Pakistan

At least six people were killed after terrorists attacked a passenger vehicle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district, police said on Wednesday. Kohat Regional Police Officer Abbas Majeed Marwat said in a statement, “Six passengers have been killed in a tragic incident of firing on a passenger vehicle in Lower Kurram. “A search operation has been launched after the terrorist incident,” he said, adding that 12 suspects were detained in the operation and a large number of weapons were recovered from them. “Terrorists will not be spared under any circumstances. No one will be allowed to disturb regional peace,” RPO Marwat stated. Earlier today, Kurram District Police Officer Kurram Malik Habib Khan said that the unknown assailants fled the scene after the attack. “The bodies have been taken to the hospital,” he said, adding that an investigation into the incident was underway. Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Hameed Hussain condemned the incident in a statement, calling it “an attempt to disrupt the peace o...

Two judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) — Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan — have written letters to Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, voicing concerns over transparency, case allocation, and judicial independence ahead of a full court meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

The River Chenab entered a high flood situation on Wednesday at Marala Headworks after India released large volumes of water into the Chenab and Sutlej rivers from upstream.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has approved the release of Rs1 billion for flood relief and rehabilitation efforts, according to an official notification issued by the provincial finance department.

At least 10 people were killed during violent protests in Indonesia last week, a rights group said on Wednesday, one of several organisations to report fatalities due to the unrest. The disturbances that rocked Southeast Asia’s biggest economy last week were sparked by discontent over economic inequality and lavish perks for lawmakers. They later widened to include anger against police after footage circulated of the killing of a young driver by a paramilitary unit. The state-affiliated National Commission on Human Rights, or Komnas HAM, told AFP on Wednesday that it had received reports that 10 people had died. “There are indications that some of them were victims of authorities’ excessive force,” Anis Hidayah, the head of the group, said. The deaths were reported in the jurisdictions of Greater Jakarta, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Central Java, and Papua, she said. Komnas HAM also reported that more than 900 people were injured and thousands detained, although most of them have since been released. “Many ot...

The Power Division has reported significant progress in restoring electricity across flood-affected regions of the country.

The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has launched a nationwide dynamic survey to expand its outreach to 10 million families across Pakistan.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has taken strict notice of her picture being displayed on a mosque in Mandi Bahauddin.

A Republican-led US House of Representatives committee on Tuesday said it released more than 33,000 pages of files on the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as party leadership looked to end a push by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers to force a vote on the matter. The case of Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, has caused a political headache for Republican President Donald Trump, after many of his supporters embraced a slew of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein. A July Reuters/Ipsos poll found that majorities of Americans and of Trump’s Republicans believe the government is hiding details on the case. The files released on Tuesday largely included court documents and other previously released information. “Nearly everything Republicans just supposedly ‘released’ … has already been released,” said Democratic US Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts in a post on X. Republican US Representative Thomas Massie and Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, ...

The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), brokered by the World Bank in 1960, has been a cornerstone of transboundary water cooperation between India and Pakistan for over six decades.

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Wildlife and Parks Department will auction permits for 118 animals — including four Astore markhors, 100 Himalayan ibex, and 14 blue sheep — for the 2025–26 hunting season. The bidding ceremony is scheduled to be held today (Wednesday) at the Forest, Parks and Wildlife Complex in Gilgit. For the upcoming season, the base price of an Astore markhor permit has been raised to $200,000, while blue sheep and Himalayan ibex permits are set at $30,000 and $10,000, respectively. Last year, the base rates were lower: $150,000 for markhor, $9,000 for blue sheep, and $5,500 for ibex. In the 2024-25 season, 118 permits were offered, but only 60 were purchased. The highest bid for a markhor reached $161,000, earning the GB government more than Rs30 million. Officials note that prices in other regions, such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, can reach $500,000 for markhor hunts. However, local outfitters and tour operators argue the sharp fee hikes are damaging their businesses and discouraging intern...

• Hanif Abbasi suggests defence minister resign instead of ‘abusing bureaucracy for publicity’ • PTI boycotts NA proceedings, holds parallel ‘public assembly’ outside Parliament House ISLAMABAD: Differences within the federal cabinet surfaced on Tuesday during a National Assembly debate on the flood crisis when Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi openly criticised Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif for his remarks on the government’s handling of the disaster. Although he did not name his cabinet colleague, Mr Abbasi made multiple references to the defence minister’s speech on the floor of the house a day earlier. He even suggested that Mr Asif resign from the cabinet instead of “levelling allegations against parliament and abusing bureaucracy only to gain [media] publicity”. Meanwhile, members of the opposition PTI boycotted the proceedings and staged a parallel “public assembly” outside Parliament House to protest alleged political victimisation. Speaking in the debate, Mr Abbasi accused some politicians of a...

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minster Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday emphasized that Pakistan attached immense importance to its relations with Russia and said that it was heartening to note that both countries had almost similarity of approaches on various global platforms.

BEIJING /ISLAMABAD - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that closer ties between China and Paki-stan are crucial for safeguarding regional peace and stability.

QUETTA RAWALPINDI/ BANNU/ - At least 17 people including six soldiers were martyred and many others wounded in ter-rorist attacks in Balochstan and KP provinces on Tuesday, police and rescue workers said.

ISLAMABAD/ MULTAN/ MUZAFFARGARH - The National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) on Tuesday warned of further strain on already flood-affected areas and urban flooding as heavy rainfall is forecast to hit Is-lamabad and multiple districts of Punjab within the next 12 to 24 hours.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan on Tuesday welcomed the sentiments expressed by Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur regarding the construction of the Kalabagh Dam.

ISLAMABAD - Chief of Staff Bahrain Defence Forces Lieutenant General Thiab Bin Saqer Abdulla Al Nuaimi called on Minister for Defence, Khawaja Muhammad Asif here Tuesday.

PESHAWAR - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Tuesday said that a very important national project, the Kalabagh Dam, is being stopped because of politics.

ISLAMABAD - China is all set to hold the grand military parade today in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of IInd World War and end of Japanese aggression against China.