Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary Sunday announced the closure of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) across the country.

SHARJAH: Pakistan’s emerging batter Hasan Nawaz believes he is a part of the country’s “best T20 team” following back-to-back wins in the opening two matches of the ongoing tri-series in the United Arab Emirates. In the tournament being played as warm-up ahead of the Asia Cup — which starts Sept. 9 — Pakistan have started with thrashings of Afghanistan and UAE thanks to a number of players chipping in with impactful contributions. After seasoned pacer Haris Rauf and skipper Salman Ali Agha led Pakistan to a 39-run win over Afghanistan in the opener, Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz himself scored half centuries each to see the side down UAE by 31 runs. The UAE fixture saw Pakistan cross the 200-mark as Hasan Nawaz launched a late onslaught after opener Saim Ayub had set the stage. Experienced fast bowler Hasan Ali then wrapped up the proceedings with 3-47 as UAE’s Asif Khan’s blistering 77 off 35 went in vain. Under white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, Pakistan are building up to next year’s T20 World Cup without now ...

The Punjab government has announced revised school timings across the province following the end of summer vacations, while authorities remain on high alert due to devastating floods and rising river levels.

An Australian government-commissioned report said selfie-based age-guessing software could enforce a teen social media ban, but noted that some groups experienced “unacceptable” levels of inaccuracy, raising concerns about the December rollout. The report, published by the government on Monday, said photo-based age estimation products were broadly accurate, fast and privacy-respecting but noted worsening results for people near the age minimum of 16. The findings foreshadow a mixed experience once the ban takes effect in December: Caucasians three years over the age cut-off can expect minimal disruption, but non-Caucasians and teenage girls face challenges. The experience may also be more complicated for social media platforms from Meta’s META.O Instagram to Alphabet’s GOOGL.O YouTube, which, under the law, must show they are taking reasonable steps to block users under 16 or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million). The trial found high accuracy for people over 19, but those up to three years on eit...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday expressed satisfaction over the positive momentum in Pakistan-Iran relations, vowing to further strengthen political and economic ties.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a fresh alert warning of heavy rainfall from Monday to Wednesday, which is expected to intensify the ongoing flood situation across northeastern, central, and southern Punjab.

The federal government on Sunday announced revised petroleum prices for the next fortnight, keeping petrol rates unchanged while slightly reducing diesel and other fuels.

ISLAMABAD - The government plans to deploy AI-driven threat detection systems to monitor and respond to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, sensitive data, and digital operations in real time.

ISLAMABAD - Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police Constable Muhammad Tahseen, who was martyred while performing duty, was laid to rest with full official honours after his funeral prayer was offered at the Police Lines Headquarters, Islamabad.

MULTAN - Senate Chairman Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan is facing a challenging flood situation and assured that the victims will be fully supported during this difficult time.

ISLAMABAD - In conjunction with Malaysia’s 68th National Day (Hari Kebangsaan), High Commission of Malaysia in Islamabad organised a flag hoisting ceremony here on Sunday.

RAWALPINDI: More than 25 countries of the world, including Pakistan, have temporarily suspended mail delivery to the United States after the US imposed new taxes and duties. Because of this situation, the Pakistan Post has also stopped delivering booked mail to the US because it fears it will be returned under the new US rules. The US government has suspended the previous duty-free facility under an executive order number 14324 on July 25. The US move has severely affected postal communications to the US worldwide because now all types of mail delivery to the US will have to pay duties and taxes under the new system. All major countries of the world, including China, the UK, Japan. Austria, Australia, New Zealand, India, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, have temporarily stopped mail delivery to the US because airlines have also shown their inability to deliver mail. The countries hit by the US move have taken up the matter with the US through the Universal Postal Union, a UN agency, which is taking steps t...

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Sunday visited the flood relief camp established at DPS Kasur, where she interacted with flood-affected women and inquired about their problems.

• Next 48 hours critical; PDMA warns of ‘exceptionally high flood’ levels at Sutlej, Chenab through Sept 3 • Death toll rises to 33 in Punjab; monsoon claims 850 lives nationwide • UN envoy visits flood-hit Sialkot • Sindh preparing for ‘super flood’, CM Murad fears 200,000 people may be affected • Woman, two daughters killed in roof collapse in South Waziristan LAHORE: The overflowing Che­nab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers have displaced more than two million people across 2,200 villages since Aug 23, while Sindh braces for what officials warn could be a “super flood” as mas­sive inflows from Punjab move downstream. Rescue and relief operations are underway on an unprecedented scale in Punjab, where the Provincial Disa­ster Management Authority (PDMA) has warned that the next 48 hours are critical. In Sindh, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has cautioned that inflows of nearly one million cusecs could threaten barrages and inundate vast swathes of land, endangering more than 200,000 people. The Punjab PDMA has warned ...

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Government has slashed the rate of high-speed diesel by Rs 3 per litre while kept the price of Petrol unchanged for the first fortnight of September 2025.

ISLAMABAD - Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik said on Sunday that proactive measures were underway to mitigate potential flood damage at Trimmu, Panjnad, and Kot Mitthan.

Tremors from a 6.0 magnitude earthquake were felt across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in the early hours of Monday, according to the authorities but no casualties or damage were reported. According to the state-run PTV which cited the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the earthquake was recorded at 12:18am. It added that the tremors were felt in Peshawar, Manshera, Abbottabad, Hangu, Malakand, Swat, Chitral, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. A Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometres with its epicentre located southwest of Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shocks were also felt in India and Tajikistan. Following the tremors, district administrations across Punjab began inspections of buildings to assess structural safety. “However, no casualties or damage have been reported so far,” PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia confirmed. The PDMA stated that its provincial control room and all district emergency operation cente...

PDMA warns of fresh wave of 800,000 cusecs entering Chenab from India; 'Super flood' breaches riverbanks

Both countries agree to explore avenues of cooperation

The Finance Division announced on Sunday night that petrol price will remain unchanged, while the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) will be reduced by Rs3 per litre for the next fortnight. Petrol, used mainly in private cars, small vehicles, rickshaws and motorcycles, directly impacts the budgets of middle- and lower-middle-income groups. Most of the transport sector runs on HSD and its price is considered inflationary as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains and agricultural engines like trucks, buses, tractors, tube-wells and threshers and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables. A notification from the Finance Division, available with Dawn.com, stated that the new price of HSD was Rs269.99, while petrol would remain at Rs264.61 — the same as the start of August. Additionally, the prices of superior kerosene oil and light diesel oil were slashed by Rs1.46 per litre and Rs2.40, respectively. “The government has revised the petroleum product prices for the fortnight sta...