Pakistan

A few days after concluding a three-day visit to Lahore aimed at launching Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) street movement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced on Thursday that he will travel to Karachi on January 9.

A meeting chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has decided to expand the scope of the Islamabad Safe City Project on modern lines.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi has reaffirmed the judiciary’s firm commitment to safeguarding fundamental rights, upholding the rule of law and ensuring the delivery of justice in a fair, impartial and timely manner.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reached a new milestone on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed the psychological barrier of 176,000 points, continuing its upward momentum in the New Year.

Pakistan and India have exchanged lists of their nuclear installations and facilities, as well as details of prisoners held in each other’s custody, in accordance with long-standing bilateral agreements.

Jawed Akhtar Odho, currently serving as Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police, has been appointed as the new Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh following the relinquishment of charge by Ghulam Nabi Memon.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr Yasmin Rashid has decided to approach the court against the Lahore election tribunal’s decision in the NA-130 constituency case.

KARACHI: At least 28 people were injured in celebratory aerial fire during New Year celebrations in the metropolis, Edhi said on Thursday. Incidents of aerial firing are a routine occurrence on occasions such as Independence Day and New Year’s Eve. Last year, over two dozen citizens were wounded in celebratory aerial firing According to the information given by Edhi, a total of 28 people were brought to hospitals across the city after suffering injuries from stray bullets, with the youngest victim being 11-years-old. Sixteen people were brought to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), including a 32-year-old man from North Nazimabad, a 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man from Mehmoodabad, a 24-year-old woman from Qayyumabad, and a 71-year-old man from Manzoor Colony. An 18-year-old man from Korangi, a 24-year-old man from Azam Town, a 55-year-old man and an 18-year-old man from Saddar were also brought to the hospital. A 33-year-old woman from Gulistan-i-Johar Block 2, a 43-year-old woman from Scheme ...

Zohran Mamdani, the young upstart of the US left, was sworn in early on Thursday to take over as New York mayor for a four-year term sure to see him cross swords with US President Donald Trump. The 34-year-old Democrat took his oath of office at an abandoned subway stop under City Hall just after midnight to take the helm of the United States’ largest city. He will be New York’s first Muslim mayor. His office said the understated venue beneath City Hall reflected his commitment to working people, after the 34-year-old Democrat campaigned on promises to address the soaring cost of living. NBC News reported that Mamdani took the oath with his hands on two copies of the Holy Quran — one belonging to his grandfather and the other from the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Centre for Research in Black Culture. View this post on Instagram “Happy New Year to New Yorkers, both inside this tunnel and above,” said Mamdani, standing beneath a vaulted ceiling with the words City Hall over his head. “This is truly an ho...

In his New Year’s message, Supreme Court Chief Justice Yahya Afridi has said that the judiciary will “pursue meaningful reforms” in 2026 in a bid to improve accessibility, reduce delay and strengthen transparency in the justice system. In a message posted on the Supreme Court’s website, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Afridi conveyed his greetings to the people, members of the judiciary and the legal fraternity on the new year. “In the coming year, the judiciary will pursue meaningful reforms aimed at improving accessibility, reducing delay, strengthening transparency, and responsibly leveraging technology in the service of justice,” he said. He said that the efforts would be guided by “a clear focus on outcomes that matter most to the public — timely decisions, understandable processes, and courts that are approachable and humane”. CJP Afridi maintained that it was the judiciary’s responsibility to “ensure that justice is not only done, but is seen to be done — fairly, impartially, and without delay“. “This ...

Intermittent rainfall continued in Islamabad and several parts of Punjab on Thursday, further intensifying cold weather conditions across the region.

After a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the two leaders envisioned an “exciting and promising future” for both countries. In a post on the social media platform X on Thursday morning, the premier echoed the statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) a day earlier. Calling it a “warm and most cordial telephone conversation”, PM Shehbaz said the two “reaffirmed our shared commitment to further strengthening the long-standing fraternal bonds between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have attained new heights in recent months”. “While expressing Pakistan’s complete solidarity with the kingdom, we also exchanged views on the regional situation, emphasising the need for unity within the Ummah and maintaining regional peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said. PM Shehbaz said he was “grateful” to the Saudi crown prince, who reaffirmed the kingdom’s desire to expand cooperation with Pakistan in all areas of mut...

