ISLAMABAD: The president has set Jan. 24, 2026, as the date for elections in Gilgit-Baltistan, the strategically vital northern region bordering China and India, marking the first vote there since a turbulent five-year term that saw a chief minister disqualified and a coalition government take power.
top-people
Pakistan summons Norwegian ambassador over court attendance of rights activist
ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministry summoned Norway’s ambassador on Thursday and accused him of breaching diplomatic protocol by attending a Supreme Court hearing involving a prominent human rights activist and her husband, who face charges over controversial social media posts.
Top court stays proceedings against right activist Mazari, husband in cybercrime case
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday halted trial proceedings against the human rights activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, in a case involving controversial social media posts, pending the outcome of their appeals in the Islamabad High Court.
Top court to hear urgent plea from rights lawyer facing cybercrime trial
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan is set to hear an urgent plea on Thursday from human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, who is seeking to halt her ongoing trial in a high-profile case involving controversial social media posts that allegedly incited linguistic divisions and portrayed the armed forces as engaged in terrorism.
Islamabad High Court allows petition questioning judge’s law degree to proceed
ISLAMABAD The Islamabad High Court ruled Tuesday that a petition challenging the legitimacy of a sitting judge’s law degree is maintainable, ordering the judge to respond within three days and clearing the way for a potentially explosive judicial inquiry into whether he lawfully holds office.
ADB says over 80pc of Pakistanis lack safe drinking water; per capita supply falls to two-thirds
ISLAMABAD: More than 80% of Pakistan’s population lacks access to safe drinking water, exacerbating waterborne diseases and straining resources amid rapid population growth, climate change and poor management, the Asian Development Bank said in a report released on Monday.
ECP says it cannot recognise Gohar Khan as PTI chairman as intra-party polls remain under court stay
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has refused to recognise Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as the chairman of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, citing a pending legal dispute over the group’s internal elections that has left its leadership in limbo.
Pakistan rebukes Jaishankar over “inflammatory” remarks on military
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Sunday sharply condemned remarks by India’s external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, accusing him of making “highly inflammatory, baseless and irresponsible” statements about the country’s armed forces and labeling them “misleading.”
Security forces kill 14 militants in KP and Balochistan, military says
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 14 militants in three separate operations across the restive provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the military said on Saturday, as the government vowed to press ahead with a broad counterterrorism campaign amid a surge in attacks.
Military restructuring complete as Munir takes dual command
ISLAMABAD, The Ministry of Defence on Friday officially notified the appointment of Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir as the country’s first chief of defense forces, consolidating operational, administrative and strategic authority over the armed services in a single office and completing the most sweeping military restructuring since the 1970s.