Pakistan

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, said on Thursday that Pakistan’s first National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy would pave the way for the country’s entry into a new digital era.

Sindh Rangers branch and Malir Police on Thursday carried out a joint operation and arrested six suspects for allegedly stealing goods from cargo trucks and kidnapping truck drivers on the outskirts of Karachi, according to a statement from Sindh Rangers. Per the statement, Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and Police, acting on sensitive intelligence information, conducted a joint operation in the Korangi area of Karachi. “During the operation, six suspects involved in international drug trafficking were arrested,” the statement said. “Among them was Irfan alias Irfanullah, an Afghan national and a key member of the network. This year, he had been using intercity buses and trucks to transport drugs to various parts of the country.” It said that for the past several months, the suspects had robbed trucks transporting cargo from Karachi to other parts of Pakistan, kidnapped drivers, and moved them to an undisclosed location. “After stealing the items from the loaded trucks, they would leave the vehicles in an isolated ...

Authorities in Gilgit-Baltistan have issued a fresh alert amid forecasts of heavy rainfall, warning of potential glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), landslides, and flash floods in the mountainous region.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has issued arrest warrants for former president Dr.

At least three people died and another three were injured in separate roof collapse incidents due to heavy rains across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, rescue officials said on Thursday. Monsoon rains, which fall across the region from June to September every year, continue to lash many parts of the country. Starting in late June, Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across the country in the past month by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. In Lakki Marwat’s Sarai Naurang tehsil, three people were reported dead, including two women and a 15-year-old boy, when the roof of a room in their house collapsed amid heavy rain, according to a Rescue 1122 statement. The Rescue 1122 team has cleared the debris and recovered the bodies of the deceased from the site of the incident, which were transferred to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Sarai Naurang, said the statement. Meanwhile, in a separate incident in Bannu, at least two others — includin...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former finance minister Hammad Azhar has decided to approach the Peshawar High Court (PHC) for protective bail in connection with more than 50 cases registered against him across multiple cities.

Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector continues to gain global recognition, bolstered by the efforts of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

In a major milestone for Pakistan’s space ambitions, the country has successfully launched a state-of-the-art remote sensing satellite developed by the Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).

KARACHI: Pakistan faces another challenging year of external debt servicing in FY26, requiring significant rollovers to manage repayments totalling $25.9 billion, including $22bn in principal and $4bn in interest. According to a report by Topline Securities, the country will need to arrange a net financing of $10bn, comprising $6bn in principal and $4bn in interest, after accounting for expected rollovers and refinancing. In a briefing to analysts and researchers after announcing a status quo in the monetary policy on Wednesday, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed said foreign exchange reserves are projected to reach $15.5bn by December 2025 and $17.5bn by June 2026. Any proceeds from international bond issuances, such as Eurobonds or Sukuk, would be over and above this target. The governor added that Pakistan is due to repay $1.8bn in FY26 on account of two maturing Eurobonds — one of $800 million and the other of $1bn. Islamabad must arrange $10bn net external financing in FY26; SBP says total repayments reach...

LARKANA: Police rescued a woman and her two minor children on Wednesday who allegedly attempted suicide along with them by jumping into the Rice Canal. An official at the Civil Lines police station identified the woman as Farida Chandio, resident of Rasool Abad locality, and the children as three-year-old Usman and two-year-old Sadaf. When she jumped into the canal, policemen present on the spot rescued and shifted her to the women’s police station. Later, police produced her in the court of the fourth additional and sessions judge. Farida told the court that five years ago, she was married to Shahid Hussain Chandio. She said her husband was of a suspicious nature and used to abuse her physically over false accusations, putting her and children’s lives at risk. She requested for protection. The woman refused to return to her husband or go with her brothers and instead wished to stay at a shelter home (Darul Aman) for some time. She was shifted to Darul Aman after the court passed an order. Published in Dawn, ...

ISLAMABAD - The Federal government has allocated more than Rs13.

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Sindh government to form a three-member committee to review the eligibility of 166 non-teaching college staff appointed in the Sukkur region, following long-standing disputes over the legality of their recruitment.

ISLAMABAD: The business community has voiced serious concerns over the abrupt withdrawal of a promised Rs7.41 per unit electricity relief and the prolonged outage of the 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP), warning of accelerating de-industrialisation. These grievances surfaced during a public hearing held by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), on the Central Power Purchasing Agency’s (CPPA) request for a Rs8.7bn refund — equal to 65 paise per unit — to consumers due to lower-than-expected fuel costs in June. Nepra members Amina Ahmed and Anwar Maqsood Khan presided over the session. Several industrialists, referencing a recent meeting with Field Marshal Asim Munir, lamented that the prime minister’s announcement in March of Rs7.41 per unit tariff relief was not time-bound, yet its impact had dwindled. The actual reduction now stands at just Rs1.15 per unit in base tariff terms. As a result, applicable power rates have surged from around Rs30 per unit to Rs34-35 from Jul...

Pakistan to dispatch two consignments of food aid to Gaza: PM.

RAWALPINDI: Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir interacts with participants of the 16th National Workshop Balochistan on Wednesday.

Islamabad seeks meaningful dialogue with New Delhi on all issues.

ISLAMABAD - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will be visiting Pakistan on a two-day official visit on 2-3 August at the invitation of the prime minister of Pakistan.

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on Wednesday, decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11% while emphasizing the continuity of ongoing prudent stance to sustain macroeconomic stability and stabilize inflation in the target range.

ISLAMABAD - An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday adjourned hearing till October 4, against PTI leaders and workers in a case pertaining to protest of November 26.

ISLAMABAD - Senate Chairman Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani held a bilateral meeting with HE Mr Hassan Al-Ghanim, Speaker of the Shura Council of the State of Qatar, on the sidelines of the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva.