Pakistan

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Hundreds flee homes in valley as fierce fighting and mortar shelling leave civilians dead and injured

Villagers detain militant's kin after abduction

Mian Iftikhar blasts provincial govt over insecurity

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India launched its heaviest ever communication satellite on Sunday, the latest step in the country’s ambitious space programme. The CMS-03 satellite blasted off from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh at 5:26 pm local time (1156 GMT). “Our space sector continues to make us proud!” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wants to send an Indian astronaut to the Moon by 2040. Weighing about 4,410 kilogrammes, it is “the heaviest communication satellite” launched in the country, the Indian Space Research Organisation said on Thursday. The Indian Navy said the satellite would help “secure communication links between ships, aircraft, submarines”. The CMS-03 satellite was sent into orbit from the towering 43.5 metre tall LVM3-M5 launch vehicle. It is an upgraded version of the rocket that launched India’s unmanned craft that landed on the Moon in August 2023. Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface. The country has flexed its spacef...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced plans to challenge the Punjab Local Government Bill 2025 in the Lahore High Court.

Three cops, including a station house officer (SHO), were injured in a blast caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Doaba area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district on Sunday, police said. Abbas Majeed, the regional police officer in Kohat division, confirmed these details to Dawn, further stating that a police convoy was targeted in the IED attack. He added that SHO Imranuddin was among the three injured policemen. Separately, a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said the provincial chief executive, Sohail Afridi, had taken notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the KP inspector general of police. He directed that the injured policemen be provided immediate medical treatment, the statement said, adding that the CM paid tribute to the police personnel’s “courage and sense of duty”. The CM further directed that security in the province be tightened and strictly monitor suspicious elements. “Elements involved in [such] cowardly attacks will be taken to task,” the s...

British police said on Sunday that a knife attack on a train, which put 11 people in hospital, was not a terrorist incident, adding that two men — both British nationals — had been arrested. Counterterrorism police had helped with the initial investigation after the mass stabbing of passengers on a train in eastern England on Saturday. “At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that this is a terrorist incident,” Superintendent John Loveless from British Transport Police told the media on Sunday. The two men arrested on suspicion of attempted murder were a 32-year-old male, a Black British national, and a 35-year-old British national of Caribbean descent, Loveless said. Both were born in the UK, he added. “We continue to work to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident,” he said. “It would not be appropriate to speculate on the cause.” Armed police board train The arrests were made by armed police after the train made an emergency stop at Huntingdon, around 80 miles (130 km) north of...

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar will depart for Istanbul tomorrow to attend the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers, where the Gaza ceasefire deal will be discussed, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday. “At the invitation of the Turkish foreign minister, the Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will undertake a one-day visit to Istanbul on November 3, 2025 to attend the Coordination Meeting of Arab-Islamic Foreign Ministers,” the FO statement said. “It may be recalled that Pakistan, along with seven other Arab-Islamic countries, has remained engaged with the peace initiative that led to the signing of the Gaza Peace Agreement in Sharm El-Sheikh,” the statement added. Hamas and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement on October 9, agreeing to free the Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of United States President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the Israeli onslaught in Gaza. Pakistan was one of the eigh...

Police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday foiled a migrant smuggling attempt in Balochistan’s Turbat district in a joint operation, while detaining 29 foreign nationals for attempting to cross the border illegally, officials said. Migrant smuggling, which has grown more frequent and dangerous in Pakistan in the last few years, assists a person to enter or stay in a country without having the legal permission to do so. The trend impacts both the country’s reputation and the lives of those caught in it. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kech Captain Zohaib Mohsin told Dawn that the operation was carried out in the outskirts of Turbat, where a Land Cruiser was intercepted with dozens of people on board. “The arrested persons include 12 men, 13 children and 4 women,” the SSP said. “Two drivers have also been arrested who were allegedly involved in taking these people to Iran through illegal routes.” SSP Mohsin said initial investigations have revealed that the Afghan nationals were planning ...

The Punjab Home Department has extended the enforcement of Section 144 across the province for another seven days, effective until Saturday, November 8.

An official was killed and two others injured in an explosion at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Peshawar on Sunday, reportedly caused by a short circuit.

Punjab’s Home Department has extended Section 144 across the province until November 8, banning protests, rallies, sit-ins, and public gatherings due to concerns over terrorism and public order, a statement issued on Sunday said. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period. “In view of security threats, public processions and sit-ins can be soft targets for terrorists,” the home department said in its statement. “Malignant elements can take advantage of public protests and carry out anti-state activities to fulfil their nefarious intentions.” It added that a complete ban has been imposed on the display of all types of weapons across Punjab. “There is also a complete ban on the use of loudspeakers under Section 144,” it said. Furthermore, as per the statement, there is a complete ban on the publication and distribution of inflammatory, hateful or sectarian material. The depa...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said the government would take steps to ensure effective investigation, justice, and prosecution in cases of crimes against journalists. His remarks came on the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. The day, observed on November 2, highlights the need for justice in cases where journalists are attacked or killed. This year’s observance draws attention to the online threats faced by women journalists and the broader chilling impact these have on freedom of expression. “Today reminds us that a free, informed, and responsible press is the foundation of any democratic society,” the prime minister said in a statement. “Journalists enable public access to facts and are torchbearers of truth. Violence, threats, or reprisals against them while performing their duties are attacks on freedom of expression. “I pay tribute to journalists who faced hardships for truth and solidarity with families of media workers who lost loved ones in the line of duty.” ...

A Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) official was martyred in Peshawar on Sunday morning, while two others were injured when explosives stored in a police station went off. Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Dr Mian Saeed Ahmad confirmed the casualties of the incident at the CTD police station in a statement. “Preliminary assessment shows that an explosion occurred due to the detonation of old explosive material stored in the police station’s ammunition room. Fire has also spread to other ammunition, causing further explosions,” the statement read. Police and security forces cordoned off the area, as “clearance [was] going on”, the CCPO said. He added that the Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU), along with rescue and fire brigade services, were working accordingly. Citing a preliminary assessment, the statement said, “Police sources confirm that this incident does not appear to be a terrorist attack”. In another statement, the CCPO’s office said a special investigation team of the CTD reached the police statio...

Rows of coffins line a university classroom in the South Korean port city of Busan, ready for use in training the funeral directors of the future in a rapidly ageing country. Growing numbers are finding work in the business of death as South Korea undergoes massive demographic change, with birth rates among the lowest in the world and almost half the population aged 50 or older. Students at the Busan Institute of Science and Technology carefully draped a mannequin in traditional Korean funeral cloth, smoothing the fabric as if over real skin, before gently lowering it into a coffin. “With our society ageing, I thought the demand for this kind of work would only grow,” said Jang Jin-yeong, 27, a funeral administration student. Another student, 23-year-old Im Sae-jin, decided to enter the field after his grandmother died. “At her funeral, I saw how beautifully the directors had prepared her for the final farewell,” he said. “I felt deeply grateful.” ‘Like portraits’ More and more South Koreans are also living —...