Pakistan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has rejected the Ministry of Energy’s proposed marginal energy package aimed at providing surplus electricity to industries at reduced rates, sources revealed on Wednesday.

A cyber-espionage campaign centred on vulnerable versions of Microsoft’s server software now involves the deployment of ransomware, Microsoft said in a late Wednesday blog post. In the post, citing “expanded analysis and threat intelligence”, Microsoft said a group it dubs “Storm-2603” is using the vulnerability to seed the ransomware, which typically works by paralysing victims’ networks until a digital currency payment is made. The disclosure marks a potential escalation in the campaign, which has already hit at least 400 victims, according to Netherlands-based cybersecurity firm Eye Security. Unlike typical state-backed hacker campaigns, which are aimed at stealing data, ransomware can cause widespread disruption depending on where it lands. The figure of 400 victims represents a sharp rise from the 100 organisations catalogued over the weekend. Eye Security says the figure is likely an undercount. “There are many more, because not all attack vectors have left artefacts that we could scan for,” said Vaisha...

India has pushed hundreds of ethnic Bengali-speaking Muslims into Bangladesh without due process, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, accusing the government of flouting rules and fuelling bias on religious lines. The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on immigration — particularly from Muslim-majority Bangladesh — with top authorities referring to them as “termites” and “infiltrators”. Critics also accuse the government of sparking fear among India’s estimated 200 million Muslims, especially among speakers of Bengali, which is widely spoken in both eastern India and Bangladesh. HRW, a New York-based nonprofit, said that India forcibly expelled more than 1,500 Muslim men, women, and children to Bangladesh between May 7 and June 15, quoting Bangladeshi authorities. “India’s ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is fuelling discrimination by arbitrarily expelling Bengali Muslims from the country, including Indian citizens,” Elaine Pearson, Asia director ...

A powerful flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in the Khandus area of Skardu has caused widespread devastation, destroying homes, infrastructure, and leaving several people — including tourists — stranded across the region.

NEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a U-turn has decided to attend the Asian Cricket Council’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, the Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday. The ACC meeting taking place in Dhaka will decide the fate of this year’s Asia Cup, which India is scheduled to host in September. Sources within the BCCI have confirmed that the board has indeed decided to attend Thursday’s meeting virtually. “Yes, we have decided to attend the meeting virtually,” a BCCI source told the Hindustan Times on the condition of anonymity. Earlier, amid rising political tension between India and Bangladesh, the BCCI decided not to visit Dhaka and threatened to boycott the all-important AGM of the game’s Asian body. The meeting on Thursday is set to determine the status of the Asia Cup, which is supposed to be played in T20 format. If the tournament gets the go-ahead, it will most likely be played in the UAE, with India maintaining its hosting rights. Considering the fact that th...

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday directed Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar to review the encounters being carried out by the newly-created Crime Control Department (CCD). Earlier, in compliance with the court’s order, the police chief appeared before LHC Chief Justice Aalia Neelum in connection with a woman’s petition against the killing of her son in an alleged CCD encounter. A report submitted by the IGP stated that the suspect was being taken away after a recovery, when the police vehicle’s tyre punctured and his accomplices launched an attack. It said the suspect was killed by the firing of his own accomplices. The chief justice said the IGP was summoned after the SHO concerned failed to satisfy the court. She found the IGP’s report complete and satisfactory. However, the chief justice questioned, “Whenever there is firing on a police vehicle, how does the bullet directly hit a suspect? Why it never hits a constable or the police vehicle?” She mentioned that the LHC ...

• CJP-led bench slams petitioner for attacking wife’s ‘womanhood’; imposes Rs500,000 fine as demonstration of disapproval for his conduct • Rules that infertility, even if present, is no ground to deny woman dower or maintenance ISLAMABAD: The Supr­e­me Court on Wednesday denounced the distressing and sorrowful social practice of ‘weaponising’ infertility, or even the mere suspicion of it, against women. “This social prejudice routinely results in courts of law becoming venues for humiliating a woman under the guise of litigation,” regretted Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi. The CJP, who was part of a two-judge bench alongside Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, was remarking on a case filed by one Saleh Muhammad against a March 3, 2025, judgement of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), regarding a dispute over dower claims, dowry articles and maintenance of the respondent, Mehnaz Begum. “This court cannot but record in the strongest possible terms its disapproval of the manner in which the respondent — a...

