies and suspension of customs clearance at the port. Yesterday, the government agreed to tax exemptions on imports coming through the port — provided that the goods were for local consumption and meet strict eligibility conditions. The total annual value of tax exemptions was capped at Rs4 billion. This was announced after talks between the federal government, GB government and local business leaders in Islamabad. But, Hussain said traders were not satisfied with this agreement. “After the agreement and its announcement in Islamabad, it was suggested to us to end the protest. But we don’t ...

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has hailed the Rs1.2 trillion bank loan secured to settle Pakistan’s circular debt as the “largest financing and largest restructuring transaction” in the country’s history. On Wednesday, the government signed loan facilities worth approximately Rs1.225tr with 18 banks to settle the outstanding dues of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) parked in circular debt. These dues will be serviced through a Rs3.23 per unit surcharge on consumers for a period of six years. The signing ceremony was held at the PM Office, witnessed virtually by the prime minister from New York. No official announcement was made, although ministers confirmed the signing of the agreement. Under the agreement, the government will have 30 days to request disbursements from banks for prompt utilisation to avoid penalties. Today, the ceremony was aired on television, with both the premier and the finance minister addressing the gathering. In his remarks, Aurangzeb said that facility “resolves the structural ...

A police constable was shot dead by unknown assailants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Thursday morning, police said. Bannu’s District Police Officer (DPO) Saleem Abbas Kulachi told Dawn.com that the incident occurred in the Bacha Khan Chowk area of the district’s Domel tehsil. “The police constable was on his way to arrive for duty when unknown armed motorcyclists opened fire on him,” Kulachi said. The DPO added that the constable, Qadus Khan, was critically injured and taken to the Khaleefa Gul Nawaz (KGN) hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The spokesperson for the Bannu regional police, Khanzala Quraishi, told Dawn.com that the constable was the guard of the Wazir sub-divisional police officer. “After the incident, the station house officer of the Domel area went to the crime scene along with a team to investigate the incident,” Qureshi said. DPO Kulachi, meanwhile, said that an operation against the ‘terrorists’ was underway in various locations of the district to eliminate the threat...

Pakistan has called for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be regulated by the United Nations charter, particularly its military use, warning that “AI must not become a tool of coercion.” As artificial intelligence advances without meaningful checks, Pakistan’s call at the UN reflects wider concerns voiced by developing nations that powerful states will shape the rules to their advantage. Earlier this year, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution urging inclusive and equitable AI governance that bridges the digital divide, while countries in the Global South, from Indonesia to Brazil, have warned that unchecked deployment risks deepening inequalities. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, while speaking at a high-level debate on AI under the agenda item ‘Maintenance of international peace and security’ during the sidelines of the 80th UNGA session in New York, highlighted AI’s potential for misuse and called for the UN Charter and international law to “fully govern the develo...

Hundreds of thousands of people in southern China were clearing up Thursday after powerful Typhoon Ragasa crashed through Guangdong Province, ripping down trees, destroying fences and blasting signs off buildings. Ragasa churned into Guangdong, home to tens of millions of people, with winds up to 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour, on Wednesday after sweeping past Hong Kong and killing at least 14 in Taiwan. AFP journalists at the impact point around the city of Yangjiang on Thursday saw fallen trees, while road signs and debris were strewn across the streets. A light rain and breeze still lingered as residents worked to clean up the damage; however, authorities have not reported any storm-related fatalities. On Hailing — an island administered by Yangjiang —relief workers attempted to clear a huge tree that had fallen across a wide road. Cars drove on muddy tracks to get around the wreckage as the team worked to saw off branches. A seafood restaurant had sustained heavy damage, its back roof completely colla...

The federal government has approved the deployment of the Pakistan Army in Punjab to assist in assessing flood damages across the province.

The United States Navy ship USS Wayne E.

The water level in the Indus River continues to rise at Kotri Barrage, where the river has entered a medium flood, posing risks to nearby settlements and infrastructure.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called upon the international community to honour its commitment on climate finance, stressing that debt-driven finance cannot address the climate catastrophe confronting vulnerable nations like Pakistan. Pakistan experienced unprecedented floods and landslides this year amid record monsoon rains, triggered by climate change. The country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reports that since late June, more than 1,000 people have been killed, with nearly 1,100 left injured due to monsoon-related disasters. Back in 2022, the country faced widespread devastation because of the floods, which killed 1,700 people, wiped off swathes of agricultural land, displaced millions, and incurred losses worth $30 billion, according to governmental estimates. Following the disaster, Pakistan held an international donors’ conference in Geneva, asking the world to help fund its flood recovery. Earlier this year, the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs was told tha...

ISLAMABAD - Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti on Wednesday said that the problems and solutions in the province are deeply interconnected, emphasizing that a “misleading narrative” about Balochistan has distorted its reality before the world.

ISLAMABAD: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, which has been targeting 13 million girls aged 9 to 14, has so far achieved only 34 percent of its target, it was revealed on Wednesday. So far, only 4.5 million girls out of the targeted 13 million have been vaccinated against the virus, which causes cervical cancer. The update was shared with State Minister for National Health Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, who visited the HPV vaccination site at Islamabad Model School for Girls (IMSG), G-6/1-3, to observe the public health effort. The visit was organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the Federal Directorate of Immunisation (FDI). The campaign, which began on 17 September, will conclude on 27 September. Participants at the event included Dr Soofia Yunus, Director General of FDI; Dr Khurram Akram, Director (Technical), FDI Islamabad; Sharmeela Rasool, Deputy Country Representative, UNICEF Pakistan; Ellen Thon, Deputy WHO Representative, Pakistan; Dr Rashida Batool, District Health Officer; an...

