Pakistan

Poultry mostly unavailable at official rates

Encroachments, theft damage track as authorities consider revival plan

Over 200 subsidised sale points set up as 10kg flour bag fixed at Rs905

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LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Information and Culture, Azma Bokhari, on Sunday said in a statement that the incidents involving arson attacks on Radio Pakistan building, toll plazas, and ambulances by the PTI in Peshawar on May 9, 2023, were part of a “well-planned conspiracy, and irrefutable evidence has now surfaced in the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory report.” On May 9, PTI supporters, protesting the party founder Imran Khan’s arrest, staged violent protests throughout the country, vandalising military installations and state-owned buildings, while also attacking the Lahore corps commander’s residence. Following the riots, thousands of protesters, including party leaders, were arrested. “The planning was carried out by the same elements involved in the violence, and their statements — including those of Murad Saeed — are on record,” she said. Bokhari added that evidence related to the May 9 incidents had already been presented before the nation earlier, but the “PTI leadership, true to its past conduct,...

India has proposed requiring smartphone makers to share source code with the government and make several software changes as part of a raft of security measures, prompting behind-the-scenes opposition from giants like Apple and Samsung. The tech companies have countered that the package of 83 security standards, which would also include a requirement to alert the government to major software updates, lacks any global precedent and risks revealing proprietary details, according to four people familiar with the discussions and a Reuters review of confidential government and industry documents. The plan is part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to boost the security of user data as online fraud and data breaches increase in the world’s second-largest smartphone market, with nearly 750 million phones. IT Secretary S. Krishnan told Reuters that “any legitimate concerns of the industry will be addressed with an open mind”, adding it was “premature to read more into it”. A ministry spokesperson said i...

ISLAMABAD: At least eight people died, and 12 others were injured in an explosion at a house in Islamabad’s Sector G-7/2 during wedding festivities on Sunday, officials said. The officials said the deceased also included the bride and the groom. According to Pak­is­tan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) spokesperson Dr Aneeza Jalil, six bodies and 11 injured people were brought to the hospital, where the injured were being provided medical treatment. She told Dawn that an emergency was imposed in Pims after the incident on the directives of Executive Director (ED) Dr Rana Imran Sikander. One of the injured was being treated at the hospital’s burns centre as he had sustained 20 per cent burn injuries, she said. Dr Aneeza later told Dawn that nine of the 11 injured had been discharged, and among the two at the hospital, the condition of one was “unstable”. The victim would have to undergo surgery, she added. Meanwhile, Islamabad Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Sahibzada Yusuf reached the site of the ...

Nordic diplomats rejected US President Donald Trump’s claims of Russian and Chinese vessels operating near Greenland, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. There have been no signs of Russian or Chinese ships or submarines around Greenland in recent years, the FT said, citing two senior Nordic diplomats with access to NATO intelligence briefings. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and NATO did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. It is simply not true that the Chinese and Russians are there. I have seen the intelligence. There are no ships, no submarines, the FT quoted one senior diplomat as saying. Another Nordic diplomat said claims that waters around Greenland were crawling with Russian and Chinese vessels were unfounded, adding that such activity was on the Russian side of the Arctic. Trump has repeatedly said Russian and Chinese vessels are operating near Greenland, a claim Denmark disputes. He has not provided evidence to support it. Trump said on Friday the US mu...

US and allied forces carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria on Saturday, the US military said, the latest response to an attack last month that killed three Americans. US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees American military forces in the region, said multiple strikes “targeted ISIS throughout Syria,” using an acronym for the terrorist group. Centcom’s post on X did not give specifics on where they took place. Grainy aerial video accompanying the post showed several separate explosions, apparently in rural areas. The strikes were part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, which was launched “in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on US and Syrian forces in Palmyra,” Centcom said. Two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter were killed on December 13 after a lone gunman — whom Washington described as an IS militant — ambushed them in Palmyra. Syria’s interior ministry later said the gunman was a member of the security forces who had been set to be fired f...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that Pakistan believed the recognition of the so-called “Somaliland” as an independent state by Israel was an act of “political aggression that sets a perilous precedent, threatening peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea region, and beyond”. Dar said this while addressing the extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers in Saudi Arabia. His statement follows a joint statement by the OIC, which initiated its 22nd extraordinary session in Jeddah on Saturday. The moot has been convened against the backdrop of Israel recognising Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, with Soma­liland’s president, Abdira­hman Mohamed Abdul­lahi, saying his state will join the Abraham Accords. Later, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Somaliland, condemned by Somalia as an “unauthorised incursion”. Dar expressed Pakistan’s “unwavering support for the sovereignty, unity and terri...

