Pakistan

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Saturday highlighted the need for “cordial” cohesion and relations between the bench and bars across the country, to preserve the rule of law. Speaking at a judicial conference in Muzaffarabad, the CJP said it was heartening to witness the “spirit of judicial fraternity between Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)” and extended “full constitutional [and] institutional support” from the Supreme Court to the AJK judiciary. “I earnestly urge my brother judges and my respected bar members of [AJK] to keep three foundational fundamentals in mind in progressing with their future,” CJP Afridi said. “I earnestly state, firstly, it is neither us sitting on the bench, nor for the worthy, respected bar members standing on the roster, but the litigant whose interest must always remain supreme.” He added that secondly, the relationship between the bench and the bar “should always be cordial, constructive and considered”. “Mind you, without this cohesion between the two pillar...

The Utah trade school student jailed on suspicion of fatally shooting United States conservative activist Charlie Kirk faces formal charges next week, according to the governor, following an act of violence widely seen as a foreboding inflexion point in American politics. Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested on Thursday night after relatives and a family friend alerted authorities that he had implicated himself in the crime, Governor Spencer Cox said on Friday, opening a press conference with the words, “We got him.” The arrest capped a 33-hour manhunt for the lone suspect in Wednesday’s killing, which US President Donald Trump has called a “heinous assassination”. Kirk, co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA and a staunch Trump ally, was gunned down by a single rifle shot fired from a rooftop during an outdoor event attended by 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, about 65 kilometres south of Salt Lake City. The sniper made his getaway in the ensuing pandemonium, captured in gr...

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has unveiled the schedule for its annual elections for 2026.

Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Saturday strongly condemned the obstinacy and brutal conduct of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel has dissolved parliament and called for fresh elections on March 5 following a week of deadly violence that culminated in the appointment of the country’s first woman prime minister. The statement from Paudel’s office late on Friday came just hours after he announced former chief justice Sushila Karki would lead the country on an interim basis following the deadly “Gen Z”-led anti-graft protests that forced former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign. According to the statement, the president has “dissolved the House of Representatives” and fixed March 5 next year for the elections. Karki was appointed after two days of intense negotiations between Paudel, army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel and the protest leaders behind Nepal’s worst upheaval in years, in which at least 51 people were killed and more than 1,300 injured. Nepal’s southern neighbour, India, said it hoped that the developments would help foster peace and stability. “Heartfelt congratulations to the Honourable Sushi...

Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) chief Dr Mahrang Baloch on Saturday was granted bail by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi in a case pertaining to terrorism and sedition charges from October last year. The BYC chief is currently in police custody on physical remand, which was extended for 15 more days by an ATC in Quetta on Thursday. Mahrang was arrested on March 22 on allegations of “attacking” the Quetta Civil Hospital and “inciting people to violence” and has been remanded several times. According to a copy of today’s court order available with Dawn.com, the state prosecutor “vehemently” opposed the court granting bail to the BYC chief because the allegations against Mahrang are of a serious nature and the investigating officer collected sufficient evidence which could be presented in court. Last October, Mahrang was booked in a terrorism case as a first information report (FIR) was registered by Malir district’s Quaidabad police on the complaint of a local resident who claimed that the BYC leader wa...

QUATTA - Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Friday said that the decisions of the provincial cabinet were guarantee of the public interest and long-term development of Balochistan.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and Italy have reached an agreement to collaborate on the promotion of olive cultivation.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Vice President and Senator Sherry Rehman has welcomed the adoption of the United Nations resolution supporting a two-state solution for Palestine, terming it a historic development and a defeat of Israel’s aggressive narrative.

Twelve Pakistan Army soldiers embraced martyrdom while 35 terrorists of Fitna al-Khwarij, described as an Indian proxy, were killed in two separate engagements between September 10 and 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.

