Pakistan

World Ocean Day is being observed across the world on Monday, including in Pakistan, to raise awareness about the importance of oceans and encourage collective efforts to protect marine ecosystems.

United States President Donald Trump lasted through probing questions about his Iran war strategy and repeated weather disruptions during an interview with US broadcaster NBC — but angrily stormed out when confronted over his unfounded claims of election fraud. “You’re a one-sided, crooked network. Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time,” Trump told ‘Meet the Press’ host Kristen Welker before standing up and walking out of the interview that aired on Sunday. The interview, filmed on Friday, was conducted on a farm in Wisconsin, where Trump was addressing farmers. A tractor and hay bales served as a backdrop. The interview was interrupted several times by weather and audio issues as torrential rain pounded the roof, making it difficult to continue the conversation. “Is that wind or what?” Trump asked at one point according to a transcript. “Hear that sound?” he said later. “That sound of thunder, lightning, rain” Welker asked her technical crew if they should s...

MUZAFFARABAD: At least seven civilians were killed during Sunday’s clash between police and the newly proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) protesters in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s (AJK) Rawalakot, an official told Dawn on Monday. Poonch Commissioner Sardar Waheed Khan confirmed the civilian death toll to Dawn a day after the clash in which four law enforcement personnel were martyred. The commissioner and AJK Inspector General (IG) Liaqat Ali Malik also told Dawn 30 people had been taken into custody late on Sunday. The officials also said that 23 policemen were injured during the clash. The clash broke out after tensions flared over the death of a trader, who was allegedly shot during a confrontation with law enforcers on Friday night. Officials have accused the demonstrators of attacking the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Rawalakot on Sunday. Initially, his family had ann­ounced his funeral would be held on Saturday, but they later changed their mind and brought the body back to CMH, apparently...

Official results from several constituencies in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections have confirmed victories for candidates across multiple districts, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerging as a leading political force.

KARACHI: The investigating officer (IO) in a narcotics case has approached a court, seeking permission to record the voice samples of alleged drug baroness Anmol Pinky and her three accomplices in prison. Pinky was arrested last month in connection with two cases registered at the Garden police station pertaining to the possession of drugs and an unlicensed weapon. She had already been booked in multiple other criminal cases prior to her arrest. Following her arrest, the police also held Pinky’s three accomplices — Zeeshan-ur-Rehman, Sohail-ur-Rehman and Muhammad Sameer — who are also in prison on judicial remand in the drug case. The IO of the Garden police station has filed an application before a judicial magistrate (South), seeking directions for the jail authorities to allow the recording of voice samples of Pinky and her three accomplices in prison for voice-matching evaluation. Explaining the need to obtain the suspects’ voice samples, the IO stated in the application that during the investigation, the...

China’s President Xi Jinping hailed an “invincible friendship” with Pyongyang as he arrived in North Korea on Monday, his first trip abroad this year after hosting back-to-back summits in Beijing. China, Washington’s chief geopolitical rival, has been North Korea’s main trading partner by far for decades and a key source of diplomatic and economic support for the country hit by multiple international sanctions. Military officers lined a red carpet as an Air China plane carrying Xi arrived for his first visit since 2019, video from Xinhua showed. A banner that read “We warmly welcome Comrade Xi Jinping” and hailing the two countries’ “unbreakable friendship” hung below Chinese and North Korean flags at the airport. Xi made the trip after hosting US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin separately in Beijing, and as North Korea’s nuclear talks with Washington remain deadlocked. The White House said last month that Xi and Trump “confirmed their shared goal to denuclearise North Korea” during their s...

HYDERABAD: Water crisis in Sindh and Balochistan continues to deepen with each passing day as the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) remains indifferent to their hue and cry constantly being raised over the last few weeks. The two smaller provinces have been expressing their strong reservations over “unfair” deduction in their share of the Indus water while Punjab continues to draw in excess of its allocated quantum. Kotri Barrage reported 57pc reduction in flows on June 7 as Sindh’s overall deficit in flows rose from 22pc to 39pc within the last fortnight while Punjab, through its controversial Chashma-Jhelum (CJ) link canal keeps withdrawing more water than Kotri. Balochistan has also come up with 71pc reduction in its share from Sukkur Barrage’s right bank canal on Saturday. Shortage in Sindh worsens to 39pc while Balochistan gets 71pc less flows The Balochistan irrigation department has taken up the issue with Irsa, pressing it to settle it with Sindh authorities in order to ensure its required share of ...

GILGIT - The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged as the leading party in the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly elections, securing four seats in unofficial and preliminary results as vote counting continued late Sunday night.

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has endorsed the government’s position on refugee seats, ruling that the 12 reserved seats are constitutionally protected and cannot be altered through administrative measures.

ISLAMABAD - The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ruled that revenue authorities must conduct a comparative evaluation of all candidates before appointing a lambardar, setting aside a previous appointment for failing to meet statutory requirements under Rule 17.

Says PPP will continue to prioritise peaceful political engagement to resolve emerging disputes Key differences persist between PPP-PML-N over taxation measures, provincial financial autonomy, and development funding allocations.

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) yesterday raised serious concerns over what it describes as the non-provision of Form 45 to its polling agents during the ongoing Gilgit-Baltistan elections, calling on the Election Commission to immediately intervene and ensure transparency in the electoral process.