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain met representatives of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and other key stakeholders from all provinces to review the current sugar market situation, pricing trends, and supply chain dynamics.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday signed an Early Harvest Programme (EHP) to reduce tariffs on eight agricultural items for one year, laying the foundation for a broader preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the two countries. The EHP, which takes effect on Aug 1, will remain in force for one year and is renewable. It also allows for the future inclusion of additional items, making it the first tangible step towards launching negotiations on a comprehensive PTA. The agreement was signed by Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary, Jawad Paul, and Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Mullah Ahmadullah Zahid, who was accompanied by a delegation of senior technical officials. The Afghan delegation arrived in Islamabad on Monday night to hold detailed negotiations with Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce. Under the agreement, tariffs on four Afghan agricultural exports to Pakistan — grapes, pomegranates, apples, and tomatoes — and four Pakistani exports to Afghanistan — mangoes, kinnows, b...

ISLAMABAD - A delegation of the Young Parliamentarians Forum (YPF) of the National Assembly, led by President YPF, Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, MNA, called on the Speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, Capt (Retd) Abdul Khaliq Khan Achakzai, in Quetta.

Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay $200 million to the US government after President Donald Trump threatened to pull federal funding over what he said was its unwillingness to protect Jewish students. In a sweeping deal that will restore the prestigious New York institution’s federal monies, Columbia has pledged to obey rules that bar it from taking race into consideration in admissions or hiring, among other concessions. “Columbia University has reached an agreement with the United States government to resolve multiple federal agency investigations into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws,” a statement said, adding that the $200m would be paid over three years. The university will also pay $21m to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it said. “Under today’s agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 will be reinstated and Columbia’s access to billions of dollars in current and fut...

KARACHI: While the passports of other Asian countries have emerged as the most powerful in the world, Pakistan’s travel document continues to be ranked among the ‘weakest’ in the world, with visa-free access available to only 32 destinations. According to the Henley Passport Index for 2025, Pakistan currently ranks 96th on the list — ahead of the war-torn nations of Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Although still quite low, the country’s ranking has improved slightly; in 2024, the Pakistani passport was tied with Yemen as the fourth-worst in the world for the fourth consecutive year. The Henley Passport Index compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations, and ranks all the world’s passports based on the number of destinations their holders can enter without a prior visa. Singapore, Japan and South Korea top the list; Afghanistan placed at the bottom If no visa is required, then that passport is given a score value of 1. The same applies if you can obtain a vis...

NDMA also warns of land sliding, increased water level in Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Kabul rivers Floodwater submerges low-lying areas near rivers triggering mass evacuations in Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan 250 tourists stranded on Babusar Highway rescued, another 15 still missing.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that improving tax system to increase national revenue and reduce tax burden on the common man is among the government’s top priorities.

QUETTA - An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Wednesday extended the physical remand of tribal leader Sardar Sherbaz for 10 more days in connection with the killing of a cou-ple who were shot dead ahead of Eidul Adha for so-called honour.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan yesterday reaffirmed commitment to multilateralism and peaceful dispute resolution during UN Security Council presidency.

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday undertook an extensive tour of flood-affected areas in Nankana Sahib and announced a wide range of relief and development initiatives during her two-and-a-half-hour visit to the city and its surrounding villages.

ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar Wednesday encouraged businessmen and investors to explore diverse investment opportunities in Pakistan with a view to leveraging the large consumer base, young population, growing digital economy, and advantageous geographic positioning towards mutually.

Islamabad - Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday termed poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy the root causes of terrorism and extremism.

ISLAMABAD - In a major diplomatic breakthrough on Wednesday, Pakistan and Bangladesh agreed in principle to grant visa-free entry to holders of diplomatic and official passports on Wednesday during a high-level meeting between Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Bangladesh’s Home Minister Lieutenant.