The Sindh Information Department on Saturday reported a decrease in inflow and outflow at Punjnad Headworks, while water levels in the Indus River continued to rise at several key barrages, worsening the flood situation in interior Sindh.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a man in the Chicago area on Friday as officers attempted to detain him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and local officials said. ICE officers were conducting a vehicle stop to arrest Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez when he drove his car at the officers, DHS said in a statement. An ICE officer fired at Villegas-Gonzalez after being dragged by his vehicle, according to the statement. The officer, who was not named, was injured and in stable condition, according to DHS. Reuters could not immediately find contact information for Villegas-Gonzalez’s family. DHS said in the statement that he was in the country illegally. The Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago confirmed the identity of the person who was killed, saying he was a 38-year-old cook from Mexico. The Trump administration said on Monday it had launched an immigration enforcement action in Chicago and other parts of Illinois called “Operation Midway Blitz”. “We warned that ICE’s aggre...

Speakers at a high-level event of Pakistan’s Mission to the United Nations on Friday stated that India’s move to unilaterally hold the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance had raised serious doubts about the sanctity of international commitments. India held the IWT in abeyance following the April 22 attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 — an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad without evidence. Pakistan termed any attempt to suspend its water share an “act of war”. Friday’s event was jointly organised at the UN headquarters in New York by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN and the Muslim-American Leadership Alliance (Mala), according to a statement posted by the Mission on X earlier today. Participants of the event, which was on the theme of ‘Indus Waters Treaty and Pakistan’s Water Crisis: Challenges and the Way Forward’, termed the Indian move a “grave violation of international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law”, the statement said. Attendees inc...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday held a telephonic conversation with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Dr.

Pace bowling great Wasim Akram has urged Pakistan and India’s cricketers to ignore the noise and enjoy the game when they meet in a highly charged Asia Cup T20 match on Sunday. The Group A match in Dubai is the first clash on the cricket field between the countries since a military conflict four months ago took relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours to their lowest point in decades. India resisted calls to boycott the match between the pair, who have not played in any bilateral series since deadly attacks in Mumbai 2008. “Enjoy, it’s a game of cricket,” legendary left-armer Akram told AFP of the match, which potentially could be the first of three high-octane meetings between the countries in the T20 tournament. “Forget about everything other than cricket. One team will win, and one team will lose,” he said. “Just enjoy the moment if you win the game. Pressure will come, enjoy that and show discipline because this is just a game. It’s for both teams and for both sets of fans.” A full house of 25,000 i...

On the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb late Friday night visited flood-hit areas of Alipur to oversee ongoing rescue and relief operations.

At just 40, Farhat had never imagined her world would shrink to hospital corridors, infusion drips, and the sterile hush of oncology wards. A spirited schoolteacher from Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, she was known for her laughter — loud, contagious, and always a beat ahead of the room. But after her breast cancer diagnosis, the laughter disappeared. What followed was not just the slow unraveling of her physical health, but a silent, suffocating assault on her emotional wellbeing. Sara, another breast cancer patient, endured mastectomy, chemotherapy, and the disorienting fog of fatigue and pain. But the darkest moments weren’t marked by physical suffering; they came in the long, sleepless nights filled with fear, anxiety, and an overwhelming sense of isolation. “Everyone talks about surviving cancer,” she whispered, “but no one prepares you for surviving yourself.” Like countless women in Pakistan, these women found themselves trapped in a blind spot of our healthcare system: psychological support. Farhat was rec...

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday underscored the importance of coordinated civil-military efforts to address the challenges faced by flood-affected communities in Punjab.

Rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir on Saturday submitted an application to the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) registrar for the preservation of CCTV footage of an “unfortunate incident” that took place with her — a reference to her exchange with IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar — earlier this week. In her application to the IHC registrar,which Mazari shared on X, she said: “I write to you today to seek [the] preservation of CCTV footage of the Honourable Chief Justice’s courtroom no.1 from September 11, 2025 between 9am and 11am, as an unfortunate incident took place with the undersigned counsel, as a result of which it is imperative that the exchange recorded on the CCTV footage is preserved. “I would also request [the] provision of a copy of the CCTV footage from the aforementioned date and time on the USB I have annexed herewith this instant application.” The proceedings that Mazari referred to in her application are from a hearing on Thursday, during which she represented he...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday chaired a high-level meeting focused on transformational reforms in Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunications sectors, aimed at boosting digital growth and attracting strategic investments.