Peshawar - Advisor to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information and Public Relations, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, has urged the federal government to reconsider its policy on the war against terrorism.

PESHAWAR - Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi has stressed that restoring public trust is vital for sustainable peace in the province.

Peshawar - The British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Ms.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is preparing to impose taxes on TikTok content creators, a parliamentary committee was informed on Wednesday during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue at Parliament House. Senator Faisal Vawda claimed that the FBR is finalising a plan to tax income earned by TikTokers, suggesting that the largest share of recoverable taxes would come from Punjab. He urged the tax authority to begin enforcement there. The committee, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, also reviewed the Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI) and the government’s remittance subsidy policy. Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan informed members that the subsidy, originally introduced in 2020 at 20 Saudi riyals per transaction, was raised to 30 in 2024 but has since been reduced back to 20 riyals. Senators question remittance subsidies benefiting banks Vawda criticised the move and described the policy as a “scandal”, alleging that commercial banks were benefiti...

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday signed loan facilities worth approximately Rs1.225 trillion with 18 banks to settle the outstanding dues of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) parked in circular debt. These dues will be serviced through a Rs3.23 per unit surcharge on consumers for a period of six years. The signing ceremony was held at the PM Office, witnessed virtually by the prime minister from New York. No official announcement was made, although ministers confirmed the signing of the agreement. Under the agreement, the government will have 30 days to request disbursements from banks for prompt utilisation to avoid penalties. Any withdrawal request not fully used within the period will lapse. After the request is made, the government will have three months to draw down the approved funds. The servicing of the Rs1.225tr debt would be serviced through a Debt Service Surcharge (DSS) at the rate of Rs3.23 per unit. Of this, Rs659bn would be used for loans payable by Power Holding Ltd (PHL) – a shell subs...

• Residents say controlled breaches can give floodwaters a path back to Chenab • Several parts of Jamshoro remain under water LAHORE / DADU: A vast reservoir of floodwater continues to rise along the eastern side of the M-5 motorway, inundating farmland and threatening to erase entire villages in Multan’s Jalalpur Pirwala tehsil. Fifteen days after breaches first appeared at the Noraja Bhutta embankment on the Sutlej River, residents in union councils across Multan, Bahawalpur and Lodhran remain stranded, with many clinging to embankments as the water swallows their homes. To prevent damage to the highway, the National Highway Authority (NHA) has blocked culverts and bridges with heavy stones, effectively turning the motorway into a dam. But this is preventing floodwaters from draining away and causing water levels to rise on the eastern side, creating a dam-like effect from Noraja Bhutta embankment to the motorway. Communities in Noraja Bhutta, Bahadurpur, Basti Lang, Kanu, Dipal, Tarut Basharat, Daily Rajan...

NEW DELHI: The Mum­b­ai police registered a case against 81-year-old business tycoon Nusli Nevil Wadia, the grandson of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and some of his family members among others for allegedly using forged and fabricated documents in their court proceedings against Ferani Hotels Pvt Ltd, news reports said. According to Hindustan Times, the FIR was registered following orders by the metropolitan magistrate court at Borivili, which directed the Bangur Nagar police to register an FIR against Nusli Wadia, Maureen Wadia, 78, Ness Wadia, 54, Jehangir Wadia, 52, H.J. Bamji, 75, K.F. Bharucha and R.E. Wandewala, 65, for alleged cheating and forgery. The case revolves around a 30-year-old development agreement between Wadia and Ferani Hotels on a plot of land in Malad, which Ferani Hotels was to develop with builder K. Raheja and pay Wadia 12pc of the gross sale proceeds. Disputes arose in 2008, leading to legal battles over Wadia’s share of sales and the management of the land. The case has involve...

ISLAMABAD: Chief Jus­­tice of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Sar­dar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar has been inducted as a member of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the top forum for judicial accountability, as the SJC will meet next month to examine complaints against superior courts judges including the IHC. Under Article 209 of the Constitution, the SJC consists of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, and two senior-most chief justices of high courts. CJP Yahya Afridi heads the forum, while Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar represent the Supreme Court. Among chief justices, LHC’s Chief Justice Alia Neelum was already a member, and the seat vacated following the retirement of SHC Chief Justice Junaid Ghaffar has now been filled by Jus­tice Dogar, who ranks as the most senior among the sitting high court chiefs. The Constitution says that seniority among chief justices of high courts is determined by their dates of appointment as permanent chief justices...

• Allowing judges to target peers would lead to ‘internal conflicts’, Justice Mandokhail warns • Ruling underscores principle of judicial equality, places emphasis on judicial discipline; affirms that judges cannot ‘pick and choose’ cases • IHC judges’ pleas ‘still under review’, says SC spox ISLAMABAD: Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail of the Supreme Court, in an 11-page verdict, has ruled that judges cannot initiate contempt proceedings against their peers, establishing that only the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has the constitutional authority to probe misconduct allegations against the judges of both the apex and high courts. He explained that judges within the superior cou­rts share equal power and status, with no individual holding superiority or inferiority over another. He warned that allowing judges to take such punitive mea­sures against one another would cripple the judiciary. The ruling formally justified why a six-judge Supreme Court bench on Jan 27 disposed of an Intra-Court Appeal (ICA) filed by ...