Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has reaffirmed Pakistan's unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just struggle for freedom, dignity and statehood.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has cancelled his planned political rallies in Mardan and Dir, citing the worsening flood situation across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan on Friday said that Pakistan will decide what to do with the refugees it is hosting, such as those from Afghanistan. Last month, Pakistan started deporting up to 1 million documented Afghan refugees ahead of its deadline for them to leave, following the interior ministry’s July 31 announcement that Proof of Registration (PoR) cardholders — the last category of Afghans legally residing in Pakistan without visas — became unlawful residents after their cards expired on June 30. Addressing a press briefing today, Khan said, “Those Afghans waiting to travel to Germany should be deported as soon as possible,” referring to 2,400 Afghan refugees who were promised refuge by Berlin, before its approach to migrants hardened under a new gov­­­ernment. Germany has since announced it is considering an appeal to take in 200 refugees. “Germany should take in these refugees as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added. “Pakistani law will apply to those Afghans livi...

PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew, Shershah Khan, was released on Friday from Kot Lakhpat jail, a day after being granted bail by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore. On Thursday, he was granted bail in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots, as Shershah’s triathlete brother, Shahrez Khan, was also released from jail after being granted bail a day earlier. The Lahore Police had arrested Shershah, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from outside his home on August 22. He was then sent on a five-day physical remand and later to jail for 14 days on August 28. Shershah’s lawyer, Rana Mudassar Umer, confirmed to Dawn.com that Shershah had been released from Kot Lakhpat jail. He also posted about his release in a post on X, along with a picture of his co-counsel and Shershah himself. In the last hearing on Tuesday, the ATC had again granted the prosecution time till today to present the case record in connection with Shershah’s post-arrest bail plea. ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill pre...

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World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday announced that he was lifting the global mpox emergency, based on the advice of a committee convened to assess the impact of the disease. “More than a year ago, I declared a public health emergency of international concern over the spread of mpox in Africa on the advice of an emergency committee,” he said during a live press briefing. The committee meets every three months to evaluate the outbreak. “Yesterday, they met again and advised me that, in its view, the situation no longer represents an international health emergency. I have accepted that advice.” Dr Ghebreyesus said that the decision was based on sustained declines in cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Sierra Leone and Uganda, among other affected nations. Mpox is caused by a virus from the same family as smallpox. It can be transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed between people through close physical contact....

The publisher of Roblox has promised to set up age verification mechanisms after allegations that the video game, massively popular with children and teens worldwide, has fallen short on safety. Roblox will “expand age estimation to all users who access our on-platform communication features by the end of this year”, the American company’s head of safety, Matt Kaufman, wrote in a blog post. The company would combine estimates of users’ ages, checks on official IDs and parental consent to “launch new systems designed to limit communication between adults and minors unless they know each other in the real world”, he added in the post on Wednesday. Around 100 million people use Roblox every day, with under-13s accounting for around 40 per cent of 2024 users, according to the company. But the game has repeatedly been accused of failing to protect its youngest players in recent years. The US state of Louisiana filed a lawsuit in August, accusing Roblox of facilitating child exploitation and the distribution of chi...

United States President Donald Trump on Friday said India and Russia seem to have been “lost” to China after their leaders met with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, highlighting his split from New Delhi and Moscow as Beijing pushes a new world order. “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” Trump wrote in a social media post accompanying a photo of the three other world leaders together at Xi’s summit in China. Asked about Trump’s post, the Indian foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters in New Delhi that he had no comment. Representatives for Beijing and Moscow could not be immediately reached for comment on Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform. Xi hosted more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Putin and Modi were seen holding hands at the su...

Pakistan and Bangladesh have agreed to constitute a joint working group for the promotion of Interfaith Harmony between the two countries.

National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, on Friday emphasised that advocating for the resolution of the Palestine issue is not only a religious obligation but also a profound human and moral responsibility.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday lauded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police for eliminating two Khawarij terrorists in a successful operation in Kohat.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday called on the prime minister to declare an agriculture emergency, citing the devastation faced by farmers in the wake of recent floods.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday breached the 154,000-point barrier in intraday trade amid continued investor optimism. The KSE-100 index climbed 1,615.05 (1.06 per cent) to stand at 154,280.77 from the last close of 152,665.72 at 3:24pm. The market had opened on a positive note, gaining over 1,000 points by 11am. Finally, the index closed at 154,277.19, with a gain of 1,611.47 points (1.06pc) compared to the previous session. Awais Ashraf, research director at AKD Securities, told Dawn.com: “Investors remain optimistic amid improving macroeconomic conditions, particularly the strengthening of the rupee. “In addition, limited returns in alternative avenues such as real estate, fixed income, commodities, and currency markets make equities a more attractive option,” he added. The PSX has witnessed a bullish trend in recent days, despite concerns over risks to the economy due to the ongoing floods, with the Pakistan Business Forum estimating the losses to crops worth billions of rupees. Today’s gains for a ...

Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani has appealed to the nation not to overlook the suffering of flood-affected families while celebrating the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The Foreign Office (FO) has said that India failed to provide Pakistan with complete details regarding the recent floods through established diplomatic procedures.

The federal government and the PTI were at loggerheads in the National Assembly on Friday as the latter claimed “not enough” was being done to provide relief to those affected by the recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and boycotted the session over the disqualification of its lawmakers. Record rains in KP, which started on August 15, have wreaked havoc across the province. The provincial government declared an emergency as torrential rains ravaged homes, displaced families, and left a trail of destruction across Buner, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, and beyond. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan expressed his dissatisfaction with the help provided by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to the flood-affected population of KP, particularly Buner — the worst-hit area in the province — stating that the authority “did not help as much as it should have”. “I say at this forum that we will continue to be at odds with the NDMA,” Gohar said on the floor. “I said the day-before-yesterday that the NDMA only ...

When Chinese leader Xi Jinping organised his first parade to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II, in 2015, he placed his two predecessors by his side in a show of respect and continuity of leadership. Ten years on and having eliminated domestic opposition as he serves an unprecedented third term as president, Xi was flanked on Wednesday at the 80th anniversary parade by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Chinese Communist Party leaders were interspersed among overseas guests. The parade followed Xi’s high-profile summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a weekend meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin, and the Chinese leader’s rare visit to Tibet last month. This display of diplomatic clout, stamina and geopolitical ambition has helped quell concerns among some China observers about the 72-year-old president’s vitality, linked to sporadic absences and — so far unknown — succession plans. It has also helped divert domestic attention from slow...

Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan on Friday inaugurated the Digital Youth Hub, an AI-powered national platform aimed at connecting young Pakistanis with online training, international freelance opportunities, scholarships, start-up support, and green economy jobs on a merit-based system.

Defence and Martyrs Day will be observed across the country on Saturday to honor the martyrs and Ghazis of the 1965 war and to reaffirm the nation’s resolve to defend Pakistan against all threats.