ISLAMABAD: As violent protests continued to grip Iran for a third week, leading to a fierce government crackdown and international condemnation, dozens of Pakistani students and pilgrims began streaming back home through a remote border crossing, officials said, showing the widening ripple effects of the unrest.
National
KP chief minister Afridi’s call for evidence on Afghan terrorism draws fierce backlash
ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday sharply rebuked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister, Sohail Afridi, for questioning whether Afghanistan’s territory was being used to launch terrorist attacks against Pakistan, accusing him of acting as a spokesman for Kabul and sowing doubt on national security matters at a time of surging violence.
Six policemen martyred in northwest Pakistan roadside bomb attack
PESHAWAR: An armored police vehicle was ripped apart by a roadside bomb in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Monday, killing six officers in one of the deadliest attacks on law enforcement in the region this month, officials said, as the government vowed to root out militant groups amid a surge in violence.
Islamabad rejects social media claims of US aircraft in Pakistan for Iran operations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday dismissed social media allegations that its territory was serving as a staging ground for potential American military action against Iran, labeling the claims as baseless propaganda aimed at entangling the country in escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Pakistan opens talks With Indonesia on sale of JF-17 jets and combat drones, report
ISLAMABAD: Indonesia’s defence minister met with Pakistan’s air force chief in Islamabad on Monday to explore a potential arms deal that could include the sale of dozens of combat jets and killer drones, signaling a push by both nations to bolster military cooperation, Reuters reported on Monday.
Coalition rift erupts in parliament over ordinance dispute, PPP stages walkout
ISLAMABAD: A simmering rift between ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and its coalition partner, the Pakistan Peoples Party, burst into the open on Monday in the National Assembly, where accusations of constitutional overreach prompted a dramatic walkout and the eventual withdrawal of a contentious ordinance on special economic zones.
Two militants killed in intelligence raid in northwestern Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed two militants in an intelligence-driven operation in the restive northwestern region of Bannu on Monday, part of a broader push against insurgents that has intensified as the country grapples with a sharp rise in terrorist attacks.
Amid clashes and defiance, PTI rallies supporters in Karachi
KARACHI: Defying roadblocks and police clashes that marred the day, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister, Sohail Afridi, addressed a fervent crowd of hundreds near the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder on Sunday night, praising the people of Sindh for their support while lambasting the provincial government for what he called disrespect and oppression.
Forensic report links KP chief minister Afridi, PTI leaders to May 9 violence in Peshawar
LAHORE: A forensic report from a top laboratory in Punjab has confirmed the presence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister and several top leaders of opposition Tahreek-e-Insaf party at the scene of violent protests in Peshawar on May 9, 2023, escalating a long-simmering political showdown over accusations of orchestrated arson and vandalism against state property.
Opposition alliance calls for nationwide protests on election anniversary
LAHORE: The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), an opposition alliance led by veteran politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai, appealed to citizens across the country on Saturday to take to the streets on February 8, marking the second anniversary of the 2024 general elections, to oppose what it described as fascism, restore the Constitution and safeguard national sovereignty.
