ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Tuesday formally nominated Mehmood Khan Achakzai, a veteran Pashtun nationalist and ally, to lead the opposition in the National Assembly, seeking to fill a key parliamentary post that has remained vacant for nearly five months amid the country’s deepening political standoff.
Politics
Pakistan to pilot pre-immigration checks for travellers to the UAE
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish a pre-immigration clearance system that would allow Pakistani travellers to complete border formalities at home before flying to the Gulf nation, effectively letting them bypass lengthy airport lines upon arrival and exit as if they were domestic passengers.
Three TTP militants killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa intelligence-led operation
ISLAMABAD: The counterterrorism forces killed three militants linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in an intelligence-based operation in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, officials said, as the country contends with a persistent wave of attacks that has claimed hundreds of lives in recent months.
Pakistan says four militants killed in Balochistan security operation
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed four militants accused of being sponsored by India during an intelligence-based operation in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, the military said on Tuesday, amid a broader surge in attacks that has strained the country’s efforts to contain terrorism.
Amid turmoil in Iran, Pakistani students and pilgrims begin heading home
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.
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.