Pakistan

KARACHI: Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Sunday said construction work around Karachi’s Hill Park had been halted, while the opposition Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) demanded that the PPP-led Sindh government investigate the matter. Spread over 62 acres and located in PECHS, Hill Park was built in the early 1960s and is one of the largest parks in the city. In a statement issued on Saturday night, a Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) spokesperson said that the construction work was halted a week ago following a public complaint. Confirming this during his media talk on Sunday, Wahab clarified that the KMC had not “auctioned or allotted any land to anyone”. He recalled that a week before Eidul Azha, he received a complaint, following which he sent a KMC team to the area. “I instructed them that if the construction is taking place within the KMC land, then proceed with demolition,” he said. “Not even an inch of KMC land has been allotted,” the mayor reiterated, dismissing MQM-P’s claims of granting permi...

Punjab government has finalized budget proposals for fiscal year 2026-27 and is likely to present the provincial budget in the second week of June, according to sources in the provincial finance ministry.

Faisal Karim Kundi has said multiple steps are being taken to improve public services and infrastructure in Dera Ismail Khan for the convenience of residents.

The district authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Naran have issued a travel advisory for Babusar Top, urging tourists, travellers, and transport operators to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary travel due to persistent snowfall and hazardous road conditions. The district administration, with a special travel advisory on media platforms, stated that ongoing snowfall across the region is expected to create severe difficulties for travellers. It urged all visitors to verify weather updates before planning any movement towards the mountain pass. According to the advisory, traffic on the Babusar Top route and adjoining areas has been significantly disrupted by continuous snow accumulation, with certain stretches currently restricted to one-way passage only. Officials cautioned that travel along the route becomes extremely hazardous after 6pm due to rapidly worsening snowfall intensity and sharply reduced visibility conditions. They further highlighted that icy surfaces, mechanical brake failures, glacial moveme...

A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States on Saturday, Nasa said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tonnes of TNT. The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire at 2:06pm (11:06pm PKT), the US space agency’s deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told AFP in a statement. “This fireball was not associated with any currently active meteor shower, but it was a natural object and not a re-entry of space debris or a satellite,” she said. “The energy released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tonnes of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms.” The meteor was travelling at 75,000 mph (more than 120,000 kph) at an altitude of 40 miles when it broke apart, Dooren said. Area residents were alarmed by the unexpected loud booms, with social media users reporting they were so powerful that houses were shaking. In 2013, a fireball streaked above Chelyabinsk, Russia. The house-sized space rock bl...

Pakistan Railways has restored train operations across Balochistan after a three-day suspension, with services resuming under the regular schedule on Saturday.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has begun its post-Hajj flight operation to transport Pakistani pilgrims back home from Saudi Arabia following the completion of Hajj rituals.

Rising fuel prices triggered by the Middle East war are driving a sharp increase in carpooling, with a ride-sharing platform reporting a surge in new users seeking cheaper ways to travel. The world’s largest carpooling platform BlaBlaCar said soaring energy costs have pushed 600,000 additional drivers onto the app this year — 20 per cent more than initially projected — as commuters look to offset the rising cost of fuel. In India, its single biggest market with more than 20 million users in 2025, the number of passengers has increased by 40pc since the start of the US-Israeli airstrikes against Iran on February 28. Last year, the global carpooling leader posted record-breaking figures in the world’s most populous country India — outpacing Brazil with 19m users and France with 7m, according to Benjamin Retourne, the platform’s product director. This trend has been more pronounced in countries where fuel price increases driven by the war have been sudden and significant, combined with limited government support...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) offloaded 39,786 passengers in 2025 under a “lawful, intelligence-driven and risk-based system” to curb irregular migration and human smuggling, a top official said on Sunday. Speaking to a select group of senior journalists, Immigration Additional Director General Nouman Siddiqui said passenger offloading, often criticised publicly, was primarily a preventive step aimed at saving lives, protecting citizens from exploitation abroad and safeguarding Pakistan’s international image. “Offloading decisions are not arbitrary,” he asserted. They are based on immigration concerns, suspicious travel patterns, document verification, destination-country requirements and established standard operating procedures. The primary objective, he said, was “the protection of human life and prevention of exploitation at the hands of human traffickers”. At least 132 passengers were offloaded from their scheduled flights at various airports across the country in the past year by FIA...

