Pakistan

The Punjab government has announced the restoration of earlier business timings across the province, making it mandatory for all markets, shops, malls and commercial centres to close by 8:00 pm starting from tomorrow.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Monday that any new constitutional amendment should provide protection to the rights of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). “If any constitutional amendment has to be made anywhere, it is very important that the rights of GB are protected under it,” Bilawal said while addressing a rally in GB’s Shigar ahead of the June 7 elections in the region. In this connection, he said, “We can take forward their struggle for their right of rule (haq-i-hakimiyat)”. For this, the first step would be to hold elections in GB and the rest of Pakistan at the same time, he said. “When elections are held in Gilgit-Baltistan and the rest of Pakistan at the same time, progress in GB’s struggle for right of rule will be made in the true sense,” he added. “If we want to ensure the right of rule [for GB], demands or aims should be to hold elections in GB at the same time as general elections in Pakistan.” Bilawal also said the PPP would work towards getting the “same rights and resources for GB as ot...

India gave a red-carpet welcome on Monday to Myanmar’s junta leader-turned President Min Aung Hlaing — his first trip abroad since becoming civilian leader — with talks focusing on security and trade. The former military chief met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, where they shook hands outside New Delhi’s sprawling Hyderabad House. Modi told the Myanmar leader that “India remains Myanmar’s trusted neighbour, a reliable partner and steadfast first responder in times of crisis”, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said. Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as Myanmar’s president in April, continuing his rule from a civilian post five years after snatching power in a military coup. Modi also “reaffirmed India’s readiness to support peace and dialogue in Myanmar”, Jaiswal added. New Delhi’s top career diplomat, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, told reporters after the meeting that discussions included border security and the impact of the civil war in Myanmar, which borders India’s northeastern s...

The Election Commission of Gilgit-Baltistan has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) allowing Nawaz Sharif to visit Gilgit-Baltistan for election campaign activities ahead of the upcoming regional polls.

The upper parts of the country are expected to experience dust storms and thunderstorms from June 2, which are likely to persist until June 5, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Monday. “A westerly wave is likely to approach the upper parts of the country” during the forecast period, PMD said in an advisory. In Punjab and Islamabad, scattered dust storms and thunderstorms with rain are expected, with isolated heavy falls and hailstorms at a few places, in Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Murree, Galliyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Wazirabad, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Narowal, Sahiwal, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Nankana Sahib, Chiniot, Faisalabad, Okara, Kasur, Khushab, Sargodha, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, D.G. Khan, Multan, Khanewal, Lodhran, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Layyah. In Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), the PMD forecast scattered rain, windstorms and thunderstorms, with isolated heavy falls and hailstorms, in Ne...

ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on Monday challenged before the Supreme Court its May 12 order that required the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to decide in two weeks the sentence suspension pleas of lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in the controversial social media posts case. Meanwhile, despite the SC’s May 26 deadline having passed already, the IHC today, on the request of the prosecution, adjourned the hearing of Imaan and Hadi’s pleas seeking suspension of their sentences. The husband-wife duo were sentenced in the case on January 24, with subsequent petitions being filed against their conviction in early February. On May 12, more than three months after the pleas were filed, the SC gave the IHC two weeks to decide on the lawyer couple’s petitions. On Monday, the NCCIA requested the SC to recall and withdraw that order to help preserve the “sanctity and independence of the judiciary, maintaining equality among citizens and avoiding discriminatory treatme...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast rain, dust storms, and thunderstorms in several districts of Sindh as intense heat, high humidity, and a western weather system influence conditions across parts of the province.

The Punjab School Education Department has allowed government and private schools across the province to hold summer camps during the summer break from June 1 to June 30.

In 2018, Pakistan produced the widest survey in its history on how much nutrition its people were getting. The NNS or National Nutrition Survey was the fifth such epic exercise to be undertaken since 1965, and the first ever to show us the numbers from the districts. It was the most comprehensive data-gathering effort in Pakistan’s history and is regularly cited today in policymaking. The NNS results painted such an alarming picture at the time that the government should have declared a national emergency. Instead, I find myself writing this seven years on with a question as Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb tables an estimated Rs17.1 trillion federal budget for fiscal year 2026-27: What did Pakistan’s budget-makers do with the population nutrition evidence? No prizes for guessing the answer was scant little. What we got instead is a story of policy documents without funding to see through on the ground, bodies meant to coordinate without the mandate or teeth, and a government that continues to treat nutrit...

