Pakistan

South Africa captain Aiden Markram led from the front with an unbeaten 82 as South Africa all but secured a T20 World Cup semi-final berth with a brutal nine-wicket thrashing of the West Indies in Ahmedabad on Thursday. After the West Indies fought back from deep trouble at 83-7 to post 176-8, Markram and Quinton de Kock put on 95 for the first wicket to set the platform for a thumping victory. South Africa raced to their target with 23 balls to spare, scoring 177-1. Ryan Rickleton was not out on 45 at the end. They are the only unbeaten side in the tournament, having also dismantled pre-tournament favourite India by 76 runs in the Super Eights. An India win against Zimbabwe in Chennai later on Thursday will guarantee South Africa’s progress to the last four. It will also make India’s clash against the West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday a winner-takes-all decider for the final semi-final berth. Markram reached fifty off 27 balls and hit four sixes and seven fours. De Kock scored 47 off 24 balls, with four sixes...

In view of the prevailing national security situation, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, has directed authorities to further strengthen security arrangements across the province.

Pakistan on Thursday accused India of involvement in terrorism inside its territory and alleged that New Delhi is engaged in anti-Pakistan propaganda, while also warning that recent Israeli actions pose a serious threat to regional peace.

Breathe Pakistan, a flagship climate change awareness initiative by DawnMedia, has partnered with Alertli, a socially intelligent platform powered by voice and location-based artificial intelligence (AI), to strengthen citizen-led climate reporting and resilience efforts across Pakistan. According to a press release issued on Thursday, the collaboration will enable citizens to report climate-related incidents in real time, including urban flooding after heavy rainfall, heat-related emergencies, weather-induced road blockages, and climate-linked property damage. The statement said these reports will contribute to a broader national framework for climate awareness and preparedness “at a time when rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather events are placing unprecedented strain on urban infrastructure, public health systems, and everyday mobility”. It added that under the partnership, Alertli will serve as an “official citizen-reporting tool across Breathe Pakistan’s platforms”. User-submitted reports...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday launched an e-taxi scheme in the province, saying that the initiative was part of the government’s efforts to establish an “e-mobility ecosystem”. At a ceremony held for the scheme’s inauguration, the Punjab chief minister announced that around 1,100 e-taxies will be provided under the scheme at a subsidised rate, with a 30 per cent quota reserved for women. “Punjab has become the first province to launch an e-taxi scheme, the first of its kind, not only for the environment, but it will also open up employment opportunities,” the chief minister said while addressing the ceremony. “I am happy that over 30 pc of the scheme’s beneficiaries are women,” the chief minister added. CM Maryam maintained that the initiative was a part of the government’s efforts to establish an “e-mobility ecosystem”. “We have green buses as well — an example for the rest of the country,” she said, outlining plans to expand the service to “all 148 tehsils of Punjab”. Turning her attention ...

Have you ever come home from work feeling completely drained, even though you didn’t do anything physically exhausting? Surprisingly, this feeling is often less about the amount of work we do and more about the nature of the work and the structure of our jobs. In today’s world, most people spend nearly a third of their lives at work. Yet many jobs are structured in ways that leave people bored, stressed, or disconnected. It is understandable that jobs needn’t be fun, but they also don’t need to be frustrating. Even when people choose careers that they are passionate about, many gradually lose that passion and end up leaving the very jobs they once worked day and night for. This often happens because of how jobs are structured, how tasks are organised, and whether people feel they have control and meaning in their work. All of this affects employee productivity and happiness. Consider a job in which someone performs the same task every day, such as working in a print shop or performing desk work with minimal i...

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has ruled that placing any citizen’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) or any other travel ban list without prior notice or a show-cause notice is illegal and unconstitutional.

Detained leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have written a letter to Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, raising serious concerns over what they describe as repeated obstruction in providing medical and legal access to the party’s founder, Imran Khan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday arrived in Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Council’s (OIC) Executive Committee. The Extraordinary Open-Ended Ministerial Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee is set to be held tonight in Jeddah. It will “consider the illegal decisions of the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at expanding settlements, pursuing annexation, and attempting to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Occupied West Bank”, according to the Foreign Office (FO). Dar was received at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the OIC Ambassador Fawad Sher, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq, and Consul General in Jeddah Syed Mustafa Rabbani, FO said. The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the Israeli government approving a proposal to register large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property” for the first time since the occupation of the...

New Zealand’s “street-smart” cricketers can find a way to beat England and guarantee their semi-final place at the T20 World Cup, coach Rob Walters said on Thursday. A win for New Zealand in Friday’s Super Eights clash in Colombo will see them top Group 2 and join the already-qualified England in the final four. A defeat would leave the door ajar for Pakistan to beat eliminated Sri Lanka on Saturday with the second semi-final berth then being decided on net run rate. Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand were in trouble at 84-6 against Sri Lanka on Wednesday before the captain steered them to 168-7 and a thumping 61-run win which knocked out the co-hosts. “I think if you look historically at the Black Caps, you would probably say that they’re a team that have been great problem solvers,” Walters told reporters. “They are street smart; they find a way to understand the conditions quickly. “It’s certainly something that we pride ourselves on. We can adapt to conditions quickly and find a method.” England are the only ...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s petitions seeking the suspension of their sentences in the £190 million corruption case on March 11. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Azam Khan resumed the case proceedings on Thursday. During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure as dozens of lawyers affiliated with PTI stood up and approached the rostrum simultaneously. “What is this? Are you trying to influence the court?” the IHC chief justice asked. Imran’s counsel, Barrister Salman Sardar, replied: “Not at all.” He argued that the matter had assumed greater urgency in view of the former premier’s sudden eye ailment. He further submitted that Bushra Bibi, despite being a woman, was serving a seven-year sentence and that her petition for suspension of sentence had been fixed after six months. “We request you to suspend the sentence. The last order was passed on November 9,...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has announced that the year’s first total lunar eclipse will occur on March 3 and will be partially observable in several cities across Pakistan.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday departed here for a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Pakistan’s benchmark equity index, the KSE-100, gained 4,266.79 points by market close on Thursday, signalling recovering sentiment after previous sessions saw a sustained sell-off. The advance placed the index 2.59 per cent above its previous close of 164,626.29 points. During trading, a total of 291 scrips advanced, 145 declined, and 131 remained unchanged from their previous close. A total of 355,320,144 shares were traded by market close. The index touched an intraday low of 162,953.63 and a high of 169,374.27. The range reflected the elevated volatility that has persisted from earlier in the week into today’s trading. According to Topline Securities, “as the session progressed, the tone changed”. The brokerage house noted that selling pressure eased, and buyers returned with renewed confidence, turning a tentative recovery into a broad-based rally. The strong close suggested some improvement in investor sentiment. On Wednesday, the index had also staged an early rebound, but ultimately closed in the red,...

