PESHAWAR: Security forces eliminated two “India-backed” terrorists after an attack on government offices in Balochistan’s Mastung district that killed a teenager and injured seven others on Tuesday. Terrorists in Balochistan, previously engaged in a low-level insurgency, have recently intensified their attacks. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) emerged as a key perpetrator of terrorist violence in Pakistan in 2024. “Two …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India exchanged the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody through diplomatic channels, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Tuesday. The exchange of lists took place in pursuance of the Agreement on Consular Access, 2008. The agreement requires both sides to share the lists of prisoners in each other’s custody on January 1 and July …

ISLAMABAD: Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) has offered students to resit exams in the November session free of charge if they were affected by any of the three exam papers leaked in the recent May/June session. The CIE board, which conducts O- and A-level exams, admitted last month that parts of its question papers for examinations in June had been leaked, …

PESHAWAR: Two traffic policemen were martyred as unidentified gunmen opened fire on them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district on Tuesday, according to police. “The traffic cops were on their way to Tajazai Adda for duty on motorcycles when they were fired at on Longkhel Road near Gulbaz Dehqan village,” read a statement by Lakki Marwat police spokesperson Shahid Hameed. …

LAHORE: A 4.4-magnitude earthquake jolted Lahore and other parts of Punjab on Tuesday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). The earthquake was recorded at 6:39am, with the epicentre 25 kilometres south-southwest of Lahore at a depth of 14 kilometres. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson, tremors were felt in Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura, Mureed and other districts …

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has given his assent to the Finance Act 2025 , which outlines the budget for the upcoming fiscal year with an outlay of Rs17.57 trillion, it emerged on Monday. According to a gazette notification dated June 29, the Finance Act 2025, as approved by the National Assembly, received the president’s assent on June 27. The …

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday welcomed the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague to issue a “supplemental award” in the Indus Waters case, urging India to resume the functioning of the Treaty, which it has held in abeyance since May. According to the PCA’s rules, a supplemental award is an additional ruling issued …

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday stressed that Pakistan’s current foreign policy’s focus is on geo-economics, calling for the reimagination of regional cooperation within South Asia. In recent months, Pakistan has increasingly sought to restore relations with neighbouring countries. On June 19, Pakistan, China and Bangladesh launched a trilateral cooperation mechanism, pledging to pursue “win-win …

ISLAMABAD: The government wants to reduce the electricity price for consumers across the country starting July 1, it emerged on Sunday. The federal government has filed a petition with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), requesting a Rs1.15 per unit reduction in the tariff. The change would be applicable to all but lifeline domestic consumers. The power division has …

PESHAWAR: At least 22 people died and 11 others were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in accidents related to rain, strong winds, flash floods and landslides since June 25, according to a report by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). Heavy rainfall and flash floods have wreaked havoc in the province while 18 people were swept away along the Swat River …