Pakistan

This summer has brought on a nightmare for students across Pakistan and a PR bloodbath for the Cambridge examinations board. Its Mathematics paper leaked hours before hundreds of thousands of teenagers were supposed to attempt it across the country on April 29. The memes were eviscerating: Next time, print out the leaked .pdf and when the invigilator hands you the question paper, say, ‘It’s OK, I’ve brought my own’. In truth, though, no one was laughing. “It was a bit of doom and gloom,” said Lahore student Hamza Nasir*, describing the mood outside the hall after his AS Level Mathematics P1 exam. Some students who had no idea about the leak were livid and others were celebrating its veracity. This is the third time leaks have ruined exam season. Each year, in May-June and November, Pakistani students sit for the Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) exams in subjects that range from English Literature to Islamiyat. Grades 10 and 11 prepare for the Ordinary or O Levels and grades 12 and 13 sit th...

The National Disaster Management Authority, through its National Emergencies Operation Center, issued a weather advisory warning of rain, thunderstorms, and possible hailstorms in several regions of Pakistan during the next 12 to 24 hours.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with a delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan led by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui to discuss federal budget proposals and development matters related to Sindh and Karachi.

Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf strongly criticised the spread of unverified allegations after a woman accused in a drug-related case allegedly linked his name to the matter.

Legal proceedings involving former prime minister Imran Khan witnessed a new development after his counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar, reportedly developed an eye-related medical condition and sought relief from the immediate pursuit of ongoing appeal cases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday said the risk of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) deadly Ebola outbreak was currently high at the national and regional levels but low worldwide. WHO experts said that while investigations into its origins were ongoing, given the scale of the situation in the eastern DRC, the outbreak probably began a couple of months ago. But the UN health agency’s emergency committee said it did not currently meet the pandemic emergency threshold. “WHO assesses the risk of the epidemic as high at the national and regional levels, and low at the global level,” said the organisation’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. So far, 51 cases have been confirmed in the DRC, in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, “although we know the scale of the epidemic in DRC is much larger,” he told a press conference at the WHO’s headquarters in Geneva. He said Uganda had also reported two confirmed cases in the capital Kampala, including one death, while a US national working i...

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday reacted to alleged drug baroness Anmol alias Pinky purportedly naming him as a client, saying that he had led a “spotless life”. A recent video of the suspect during a court appearance had gone viral on social media, in which she can be heard saying the name “Raja Pervez”, before her voice is drowned out by the police officials accompanying her. However, a separate video has also emerged, in which her lawyer allegedly told reporters that she was being pressured into taking the names of certain politicians. It is worth mentioning that on May 18, during a court appearance, the suspect asserted she was facing pressure “to take names”. Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Wednesday, Ashraf recalled the video in which he was purportedly named. “However, after 30 minutes, her lawyers, in a separate clip, explained that she was being pressured to take my name,” he added. The PPP leader expressed surprise at having any associ...

The federal government on Wednesday announced a three-day public holiday from May 26-28 (Tuesday to Thursday) to mark Eidul Azha. According to a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, shared by state-run APP on the social media platform X, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared May 26 to 28 as “public holidays on the occasion of Eidul Azha”. Pakistan will observe Eidul Azha on May 27 (Wednesday), the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee announced after sighting the Zilhaj moon on Sunday. The announcement was made after moon sighting testimonies were received from Karachi and other cities of Sindh, Mardan, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and some other areas. Celebrated on the 10th of Zilhaj, Eidul Azha marks the culmination of Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam. Saudi Arabia is also set to mark the first day of Eidul Azha on May 27, Saudi Gazette reported.

The Pakis­tan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday maintained its renewed bullish momentum as the market gained over 1,900 points. The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,934.74 points or 1.19 per cent to close at 164,831.42 points from the previous close of 162,896.68. The market dipped to an intraday low of 162,895.74 shortly after opening, eventually reaching an intraday high of 165,081.69 at 3:20pm, gaining 2185 points from yesterday. Topline Securities Limited noted that “investor sentiment rebounded sharply” and that the market experienced significant intraday movement. “Improved market confidence was largely driven by easing tensions between Iran and the United States, alongside a decline in international oil prices,” it pointed out. The positive performance was mainly supported by heavyweight stocks, including Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL), Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited (FFC), United Bank Limited (UBL), Engro Holdings Limited (ENGROH), and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), which “collectively added 836 poin...

