ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday attributed the shelving of a planned visit by Afghanistan’s Taliban foreign minister to “procedural issues”, amid reports that the United States had blocked a UN exemption allowing him to travel due to sanctions.
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Shia groups call off protest march after government concessions on Arbaeen pilgrimage
KARACHI: Two prominent Shia organisations, the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and the Shia Ulema Council, have called off a planned protest march from Karachi to the Pakistan-Iran border following successful negotiations with the government over their pilgrimage to Iraq for the Arbaeen commemoration.
Pakistan braces for fresh monsoon rains amid flood fears
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is gearing up for another spell of monsoon rains from August 8 to 13, as the country struggles to recover from weeks of heavy showers and floods that have killed at least 303 people and injured more than 700.
Two killed in bomb attack on police vehicle in South Waziristan
ISLAMABAD: At least two people were killed and 14 others, including two policemen, were injured when a remotely detonated bomb targeted a police patrol vehicle in a bustling marketplace in Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal district on Thursday, officials said.
NAB sells Malik Riaz properties in plea bargain recovery
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday auctioned off one property owned by Malik Riaz, the controversial founder of Bahria Town, and received conditional bids for two others, totalling Rs2.27 billion ($7.94 million), as part of a long-awaited effort to recover “defrauded funds” from a 2019 court-approved plea bargain.
Cricketer Haider Ali suspended amid UK police rape investigation
LAHORE: Pakistan batsman Haider Ali has been provisionally suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following his arrest and ongoing criminal investigation by Greater Manchester Police in the UK over an alleged rape during the Pakistan A team’s tour of England, officials said on Thursday.
PM Sharif calls for national strategy to tackle population crisis
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday called for a national strategy to address rapid population growth, warning that without coordinated planning, rising numbers could strain resources and hinder economic development.
Heavy monsoon rains trigger floods, rescue operations in Punjab and Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: Heavy monsoon rains battered parts of Punjab and Islamabad over the past 24 hours, prompting rescue operations in the capital and a flood alert in riverine areas across the province, officials said on Wednesday.
PTI protests disqualification of lawmakers in National Assembly
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former prime minister Imran Khan staged a heated protest in the National Assembly on Wednesday over the disqualification of over a dozen of its lawmakers by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), following their convictions by anti-terrorism courts in Punjab for cases tied to the May 9 violence.
HRCP says authorities normalising enforced disappearances, kill-and-dump tactics in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) warned on Wednesday that enforced disappearances, and a raft of human rights abuses are driving public alienation and political instability in Balochistan, unveiling a damning report following a fact-finding mission to the restive province.