Pakistan

Four more people were confirmed on Friday to have died in a fire that broke out in a warehouse in Karachi the previous day, bringing the total death toll to six, according to rescue officials. A massive explosion took place inside a warehouse in a densely populated area near Karachi’s Taj Medical Complex on MA Jinnah Road yesterday afternoon, in which 33 people were injured and two were confirmed to have lost their lives. Rescue 1122 said today that the number of deaths from the incident had risen to six after a fourth body was retrieved. South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said earlier today that two people had died during treatment, while three bodies were recovered from the site. Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed told Dawn.com that the deaths occurred because of “multiple crush injuries and suffocation”. She said one died owing to suffocation, and two other deaths occurred from multiple crush injuries, while the autopsy of two other bodies could not be conducted. Meanwhile, Rescue-1...

Pakistani teams on Thursday displayed their prowess at the Amerigol Latam Cup ice hockey tournament in Coral Springs, Florida in the United States with the men’s team clinching the Division III championship and the women’s team claiming the Division II bronze medal in their debut appearance. The tournament is designed to showcase talent from regions where ice hockey is a growing sport and “break barriers and unite non-traditional hockey markets in a thrilling display of skill, passion, and camaraderie”, according to the organisers’ website. A press release from the National Hockey League (NHL), stated that this year’s Latam Cup features 62 women’s, men’s and youth teams and over 1,450 players representing 17 countries and territories. The tournament started on Sunday and will continue through August 24. The NHL stated that Pakistan’s men’s team went undefeated throughout the tournament and playoffs, defeating Peru 6-1 to win the championship for the first time. The Pakistani Ice Hockey Team wrote in an Instag...

Two days before his wedding, Noor Muhammad had a long phone call with his mother, just hours before devastating floods in Pakistan killed her along with 23 family members and relatives. “I cannot explain how happy she was,” he said standing by the rubble of his family’s large 36-room house, perched on the bank of a floodwater channel in Qadir Nagar village. The village in mountainous Buner district has been the worst hit by recent massive rain in the country, accounting for over 200 deaths out of nearly 400 in floods in the northern areas since August 15. Buner is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Islamabad. “Everything was finished,” sobbed Muhammad, 25, as mourners sat at his damaged house to offer condolences, saying there was nothing left when he got home except for rubble and heavy rocks, which swept down from the mountains along with mud and raging flood waters, smashing into houses, markets and buildings. “The flood came, a huge flood came, it swept away everything, home, mother, sister, brother, my u...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that he will convene a meeting over the illegal constructions on rivers soon, as monsoon rains caused catastrophic floods in northern parts of the country. Record rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which started on August 15, have wreaked havoc on different parts of the province. Last week, the provincial government declared an emergency as torrential rains ravaged homes, displaced families, and left a trail of destruction across Buner, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, and beyond with the death toll at 393. Speaking during a federal cabinet meeting today, PM Shehbaz said, “I will call a meeting over the illegal constructions on rivers, such as hotels, restaurants and houses.” He highlighted the concerns over such structures, which reflected “catastrophic beauty”, and over the cutting of trees in Galiyat, where plazas and houses have been constructed. “There is no room for man-made disasters,” he said, adding that the meeting will be called on an all-Pakistan basis to discuss the...

A fact-finding committee formed by police investigating the death of senior DawnNews reporter Khawar Hussain Bajwa has ruled that he died by suicide, according to a copy of its final report available with Dawn.com. The senior journalist was found dead in his car last week, parked on Hyderabad Road in Sanghar under what police termed “mysterious circumstances”. The body was found in the driving seat, with a gunshot wound to the head. The day after the incident, police said that they were probing the incident “from all possible angles” and a fact-finding committee had been formed to probe Hussain’s death. This committee, led by Sindh Additional Inspector General of Police (IGP) (Counter-Terrorism Department) Azad Khan, comprised Karachi West Zone Deputy IGP Irfan Baloch and Sanghar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abid Baloch. The committee reached its conclusion based on a detailed examination of the crime scene, interviews of witnesses, examination of postmortem and forensic reports and analysis of CCTV ...

The Foreign Office on Friday dismissed reports of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in China, confirming that no such engagement is scheduled.

Lieutenant General Md Faizur Rahman, Quarter Master General of the Bangladesh Army, met Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the military’s media wing said on Friday.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan has said Pakistan is ready for a comprehensive and composite dialogue with India to address all outstanding issues, including terrorism.

Federal Information Minister Atta Tarar on Friday said Pakistan’s historic victory against India had significantly enhanced the country’s global standing, emphasizing that the nation remained united “shoulder to shoulder” in the battle of narratives.

