Pakistan

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry on Saturday stated that Pakistan hosted the largest contiguous arid mangrove forest in South Asia, primarily located in the Indus Delta region of Sindh, which has the potential to generate annual revenue of $20–50 million depending on market prices and volume.

Pakistan has called for de-escalation and ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war and stressed that “echoes for peace must be heard” as Ambassador Usman Jadoon addressed a United Nations briefing. “Peace in Ukraine is long overdue,” Ambassador Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told the UN Council, which debated the situation in Ukraine on Friday after Russia invaded its neighbour in March 2022. “The calls for ending this conflict should not be allowed to go unheard or masked by the continued drums of war,” he added, highlighting that the conflict was now four years old. Pakistan, as a consistent advocate for peace, has called for de-escalation and giving primacy to dialogue over fighting, said Ambassador Jadoon, who at that time was chairing the 15-member meeting. “Only a sincere and meaningful dialogue which addresses mutual security concerns of all sides, is anchored in the principles of UN Charter and international law, and respects the relevant multilateral agreements ...

The Karakoram Highway (KKH) was reopened on Saturday as aid and rescue operations continued in Gilgit-Baltistan after flash floods battered the region. The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as unprecedented heat­­waves, erratic weat­her patterns and glacial melting have triggered cloudbursts and intense floods across the region. On Monday, floods swept across GB, causing landslides and leaving many stranded. At least nine people died and more than 500 houses, roads and other infrastructure were damaged as a result. In a statement today, GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said: “The Karakoram Highway is open for all types of traffic.” He recalled that the main artery had been blocked due to landslides and mud flow on Friday, adding that machinery was sent to restore the road. Faraq further said that rescue and search operations were underway across the region. The recent floods have caused severe destruction in the region, particularly in the Kunduz region and the Gha...

China’s premier Li Qiang warned on Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against the security risks, saying a global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating. His remarks came just days after United States President Donald Trump unveiled an aggressive low-regulation strategy aimed at cementing US dominance in the fast-moving field, promising to “remove red tape and onerous regulation” that could hinder private sector AI development. Opening the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, Li emphasised the need for governance and open-source development, announcing the establishment of a Chinese-led body for international AI cooperation. “The risks and challenges brought by artificial intelligence have drawn widespread attention […] How to find a balance between development and security urgently requires further consensus from the entire society,” the premier said. Li said China would “actively promote” the d...

• Foreign minister says Pakistan-US mineral deal to be finalised soon • Ex-State Dept official Elizabeth Horst made acting envoy to Pakistan WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday and discussed trade, investment, counterterrorism cooperation and the clash between India and Pakistan in May, according to officials from both countries. The meeting — the first such engagement between the foreign ministers of the two countries in three years — is being considered a breakthrough in diplomacy between Pakistan and the US. On the same day, the US named an acting ambassador in Islamabad. In Washington, Mr Dar and Secretary Rubio held their first meeting since working together in May to negotiate a ceasefire that ended a dangerous military standoff between India and Pakistan. In a post shared after the meeting, Mr Dar said he discussed bilateral relations with Secretary Rubio. “We reaffirmed our commitment to the long-term Pakistan-US partnership, with renewed focus on eco...

Amir Markazi Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadees Senator Hafiz Abdul Kareem Saturday called on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

The World Mangroves Day is being observed across the world today.

A medium-level flood in the Indus River at Taunsa has submerged over 20 villages, causing severe damage to homes and standing crops, as the flood situation across southern Punjab continues to worsen.

In a series of intelligence-based operations, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) killed 12 terrorists, including an Afghan national, during separate raids in Swat and Hangu districts on Friday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday approved the formation of a modern, globally-standard digital ecosystem within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and directed the hiring of internationally renowned experts to lead the initiative.

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Friday officially abolished all roadside charged parking across Karachi — a practice that had long been seen by Karachiites as a gross exploitation of taxpayers, carried out on city roads for the past 25 years. The decision comes into effect at once. The Sindh local government department, acting on the directives of the chief minister of Sindh, issued a notification announcing the end of parking fees on public roads throughout the city’s 25 Town Municipal Corporations (TMCs). As per the new policy, no municipal body or private entity is allowed to collect any parking fee from vehicles parked on roads anywhere in Karachi. However, the move also granted the councils of the TMCs the authority to designate any ‘specified area’ within their remit as a charged parking space. According to the notification, the Sindh chief minister “imposed a ban on charged parking fees from roads. The charged parking fees can be collected only on plots / plazas / areas specifically maintained by the ...

