ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly descended into acrimony on Friday as the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) accused the coalition government of failing to deliver adequate aid to flood-stricken Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and staged a walkout over the disqualification of its lawmakers.
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Sindh evacuates 109,000 as floodwaters from Punjab move downstream
KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province have evacuated over 109,000 people from low-lying areas as severe flooding in eastern Punjab, triggered by torrential monsoon rains, swells rivers and threatens downstream regions, disaster officials said on Friday.
Sugar crisis fuels windfall profits for mills linked to Sharif, Zardari, Tareen families
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s political dynasties, including the Sharifs, Zardaris, and Jahangir Tareen, have reaped an estimated Rs300 billion in sugar mill profits since exports were permitted in 2024, official records show, wielding policy influence to shield the industry as half the mill owners hold government or parliamentary posts.
Top court justice decries ‘hybrid system’ as dictatorship, laments judiciary’s failures
KARACHI: Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah said Thursday that widespread references to a “hybrid system” in Pakistan amount to an admission of dictatorship, blaming a lack of constitutional governance for enabling elite capture to eclipse the rule of law.
Magnitude 5.9 quake rattles Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, no damage reported
ISLAMABAD: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan’s capital region and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday night, sending residents into the streets as tremors reverberated through Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and surrounding areas, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
Bandits kidnap 10 in retaliatory attack on Punjab highway, injuring three
RAHIM YAR KHAN: Bandits armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers ambushed vehicles on a major highway in southern Punjab province on Thursday morning, kidnapping 10 people and injuring three others in an attack that police said was retaliation for a drone strike on a criminal hideout a day earlier.
ECP postpones by-elections in flood-ravaged Punjab as rivers surge and evacuations escalate
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s election commission has postponed by-elections in nine constituencies in Punjab province, overwhelmed by catastrophic flooding that has left dozens dead, millions displaced and rescue efforts stretched thin across the region.
Lahore ATC grants bail to Imran Khan’s nephew in May 9 case
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Wednesday granted bail to Shahrez Khan, the nephew of former prime minister Imran Khan, in a case tied to the attack on a military official’s residence during violent riots in May 2023 that followed the opposition leader’s arrest.
Punjab braces for more flooding after India warns of high Sutlej, Tawi levels
LAHORE: Authorities issued fresh warnings Wednesday of potential flooding along key rivers in Punjab province after India alerted Islamabad to high water levels in the Sutlej and Tawi, even as a surge on the Chenab River threatened to inundate downstream districts already battered by weeks of monsoon deluges.
IHC Justice Sattar accuses Chief Justice Dogar of eroding judicial independence in rare public critique
ISLAMABAD: A judge on Islamabad High Court has issued a blistering critique of the court’s leadership, accusing Chief Justice Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar of eroding judicial independence, transparency and institutional norms in a letter that lays bare deep divisions within the judiciary.