ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned sessions of the National Assembly and Senate next week, where the government is expected to brief legislators on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir’s recent visit to the United States and the newly signed defence agreement with Saudi Arabia. According to a notification, in exercise of powers conferred by …
RAWALPINDI: Despite an objection from defence lawyers, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Rawalpindi on Saturday recorded the testimony of three more prosecution witnesses in a case against former prime minister Imran Khan related to violent protests outside the army headquarters, GHQ, on May 9, 2023. The court proceeded with the hearing irrespective of objections from Mr Khan’s legal team, who …
MUZAFFARABAD: Authorities staged flag marches across major towns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, flexing their muscles amid an uneasy calm as leaders of a civil society alliance pressed forward to mobilise support for a region-wide lockdown scheduled for Sept 29. The show of force by the government came as the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) escalated …
NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached London after concluding a week-long trip to the United States, where he headed a delegation to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly and met US President Donald Trump, describing their discussion as “very encouraging”. The formal bilateral interaction between the two leaders was held at the Oval Office and was closed …
ISLAMABAD: A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker carrying 27 crew members — among them 24 Pakistanis — was struck by an Israeli drone while docked at a Yemeni port earlier this month, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi revealed on Saturday. All Pakistani sailors on board the vessel remained unharmed, he added. The foreign ministry, meanwhile, stated that the vessel has already departed …
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to shut down 16 Afghan refugee camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, and Punjab as the repatriation of refugees continues. The federal government last month informed the provinces that the formal repatriation and deportation of over 1.3 million Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards will begin on September 1. The decision followed the interior …
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) has distanced itself from the controversy surrounding the supposed inclusion of columnist Shama Junejo in Pakistan’s delegation for a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting. On September 25, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had addressed a UNSC session on artificial intelligence. However, photos from his speech had spread like wildfire on social media platform X as …
NEW YORK: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Annalena Baerbock on Saturday and discussed key regional and international issues, including Palestine and UN reforms. The meeting occurred on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UNGA in New York. A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had addressed the …
NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has termed his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump as “very encouraging”. His came after the two leaders had their first formal bilateral interaction at the Oval Office in Washington on Thursday. During the meeting, they discussed regional security and cooperation along the lines of counter-terrorism, among other matters. The premier was accompanied …
LAHORE: A medium to low-level flood in the Sutlej River continues to wreak havoc across districts of Multan, Bahawalpur, and Lodhran, forcing thousands of their residents to remain displaced, many of them living in relief camps established along embankments for the past 16 days. The floodwater has submerged over 200 villages in Jalalpur Pirwala, Lodhran, and Uch Sharif, leading to …