Pakistan

KSE-100 index advances on diplomatic optimism, strong IPO demand

Minister says PIA privatisation completed, three power distribution companies next

Humanitarian worker Saad Edhi, who was illegally detained by Israeli forces during the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters earlier this week, arrived in Karachi on Saturday. Saad was detained by Israeli forces on Monday along with around 100 other members of the humanitarian flotilla, after at least 10 boats were intercepted in the eastern Mediterranean. He landed at Jinnah International Airport today after being deported from Israel to Turkiye on Friday, along with other foreign activists on board the Sumud Flotilla. A large number of supporters and family members gathered at the airport to welcome him home. Video footage showed people showering him with flower petals and placing floral garlands around his neck as chants and cheers filled the arrival area. Many supporters were seen embracing him and expressing relief at his safe return. A day earlier, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Saad — grandson of late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi — had arrived safely in Istanbul along w...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, on Saturday, arrived in Hangzhou on the first phase of his four-day official visit to China.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, reaffirming the importance of a relationship that has come under growing strain, a week after the United States held a warm summit with China. After joining US President Donald Trump in Beijing a week ago, Rubio — visiting both Asian powers for the first time — flew to New Delhi and saw Modi for more than an hour, inviting the premier to visit the White House soon. Rubio “underscored the strategic importance of the US-India partnership, rooted in our shared democratic, profound economic and commercial opportunity and the strong personal ties” between Modi and Trump, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, glossing over last year’s friction between the world’s two largest democracies. Modi, in a post on X, said he was “happy” to receive Rubio. “We discussed sustained progress in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and issues related to regional and global peace and secur...

Over 1.5 million pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia from outside the kingdom for the upcoming Haj, according to a Saudi official, exceeding the number of international visitors last year despite the war in the Middle East. The conflict triggered by the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February saw Tehran order waves of strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, prompting widespread air traffic disruptions and causing travel costs to surge. Major Gulf airlines in the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain have worked to quickly restore much of their operational capacity after weeks of airspace closures and flight cancellations. Despite the complications, pilgrims have continued to flock to Saudi Arabia to participate in this year’s Haj. “The total number of pilgrims arriving from abroad has reached 1,518,153,” Saleh Al-Murabba, the commander of Saudi Arabia’s Haj Passport Forces, told a press conference late Friday. These figures are expected to rise further over the next two days as pilgrims continue to ar...

QUETTA: The Balochistan Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have killed four terrorists in an intense exchange of fire during an operation in Pishin district late on Friday. Upon receiving information of terrorist presence, an operation was launched in the Surkhab refugee camp area, 20 kilometres from Pishin town, a CTD spokesperson said. Four terrorists were killed in the “heavy gun battle”, the CTD spokesperson said, adding that a large quantity of arms and ammunition — including hand grenades, locally made bombs, automatic rifles and explosives — was recovered from their hideout. The bodies of all four alleged terrorists were shifted to the Quetta Civil Hospital. On Thursday, officials said security forces in Pishin killed the mastermind of the September 2025 suicide attack on the FC headquarters in Quetta. In February, following a spate of coordinated attacks across the province, the military said a total of 216 terrorists were killed in the days-long “Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1”. Chief Minis...

Mainly hot and dry weather is expected in most parts of the country during the next 24 hours, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), while southern areas are likely to remain under intense heat during daytime.

LAHORE: The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday claimed to have foiled a major terror plot by arresting 13 suspected terrorists belonging to various banned organisations during week-long intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted across the province. According to a CTD spokesperson, the department carried out 58 intelligence-based operations in various districts to avert possible terrorist activities. The operations were conducted in Lahore, Jhang, Sahiwal, Jhelum, Chiniot, Mandi Bahauddin and Mianwali. During the operations, 58 suspects were interrogated, and 13 alleged terrorists were taken into custody along with arms, explosives, and other prohibited materials. The spokesperson said the suspects were associated with Fitna al Khawarij and other banned organisations. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Among those arrested, Khawarij Mukhtar Ahmed was apprehended from Lahore along with a large quantity of explosiv...

