ISLAMABAD: The United Nations’ top refugee official in Afghanistan urged Pakistan on Friday to halt forced deportations and extend legal protections for vulnerable Afghans, warning that a surge in returns is overwhelming a nation already reeling from earthquakes and Taliban restrictions on humanitarian aid.
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PM Sharif seeks IMF relief on power bills as Pakistan reels from catastrophic floods
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the Finance Ministry to urgently negotiate a one-month electricity bill waiver with the International Monetary Fund for households battered by devastating floods that have killed hundreds, displaced millions, and ravaged crops across Punjab and Sindh.
Lawyers demand removal of IHC Chief Justice over sexist remarks to female lawyer
ISLAMABAD: Major lawyers’ associations in Pakistan demanded on Friday the ouster of Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar as chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, blasting his courtroom conduct as sexist and threatening toward a prominent female attorney.
Seven FC personnel slain, 13 wounded in militant ambush
ISLAMABAD: At least seven Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were killed and 13 others wounded on Thursday in a fierce gun battle with militants during a search and strike operation in the Sar Banda area of Maidan, security officials said.
Seven PTI senators resign from key committees on Imran Khan’s orders
ISLAMABAD: Seven senators from opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party resigned from their Senate standing committees on Thursday, acting on instructions from the party’s incarcerated founder, Imran Khan.
Islamabad court overturns ban on 27 YouTube channels in free speech case
ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday struck down a lower court’s order to block 27 YouTube channels, handing a significant victory to 11 petitioners, including prominent journalists and political commentators.
Floodwaters shift south in Pakistan, threatening Sindh as Punjab begins recovery
KARACHI: The flood authorities warned on Thursday that the Indus River is expected to reach “very high flood” levels at the Guddu Barrage in Sindh province within 48 hours, as massive volumes of water draining from devastated areas upstream in Punjab push southward, raising alarms for densely populated regions along the river’s lower reaches.
Torrential monsoon rains kill seven, displace hundreds in Karachi
KARACHI: Torrential monsoon rains have killed seven people and displaced over 300 in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, as swollen rivers overwhelmed the city’s strained drainage system, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams continued searching for three missing individuals amid forecasts of more rain.
Teenagers electrocuted, man drowns as monsoon depression dumps rain on Karachi
KARACHI: Three people died in rain-related accidents, including two teenagers electrocuted during downpours and a young man drowned in a swollen river, as intermittent showers lashed Karachi on Tuesday and meteorologists warned of urban flooding in Pakistan’s largest city amid a lingering monsoon depression.
Sindh braces for ‘super flood’ as Indus swells, threatens towns and farmland
KARACHI: The southern Sindh province braced for a potential “super flood” on Tuesday as surging waters from the swollen Indus River threatened to inundate towns, farmland and infrastructure, compounding a monsoon crisis that has already claimed 60 lives and displaced millions in the neighboring agricultural heartland of Punjab.