The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has declared 185 housing societies and residential projects illegal in Islamabad. The CDA has updated the list of illegal housing societies on its website. According to the latest list, CDA has declared 24 residential projects and housing societies illegal in Zone I, 7 housing societies in Zone II, and 15 housing societies in Zone III …

President Dr Arif Alvi has sought a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja today [Wednesday] or tomorrow “to fix an appropriate date” for the general elections. The president assented to a premature dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9, shortly after former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif forwarded the summary. After that, general elections in the country …

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday asserted that under no circumstances would the country consider surrendering to terrorists as he renewed Pakistan’s resolve to continue its fight against extremism. The interim premier’s remarks come in the context of a skirmish with terrorists in the Asman Manza area of South Waziristan district where the military’s media wing had confirmed …

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan moved the apex court against the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday, levelling serious allegations of “deep and settled bias” on the high court’s chief justice. The former prime minister in the petition alleged that he is being held in Attock jail after being “convicted on a cooked up and fabricated charge after a …

The Supreme Court, while hearing the appeals of PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana case, has declared that the trial court’s decision in the case was incorrect in retrospect. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel heard the case. The CJP remarked …

The Indonesian Embassy in Islamabad hosted an event to celebrate Pakistani students who have won scholarships to study in Indonesia. The scholarships, which are part of the Dharmasiswa cultural exchange program, cover tuition, accommodation, and living expenses. In his speech at the event, Indonesian Ambassador, Adam Tugio, congratulated the students and said that Pakistan has the most students receiving these …

An audacious group of Afghan criminals brazenly kidnapped a businessman, his elderly mother, and accompanying individuals during broad daylight in F-10 Markaz, Islamabad. The incident took place at approximately 12:15 pm, leaving witnesses and locals stunned by the audacity of the criminals. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nasir Akbar said that the motive behind the abduction might be rooted in …

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan Reaza Amiri Moghaddam said that Pakistan and Iran’s bilateral relations have a resounding future and they have a great potential to achieve high goals in era of geo-economics. Speaking at Islamabad Policy Research Institute’s Distinguished Lecture Series, titled ‘Diplomatic Reflections’ under the theme of Iran-Pakistan Relations, Reaza Amiri urged upon to tap all the …

Four terrorists were killed and six soldiers embraced martyrdom in an exchange of fire on Tuesday in South Waziristan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. “On 22 August 2023, [a] fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists in general area Asman Manza, South Waziristan District,” the ISPR said. According to the military’s media wing, …

As the Sutlej River continues to experience severe flooding, the resulting devastation in adjacent villages had led to the migration of people from the affected areas while many others face the looming threat of being drowned out by the unsparing deluge. The flood water has reached 175,000 cusecs, breaching protective dykes, submerging numerous villages and disrupting transportation links. However, the …

Two wires of a chairlift car in Battagram’s Allai tehsil snapped on Tuesday morning leaving at least eight people, including schoolchildren and teachers stranded at over 2,000 metres mid-air. The children were headed to school when the incident occured at around 8am, according to Allai tehsil chairperson Mufti Gulamullah. Meanwhile, a notice issued by the provincial authorities later in the …

The Pakistani government has formally requested Saudi authorities to grant an exemption for elderly pilgrims from the mandatory biometric verification process. Interim Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Aneeq Ahmed praised the Saudi government’s commitment to providing top-notch facilities to Pakistani pilgrims. Speaking at a joint press conference alongside the Saudi Minister for Hajj and Umrah, Ahmed highlighted the historic and …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistani forces had arrested six suspected smugglers from Pakistani territory near the Indo-Pak border, said the military on Tuesday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan army, said in a statement that Pakistan Rangers, a force guarding the country’s eastern border with India, detained the smugglers from July 29 to Aug. 3, 2023. The ISPR …

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar visited Jaranwala on Monday to express solidarity with the victims of the Christian community, distributing cheques worth two million rupees each. A violent mob last week ransacked and torched several churches while also attacking the residences of members of the Christian community in Jaranwala. During the visit, the premier also examined the restoration and repair …

The Supreme Court’s (SC) Registrar Office refused to entertain on Monday a petition challenging ‘political victimisation’ and denial of ‘right to fair trial’ over rejected pre-arrest bail pleas of ousted prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan. A constitutional petition was filed before the top court on Imran’s behalf seeking relief in cases wherein his pre-arrest bail pleas were …

In a recent harrowing incident, a tourist lost his life after being shot repeatedly by bandits at Babusar Top. The tourist resisted robbery and the burglars opened fire and killed him in his car. According to the police, the tourist was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The victim has been identified as Professor Haji Rashid, a …

A special court in Islamabad granted Monday a four-day physical remand of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the request of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in relation to a case registered against him under Sections 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. Judge Abual Hasnat conducted the hearing today for the case registered against Qureshi …

Advocate Haider Majeed, a PTI lawyer, has been handed over to the military for trial over his alleged involvement in May 9 vandalism at Lahore’s Jinnah House, the Lahore High Court (LHC) was told on Monday. The development comes days after Barrister Hassaan Niazi, the nephew of PTI chief Imran Khan, was handed over to the military for trial on …

A day after President Dr Arif Alvi’s allegation that his staff “undermined his will and command” regarding his assent to the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act, the President’s Secretariat said the services of Secretary to President Waqar Ahmed were “no more required” and sought a replacement. “In view of the definite statement of yesterday, President’s Secretariat has …

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Sunday demanded President Arif Alvi’s resignation after the head of the state denied signing two crucial bills related to the army and secrets laws. In a startling turn of events, President Alvi said he did not sign the bills amending the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act …

