Pakistan

When floodwaters from across the Indian border surged into her village in eastern Pakistan this month, Shama knew what to do: gather her four children and prepare to leave.

President Asif Ali Zardari has assented to the Petroleum (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as passed by Parliament.

A fire started by protesters at a council building in eastern Indonesia killed at least three people, a local official said on Saturday, after demonstrations across the country following the death of a man hit by a police vehicle. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy was rocked by protests in major cities including the capital Jakarta on Friday after footage spread of a motorcycle taxi driver being run over by a police tactical vehicle in earlier rallies against low wages and financial perks for lawmakers. Protests in Makassar, the biggest city on the eastern island of Sulawesi, descended into chaos outside the provincial and local city council buildings, which were both set on fire as demonstrators hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails. Three people were killed as a result of the fire at the Makassar city council, its secretary Rahmat Mappatoba told AFP. “They were trapped in the burning building,” he said, accusing protesters of igniting the blaze. “Usually during a demonstration, protesters only throw rocks or bu...

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has warned that over 70,000 cusecs of additional water may flow into Pakistan from India in the coming days, heightening the risk of fresh flooding in Punjab.

At least one policeman was martyred and three terrorists were killed in a firing incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat district, police said on Saturday. According to Regional Police Officer Kohat Abbas Majeed Marwat, “One policeman was martyred and two others were injured in an operation against terrorists.” He said, “Three terrorists have been killed and several others injured as police retaliated [against terrorists] in the mountains of Darmalak.” An operation is underway to arrest the injured terrorists, the official added. “We will not let the sacrifices of our martyrs go in vain and our war against terrorism will continue.” Earlier today, a statement from the Rescue 1122 read, “A tragic incident of firing on a police vehicle took place near the Darmalak police post in Kohat.” As a result of the firing, one policeman was martyred on the spot and two policemen were injured, the statement said, adding that the injured officials were taken to Kohat District Headquarters Hospital. Recent terrorist attacks h...

President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday approved a constitutional change in the composition of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) following a revised nomination from the Government of Balochistan.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday sent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founding chairman Imran Khan’s nephew, Shahrez Khan, to jail on judicial remand in connection with the attack on Jinnah House during the May 9 riots.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday approved a change in the constitution of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) after Balochistan revised its nomination, a statement by the president’s secretariat said. The 11th NFC was constituted on August 22 to prepare a new award for sharing federal divisible resources between the Centre and the provinces. Chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the NFC includes four provincial finance ministers and four non-statutory members, one from each province. Its inaugural session, however, was postponed on the request of the Sindh government “due to the impending flood situation”. As per the statement released today, the change became necessary after the “Government of Balochistan revised its nomination, recommending Mahfooz Ali Khan as its non ex-officio member in the 11th NFC”. The statement added that the president has given the nod to this nomination, superseding the earlier approval. The terms of reference set under clause 2 of Article 160 require the 11th...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Saturday sent PTI founder Imran Khan’s nephew Shahrez Khan to jail on judicial remand in a case pertaining to the Jinnah House attack during the May 9, 2023 riots. Lahore Police picked up Shahrez, son of Imran’s sister Aleema Khan, from his mother’s Lahore residence on August 21. His brother Shershah Khan was also arrested the next day over similar allegations, and sent on physical remand and then to jail. Lahore police presented Shahrez before the court of ATC Judge Manzer Ali Gill today upon the completion of his eight-day physical remand. Advocate Rana Mudassar Umer and PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja appeared as Shahrez’s counsel, while Imtiaz Ahmad Sipra was present as the prosecutor. Sipra sought a further 30-day physical custody of Shahrez, while Umer urged the court to discharge his client from the case. Judge Gill denied the police’s request and ordered that Shahrez be sent to jail on a 14-day judicial remand. “A cane has been recovered from the susp...

Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday revealed that devastating floods triggered by the Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers have affected more than 1.

A fresh spell of monsoon rains has battered several cities across Pakistan, causing urban flooding, power outages, and loss of lives.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik has announced decisive action against influential elites who have illegally built hotels, resorts, and housing schemes along riverbanks, calling it a “war” to reclaim waterways and safeguard vulnerable communities.

