ISLAMABAD: Militant violence across the country intensified in August, with the number of terrorist attacks climbing 38 percent from the previous month, even as the human toll of that violence — the dead and the wounded — declined, according to new data from a security research group.
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Pakistan selector defends brutal mid-series overhaul after Afridi calls it ‘most shocking decision ever’
KARACHI: Pakistan’s chief selector has mounted a defiant defence of the cricket board’s decision to tear up its Test squad and coaching staff midway through the England series, insisting the wholesale changes were forced by a team that had simply stopped competing — even as the fallout threatened to consume the selection process itself.
Torrential rains paralyse twin cities, force school closures
ISLAMABAD: A punishing overnight deluge sent floodwaters surging through Pakistan’s twin cities on Tuesday, submerging roads, breaching sealed basements and pushing a critical drainage channel to its highest level in three years, prompting authorities to shutter schools and mobilise the army alongside emergency crews.
Pakistan court orders jail not to keep Imran Khan, wife in isolation
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court ruled on Tuesday that petitions alleging former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were being held in solitary confinement at Adiala jail could proceed, and ordered prison officials to ensure neither is kept in isolation going forward.
Lawmakers challenge Pims fire probe over missing footage, disputed infant count
ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers in both houses of the parliament pressed officials on Monday over gaps in the investigation into a nursery fire that killed 14 infants at a major Islamabad hospital, with committee members in the National Assembly and Senate raising pointed questions about incomplete surveillance footage, uncertain casualty figures, and the qualifications of hospital leadership.
IHC seeks govt response on social media age limits for children
ISLAMABAD: A senior judge on Monday ordered five government ministries and two regulatory bodies to explain, within two weeks, what they intend to do about children’s access to social media — the latest sign that Pakistan’s courts, not its parliament, have become the venue of choice for those pushing to rein in how minors use the internet.
Pakistan axes seven seniors in mass Test overhaul after England humiliation
LAHORE: Pakistan cricket has undergone a dramatic shake-up after the Pakistan Cricket Board released seven Test squad members, including senior figures Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha, following a chastening series defeat to England.
Volunteer climbers recover mountaineer Asma Mushtaq’s body 10 days after fatal descent from Spantik Peak
GILGIT: A team of volunteer climbers recovered the body of Pakistani mountaineer Asma Mushtaq on Monday, nearly 10 days after she died descending Spantik Peak in Gilgit-Baltistan, the Alpine Club of Pakistan said.
Supreme Court won’t fast-track Imran Khan contempt petition; Islamabad court says private care isn’t a prisoner’s right
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday rebuffed a second attempt by the sister of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan to accelerate contempt proceedings against government officials accused of defying a court order to move him to a private hospital, even as a separate court in the capital rejected pleas from three other inmates seeking the same treatment.
Second autopsy contradicts suicide finding in Mir Raza Ali’s death
KARACHI: A second post-mortem examination has found that the gunshot wound that killed a 25-year-old businessman in Karachi last month is inconsistent with suicide, contradicting the theory police pursued for weeks after his body was discovered — and reigniting a legal battle over who should investigate his death.