Police in India have arrested a man accused of running a fake embassy from a rented house near New Delhi and duping job seekers out of money with promises of overseas employment. Harsh Vardhan Jain, 47, was operating an “illegal West Arctic embassy by renting a house” in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, which neighbours the capital, local police said. Jain, according to police, claimed to be the ambassador of fictional nations “like West Arctica, Saborga, Poulvia, Lodonia”. He allegedly used vehicles with fake diplomatic plates and shared doctored photos of himself with Indian leaders to bolster his claims. “His main activities involved acting as a broker to secure work in foreign countries for companies and private individuals, as well as operating a hawala (money transfer) racket through shell companies,” the police said in a statement following his arrest earlier this week. He is also accused of money laundering. During a raid on Jain’s property, police said they recovered $53,500 in cash in addition to doctored ...

Health Minister Mustafa Kamal urged international stakeholders to explore partnerships in Pakistan’s rapidly evolving health landscape, highlighting the country’s “immense” potential for investment, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday. Representing Pakistan at Boao Forum for Asia’s (BFA) Global Health Forum in Beijing yesterday, the health minister underscored that Pakistan presents “immense opportunities for collaboration, innovation and investment”. Established in 2001, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is a non-profit international organisation promoting regional cooperation in Asia. It focuses on health issues related to economic development and wellbeing. The roundtable featured health ministers from all over the world, who discussed equal access to healthcare and sustainable reforms. “Pakistan is ready for partnerships in global health,” Kamal said, highlighting the country’s 250 million population, nursing cooperation and digital reforms. He pointed out that there were “significant opportunities ...

Pakistan Customs has seized over 303 kilograms of smuggled gold during various operations conducted over the past decade, official documents have revealed.

Three wanted terrorists and “key operatives” of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed during a joint operation of the police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the Barikot tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district on Friday. Over the past few months, multiple areas of KP — particularly Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Bajaur — have seen a series of attacks targeting police stations and posts. In response, the state has also intensified its counterterrorism operations. “Three wanted terrorists have been killed in Barikot in a major win for Swat CTD. Eliminating the enemies of regional peace, the CTD has killed three important operatives of the Fitna al-Khawarij,” KP Police said in a statement today. Fitna al-Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the banned TTP. Among the terrorists was Ajmal, also known as Waqas, a resident of Malook Abad who was reportedly involved in at least nine terrorism-related cases. He was also involved in the killing of Village Defence Council members an...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast rainfall in southeastern Sindh and several other districts on July 30 and 31, with occasional gaps, while widespread monsoon activity is expected across the country starting July 27.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Friday announced that Pakistan and the United States are close to finalizing a mutually beneficial trade agreement, expected to be concluded within days.

ISLAMABAD: In a rare government-to-government (G2G) transaction, Wah Industries — operating under the Ministry of Defence — has acquired about 30 obsolete power plants from public sector generation companies (Gencos) for Rs38.255 billion, following the failure of the government’s ambitious open auction plan. The Power Division confirmed that under three separate sale agreements, Wah Industries purchased the non-functional plants from Northern Power Generation Company Ltd (NPGCL), Central Power Generation Company Ltd (CPGCL), and Jamshoro Power Company Ltd (JPCL). The agreements were signed on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, respectively. The sale price marginally exceeded the reserve price of Rs38.224bn, previously set under Wapda’s auction regulations, which stipulate that G2G sales cannot occur below reserve value. With these agreements, the total revenue from both auction phases has reached Rs46.73bn, including Rs9.053bn earned from the March 18 auction of seven plants with a combined capacity of 1,016 mega...

CHITRAL: Four persons, including three women, have reportedly died by suicide during the last two days with two incidents occurring on Friday. In the first incident, a girl in her teens reportedly jumped into the river in the Chew Bazaar area. Her body was later fished out and handed over to her parents after a postmortem at the District Headquarters Hospital. Any eyewitness, Inamullah, who runs a medical store in Chew Bazaar, told Dawn that the girl was seen buying mantoo (Afghani snack) from a vendor in front of his shop, from there she proceeded to the centre of the bridge and jumped into the river in front of many passersby. Sub-divisional police officer, city circle, Sajjad Hussain told Dawn that the parents of the deceased had migrated to Singoor village of Chitral town from the Mulkhow tehsil of Upper Chitral. They all ended their life by jumping into river, say police He said the immediate reason for her suicide could not be known, while the police had started an inquiry under section 174 of Criminal ...

The White House is seeking fines from several universities it says failed to stop antisemitism on campus, including Harvard University, in exchange for restoring federal funding, an official of US President Donald Trump’s administration said on Friday. The administration is in talks with several universities, including Cornell, Duke, Northwestern and Brown, the source said, confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration is close to striking deals with Northwestern and Brown and potentially Cornell. A deal with Harvard, the country’s oldest and richest university, is a key target for the White House, the official added. A spokesperson for Cornell declined to comment. Other universities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump and his team have undertaken a broad campaign to leverage federal funding to force change at US universities, which the Republican president says are gripped by antisemitic and “radical left” ideo...