Pakistan

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District education authority sets up complaint cell for parents

Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi said that major projects, including the digitalization of Pakistan Railways, its upgradation, and outsourcing, would be completed this year, whereas Faisalabad Railway Station would be upgraded to modern international standards within the next 45 days.

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For the first time in over three decades, the Punjab government has completely cleared all loans taken from local banks, freeing the province from debt and ending a long era of financial dependence.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved a 100 megawatt solar photovoltaic power project for Gilgit-Baltistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. It added that formal work on the project would now commence. The prime minister had announced during his recent visit to GB that Ecnec would soon approve the 100MW power plants. The report said that Central Development Working Party had already approved the project and it would benefit the districts of Astore, Darel, Tangir, Diamer, Ghanche, Ghizer, Gilgit, Hunza, Ishkoman, Nagar, Roundu, Skardu and Shigar. It added that Skardu district would be provided with 18.96MW of electricity in the first phase; the districts of Hunza, Gilgit and Diamer would be supplied with 6MW, 28MW and 13MW of electricity, respectively, in the second phase and the remaining districts would receive 16.1MW of electricity in the third phase. The project is set to be completed within three years at a total cost of Rs24,957 million. In June, protest demonstr...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday hailed US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts following his role in brokering the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal. A day earlier, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed an initial US-brokered peace agreement during a meeting with Trump, a deal aimed at boosting economic ties between the two countries after decades of conflict. “Pakistan welcomes the historic peace agreement signed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia at the White House Summit under the auspices of US President Donald J Trump,” the premier wrote in a statement on X. He congratulated both countries on “charting a course for a peaceful future for their region”, stating: “Pakistan has always stood by the brotherly nation of Azerbaijan and we stand with them at this proud moment of their history.” PM Shehbaz continued: “We also appreciate the facilitation role of the United States, under President Donald Trump, in bringing the two sides together and securing an agreement that opens new av...

Three Thai soldiers were injured by a landmine on Saturday while patrolling a border area near Cambodia, the Thai army said in a statement, days after the two neighbours agreed to a detailed ceasefire following a violent five-day conflict last month. One soldier lost a foot and two others were injured after one of them stepped on a landmine as they patrolled an area between Thailand’s Sisaket and Cambodia’s Preah Vihear provinces. “The soldiers are being treated at a hospital,” the army said. Thailand said the incident took place within its territory and in an area recently cleared of landmines. It added that it would lodge a complaint against Cambodia for violating a treaty that bans the use of landmines and for infringing Thai sovereignty, the Thai foreign ministry said in a statement. Both Thailand and Cambodia are signatories to the Ottawa Convention against landmines. Cambodia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that it “has yet to receive clear confirmation from Cambodian frontline forces concerning the...

Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Pakistan, H.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday warned that “decisions without Ukraine” would not bring peace and ruled out ceding territory to Russia. “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” he said on social media, as United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare to hold a summit next week in Alaska to discuss peace in Ukraine. “Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing,” he said, adding that the war “cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine”. Zelensky said Ukraine was “ready for real decisions that can bring peace” but said it should be a “dignified peace”, without giving details. Later, Zelensky wrote in a post on X that he exchanged views on a “diplomatic solution” to the conflict with French President Emmanuel Macron. Expressing gratitude for France’s support, the Ukrainian leader wrote: “Ukraine, France, and all our partners are ready to work as productively as possible fo...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to engage with the US and China have reached a stalemate, which exposes limitations to India’s powers on the global stage, The New York Times reported. Modi’s first attempt came in 2014 through a high-level engagement with China came. The Indian premier rolled out the red carpet for China’s President Xi Jinping in his home town, organising an intimate riverside dinner in Ahmedabad. The meeting at the time focused on economic cooperation, with India seeking Chinese funding for an overhaul of its dilapidated railways and cooperation in nuclear energy. However, the talks were overshadowed by a stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops along their shared border. “The flare-up in 2014 was the first of several acts of aggression that would ultimately leave Mr Modi embarrassed, his economy squeezed by the need to keep tens of thousands of Indian troops on a war footing high in the Himalayas for several years,” The New York Times said. Subsequently, Modi steered towards...

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Nawaf bin Said Al-Malky, Saturday, called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and handed over a signed invitation letter from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud to participate in the ninth Future Investment Initiatives (FII) Forum to be held in Riyadh from 27-30 October.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has delivered on his commitment to the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, as the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved a 100-megawatt solar power project for the region.

The Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Counter-Terrorism Exercise Dosti-II was held from 4 to 9 August 2026 at Fakhrobod Base, Tajikistan.

Three people were shot and wounded in New York’s Times Square, the New York Police Department said on Saturday. The people — an 18 year-old female, 19 year-old male, and a 65 year-old male - are in a stable condition in hospital, an NYPD spokesperson said. A 17-year-old male is in custody, the NYPD added. The police also recovered a firearm. The shooting took place at around 1:20am ET (10:20am PKT) and followed a verbal altercation with one of the victims, the NYPD added. It said it was not known at this time whether the shooter or the victims knew each other. Mass shootings are relatively common in the United States, where guns are widely available. The incident at one of New York’s most iconic tourist spots comes after July’s high-profile shooting in a Manhattan office tower, which left four people dead, including a senior Blackstone executive and an NYPD officer. New York experienced record-low shooting incidents and victims in the first seven months of this year, and in July, according to a statement publ...

Security forces have killed 14 more terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Balochistan’s Zhob district, the military’s media wing said on Saturday. The development adds to 33 terrorists, belonging to the “Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij”, who were eliminated on the night of August 7 and 8. “On [the] night 8/9 August 2025, a deliberate sanitisation operation was conducted in surrounding areas of Sambaza along Pakistan-Afghanistan border,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release. “During the conduct of the operation, 14 more Indian-sponsored khwarij were hunted down and successfully neutralised. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed khwarij,” the ISPR noted. This followed the “successful engagements by the security forces in general area Sambaza, Zhob District on 7-8 August 2025, during which 33 khwarij were sent to hell”. “The number of khwarij killed in two days anti-infiltration operation has risen to 47,” the m...

Hasan Nawaz made a triumphant one-day international (ODI) debut, going 63 not out on Friday to power Pakistan over the West Indies by five wickets in their ODI series opener. Nawaz and Hussain Talat formed a sixth-wicket partnership of 104 not out to rally the visitors in the day-night affair, with game two on Sunday and the final ODI on Tuesday. West Indies went 280 all out with Evin Lewis leading the way on 60 from 62 balls with three sixes and five fours, while Shai Hope added 55 and Roston Chase contributed 53. Needing 281 to win, Pakistan got 53 runs from Mohammad Rizwan before he was bowled lbw by Shamar Joseph in the 38th over with the visitors still 101 runs shy of victory, setting the stage for heroics by Nawaz and Talat. Nawaz struck for six on the second ball of the 49th over and blasted the winning shot to the boundary off the final delivery by Joseph, giving Pakistan the victory with seven balls to spare. In all, Nawaz reached 63 on 54 balls with three sixes and five fours while Talat finished on...

Flooding caused by the outburst of the Shispar Glacial Lake in Hunza has caused widespread destruction in Gilgit-Baltistan, intensifying land erosion and forcing evacuations from multiple areas.