ISLAMABAD: Misinformation exploded across social media and seeped into mainstream reporting in the hours after a father-and-son duo inspired by Islamic State ideology carried out Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades, killing 15 people and wounding dozens at a Hanukkah celebration near Sydney’s Bondi Beach, complicating investigations and stoking ethnic tensions.
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Security forces kill 11 militants, lose soldier in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa operations
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed at least 11 suspected militants and lost one soldier in a series of operations across the restive northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday, as the military presses a broad counterinsurgency campaign amid a sharp rise in terrorist attacks.
Minister Chaudhry accuses PTI of using foreign firms to run social media propaganda
ISLAMABAD: A government minister accused the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Monday of hiring foreign companies to orchestrate paid social media campaigns, spreading what he described as selective narratives and propaganda through fake accounts operated from abroad.
Pakistan seeks GCC trade and capital as IMF-backed stabilisation takes hold
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is ditching its reliance on foreign aid in favor of deeper trade and investment ties, particularly with Gulf Cooperation Council nations, as the South Asian economy stabilises after a bruising period of high inflation and external pressures, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.
Punjab approves tougher policing laws to curb riots, mob violence
LAHORE: Punjab province, Pakistan’s most populous, is poised to establish a specialised police force to confront what officials describe as escalating threats from violent protests and mobs, after a legislative committee approved sweeping changes to the province’s policing laws on Monday.
Justice Jahangiri faces rare challenge to his qualifications before his own court
ISLAMABAD: A high court judge in Islamabad found himself in the unfamiliar position of defendant on Monday, standing before his own colleagues to defend the validity of his law degree and his right to sit on the bench, even as he challenged the panel’s authority to hear the case against him.
Punjab lawmakers advance strict limits on kite flying ahead of Basant revival
LAHORE: In a move to rein in the lethal hazards of the beloved but perilous Basant festival, a key committee in Punjab Province approved legislation on Monday that would impose a near-total ban on kite flying, allowing the activity only on designated days and in approved locations, with severe penalties for violations.
Security forces kill 13 Indian-backed militants in northwest Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed 13 militants affiliated with a banned terrorist group in two separate operations in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military announced on Sunday, amid a continuing surge in attacks that has plagued the region.
PTI calls UN jail findings evidence of political vendetta against Imran Khan
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party voiced deep alarm on Sunday over a United Nations report that accused authorities of subjecting former prime minister Imran Khan to conditions in prison that could amount to “inhuman or degrading treatment,” calling it evidence of a politically motivated vendetta and demanding immediate reforms to his detention.
Karachi police arrest eight in extortion crackdown on Sunni Tehreek chief’s residence
KARACHI: Police in Karachi arrested eight suspects accused of running an extortion network during a raid at the residence of Muhammad Sarwat Ejaz Qadri, the chairman of the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, a religious political party, officials said on Sunday.