ISLAMABAD: After a sessions court on Tuesday sentenced Umar Hayat to death for the murder of 17-year-old social media influencer Sana Yousaf, the detailed order made public on Wednesday observed that the accused deserved “no leniency” as there were “no mitigating circumstances” in the case. Last year, Umar Hayat — son of a retired government official and a TikToker himself — was arrested a day after 17-year-old Yousaf was shot dead in her Islamabad house on June 2, 2025. The 23-year-old convict had confessed before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that he shot Yousaf. In his statement, he admitted developing a one-sided obsession with her after online interactions, and said jealousy and suspicion drove him to commit the crime. On Monday, he retracted the earlier confessional statement, but was found guilty and handed a death sentence on Tuesday. Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka, who announced the verdict a day earlier on May 19, noted in his 27-p...

China and Russia condemned United States President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defence shield plans and Washington’s “irresponsible” nuclear policy at a joint summit on Wednesday, a week after President Xi Jinping hosted Trump in Beijing. A statement from Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin said Trump’s plan for a ground- and space-based missile interceptor system posed a threat to global strategic stability. It also criticised the United States over the expiry of the last remaining treaty restricting the size of the US and Russian nuclear arsenals, which lapsed in February with Trump failing to respond to Moscow’s proposal to extend the limits by a year. Both sides jointly signed a statement on strengthening comprehensive strategic coordination and a declaration advocating multi-polarity in the world order. “The global agenda of peace and development is facing new risks and challenges, with the danger of fragmentation of the international community and a drift back toward the ‘law of the jungle’,”...

Pakistan and Azerbaijan have agreed to enhance cooperation across multiple sectors including trade, investment, urban development, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure and energy.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has arrived in Iran on what sources describe as a mission linked to efforts aimed at reviving Iran-US talks, according to reports.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday said Islamabad and Beijing shared a “converging vision” on regional and global matters. “Pakistan and China share a converging vision on regional and global issues,” said Dar while addressing the Senate. A Chinese delegation was present in the visitors’ gallery to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China. “We are committed to upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in a world facing complex challenges,” the foreign minister said. Dar stressed that cooperation between Pakistan and China at the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and other international forums had been “vital in defending the interests of developing countries and promoting global peace”. During his address, Dar said that he will be accompanying PM Shehbaz Sharif on his state visit to China from May 23 to 26, during which they will also attend celebrations marking the 75th anniversary...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took selfies at the Colosseum and admired the view over Rome ahead of talks focused on trade on Wednesday. In a video posted on X, Meloni also thanked Modi for bringing along a packet of “Melody” toffees on his visit, with the two seen laughing over the present — a play on their names. Wrapping up a tour of Europe, Modi landed in Rome on Tuesday for the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to Italy in 26 years. Modi previously visited Italy for a G20 meeting in 2021 and a G7 summit in 2024. In a joint opinion in Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily, the two said they wanted to “reach and exceed the €20 billion ($23bn) target for trade between Italy and India by 2029”. Particular sectors of interest would include defence, aerospace, car parts, clean technologies and textiles, they said. “We aim to forge a powerful synergy between Italian design, manufacturing excellence, and world-class supercomputers… and India’s rapid eco...

The Lahore Sessions Court on Wednesday confirmed the interim bail of YouTuber Rajab Butt in a case related to the alleged illegal promotion of an online gambling application.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) constitutional bench on Wednesday sought replies from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a petition challenging objections raised over a national identity card (NIC) application.

Israeli authorities have begun detaining hundreds of activists seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla at the southern port of Ashdod on Wednesday, a rights group said, after Israeli forces intercepted their vessels at sea. The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkiye last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month. Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while rights group Adalah said some had already arrived at Ashdod port and were being held there. “Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were forcefully abducted from international waters and taken into Israeli territory entirely against their will,” Adalah said. “These acts are a direct extension of Israel’s policies of collective punishment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.” The Israeli foreign ministry dismissed ...

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday issued notices on multiple applications seeking early hearing of sentence suspension pleas filed by human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chatha in the social media posts case. During the hearing, the couple’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqi, requested Justice Muhammad Azam Khan to fix the matter for Monday (May 25). Issuing notices, Justice Khan remarked, “Let us hear the other side as well.” At the same time, the judge observed that Monday would be the last working day before Eidul Azha and said the matter could not be fixed on that day. Siddiqi responded that if the other side sought an adjournment on Monday, his clients would not object. Justice Khan then remarked that the case would instead be fixed for the first working day after Eid, adding, “Now your fate is like this, what should I do?” Former president of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Riasat Ali Azad also requested the court to fix the matter for Monday, saying bo...

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that departmental proceedings against employees of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) can only be conducted under the special Efficiency and Discipline Rules framed in 1978, holding that the Civil Servants Efficiency and Discipline Rules 2020 do not automatically apply to FIA employees.