India will not “bow down” and instead focus on capturing new markets, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in his first public remarks since Washington imposed steep tariffs on Indian goods. The 50 per cent levies on many Indian imports into the United States took effect this week as punishment for New Delhi’s massive purchases of Russian oil, part of US efforts to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine. Since his return to the White House this year, US President Donald Trump has wielded tariffs as a wide-ranging policy tool, with the levies upending global trade. Speaking at a construction industry event in New Delhi on Friday, Goyal said India was “always ready if anyone wants to have a free trade agreement with us”. But, the trade minister added, India “will neither bow down nor ever appear weak”. “We will continue to move together and capture new markets.” The latest tariffs salvo from Trump has strained US-India ties, with New Delhi earlier criticising the levies as “unfair, unjustified and unreas...

Emergency operations to drain floodwater and restore the historic Kartarpur Gurdwara have been successfully completed, paving the way for the reopening of the sacred Sikh shrine to international pilgrims within days.

SHARJAH: Skipper Salman Agha hit an unbeaten half-century and fast bowler Haris Rauf grabbed four wickets as Pakistan upstaged Afghanistan by 39 runs in the Twenty20 International tri-series opener in Sharjah on Friday. Right-handed Salman hit a 36-ball 53 not out with three sixes and as many boundaries which lifted Pakistan to a solid 182-7 in their 20 overs. Haris took 4-31 while fellow pacer Shaheen Afridi claimed 2-21, while spinners Mohammad Nawaz (2-23) and Sufiyan Muq­eem (2-25) dismissed Afghanistan for 143 in 19.5 overs before a noisy capacity 16,000 crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan matched Pakistan with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 27-ball 38 with a six and three boundaries, adding 51 for the second wicket with Sediqullah Atal, who made 23. It was right-armer Haris who changed the game with a two-wicket 12th over sending Atal and Karim Janat back without conceding a run. Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan smashed five sixes and a four in his whirlwind 16-ball 39 but fell to Haris to end ...

KARACHI: As Guddu Barrage is set to receive inflows of 700,000 to 800,000 cusecs next week, the Sindh government fears the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people living in areas along the Indus River’s banks due to the high flood. A meeting, chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to review the flood situation in the province, was informed by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the irrigation department that a high flood was expected to hit Guddu Barrage between Sept 3 and 4, potentially displacing over 52,000 families. The CM instructed the PDMA and district administrations to get ready to establish more than 500 camps along river embankments to protect affected communities and livestock. “In case of a major flood wave, not a single life, human or animal, should be lost,” he stressed. He also directed the deployment of over 30,000 personnel of Rescue-1122 and 178 boats — 72 in northern districts and 106 in southern districts — to respond to potential emergencies and s...

Peshawar - Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur chaired an important meeting of the Health Department to review the last six-month performance of the department’s Independent Monitoring Unit (IMU).

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Friday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to aligning the ship breaking industry with the Hong Kong Convention (HKC), stressing the importance of tackling climate change through safe and eco-friendly recycling practices.

KARACHI: A sessions court sentenced a man to 14 years in prison for throwing acid on his sister over a property dispute. After hearing prosecutor Irfana Qadri, complainant counsel Bahzad Akbar and defence side, Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Zahoor Chandio, who was also the presiding officer of the Gender-Based Violence Court (South), found Muhammad Ramzan guilty of throwing acid on his sister Sughra after she refused to give up her share in the inheritance property to her brother. “This case involves a heinous crime, specifically targeting a woman with acid, an act that causes lifelong physical and psychological trauma. Such offences are not merely crimes against an individual but are a scourge on society and an affront to public policy,” the judge observed. The court also handed down additional sentences; two years’ imprisonment for injuring with a knife to the victim and four years each for attacking her sons — Naeem and Waseem — who had rushed to rescue their mother. The court also imposed a...

In a significant move to enhance women’s safety, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police has announced the installation of a special “Pink Button” alert system across the province.