LAHORE - Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman and Coordinator of the National Paigham-e-Pakistan Peace Committee Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has said that elements seeking to create unrest and instability in the country were acting against national interests, stressing that dialogue remained the only viable way to resolve.

ISLAMABAD - Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, emphasized the urgent need for collective global and national efforts to protect marine ecosystems and ensure the sustainable use of ocean resources for future generations.

• Victim’s eyes damaged, but is said to be in stable condition • CM honours ward boy who helped victim; Aseefa recommends him for country’s highest civilian award • FIR registered; political leaders slam incident QUETTA: The Young Doctors Assoc­iation (YDA) on Sunday announced an indefinite strike, shutting down Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) and elective services in all government hospitals across the provincial capital, to protest the acid attack on one of their female colleagues. A day earlier, 29-year-old Mahnoor Nasir was seriously injured at the Civil Hospital when another employee threw acid on her. The attacker, later identified by police as Humayun Shah, was said to have been kil­led in an encounter after law enforcers tra­ced him as he attempted to flee on a bus. Meanwhile, Dr Nasir was shifted to Karachi after receiving initial treatment in Quetta. Currently, she is receiving care at Aga Khan University Hospital. Sources at the hospital diclosed to Dawn that her condition was stable. She has bilate...

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Sunday announced that a civil award would be conferred on a man who came to the assistance of a female doctor at Quetta’s Civil Hospital after an acid attack on her. On Saturday, a female doctor, Mahnoor Nisar, was seriously injured at the Civil Hospital when an employee of the facility allegedly threw acid on her, police said. The doctor suffered severe burn injuries to her face, chest, legs and other parts of her body. According to police, the man who threw acid on Dr Nisar was killed in an encounter after law enforcers traced him to the area from where he attempted to flee by a bus. The CCTV footage of the incident shows a man trying to help Dr Nisar, as she came running out of a room after the attack, by covering her up with what appears to be his jacket. In a post on X, CM Bugti said Abdul Razzaq Tarakai, who is also an employee at the Civil Hospital, “displayed extraordinary courage, humanity, and dedication” by coming to Dr Mahnoor’s help and would be given ...

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, whose party holds the majority in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly, said on Sunday he would meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the current situation in AJK, asserting that issues would be resolved through talks. He said this while presiding over a meeting of the PPP AJK parliamentary party in Islamabad, a statement issued by the PPP said. The meeting was held as tensions gripped AJK, with the region’s government declaring the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) a proscribed organisation and the latter insisting on its demand to abolish 12 refugee seats in the AJK Legislative Assembly. The group also plans to hold a protest on June 9, days ahead of June 27 elections in the region. The PPP statement said the party’s political affairs in-charge Faryal Talpur was also present at the meeting on Sunday where the political situation in AJK was reviewed. “Consultations were held between Bilawal and parliamentary party members regarding the AJK situation,”...

ISLAMABAD: A PPP delegation, led by party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, expressed its reservations related to taxes during a pre-budget meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday, sources told Dawn. The meeting was held at the Zardari House in Islamabad, an official statement by the PPP said, adding that apart from Bilawal, Sherry Rehman, Naveed Qamar, Murad Ali Shah and Jam Khan Shoro were also present. “Matters related to the budget were discussed during the meeting,” it said. The discussion also covered expenditure, development spending priorities, including the Public Sector Development Programme, as well as broader economic priorities such as fiscal sustainability, public welfare, development initiatives, and inclusive growth. With the budget for FY2026-27 set to be announced on June 10 (Wednesday), this was the second round of pre-budget talks between the two major ruling partners, the PML-N and the PPP, and the third and final round is expected to be held on Monday. ...

Unofficial and preliminary election results for 24 seats of the Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly show that the PPP is leading the race with success in 10 constituencies. According to the unofficial results, second in the race is PML-N with six seats, while independent candidates, including two PTI-backed ones, emerged victorious in seven constituencies. Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen was able to win just one seat, the results showed. Polling for the 24 seats had concluded peacefully on Sunday evening amid tight security arrangements. Unofficial Provisional Results Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Elections 24 seats · Results as reported PPP 10 PML-N 6 Independent 5 PTI-backed Ind. 2 MWM 1 Seat District Winner GBA-1 Gilgit PPP GBA-2 Gilgit PML-N GBA-3 Gilgit PTI-backed Ind. GBA-4 Nagar PPP GBA-5 Nagar PPP GBA-6 Hunza PTI-backed Ind. GBA-7 Skardu PPP GBA-8 Skardu MWM GBA-9 Skardu PPP GBA-10 Roundu PPP GBA-11 Kharmang PPP GBA-12 Shigar PPP GBA-13 Astore PML-N GBA-14 Astore PML-N GBA-15 Diamer Independent GBA-16 Diamer ...

Security forces killed 27 terrorists in operations conducted in the Miranshah area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district over the past 72 hours, the military’s media affairs wing said on Sunday. “In continuation of a series of intelligence-based operations, security Forces engaged multiple khawarij locations in the general area Miranshah, North Waziristan District,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. It added that after “fierce exchanges of fire”, 27 terrorists belonging to “India-sponsored Fitna al Khawarij were sent to hell”. Fitna al Khawarij is a term that the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). ISPR said weapons and ammunition were found in the possession of the slain terrorists, who remained “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities and target killing of innocent civilians”. “By neutralising this group of killed khawarij, the heinous act of target killing of prominent figure Shaheed Malik Saifullah Dawar in Miranshah has been ave...