Category: English

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to accelerate preparations for local government elections and strengthen the party’s organisational activities across the province. The directives were issued during a meeting of the PML-N’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa parliamentary party, chaired by the prime minister in Islamabad, where participants reviewed the province’s security and political situation. According to sources, PM Shehbaz briefed party lawmakers on the reasons behind the proposed imposition of governor’s rule and the enforcement of an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting…

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Pakistan’s power sector circular debt has reached Rs1.675 trillion, while capacity payments to electricity producers rose to Rs1.711 trillion in the fiscal year 2025-26, according to written replies submitted to the National Assembly. Energy Minister Awais Leghari informed the House on Thursday that capacity payments stood at Rs1.672 trillion in FY2024-25 before increasing to Rs1.711 trillion in the following fiscal year. The government attributed the circular debt to high transmission and distribution losses, low bill recoveries by power distribution companies and financial costs. The National Assembly was also informed that…

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Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday criticised Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in the Senate, calling his recent statements inappropriate. JUI-F senators created a ruckus in the House during his speech. Speaking in the upper house, Naqvi said Fazlur Rehman had made unsuitable remarks about the state and its institutions. “I used to respect Maulana Fazlur Rehman a great deal, but now there is no room left for respect,” he said. He added: “For him, the state is a mother only as long as he keeps getting something…

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The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday questioned the police investigation into the murder of Hina Javed, as her family expressed serious dissatisfaction with the handling of the high-profile case. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi assured the committee that a fresh inquiry would be conducted to address the family’s concerns, adding that a senior Punjab police officer would lead the investigation. The meeting in Rawalpindi heard a briefing from police officials on the progress of the investigation. However, the victim’s family challenged the findings presented by investigators, while committee…

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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has claimed that three oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while attempting to pass through an ‘unauthorised route’ south of the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC Navy said the vessels had ignored warnings, switched off their radar and navigation systems and attempted to leave through the restricted route. The tankers were subsequently abandoned off the southern coast of the strategic waterway, according to the statement. The IRGC Navy warned that unauthorised routes through the strait were mined…

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Rescuers picked through mangled carriages on Thursday in a grim search ​for victims of Spain’s second fatal high-speed train crash this year, as the death toll rose to 69 and hopes of finding further survivors faded. After ‌cranes worked through the night to lift parts of the wreckage of Wednesday’s crash, emergency workers were seen carrying what appeared to be a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains in the central Spanish province of Toledo. Regional leader Emiliano Garcia-Page said the death toll had risen to 69…

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday approved plans to expand Lahore and Karachi airports, directing authorities to complete the projects within the set timeframe. The development came during a meeting held in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Shehbaz regarding the improvement of services at Pakistani airports. The meeting was briefed on the expansion projects of Karachi and Lahore airports, besides upgradation of various airports and ongoing development works by the Civil Aviation Authority across the country. The meeting was briefed on the master plans of Lahore and Karachi airports and…

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Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has rejected JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s criticism over a recent meeting in Tehran, saying Field Marshal Asim Munir went to help pave the way for regional peace, not to negotiate a defence agreement. Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, Asif said that Pakistan’s defence was neither discussed nor was a defence pact under consideration at the meeting, adding that his participation was therefore unnecessary. Fazlur Rehman had criticised the defence minister in the assembly a day earlier, questioning his absence while a purported defence…

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Carpets still hang on the walls of Mohammad Dawood’s home in a northern Afghanistan village, and ornate mirrors still catch the light, relics of the years when a single poppy harvest could carry his family through the year. But the 28-year-old says ​he now spends his days bent over cotton and wheat in fields that barely provide a living. “We were doing well,” he said in an interview in his home in the Baba Yusuf village of Balkh province. “Now, my children ‌are malnourished.” In years gone by, Afghanistan’s poppy…

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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has removed the Pentagon’s top military planning officer as President Donald Trump weighs possible new strikes against Iran, CNN reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. Lt-Gen Brett Sylvia, director of strategy, plans and policy (J5) for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is leaving the position, a spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine confirmed. No reason was given for his departure, and it remains unclear who will replace him. The J5 office advises the chairman on military strategies, operational plans and policy…

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