Pakistan

PESHAWAR - The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Erad­ication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed a new polio case from District Tank in Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Russian President Vladamir Putin are scheduled to meet today in Beijing, it’s learnt reliably.

Islamabad police on Monday arrested a man for allegedly harassing and attempting to kidnap social media influencer Samiya Hijab. A statement from the police spokesperson said the action was taken after her complaint and video statement. A case was registered in the capital’s Shalimar Police Station at her complaint under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 392 (punishment for robbery), 500 (punishment for defamation), 509 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The suspect had been stalking her for several days, the social media influencer said in the first information report. She added that on Sunday at 6:30pm, an attempt was made to forcefully take her out of the house “Today’s incident further escalated when he attempted to forcibly abduct me from my house while I was returning his gifts. This amounts to abduction, harassment, and assault under the law. For evidence, I have C...

With over one million children in Pakistan still missing routine vaccination, health experts on Monday gathered in Lahore for a week-long workshop focused on strengthening national immunisation efforts. When it comes to vaccination, Pakistan continues to face challenges of low uptake, public hesitancy and mistrust, operational bottlenecks, and the unfinished struggle against the poliovirus. The National Vaccinology Workshop kicked off today at Lahore’s Pearl-Continental Hotel and will run through till Friday. The first day brought together leading experts who spoke on topics ranging from the history of vaccines and the science of how they work to global immunisation trends, coverage challenges, and Gavi’s support. Gavi is a public-private partnership formed in the year 2000 that aims to improve vaccine access in the world’s poorest countries. Speakers on the first day included Prof Asad Ali, Dr Junaid Iqbal, Prof Farah Qamar, Dr Chaudhri Irtaza Ahmad, and Dr Richard Omore. “What are the interventions modern m...

A massive rescue operation was under way in Afghanistan on Monday, after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened homes in a remote, mountainous region, killing more than 800 people, the Taliban authorities said. The quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometres, was 27 kilometres from the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Nangarhar and Kunar provinces border Pakistan, with the Torkham crossing, the site of many waves of Afghan returnees deported or forced to leave, often with no work and nowhere to go. The earthquake struck just before midnight, shaking buildings from capital Kabul to Islamabad. After the initial quake, a series of at least five aftershocks followed throughout the night, with the strongest being one of magnitude 5.2 just after 4am (2330 GMT on Sunday). More than 1.2 million people likely felt strong or very strong shaking, according to the USGS. Casualties and destruction swept across at least five pro...

A group of 47 Afghans who fled the Taliban arrived in Germany on Monday after months of waiting in Pakistan until German court rulings forced Berlin to offer them refuge. The 10 families have been among more than 2,000 Afghans caught in limbo in Pakistan as Germany’s conservative-led government this year froze a programme to offer them sanctuary. Most of them arrived in Hanover on a commercial flight from Istanbul around 2pm (1200 GMT), said an AFP reporter and the Airbridge Kabul initiative set up to help those affected. An interior ministry spokeswoman confirmed that “45 Afghan nationals entered Germany. These are all individuals who obtained visas through legal proceedings … All of these individuals have fully completed the admission procedure and security screening“. The Airbridge Kabul initiative later said that two more people had arrived after catching a later connection from Istanbul. A mother and daughter who did not want to give their names told AFP they were looking forward to their new life in Ger...

10-member bloc also slams Pahalgam assault Urges 'Greater Eurasian Partnership' with SAARC Seeks immediate ce

Shehbaz says Pakistan's sacrifices in war against terrorism must be acknowledged

Army copter crashes in GB; five martyred

6.0-magnitude earthquake struck just before midnight Sunday

Polio cases climb to 24 with new K-P infection

India's water release triggers high flood risk in Punjab rivers

Now devastation threatens Pakistan's economy

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Justice Minhas refers case to CJ for larger bench

Gohar says lawmakers stripped of seats, silenced in parliament

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