The US military said Wednesday that eight people were killed in multiple new strikes on alleged drug boats, bringing the death toll in Washington’s campaign against what it says are narcotics traffickers to at least 115. US Southern Command, which is responsible for American forces operating in Central and South America, announced two sets of strikes, which were carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, “three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy” were targeted in “international waters,” it said in a statement on X. “Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement. The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels,” it said. Accompanying the statement, posted on X, was a video showing the vessels traveling together at sea and then hit by a series of explosions. The exact location of the strikes was not immediately made clear. Previous strike...

Following its successful rollout in Karachi East and Shaheed Benazirabad, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has extended its mobile-based union council registration facility to Larkana and Tando Muhammad Khan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has approved Rs3.

At least 28 people, including women and children, were injured in incidents of aerial firing across Karachi as New Year 2026 began, according to hospital and rescue officials.

NEW DELHI: India’s opposition Congress party said on Wedne­s­day it was concerned by Beijing’s claims on helping broker the India-Pakistan truce after the military flare-up in May and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify the issue. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that the conflict between India and Pakistan in May was among the contentious matters mediated by Beijing in 2025. India has repeatedly rejected claims made by US President Donald Trump that Washington had mediated the ceasefire. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has not reacted to the claim made by Mr Wang. But it has maintained that the ceasefire with Islamabad was not the result of mediation. The decision to stop the firing was taken after the Pakistani director general of military operations had called his Indian counterpart, New Delhi has said. “China’s claims of mediating betw­een India and Pakistan are concerning — not just because they contradict what has been told to the country’s people so far, but also because ...

ISLAMABAD: After the Punjab police dispersed protesters outside the Adiala jail in the small hours of Wednesday, the opposition alliance, led by the PTI, denounced the use of water cannons against the family members of ex-prime minister Imran Khan and other party supporters. This is the third time the police have used force to break up the sit-in outside the prison. Imran’s sisters Aleema Khan, Uzma Khan, and Noreen Niazi, besides scores of supporters, have been staging weekly protests outside the jail to demand a meeting with Mr Khan. TTAP says struggle to continue despite govt ‘heavy-handedness’ Videos shared by the PTI Punjab account on the social media platform X after 1am showed water cannons targeting protesters. “In the severe cold, an attack with water cannons was carried out on unarmed, peaceful children, women, and citizens,” the X post said. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan condemned the use of water cannons and the arrest of Imran’s sisters and other PTI wor...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded a significant drop in cross-border terrorist attacks and violence-linked fatalities after it closed down the border to Afghanistan on October 11. Terrorist attacks went down by almost 17 per cent in December, preceded by 9pc decline in November. Terrorist violence-linked fatalities among civilians and security officials also fell in the last quarter of 2025, by nearly 4pc and 19pc each in November and December, shows data collected by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) as part of its annual security report 2025. With an almost 34pc surge in overall violence, the year 2025 went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade, says the report. The country has suffered a sustained escalation in violence for five consecutive years since 2021, coinciding with the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan; with almost 38pc in 2021, over 15pc in 2022, 56pc in 2023, nearly 67pc in 2024, and 34pc in 2025. The comparative data for 2024 and 2025 reveals a sharp escal...

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called upon the people and political forces to recommit themselves to safeguarding the country amid global, domestic challenges and hailed the nation’s resilience and paid tribute to the country’s martyrs. In their separate New Year messages, they praised the nation’s resilience in the face of economic and security challenges. In his message, President Zardari urged the people and political forces to recommit themselves to safeguard the country’s shared future amid mounting global and domestic challenges. In his New Year message, PM Shehbaz hailed the nation’s resilience and paid tribute to its martyrs while pledging to accelerate economic reforms and uphold Pakistan’s role for global peace. Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2026