Pakistan

Govt directed to hear citizenship plea in detail and make fair decision

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Islamabad IGP says poor policing will not be tolerated

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Model court also imposes Rs1m fine for kidnapping & rape of minor boy

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More than 2,200 people have been killed in the magnitude 6.0 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on the weekend, the latest toll from the authorities said, as volunteers and rescuers retrieved bodies from the rubble on Thursday. The vast majority of the total 2,217 dead and nearly 4,000 injured were in the mountainous Kunar province near the border with Pakistan, deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat wrote on X, adding that “rescue efforts are still ongoing”. Firat said that the earlier toll of 1,469 dead and more than 3,700 injured would likely rise. “We cannot stop hoping” that injured people remain alive under the rubble, he told AFP. Limited access to the hardest hit areas of mountainous Kunar province delayed rescue and relief efforts, with rockfalls from repeated aftershocks obstructing already precarious roads etched onto the side of cliffs. While most of the areas that had been unreachable were accessed by Wednesday, expectations of finding survivors were fading fast. “Many survivors are...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has described China’s development as a model for Pakistan and reaffirmed that the country’s doors remain open to Chinese investors.

Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar on Thursday moved the Supreme Court (SC), seeking its intervention to pave the way for the fixation of pending petitions challenging the 26th Constitutional Amendment before the full court. The 26th Constitutional Amendment, also known as the Constitutional Package, is legislation that takes away the SC’s suo motu powers, sets the CJP’s term at three years and empowers a special par­liamentary committee to nominate the next CJP from among the three most senior SC judges. Last month, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi had ignored a decision made last year by a committee, constituted under the Practice and Procedure Act 2023, to bring challenges to the 26th Amendment of the Constitution before the full SC. After filing his petition today, Khokhar said while speaking to the media that he sought the CJP’s decision to be overturned. “The chief justice said, ‘I have informally consulted all Supreme Court justices. We have concluded that all...

Ten people were kidnapped and three others were injured after multiple vehicles were attacked by bandits on the Sukkur-Multan motorway in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district on Thursday morning, various officials confirmed to Dawn.com. For decades, dozens of bandit gangs armed with sophisticated weaponry have operated with impunity in northern Sindh as well as southern Punjab. Kidnappings for ransom, extortion rackets, brutal killings and robberies on major highways occur on a daily basis. South Punjab Additional Inspector General of Police (IG) Kamran Khan told Dawn.com that between 20 and 25 suspects attacked vehicles on the motorway. “Three people were injured in the incident,” he said. “Two of them suffered minor injuries, so they were discharged. One remains admitted in hospital with gunshot wounds to the waist and leg.” Additional IG Khan added that 10 people were abducted from the scene by the suspects and that no money or valuables were stolen. Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) spokesperson R...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday granted bail to PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shershah Khan in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots. The Lahore Police 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. Today’s development comes a day after Shershah’s triathlete brother, Shahrez Khan, was also granted bail in a similar case. Shahrez was picked up on August 21 and was handed over to police custody for eight days before his judicial remand and bail. He was released today from Kot Lakpat Jail after paying bail. 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 presided over the hearing today, where Advocate Rana Mudassar Umer appeared as Shershah’s counsel. During the hearing, Umer po...

On the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan has dispatched humanitarian aid to Afghanistan for victims of the devastating earthquake that struck the country on August 31, claiming more than 1,400 lives.

The United Kingdom has announced an additional £1.

The Supreme Court has upheld High Court rulings on the registration of flour mills, declaring that Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) cannot be challenged through writ petitions under Article 199 of the Constitution.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has welcomed the growing discussion on the creation of new provinces in Pakistan, calling it a positive development in line with global practices.

Pakistan and Qatar reaffirmed their commitment to regional peace and stability during a meeting between Pakistan’s top military official, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and Qatari military leadership on his visit to Qatar, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) Mirza, — who is in Qatar for the second round of the Higher Military Cooperation Committee (HMCC) — called on the Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, where both sides “reaffirmed their shared commitment to peace and stability at the regional and global level,” a press release issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. “The civil and military leadership of Qatar acknowledged Pakistan’s pivotal and responsible role in ensuring regional stability,” it added. Also present at the meeting was the Chief of Staff Qatar Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Jassim Mohammad Ahmed Al-Mannal. The CJCSC was presented with a guard of honour at the Qatar Armed Forces ...

Teen sprinter Gout Gout will make a much-anticipated world championships debut in Tokyo this month as he marks an early milestone in a career Australia hopes will peak with Olympic gold at Brisbane 2032. Still only 17, Gout is already one of the most exciting prospects in global athletics, earning comparisons with Jamaican great Usain Bolt and training with Adidas stable-mate Noah Lyles in Florida. All this while juggling homework and exams in his final year of high school in Ipswich, Queensland. Gout is skipping school for a few days to run in the 200 metres at Tokyo, only his second senior race abroad. His first, in June, saw him win the 200m at the Ostrava Golden Spike event in the Czech Republic in 20.02 seconds, improving on his Australia record. Australia’s Gout Gout in action during the men’s 200m in Ostrava, Czech Republic on June 24, 2025 . — Reuters/File While impressive for his age that time only puts him equal-20th in the season rankings, meaning he may need to raise the bar considerably to earn a...

China defended on Thursday its decision to invite the leaders of Russia and North Korea to World War II commemorations, which President Donald Trump accused them of using to conspire against the United States. Trump wrote a testy Truth Social post addressing his Chinese counterpart after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin flanked Xi Jinping at a massive parade in Beijing showcasing Chinese military hardware. “Give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America,” Trump wrote. Asked about Trump’s post, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Thursday “foreign guests” had been invited to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II. “It is to work together with peace-loving countries and peoples to remember history, cherish the memory of the martyrs, cherish peace, and create the future,” spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters. “China’s development of diplomatic relations with any country is never directed against any third party...