Pakistan

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The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has expressed serious reservations over the Pakistan Netball Federation’s (PNF) claim that the Pakistan Youth Girls Team secured “first position” in the Asian Youth Netball Championship 2025 and has directed the federation to submit a written explanation within three days, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Last week, Pakistan completed an extraordinary undefeated campaign to claim the Asian Youth Girls Netball Championship title, overpowering the Maldives 60-35 in the Plate Group (PG) final. Eleven teams were participating in the championship and had been divided into two groups: Group A (Gold Cup Division) with Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and India, while Group B (Plate Cup Division) had Chinese Taipei, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Maldives and Saudi Arabia. In an explanation letter issued by PSB on Sunday, reference was made to PNF’s letter, in which the federation claimed the team had secured first place. According to PSB, the claim was worded i...

The Indonesian government’s plans to issue new history books have sparked fears that mention of deadly riots in 1998 targeting mostly ethnic Chinese in the country will be scrubbed from the text. The 10-volume account was ordered by the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general accused of abducting activists in the unrest that preceded dictator Suharto’s fall, claims he denies. Scholars fear his government could use the exercise to rewrite history and cover up past abuses. Draft volume summaries and a chapter outline seen by AFP do not include any specific section on the 1998 violence. A summary of Suharto’s rule in the volume dedicated to him only mentions how “student demonstrations … became a factor” in his resignation. Indonesian riot policemen charge at a crowd of students from National University as they try to push their way out of their campus in Jakarta on May 6, 1998. — AFP/file “The writing was flawed since the beginning,” said Andi Achdian, historian at Jakarta’s National Univers...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rainfall in Rawalpindi from July 15 to August 31, prompting authorities to declare a flood emergency in the city amid fears of urban flooding.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday expelled five Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) for voting in favor of the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2024, in defiance of party policy.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will travel to Tianjin, China, tomorrow for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, state media outlet Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. The SCO is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and Iran. Their foreign ministers’ meeting was held as a precursor to the annual summit of its leaders set for the autumn. According to the report, the top diplomats from Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will also attend the event. “The upcoming Council of Heads of State will take place on August 31 and September 1 in Tianjin, China,” Radio Pakistan reported. “At the invitation of the Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Ishaq Dar will lead the Pakistan delegation to the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers,” the Foreign Office (FO) said. The ...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will lead Pakistan’s delegation at the three-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers, scheduled to begin tomorrow in Tianjin, China.

The government on Sunday decided to transform the Frontier Constabulary (FC) into a “nationwide federal force” and will operate in all provinces and territories, state broadcaster PTV reported. According to the FC’s website, the force is commanded by a senior police officer and headquartered in Peshawar. The force is administered and maintained by the federal government, which has the power to deploy the FC in any part of the country for “better protection and administration of those areas”. The report stated that the revamped force will be named the “Federal Constabulary” and empowered to function across all provinces, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. “Sources confirm that this transformation will be formalised through amendments to the Frontier Constabulary Act of 1915, which are expected to receive approval from the federal cabinet,” PTV reported. “Following the cabinet’s endorsement, a presidential ordinance will be issued to extend the jurisdiction of the FC across the entire count...

Pakistan’s Men’s Hockey U-18 Asia Cup dream came to an end as Japan won the final 3-0 on Sunday in Dazhou, China. The final score of the match was 3-0, with Japan’s Yuma Fujiwara scoring goals in the 22nd and 38th minutes of the game and Tatsuaki Yasui converting a penalty corner to score in the 49th minute. Pakistan had secured their place in the finals of the U-18 Asia Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Malaysia, maintaining an unbeaten streak in the tournament till the final. View this post on Instagram Both teams drew 3-3 in regular time, forcing the game to a penalty shootout, which Pakistan clinched 4-3. Before beating Malaysia, Pakistan had beaten hosts China 2-1 to qualify for the semi-final. They also defeated Bangladesh (6-3), Sri Lanka (9-0) and Hong Kong (8-0) during their campaign. Last month, New Zealand beat Pakistan 6-2 in the final of the FIH Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, retaining their title. Pakistan is also reviewing the security situation in India before taking a call on s...

The succession of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is a thorn in China-India relations, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said on Sunday, as India’s foreign minister prepares to visit China for the first time since deadly border clashes in 2020. Ahead of celebrations this month for his 90th birthday that were attended by senior Indian ministers, the head of Tibetan Buddhists riled China again by saying it had no role in his succession. Tibetans believe the soul of any senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated after his death, but China says the Dalai Lama’s succession will also have to be approved by its leaders. The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, and Indian foreign relations experts say his presence gives New Delhi leverage against China. Yu Jing, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, said on X that some people from strategic and academic communities in India had made “improper remarks” on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Yu...