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs 966 billion in tax revenues during May 2026, marking a 7% year-on-year increase, but falling short of its monthly target of Rs 1,150 billion by Rs 184 billion.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held separate meetings with Members of the National Assembly Chaudhry Iftikhar Nazir and Muhammad Afzal Khokhar in Islamabad on Monday, during which matters related to their respective constituencies were discussed.

Israel’s attorney general warned on Monday of the country’s democratic backsliding under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, specifically regarding the judiciary’s independence and the executive’s disregard for court rulings. Gali Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government’s legal adviser, has clashed with Netanyahu’s government since it took office in late 2022. “Given the approach of the end of the current Knesset’s term, a race has begun to eliminate democratic institutions,” Baharav-Miara said at a conference of the Israeli Bar Association on Monday. She pointed specifically to two bills currently travelling through Israel’s parliament. The first aims to split the attorney general’s powers by creating a “prosecutor general” position appointed by the justice minister. The second bill aims to grant far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir more powers over the police. Speaking at the conference in the southern Israeli city of Eilat, Baharav-Miara also denounced what she said was...

A delegation of South Air, headed by Kanwar Muhammad Tariq, met Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to discuss the airline’s expansion strategy and future flight operations across the province.

Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal on Monday called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and briefed him on ongoing and upcoming projects in the health sector.

The City Traffic Police have launched a crackdown against unregistered Qingqi rickshaws and loaders, banning their entry on model roads, including Canal Road, in a move aimed at ensuring public safety and maintaining smooth traffic flow.

Mohsin Naqvi called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore on Monday and discussed the overall law and order situation in the country, with a focus on security arrangements for Eid-ul-Adha and the upcoming elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The US said it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday it had targeted a US base in response, the latest in a series of exchanges amid negotiations to end the three-month-old war. The strikes on Iran’s Gulf coast were in response to “aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters,” the US Central Command said in a post on X. “US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defences, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” Centcom said, adding it will continue to protect US assets and interests during the ongoing ceasefire. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted an air base used by the US for an attack on southern Iran, without identifying which base. Air defences in Kuwait, where a major US base is located, were intercepting missile and drone attacks on Monday ...

Kaja Kallas arrived in Pakistan on Monday to participate in the eighth session of the Pakistan-European Union Strategic Dialogue, the highest-level forum for structured engagement between the two sides.

Malaysia has begun barring those aged under 16 from registering accounts on social media platforms, its communications regulator said on Monday, as it boosts efforts to protect minors from exposure to harmful content online. The Southeast Asian nation joins a growing number of countries introducing measures to regulate access to online platforms, amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children’s health and safety. Starting Monday, social media platforms, including Meta Platforms’ Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, and Alphabet’s YouTube, must conduct age verification against government-issued records, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said. Fines up to 10 million ringgit ($2.5 million) may be levied against social media platforms that fail to comply. “The measure is not intended to prohibit child users from the internet or to deny them access to technology,” it said, rather it aims to boost responsibility among social media platforms, parents and guardians in protecting mi...

KARACHI: The Karachi Traffic Police have announced that an e-challan system for lane violations on Sharea Faisal will take effect from June 1 (today) under the Traffic Regulation and Citation System (TRACS). In a statement, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Traffic Pir Mohammed Shah said that under the notified lane management plan, commercial vehicles and motorcycles are required to use the two leftmost lanes, which have been reserved for their movement. He said fast-moving private vehicles, including cars, jeeps, and double-cabin vehicles, are not permitted to use the leftmost and second-left lanes, as these remain reserved for commercial and slow-moving traffic. Shah further said that the fast lane and the second lane from the right are designated exclusively for fast-moving private vehicles. He added that Sharea Faisal operates as a three-lane carriageway in some stretches and a four-lane carriageway in others, stating that in three-lane sections, the middle lane may be used interchangeably by both commercia...