A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China has killed at least 90 people, state media reported on Saturday, the country’s biggest mining disaster in 17 years. The blast occurred at 7:29pm on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, according to state news agency Xinhua. At least 90 people had died and 123 others were sent to hospital for treatment, four of whom were in critical or severe condition, state broadcaster CCTV said. Of those sent for treatment, 33 had returned home as of 2:00pm on Saturday, it added. A total of 755 emergency and medical personnel were dispatched to the site, with rescue efforts still ongoing Saturday afternoon, CCTV added. Survivor and injured miner Wang Yong told CCTV there was a “puff of smoke” and he smelled sulphur. He recalled seeing people choked by the smoke before he fainted. “I lay down for about an hour and woke up by myself. I called the people next to me and got out of the mine together,” Wang said, according to CCTV. Helmeted rescuers were carrying s...

BANNU: At least a dozen terrorists were killed while a man was martyred on Saturday as a fierce clash continued between a police peace committee and militants in the Barakzai Akhundkhel area in Miryan tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district. District Police Officer (DPO) Yasir Afridi confirmed to Dawn that 12 terrorists had been eliminated, while “one [individual] was martyred” and four policemen were injured during the police action. Bannu Medical Teaching Institution spokesperson Mohammad Noman Khattab said the martyr, along with four others injured, was brought to the District Headquarters Hospital. Police also confirmed that during the exchange of fire, a retired Federal Constabulary official was martyred, adding that four police personnel and a child were injured. According to police sources, despite intense firing, the police force displayed bravery and safely reached the police station, while additional personnel were called in to bring the situation fully under control. Local sources said that a...

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani urged support for efforts to de-escalate regional tensions during a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft splashed down into the Indian Ocean on Friday after the company performed a mostly successful test flight of the latest version of its enormous rocket. The voyage was not without a few glitches, but SpaceX employees shown on a livestream roared in delight following the trial flight that comes as the firm owned by Elon Musk prepares a potentially record initial public offering. The mammoth rocket blasted off into space at just after 5:30pm local time (2230 GMT). The company did not intend to recover the booster or the upper stage, and the final splashdown was fiery but controlled, as planned. “Splashdown confirmed!” the company wrote on X. SpaceX primarily aimed to demonstrate its redesigns in flight. The third-generation Starship spacecraft carried out a maneuver that saw it flip upright and reignite its engines for control, despite one being out of commission. It also deployed its 22 mock satellites, including two that attempted to photograph the spacecraft’s heat shield for anal...

LAHORE: An inquiry committee constituted by Nishtar Medical University has found nine doctors and hospital officials guilty of misconduct and violation of screening protocols in a case involving surgery on a patient who was later found to be HIV-positive, prompting disciplinary action by the Punjab government. According to the inquiry report sent by Nishtar Medical University’s vice chancellor to the Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department on May 22, disciplinary proceedings were recommended against the officials under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability (Peeda) Act 2006. Acting on the inquiry findings, the Punjab health department suspended Senior Registrar (surgery) Dr Fariha Ahmed and Staff Nurse Rida Zahra. Dr Shahbaz Anwar, Medical Officer Dr Mohammad Ali Jan and Dr Muhammad Naeem Akhtar were also suspended with immediate effect over incompetence and mismanagement. In addition, the government suspended the FCPS Chemical Pathology training of Dr Sania Saee...

Pakistan has intensified screening measures at airports across the country, along with other precautionary steps, amid the recent Ebola virus outbreak in Africa, the health ministry said on Saturday. In a handout, the minister said Health Minister Mustafa Kamal had directed authorities to implement precautionary screening protocols at all airports to prevent the possible spread of the virus. The spread of the recent Ebola virus outbreak is limited to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, and the risk to Pakistan is extremely low due to limited travel links with the affected countries, the health ministry said. The ministry added that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) office in Pakistan were continuously monitoring the situation. The ministry directed all provinces and the Border Health Services to remain on alert. The ministry also noted that Pakistan possessed the capacity to diagnose Ebola and said directives had been issued to ensure all necessar...

The Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday said it had arrested 13 suspected terrorists during 58 intelligence-based operations conducted across multiple cities of the province amid heightened security concerns.

ISLAMABAD/Tehran/WASHINGTON - Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), HJ, arrived in Tehran as part of ongoing mediation efforts on Friday.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has completed its pre-Hajj flight operation after transporting more than 53,000 pilgrims to the holy cities through 210 flights this year, according to a PIA spokesperson.

Summer vacations have been announced for educational institutions across the province by the Elementary and Secondary Education Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

PM Shehbaz to meet President Xi, counterpart during four-day China visit ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will undertake a four-day official visit to China from Saturday (today).