BY GLOBAL TIMES Hami, in eastern part of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has long been a key hub on the ancient Silk Road and is known as the “gateway to the Western Regions.” When Zhang Qian made his first diplomatic mission to the West in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD), Hami was an important stop. The …
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday announced that a temporary ceasefire has been agreed with Afghanistan for the next 48 hours amid recent border hostilities between the two countries. “A temporary ceasefire has been decided between the Pakistani government and the Afghan Taliban regime, with the mutual consent of both parties, for the next 48 hours from 6pm today, …
ISLAMABAD: Justice Ayesha Malik wondered on Wednesday whether Article 191A of the Constitution meant that a full court could no longer be formed as the Supreme Court’s (SC) Constitutional Bench (CB) heard petitions against the 26th Amendment. Article 191A was an addition to the Constitution made under the 26th Amendment to form constitutional benches in the Supreme Court to specifically …
RAWALPINDI: Security forces repulsed an attack by the Afghan Taliban along the Balochistan border on Wednesday, killing around 15 to 20 Afghan Taliban, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. According to a statement by the ISPR, Afghan Taliban “resorted to cowardly attack[s] at four locations in [the] Spin Boldak area” in the early hours of Wednesday. “The attack was effectively …
KARACHI: Police on Wednesday launched an operation to demolish hundreds of houses vacated by Afghans in Karachi’s Afghan Camp in the Sohrab Goth area to prevent “illegal occupation by rogue elements,” officials said. The land belongs to the Malir Development Authority (MDA). It comprises 3,117 houses, including those of 200 to 250 Pakistani families. Around 15,680 Afghan nationals were previously …
ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir called on President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidency on Wednesday, where both discussed internal and external security threats. The meeting comes in the wake of escalating border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with security forces repelling an attack by the Afghan Taliban along the Balochistan border this morning and …
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi administered the oath to PTI MPA Sohail Afridi as the province’s chief minister on Wednesday. Footage of the event showed throngs of people surrounding the two amid the ceremony. Afridi also held up a portrait of PTI founder Imran Khan during the event. After his oath-taking, PTI leader Asad Qaiser extended “heartfelt congratulations” …
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s space agency on Wednesday announced the upcoming launch of the country’s first hyperspectral satellite (HS-1) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China, scheduled for October 19. Hyperspectral imaging is a type of advanced camera technology used in satellites to study the Earth and space, according to a study published in the Journal of Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience. …
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking the annulment of Sohail Afridi’s election as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, who is set to be administered his oath by the provincial governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, later today. The petition, on which the court had reserved its verdict earlier today, was filed by JUI-F leader Maulana Lutfur …
RAWALPINDI: The military on Wednesday said that India was attempting to “mould history to its liking by inventing outlandish, Bollywood-style scripts” in the aftermath of the May conflict between the two countries. The May conflict between Pakistan and India was sparked by an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked with Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied …