PAKISTAN BREAKING NEWS

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) is planning a major commercial area in Zone III, which is otherwise a protected area where construction activities are prohibited, even for small houses on private land. The CDA, through a joint venture with the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), is…

• Murad says no compromise on Sindh’s geographical unity; House rejects proposals to alter provincial boundaries or create a new province or administrative units • Muttahida, JI walk out over exclusion of proposals on administrative units and devolution KARACHI: Amid a strong protest and boycott by…

THE Balochistan government has announced that future government employment will be made possible through an AI-based recruitment system managed by a dedicated unit. This method, it claims, will be transparent and based on merit. There is a general consensus in society regarding the fact that public…

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers on Th­­­­ursday expressed serious conc­ern over the persistent non-payment and delays in disbursement of salaries and other dues to media workers, directing that all outst­a­nding payments across the industry be cleared without further delay. They emphasised that employees…

Accidents are nurtured over years; they don’t happen just like that — Qabil Ajmeri MY last column on these pages was titled ‘ Collapse and consequences ’. I borrowed ‘collapse’ from the interior minister and added the consequences myself, illustrating the latter with the fast-unfolding HIV epidemic…

• Ahsan Iqbal calls for ‘economic reset’ to sustain strategic achievements • Ex-foreign minister says alliance safeguards sovereignty of all three states LAHORE: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan on Thursday described the Makkah Pact as an important…

WHILE diplomatic efforts are underway to restore dialogue with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, as the Foreign Office has pointed out , talks can only succeed when there is a firm commitment from Kabul to end support for terrorist groups based on Afghan soil. During a briefing on Wednesday, the FO…

The government on Thursday raised the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.84/litre and Rs2.28/litre, respectively. Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs349 per litre while HSD will cost Rs374.31 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and…

• High-speed diesel to be deregulated at a later stage • Ogra may be empowered to adjust diesel pricing without repeated cabinet approvals • Petroleum price stabilisation fund unlikely to be operationalised ISLAMABAD: The government is unlikely to operationalise the recently created Petroleum…

KARACHI: While recording testimony of victim’s business partner, the judicial commission formed to investigate the circumstances and possible negligence in the Mir Raza Ali murder case on Thursday expressed resentment towards him for attempting to mislead the commission and concealing facts about…

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers have expressed reservations over the powers of arrest contained in the proposed Wapda Security Force (WSF) Act 2026, which could allow its personnel to detain individuals within a 1km radius of any project or installation. During a meeting of the National Assembly Standing…

ISLAMABAD: Only five per cent of Pakistanis use ride-hailing services compared to around 20pc globally, while digital platforms account for less than 1pc of the country’s food sales, highlighting untapped potential of the digital mobility and delivery market. Speaking during a panel discussion,…

• Notes petitioner had already approached PHC over the same property and order • Seeks govt reply on petition against excluding Supreme Court in NAB matters ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has dismissed a constitutional petition challenging the se­­aling of a house in the federal…

Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur has resigned following a scandal in which he authorised the payment of €70 million to an Indian company for artillery shells, only to receive ammunition of defective quality, it emerged on Thursday. Britain’s The Telegraph reported on Monday that Datasel SRL…

FIFA has accused UEFA of a “smear campaign” and a “fishing expedition” after European football’s governing body asked US judges to force it to hand over documents related to its failed World Cup investor plan. Global soccer body FIFA’s divisive plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to investors,…

KARACHI: A 35-year-old woman was injured in an acid attack in Karachi’s Upper Gizri area on Thursday, police said. According to police, an unidentified person threw acid at the woman near Nasir Filter Plant in Upper Gizri, within the jurisdiction of Clifton police station, leaving her with burn…

The federal government and Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI) on Thursday agreed to constitute committees to recommend measures for reducing the petroleum levy and providing relief to the public. JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah…

ISLAMABAD: Loopholes in the system continue to fuel a crime wave, with illegally issued SIMs being used in a large number of fraudulent calls and fake banking messages. This was the grim picture presented to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control on Thursday, as…

WASHINGTON: The United States is extending the deployment of thousands of American troops and military assets across the Middle East into 2027, signalling Washington is preparing for a prolonged conflict with Iran. The deployment extensions, ordered by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, will affect US…

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday praised the courage of a nurse who saved an infant from a deadly fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) that killed 14 babies last week. The fire early last Wednesday drew shock and horror across the country with lawmakers in both houses…

ISLAMABAD: Traditional underground financial networks, including hawala and other similar service providers (HOSSPs), have become increasingly professionalised and are making greater use of virtual assets and fintech platforms to conceal billions of dollars in illicit wealth, according to a new…

Nepal will have to rebuild around 20,000 houses in flood-ravaged areas, authorities said on Thursday, as rescuers continued to search for workers trapped in tunnels linked to hydropower projects and thousands remain missing after last week’s catastrophe. A glacier collapse on August 26 sent a…

Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was held captive for three days after Pakistan shot down his MiG-21 fighter during Operation Swift Retort in February 2019, has retired from the force and joined a private airline as a commercial pilot, Indian broadcaster NDTV reported.…

A two-day international conference, ‘Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore’, held at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel, concluded on Thursday, with experts calling for food and nutritional security to be recognised as fundamental rights. The conference aimed to address Pakistan’s…

Security forces have killed 15 terrorists who were trying to infiltrate into Pakistan through its border with Afghanistan, the military’s media affairs wing said on Thursday. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the terrorists had tried to cross into…

MANDI BAHAUDDIN: A first information report (FIR) has been registered against unidentified assailants for the killing of a member of the Ahmadi community in Punjab’s Mandi Bahauddin district, police said on Thursday. The case was registered at the City Police Station on a complaint lodged by the…