Pakistan

The Sindh government has declared a two-day public holiday on July 5 and 6, 2025, marking the 9th and 10th of Muharram, in observance of Ashura.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a law on Monday prohibiting individuals from wearing clothing in public places that covers their faces, joining a trend in several Central Asian countries to restrict forms of Islamic dress. The text of the law says clothing that “interferes with facial recognition” will be banned in public, with exemptions for medical purposes, in adverse weather conditions and at sporting and cultural events. The legislation, one in a series of wider amendments signed into law on Monday, does not explicitly mention religion or types of religious dress. Tokayev has previously praised the legislation as an opportunity to celebrate ethnic identity in Kazakhstan, a majority-Muslim country and former Soviet republic. “Rather than wearing face-concealing black robes, it’s much better to wear clothes in the national style,” he was quoted by Kazakh media as saying earlier this year. “Our national clothes vividly emphasise our ethnic identity, so we need to popularise them comprehensivel...

Paid over Rs11b to KMC and towns for repair works

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Grocery stores, general shops, franchises openly violate the ban

Victim, suspects acquaintances, go to same gym, hang out together

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Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova survived a stiff examination from promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala before finding her groove to triumph 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Tuesday. Czech Krejcikova, a shock winner as 31st seed last year and seeded 17th this time, came into the tournament short on form after a succession of injuries and initially had no answer to the confident, free-swinging Eala, who is the first woman from the Philippines to play at Wimbledon. Eala turned 20 in May and was making her first Wimbledon appearance, but she immediately looked at home in the daunting surroundings of the sport’s most iconic court. Krejcikova forced the first break in the third game; however, Eala hit straight back, swinging her lefty forehand freely and throwing in a beautifully disguised drop shot. She then upped the ante, holding confidently and breaking again as her two-fisted backhand came to the fore and, from 2-1 down with a break against, Eala reeled off four games in ...

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Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal sent English giants Manchester City crashing out of the Club World Cup on Monday, snatching a shock 4-3 victory in extra time in the biggest upset of the tournament so far. The match finished 2-2 at full-time but at the end of an eventful extra-time Marcos Leonardo grabbed the winner and pulled off one of the greatest wins in Middle Eastern football history. The Saudi club advances to the quarter-finals where they will face Brazilian club Fluminense, ensuring a non-European team will reach the last four. City had taken the lead in the ninth minute in controversial fashion, Bernardo Silva finishing after Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross. Al Hilal players protested that Ait-Nouri had controlled with his arm in the build-up but the goal stood. City had plenty of opportunities to extend their lead before the break but a combination of poor finishing and inspired goalkeeping from Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou kept the lead at a single goal. Al Hilal offered several reminders of their threat...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Iranian Embassy in Islamabad today and signed the condolence book to honour martyrs and injured Iranians during the recent Israeli aggression against Iran.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the National Disaster Management Authority to develop a coordinated programme with the provincial disaster management authorities to help prevent incidents like the recent Swat tragedy.

Pakistan witnessed a slight overall decline in militant violence during June 2025 despite several high-profile attacks, according to data released by an Islamabad-based think tank, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (Picss). The monthly security assessment shows there were a total of 78 militant attacks across the country in June, resulting in at least 100 fatalities, including 53 security personnel, 39 civilians, six militants, and two members of peace committees, the organisation said in a press statement. These attacks injured 189 people, comprising 126 security personnel and 63 civilians — marking an 8 per cent decrease in attacks, a 12pc drop in fatalities, and pc increase in injuries compared to May 2025. “In response to militant activities, Pakistani security forces intensified counterterrorism operations during the month,” the statement added. According to Picss, security forces killed 71 militants, while two security personnel and two civilians also lost their lives in operations la...

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Tuesday appointed the chief justices to the four high courts, a statement issued by the Supreme Court said. Per the statement, the JCP held four consecutive meetings to make a decision related to the appointments and, by a majority of its total membership in each meeting, opted to allow the acting chief justices to continue serving the top roles. Letters were subsequently issued to the prime minister’s principal secretary, informing the government about the nominations and requesting the forwarding of the same to the president for their appointment. The letters said that Justice Sarfraz Dogar was nominated as the new chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Justice Rozi Khan Barrech as the chief justice for the Balochistan High Court (BHC), Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah for the Peshawar High Court, and Justice Junaid Ghaffar for the Sindh High Court (SHC). Pre­sident Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday had already formally decla­red Justice Dogar the “senior-...

Pakistan has called for the internal reform of the UN’s counterterrorism architecture with a balanced and rights-based global framework. The country was appointed as the vice chair of the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) Counter-Terrorism Committee on June 4. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the appointment reaffirmed the international community’s trust in the country’s counterterrorism credentials. A press release issued today by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN said that speaking at the UN headquarters a day earlier, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said that the counterterrorism architecture should be capable of addressing Prolonged conflicts, while eliminating injustice, oppression and violations of international law under the pretext of counterterrorism, and ending conditions conducive to terrorism. “We must also clearly distinguish between terrorism and the legitimate struggle against foreign occupation and the right to self-determination,” he was qu...

Pakistan women’s left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal took the top spot in the International Cricket Council Women’s Twenty-20 International (T20I) Bowler Rankings once again, cricket’s governing body announced on Tuesday. Sadia was pivotal to Pakistan’s win in the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Lahore and was named in the team of the tournament for her nine scalps for an average of 16. “Pakistan spinner Sadia Iqbal remains at the top of the list for T20I bowlers, but it’s tight at the top with just 44 rating point separating the top 10 players,” the ICC statement said. The statement also said that England pacer Lauren Bell climbed two spots to a career-best place of fourth on the latest rankings. Today’s announcement follows her ranking in May, where she also reclaimed the top position in ICC Women’s T20I Bowler Rankings. Last year in the T20 World Cup, Sadia claimed three wickets for Pakistan as the Green Team beat Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in their opening encounter of that tournament. O...

Sahiwal police said on Tuesday they arrested three men in separate cases over the last 24 hours for allegedly sharing hate speech, blasphemous content and sectarian material on social media. The Punjab government had ordered a crackdown on hateful content on social media alongside stringent security measures, such as army deployment, as the country gears up to observe Ashura (Muharram 10) on July 6. “All suspects were arrested following the registration of three FIRs (first information reports),” Sahiwal District Police Officer (DPO) Rana Tahir said, referring to the three men booked in the past two days. “The police are maintaining zero tolerance to such incidents,” DPO Tahir asserted. “Our message to the youth is clear: they must exercise caution while using social media, especially in ways that could hurt sectarian beliefs or sacred symbols.” The police officer stressed the urgent need to educate young people about the responsible use of social media platforms. The arrests were made under sections 295-A (d...