Pakistan

Discusses counterterrorism cooperation with Rubio; bilateral defence cooperation with German officials

Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi has announced that the ML-II railway project will be launched with an investment of $2.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court Aalia Neelum visited Fort Abbas, described as the country’s last judicial center, where they formally launched a series of judicial reforms aimed at modernizing court infrastructure and improving access to justice.

UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands confirm epibatidine in Navalny samples

Aleema Khan, the sister of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, said on Saturday that the former premier spoke to his sons for approximately 20 minutes and was “extremely happy to hear their voices”. The development comes after the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the formation of a medical team to examine Imran after a report submitted by his lawyer, Salman Safdar, revealed that the former prime minister had lost 85 per cent of the vision in his right eye. The court had also directed that he be allowed to speak to his children. In a post on X on Saturday, Aleema said, “The chief justice of Pakistan had directed that Imran Khan be allowed to speak with his sons. We can confirm that he was able to speak with them for approximately 20 minutes. “His sons shared that he was extremely happy to hear their voices after such a long time,” she said. “We are now awaiting his urgent medical treatment at Shifa International Hospital Islamabad under the supervision of his personal doctors, where specialist doctors must m...

Switzerland ready to offer good offices to ease US-Iran dialogue between the two nations, spokesman says

Astronomers have observed a planetary system that challenges current planet formation theories, with a rocky planet that formed beyond the orbits of its gaseous neighbours, possibly after much of the planet-forming material had been used up. The system, observed using the European Space Agency’s Cheops space telescope, consists of four planets — two rocky and two gaseous — orbiting a relatively small and dim star called a red dwarf about 117 light-years from Earth in the direction of the Lynx constellation. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion kilometres. The star, named LHS 1903, is about 50 per cent as massive and 5pc as luminous as our sun. The order of the planets is what caught the attention of scientists. The innermost planet is rocky, the next two are gaseous and the fourth one, which current planetary formation theory suggests should be gaseous, instead is rocky. “The planet-formation paradigm states that planets close to their host star should form small and rocky, with ...

KARACHI: The death toll from a multi-vehicle crash on the M9 Motorway a day earlier rose to 13 on Saturday while police also registered a first information report (FIR) on several charges, including unintentional murder. The executive director of the trauma centre at Civil Hospital, Dr Mohammed Sabir Memon, told Dawn that six injured people were brought to the facility on Friday evening. Of them, a six-year-old boy died during treatment, he said. He added that one patient had been discharged while four others were still under treatment, including one in critical condition. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Edhi Foundation said in a statement that the 12 other victims all belonged to the same family. Meanwhile, Gadap police Station House Officer (SHO) Sarfraz Jatoi told Dawn that the police had registered an FIR under sections 320 (unintentional homicide caused by rash or negligent driving) and 337-G (injuries) of the Pakistan Penal Code and relevant sections (3, 4, 5 and 115) of the Motor Vehicles Ordinance o...

Will expand market access for African exports to China through upgraded mechanisms such as its 'green channel'

Silver prices in Pakistan saw a modest rise today, with the standard chandi ka rate at Rs.

Downplays hype over Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq's sling-arm action with big pause

This was Brazil’s first-ever gold in the games

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the country’s overall security situation.

France coach Galthie is consciously following the example of Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus

Video games are deeply woven into the daily routines of many young people, especially boys and young men. They are social spaces, entertainment, and in some cases, competitive arenas. But they are also divisive. Parents, educators, and policymakers often worry about screen time, violence, addiction, and social withdrawal. Yet, recent research suggests the story isn’t as simple as “good” or “bad.” A growing body of scientific evidence, including work cited by researchers at the University of Oxford, points out that playing video games does not inherently harm children and may even carry benefits. Traditional concerns like aggression and poor academic performance are not consistently supported by solid data when other factors are accounted for. Instead, outcomes vary widely depending on how, why, and how much games are played. One area researchers highlight is cognitive development. Many games require sustained attention, quick decision-making, pattern recognition and strategic thinking. Some studies show impro...

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Saturday expressed gratitude to President Asif Ali Zardari for his congratulations following the party’s decisive victory in Bangladesh’s general elections.

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking suspension of their sentences in the Toshakhana-2 (Bulgari jewellery) case, citing grave medical concerns and what their counsel termed legal infirmities in the trial court verdict. Advocate Salman Akram Raja, along with Barristers Salman Safdar, Gohar Ali Khan, and Qausain Faisal Mufti, filed the petition under Section 426 read with Section 561-A of the Criminal Procedure Code 1898, praying for the release of the petitioners till the final adjudication of their criminal appeal. The Special Court Central-I judge, on December 20, 2025, convicted the couple, handing down a 10-year simple imprisonment term under Section 409 PPC (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), along with a fine of Rs16.425 million. Additionally, Imran and Bushra were sentenced to seven years’ simple imprisonment under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947. The petition contende...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi to address the security situation in Islamabad in a meeting on Saturday. A press release by the prime minister’s media wing said that during the meeting, the interior minister briefed the premier on the overall security situation of the country. “The prime minister was also given a detailed briefing on the current overall situation and security in Islamabad,” it added. According to the press release, PM Shehbaz directed Naqvi to address the security situation in Islamabad and other matters “in an effective and efficient manner”. The statement by the premier’s media wing further said that Naqvi would soon visit Sri Lanka, where he would “convey the prime minister’s special message” to the Sri Lankan president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Islamabad has experienced two major suicide attacks in recent weeks. One occurred on 6 February, when 36 people were killed and over 150 injured in a suicide bombing at an imambargah during Friday ...

The Lahore High Court has ruled that a husband must pay Rs1 million as mehr to his first wife if he contracts a second marriage without her consent.

Bangladesh’s Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) party conceded defeat in elections on Saturday, despite earlier alleging problems with the vote count, clearing the way for nationalist leader Tarique Rahman to become prime minister. Election Commission figures showed Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had won a landslide victory in the elections on Thursday, the first since a deadly 2024 uprising ousted the iron-fisted rule of Sheikh Hasina. The success of BNP chief Rahman, 60, marks a remarkable turnaround for a man who only returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile in Britain, far from Dhaka’s political storms. Tarique Rahman, chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), in a car on his way to the mosque to attend Friday prayer, as results project BNP’s victory in the 13th general election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh on February 13, 2026. — Reuters Rahman, the scion of one of Bangladesh’s most powerful political dynasties, is expected to make a victory speech later on Saturday. His father, president...