Police have formed a special investigation team to probe the death of actor Humaira Asghar Ali, whose body was found in a Karachi apartment earlier this week, it emerged on Sunday. Humaira was laid to rest in the Model Town Q Block graveyard in Lahore on Friday following a sparsely-attended funeral, days after her body was discovered at her apartment in Karachi. An autopsy report by police surgeon Summaiya Syed, seen by Dawn.com, confirmed that the body was in an “advanced stage of decomposition” and at least eight months old. According to the notification dated July 11th, available with Dawn.com issued by South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mahzoor Ali, “A special team comprising of the following officers/officials is hereby constituted under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police Imran Ali Jagrani (Clifton Division Acting Superintendent of Police)”, to investigate Humaira’s death. The team will be headed by Defence Sub-Divisional Police Officer Aurangzaib Khattak with South Assistant Sup...

Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has been discharged from hospital, his office said on Sunday, after being admitted for fatigue following a picnic celebration for his 100th birthday. Mahathir, leader of the Southeast Asian nation for more than two decades, has a history of heart problems and has undergone bypass surgeries. He has been hospitalised repeatedly in recent years, most recently in October for a respiratory infection. He was under observation at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur for fatigue-related issues on Sunday, his office said. “Mahathir has been allowed home as of 4:45pm (1:45pm PKT),” it said in a statement. A physician who was a member of parliament until 2022, Mahathir drove himself on Sunday to the celebration, which also marked the 99th birthday of his wife, Hasmah Mohd Ali, a day earlier, local media reported. The reports said he cycled for an hour before appearing tired. His birthday was on Thursday. Mahathir was prime minister for 22 years until 2003. He ret...

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) representative hailed Pakistan’s “strong” economic reforms carried out under the lender’s $7 billion loan programme, the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) said on Sunday. Pakis­tan had secured a three-year aid package deal in July 2024. The programme, approved by the IMF two months later, is set to allow the country to “cement macroeconomic stability and create conditions for stronger, more inclusive and resilient growth”. IMF’s Resident Representative for Pakistan Mahir Binici noted that the country’s performance under the 2024 Extended Fund Facility (EFF) had been “strong so far”, according to a press release issued by the SDPI on its guest lecture in Islamabad. Binici termed the EFF’s successful first review — also encompassing agreement on the federal budget blueprint — by the IMF Executive Board in May as a key milestone. “Early policy measures have helped restore macroeconomic stability and rebuild investor confidence, despite persistent external challe...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Saturday called on state institutions to engage in dialogue with the PTI, but demanded that they hold themselves accountable. Gandapur and the PTI’s top leadership are on a visit to Lahore to formally launch a movement to seek the release of party founder Imran Khan and devise a strategy for its nationwide protest, which will reach its crescendo on August 5 — marking two years since the ex-premier was imprisoned. Since Imran’s incarceration in several cases, which he claims are politically motivated, his party’s relationship with the government and the establishment has turned exceedingly sour. The PTI has held several protests over the last year, most of which escalated into violence after facing state repression. Addressing a press conference flanked by PTI’s Punjab leadership, CM Gandapur said: “We have to correct our institutions ourselves. Come, sit together, own your mistakes and move forward.” He recalled that Imran, despite his wife also being imp...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sustained minor leg injuries during an Israeli strike that targeted a meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council during the war between both countries last month, the Fars News Agency reported. According to the report on Saturday, the missile attack occurred on June 17 as top Iranian leaders, including the heads of the three branches of government, were meeting in a secure lower level of a building in western Tehran. The strike involved six projectiles that hit the entrances and exits of the building, an approach similar to an assassination operation on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Fars said. Officials managed to evacuate using a pre-planned emergency hatch, the agency reported, noting that Pezeshkian was “injured during the evacuation but was able to exit safely”. The report also said Iranian authorities suspect a possible internal leak, citing the accuracy of the strike. Fars criticised Western and Israeli-affiliated media outlets for ignoring a “blatant ac...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority ((PDMA) on Sunday issued a warning for people downstream to stay away from the banks of the Indus River ahead of the Tarbela Dam’s spillways being opened. A PDMA alert issued today said the spillways would be opened at 2:30pm on Sunday, with the water level likely to reach 160,000 to 260,000 cusecs due to the release of water from the dam. It cautioned that flooding is likely in the Indus River and its tributaries and canals. “The PDMA directs the district administration to keep the local population alert,” the notification said, urging the public to avoid going near rivers and canals. It also cautioned parents that children should not go near canals. “Fishermen and livestock keepers should move to safer places,” the advisory said. Tourists and locals were urged to heed the advisory. “In case of any untoward situation, the public should call 1700,” the PDMA said. A similar warning was issued earlier this month, with sources telling Dawn that the sp...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Moscow his full support for its war in Ukraine during talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Pyongyang state media said on Sunday. Lavrov’s visit to North Korea was the latest in a series of high-profile trips by top Moscow officials as both countries deepen military and political ties amid Russia’s offensive against Kyiv. Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia’s Kursk region to oust Ukrainian forces and has also provided the Russian army with artillery shells and missiles. Moscow said Lavrov’s talks with Kim were held in a “warm comradely atmosphere”. Lavrov expressed “sincere gratitude to Pyongyang” for its role in Kursk and support of Russia’s operation, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. Moscow also said the two sides “agreed” that the West was to blame for “the growing tension” on the Korean peninsula. The ministry earlier posted a video on Telegram of the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug. It said the talks w...