The imprisonment and reported deteriorating health of former prime minister Imran Khan came under sustained scrutiny in the UK Parliament on Tuesday. Peers across party lines pressed the Labour government to intensify diplomatic engagement with Islamabad and consider linking aid and trade to human rights benchmarks. The issue was raised during oral questions led by Labour peer Baroness Alexander of Cleveden, who asked about discussions with the government of Pakistan regarding Imran’s incarceration. Responding on behalf of the Foreign Office, Minister of State Baroness Chapman of Darlington reiterated that while Pakistan’s judicial processes are a matter for its own authorities, the UK had consistently raised concerns over fundamental rights. “While Pakistan’s judicial processes are, of course, a matter for Pakistan, we are clear that the Pakistani authorities need to respect fundamental freedoms, including the right to a fair trial, due process, humane detention and access to appropriate medical treatment,” ...

The number of births in Japan fell for the 10th straight year in 2025, official data showed on Thursday, highlighting the challenges for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. A total of 705,809 babies were born in Japan, the preliminary health ministry data showed, down 2.1 per cent from 2024. The data includes births to Japanese nationals in Japan, foreign births in Japan and babies born to Japanese nationals overseas. Meanwhile, 505,656 couples got married in 2025, up 1.1pc, while the number of divorces fell 3.7pc to 182,969 cases. There were 1,605,654 deaths, down 13,030 or 0.8pc from 2024. The internal affairs ministry estimated Japan’s overall population as of February at 122.86 million people, down 0.47pc, or 580,000, from a year ago. The world’s fourth-biggest economy has one of the world’s lowest birth rates and a falling and ageing population. This is leading to a host of problems, including labour shortages, a ballooning social security bill and fewer working people paying tax. That in turn is adding to Ja...

The district administration on Thursday imposed Section 144 in the districts of Upper South Waziristan and Lower South Waziristan due to rising security concerns and to facilitate the movement of logistics for security forces. Officials said the move aims to ensure public safety, maintain law and order, and facilitate the uninterrupted operational movement of security personnel. Upper South Waziristan Deputy Commissioner Asmatullah Wazir confirmed that Section 144 has been enforced in the tehsils of Sarvekai and Sararogha from 6am to 6pm. During this period, all movement will be strictly prohibited, and all markets and commercial centres will remain closed. The affected routes include Makin, Sararogha, Kot Kai and Spinkai Raghzai up to Nazar Khel. Additionally, the route from Dargai Bridge through Madi Jan, Sheen Warsak and Moley Khan Sarai to Chagmalai will also remain closed. Officials said in the statement that residents have been instructed to stop their vehicles at least 50 metres before approaching secu...

BANNU: A tragic incident during Taraweeh prayers on Wednesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district has left the area in mourning after militants raided a mosque and abducted three brothers, two of whom were police personnel. Eyewitnesses reported that 10–12 armed men entered the mosque, held worshippers hostage, and abducted three brothers before fleeing to an unknown location. The abducted individuals were identified as Saeed Akhtar, a clerk at the commissioner’s office, and Amjad and Hazratullah serving in the Wazir subdivision’s police force. Police officials confirmed that the two abducted police personnel were later brutally killed and their bodies were dumped along Marwat Canal Road, while the third brother remains missing. Local Chairman Masoom Wazir said he received information about two bodies and, upon reaching the site, found both victims covered in blood. The bodies were immediately taken to the District Headquarters Hospital. RPO Bannu Sajjad Khan stated that the kidnappers were affiliated with...

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday framed charges against main suspect Armaghan Qureshi and co-accused Sheraz alias Shavez Bukhari in the Mustafa Amir murder case. Amir, 23, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by his friends — Armaghan and Sheraz — in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Jan 6, 2025. According to the police, the accused stuffed Amir’s body in the trunk of his car and torched it in the Hub area of Balochistan. Both accused denied the charges before the court, which also summoned witnesses and adjourned the hearing until March 12. A final charge sheet against Armaghan in the murder case was filed in August 2025. In the document, Investigating Officer (IO) Muhammad Ali had said that the last known location of the victim and the two suspects was Armaghan’s house in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA). The IO stated that blood collected from Armaghan’s house allegedly matched samples taken from the body recovered from the car in Hub. The report claimed that CCTV foot...

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is set to formally roll out the province’s inaugural e-taxi initiative today, ushering in a new phase of environmentally sustainable urban transport.