FLYOVERS are being demolished all over the world because they are considered ugly and they break the openness of the city. The space they occupy is being turned into parks and recreational areas. This is being done through spatial reorganisation of the city, and by realising that building them is the most expensive way of trying to solve traffic-related issues. When Karachi flyovers were first planned, there were professionals and civil society members who pointed out that they would solve traffic problems at non-rush hours. But at rush hours, they would increase them considerably. And today, conditions at rush hours at various nodes have become much worse than earlier — not only because of an increase of cars. I can give a few examples of what has happened in the West, as I am sure that some readers are acquainted with the places I am going to mention. These projects are part of a larger city strategy to reclaim public space. In the US, the Waterfront Park in Oregon is on a demolished freeway, and so is the ...

Pakistan has firmly rejected India’s comments on Pakistan-Bangladesh cooperation in construction and other key sectors, including defence-related engagements, saying New Delhi has no right to comment on bilateral ties between the two countries.

Former senator Mushtaq Ahmad on Sunday announced the launch of a new political party, the Pakistan Rights Movement (PRM), saying it would struggle for constitutional rule, social justice and the protection of fundamental rights.

Record remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis reflect growing confidence in the government’s economic policies, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Shehzad said on Sunday.

A scheduled meeting between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was cancelled on Monday due to the latter’s busy schedule, officials said.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has strongly rejected Israel’s decision to recognise Somaliland, calling it a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and convened an emergency meeting of its foreign ministers to discuss the issue.

Illustration by Abro The sentiment that ‘revolution was just around the corner’ serves as a poignant distillation of the 1960s ‘counterculture’ zeitgeist. It was a unique historical moment, where global currents of youthful middle-class dissent converged to create a sense of inevitability that the old order was about to collapse. There is a distinct sense of melancholy attached to this sentiment today, stemming from the fact that the revolution never actually materialised. The capitalist structures and political hierarchies that drew the fire of youthful protestors proved resilient. The survival of the status quo was largely due to the durability of the modern state. When pushed hard, governments effectively reinforced their ‘law and order’ platforms, a strategy that successfully appealed to a more cautious general public. They prioritised stability over radical change, allowing the state to reassert control. Capitalism demonstrated a remarkable capacity to co-opt the rebellion. Instead of being dismantled by...

SINCE the so-called rules-based order is crumbling in whatever flawed form it existed, those with power are asserting themselves in the most unbridled of ways, with the only restraining factor being power itself or its quantum at the disposal of one player or the other. The phenomenon is not limited to the big powers’ actions on the global stage but is mirrored by developments in the region and even within countries, with domestic politics being shaped by the ‘might is right’ principle, if it can be called a principle. The resultant scenario is scary to say the least. This must be the reason that some of the ‘rattled’ middle-ranking economic-military powers are now forging alliances and concluding pacts so that their collective strength or power enables them to better negotiate the challenges and come out relatively unscathed from the reshaping of the world that seem underway. Let me get into the specifics. The US-backed Israeli attack started against the around two million Palestinians in the tiny and largel...

Dense fog and freezing temperatures continued to disrupt normal life in several parts of the country on Sunday, leading to partial suspension of flight operations and the closure of key motorways at various points.

SCHEDULE uncertainty persists at yet another multilateral cricket tournament to be held in South Asia. Once again, it involves India, which has been intent on throwing its weight around. This time, though, it is getting a taste of its own medicine. Less than a month before the Twenty20 World Cup is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh have cited security reservations over travelling to India. The Bangladesh Cricket Board is, instead, in a discussion with the International Cricket Council about playing its matches in Sri Lanka. Its concerns have been triggered on account of worsening Dhaka-New Delhi ties and the recent events related to its fast bowler Mustafizur Rehman. Mustafizur had been signed by the Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders, only for the Board of Control for Cricket in India to ask the team to release him due to “recent developments”. The move sparked a furore in Dhaka, which banned the broadcast of the IPL in the country and asked the ICC to shift its World Cup matc...