• Diplomats see high chances of final agreement despite hiccups • Insist both sides want to avoid open-ended conflict • Nuclear issues likely to be handled in later negotiations • Ex-envoy Munir Akram says gaps are more about narrative than substance WASHINGTON: Islamabad remains a leading contender to host the formal signing ceremony of a possible US-Iran peace agreement if negotiators succeed in finalising a deal, diplomatic sources said. Diplomatic sources at the United Nations and in Washington told Dawn that prospects for a final agreement remained high despite delays in completing the draft. “Nine out of 10,” a senior diplomat said when asked to assess the likelihood of a final agreement being signed. “But I cannot say when it will happen.” Another senior diplomat said Islamabad’s role in facilitating the initial contacts between Washington and Tehran had strengthened its credentials as a possible host. “Iranians cannot come to Washington, and Americans cannot go to Tehran because the two countries do n...

Police on Saturday detained more than 280 people in Paris after violent clashes erupted when thousands poured onto the streets during Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final victory. Some 22,000 police were deployed across France for the game, including 8,000 in Paris, after unrest marred PSG’s win in the competition last year. Paris tram lines were halted, several metro stations shut and bus traffic halted in places in a bid to minimise disturbances. According to the French interior ministry, 416 people were detained nationwide, including 283 who were apprehended in Paris. It was not immediately clear how many of these individuals were remanded in custody to face further investigation. Interior minister Laurent Nunez said seven officers had been wounded and called the unrest “absolutely unacceptable”. Six vehicles and two businesses were damaged. A group of supporters also stormed the Paris ring road, the peripherique, bringing traffic to a halt for a time and letting off flares, an AFP photographer sai...

• No time frame given for restoring normal supply • Residents say water shortages always worsen during important events and religious festivals in Karachi KARACHI: Already struggling with a worsening water shortage during the three days of Eid, residents of the metropolis faced another uncertainty on Saturday after an emergency power shutdown at the Dhabeji Pumping Station disrupted the water supply to several parts of the city. This has been the second month of an acute water crisis in Karachi that has left taps dry, created long queues for water bowsers and frayed tempers. The fresh crisis was announced by Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) in a statement on Saturday evening with the most alarming aspect being the utility was unable to provide any time frame for restoring the normal water supply leaving residents uncertain about how long the disruption would continue. According to the KWSC statement, K-Electric informed the utility that a major fault had developed in Transformer No. 1 at the Dhab...

ISLAMABAD - The Chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council, Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi has congratulated the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the successful management of the Hajj season 1447 AH, describing it as an extraordinary achievement made possible through the grace of Almighty Allah and the visionary leadership of.

Islamabad - Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening its longstanding relationship with the United States, describing bilateral ties as an important pillar of Pakistan’s foreign policy based on mutual respect, shared objectives, and forward-looking cooperation.

ISLAMABAD - The number of animals sacrificed during Eid al-Adha in Pakistan increased this year, with around 7.

QUETTA: Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) Chairman Nasrullah Baloch has expressed deep concern over the alleged enforced disappearance of 38-year-old Abdul Rauf, a local farmer, and demanded his immediate and safe recovery, according to a statement issued on Saturday. He said Abdul Rauf, son of Haji Abdul Razaq and belonging to the Yousafzai tribe, was taken into custody by personnel from the FC and intelligence agencies. The incident reportedly took place around 3:00am on May 29, 2026, in the Aminabad area of Chagai district. He was subsequently moved to an undisclosed location, Nasrullah Baloch claimed in his statement. The family of the missing man said that no information regarding his whereabouts or status has been provided. The VBMP chairman said Abdul Rauf was previously detained by security forces on Sept 8, 2018, and remained missing for nearly two and a half years before being released. Published in Dawn, May 31th, 2026

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Saturday hailed the successful execution of a record-breaking Eid-ul-Azha cleanliness campaign across the province.

LAHORE - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif visited the residence of renowned late journalist Altaf Hassan Qureshi on Saturday to offer condolences to the bereaved family and offer Fateha.

• US consul general meets Senate chairman • Regional peace, economic ties discussed LAHORE: Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani has expressed concern over India’s unilateral actions regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), saying that “any attempt to use water as a tool of coercion undermines regional stability and threatens the livelihoods and food security of millions of Pakistanis”. He was speaking to United States Consul General Stetson Sanders, who called on him here on Saturday. Mr Gilani called upon the international community to support the restoration of treaty obligations and adherence to international law. Following the unilateral suspension of the IWT in April 2025, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, India escalated dam construction and began heavily regulating water at existing facilities such as the Baglihar Dam, posing a threat to Pakistan’s water supply. Mr Gilani and Mr Sanders exchanged views on matters relating to Pakistan-US ties, trade and investment, besides regional peace and sec...

Attock - Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has reaffirmed his commitment to “politics of service,” highlighting a series of welfare initiatives completed across Attock district, including mass weddings for deserving couples, free healthcare facilities, and clean drinking water projects.