A resident of the ill-fated Christian Colony in Jaranwala became a prime example of coexistence amidst the riots that erupted following blasphemy allegations against the minority community in the tehsil. Malik Khalil Irfan put his life on the line to protect his neighbour and sworn sister, Josephine, when their neighbourhood was being attacked by rioters and arsonists on August 16. …

In the first seven months of 2023, more than 450,000 Pakistanis left the country in search of better job opportunities abroad. According to data obtained from the Bureau of Emigration & Overseas Employment, 450,110 Pakistanis were registered for overseas employment in the first seven months of the current calendar year i.e. till July. A breakdown of the statistics shows that …

At least 18 passengers, including women and children, were killed and 14 injured in an accident on a motorway near Pindi Bhattian on Sunday morning. The injured and dead bodies were taken to a nearby public hospital. Only ten passengers were able to escape unhurt, taking advantage of the vehicle’s emergency exit. According to rescue workers, an electric short-circuit started …

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) former general secretary Asad Umar was arrested Sunday from his residence in Islamabad. According to sources, Umar was detained in connection with the cipher case. The former finance minister was taken into custody by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in the F-8 area of Islamabad. Umar has been taken into custody twice in the past three months, …

13 labourers were killed and two sustained injuries in a late night explosion in the Shawal area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, a police official said on Sunday. North Waziristan District Police Officer Naik Muhammad confirmed the death toll and said the incident took place in Shawal, near the Pak-Afghan border. The van in which the labourers were travelling …

The Islamabad Capital Police on Sunday said that human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and former lawmaker Ali Wazir were arrested “for investigation” hours after the activist posted on social media platform X that unidentified people were breaking into her home. “Islamabad Capital Police has arrested Ali Wazir and Imaan Mazari,” the police said on X (formerly Twitter). “Both suspects …

In a startling turn of events, President Arif Alvi said on Sunday that he did not sign the bills amending the Official Secrets Act and the Pakistan Army Act into law as he “disagreed with these laws”. He alleged that his staff “undermined” his will and command. In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Alvi said: “As …

The Supreme Court has declared drugs a threat to a peaceful society. In an important decision in a case related to drug peddling, the court described them as a threat to peace, and rejected an appeal against the life imprisonment of a criminal of drug trafficking. The SC also ruled that if evidence is available, technical hurdles should not be …

Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Saturday affirmed that next general elections would be conducted on time immediately after the completion of the delimitation process on the basis of new census. While talking to the media at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Senate chairman said that the PDM coalition government consisted of almost all the political parties …

In response to the turmoil caused by chaos on 10, 11, and 12 May 2023, Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) will be organizing a retake exam in October. The announcement, made by the government on Friday, aims to address the concerns of students and parents regarding unexpected grades in the A and AS-level exams of 2023. A crucial meeting was …

Pakistan’s three main reservoirs Mangla, Tarbela dams, and Chashma Barrage have reached their maximum capacity in a single day, marking a significant milestone. With this development occurring on 17 August, the combined water storage has soared to a remarkable 13.443 million acre-feet (MAF), fueling optimism for robust crop yields during the current Kharif and upcoming Rabi seasons. The Indus River …

The finance department of the Sindh government, on orders of the outgoing Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah, extended an act of goodwill. The chief secretariat employees were granted seven months’ worth of basic salaries. This was made possible through the release of over Rs. 200 million by the finance department of the Sindh government. CM Shah, during …

Imran Khan’s life is still in danger and he can be poisoned in Attock jail, his wife Bushra Bibi has said as she demanded better prison facilities for the incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister. In her letter to the Punjab home secretary on Saturday, the 49-year-old wife of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman wrote that the court had directed the …

Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that rescue efforts were under way after a flood “unprecedented in 35 years” was reported in the Sutlej river. According to the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD), the river is at an “extremely high flood level” at Ganda Singh Wala and will remain at this critical state. It said River Sutlej at …

Justice Qazi Faez Isa, senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court (SC), visited Faisalabad district’s Jaranwala tehsil on Saturday to inquire about the situation of the local Christian community after Wednesday’s riots over alleged blasphemy. On August 16, a mob targeted the Christian community ransacking and torching their churches and homes there leaving at least 19 churches and 86 homes …

The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday said it has arrested 13 alleged terrorists including “three key Daesh commanders” during an intelligence-based operation from different cities of the province. In a statement issued today, the CTD said the arrested suspects from Lahore, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Chinot, Qasor, Multan, and Mandi Bahauddin had intended to carry out terrorist activities. It …

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s new 12-member interim cabinet, comprising nine ministers and two advisers and a special assistant, was sworn in on Saturday. Governor Ghulam Ali administered the oath in a ceremony held at the Governor House. It was attended by KP caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan and others. The ministers include Syed Masud Shah, Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel, retired …

LAHORE: A Muslim cleric is among a dozen people being investigated for using mosque loudspeakers to order protests against alleged blasphemy which erupted into mob violence in Pakistan earlier this week, a senior police official said. More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalised when hundreds rampaged through a Christian neighbourhood in Jaranwala in Faisalabad, Punjab on Wednesday. …

Three brothers died and their four siblings were hospitalised on Friday after consuming poisonous mushrooms in the Alpuri tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district, according to officials and relatives. Dr Sajjad Khan, the deputy medical superintendent of Alpuri’s district headquarters hospital confirmed the cause of death of the two brothers to Dawn.com. Their father, Bakhshi Rehman, also confirmed the same …

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Friday “strongly condemned” the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to conduct fresh delimitation and “delay elections” beyond the constitutional limit of 90 days. On Thursday, the electoral watchdog released the schedule of delimitation for provincial and national constituencies. According to it, the ECP expects to complete the delimitation exercise by December 14. The …