At least five Iranian police have been killed in an ambush in the restive Sistan-Baluchestan province, Iranian media reported on Friday. The unidentified assailants struck two units on patrol near the town of Iranshahr, the Fars news agency said, citing local police. “In this terrorist act, five servants of security and peace were martyred,” it quoted police as saying. Sistan-Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long been a flashpoint for clashes between security forces and armed groups, including drug traffickers and separatists. The province, which is home to a large Sunni Muslim Baloch minority, is one of the poorest regions of the Shia-majority country. Police said the officers had been on routine patrol when they came under fire. Iranian media published an image of a bullet-riddled police pickup with bodies lying on the ground nearby. An operation was underway to “track down and identify” the assailants, Fars said. No group immediately claimed responsibility. Iran regularly reports de...

Pakistan’s commerce minister and a Bangladeshi government adviser met in Dhaka on Friday to discuss the enhancement of bilateral trade and the strengthening of economic ties between the two countries. Ever since a popular uprising in Bangladesh that saw Hasina’s government toppled in August of last year, with the deposed premier fleeing to her old ally India, there has been a thaw in ties between the Islamabad and Dhaka, with trade and bilateral relations seeing a marked improvement. A press release by the Ministry of Commerce said that Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, who reached Dhaka on August 21 for an official visit, met with Bangladesh’s Adviser for Commerce Sheikh Bashir Uddin. During the interaction, both sides “held in-depth discussions in Dhaka today to advance economic cooperation, mutual investments and strengthen bilateral trade ties”. It added that Pakistan’s high commissioner to Bangladesh, Imran Haider, was also present during the meeting. “The two countries are in the process ...

Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who led the country during a devastating 2019-2024 economic crisis, was arrested and appeared in court on Friday over allegations he misused state funds while in office, police said. Wickremesinghe, 76, who lost power in a 2024 election, had been investigated over a visit he made to London to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony, local media reported. Police confirmed his arrest for alleged misuse of public funds. “Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested and produced in court. We are awaiting the court directive to decide what further steps need to be taken,” a police spokesperson said. Wickremesinghe’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. An ally from his United National Party (UNP) proclaimed his innocence and suggested the case was politically motivated. “Ranil Wickremesinghe has never misused public funds or state funds,” UNP member Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe told reporters gathered outside the court complex where t...

Saleema Imtiaz is set for her umpiring debut in the upcoming women’s ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa in Lahore, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday, alongside confirming other match officials for the series. Last year, Saleema became the first Pakistani female official to join ICC’s International Panel of Development Umpires, enabling her to officiate women’s bilateral international matches and ICC women’s events. The three-match One-Day International series will be staged at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium from September 16-22. Saleema, who is part of the ICC International Panel of Umpires will be joined by Australia’s Claire Polosak, who returns to Pakistan after officiating in the Pakistan v West Indies women’s series last year in Karachi, PCB said. Polosak, also a member of the ICC International Panel of Umpires, will stand in all three ODIs as an on-field umpire. Humairah Farah has been named as the reserve umpire for the series, while Tariq Rasheed from the PCB Elite Panel of Umpi...

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a meeting with Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in Islamabad during his official visit to the country, discussing regional security and counter-terrorism, the military’s media wing said on Friday. The Chinese foreign minister arrived in Pakistan late Wednesday night to attend the sixth Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue on Thursday morning. He also met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, reaffirming China’s commitment to working with Pakistan to promote regional peace, development, and stability. Wang said that China was prepared to support its neighbours on issues concerning their core interests and to firmly oppose external interference in the region, per a Chinese foreign ministry handout. He stressed the need to improve the security dialogue mechanism, deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, strengthen the fight against transnational terrorism, and eliminate conditions that promote extremism. According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public ...

The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced a food package of Rs.

Pakistan’s javelin sensation Muhammad Yasir Sultan threw a season’s best of 77.43m to clinch a bronze medal at the Asian Throwing Championships in Mokpo, South Korea on Friday. The 27-year-old threw a massive 77.43m on his sixth and final attempt to snag a podium finish and smash his previous season’s best of 76.07m set at the Asian Athletics Championships in May. Sri Lanka’s Pathirage Rumesh Tharanga won gold with an 82.05m throw and became the only athlete to cross the 80m barrier this morning. Behind him was Japan’s Gen Naganuma with 78.60m. Yasir opened his campaign with a no-throw, followed by a solid 75.79m. He the then threw two successive throws in the 72m range before anther no-throw on his fifth attempt. It was on his final attempt that he struck his medal-winning 77.43m throw. Yasir said in a social media post that he was “happy for a podium finish” and season’s best throw despite “tough conditions”. He thanked his supporters and hoped for more medals in the future. View this post on Instagram Yasi...

In a landmark move to modernize urban mobility, the Balochistan government has unveiled the launching of 21 cutting-edge buses under its ambitious Green and Pink Bus Project, aimed at elevating public transport standards in Quetta and Turbat.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday announced the launch of an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered application developed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to modernize immigration processes and combat human trafficking.

British High Commissioner Jane Marriott met Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Friday, where both sides agreed to strengthen the capacity of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reaffirmed the federal government’s unwavering commitment to supporting the affected families and expediting the rehabilitation process, particularly in the flood-stricken areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.