Month: October 2026

Security forces killed a militant during an intelligence-based operation in the Minaz area of Balochistan’s Kech district after militants attempted to set up a roadblock while taking two women with them, security sources said on Thursday. The sources said troops pursued the fleeing militants, triggering an exchange of fire in which one militant was killed. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from his possession. Clearance operations are underway in the area to track down any other militants who may be present, the sources added. The operation was conducted as part of…

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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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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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An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi on Thursday sentenced lawyer and human rights activist Imaan Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chattha, to 10 years in prison each in a case involving the removal of security barriers and interference in official duties. ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra announced the verdict at Adiala Jail after the completion of the trial and legal proceedings. The court convicted the two under three separate legal provisions and also imposed fines on them. The case was registered against Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha on October…

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North ​Korea fired around 10 ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, as tensions run ‌high ahead of Pyongyang’s end-of-month deadline to activate propaganda loudspeakers along the heavily armed border. The short-range missiles were launched at around 12:30pm from around Wonsan on North Korea’s eastern coast and flew about 250 km, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. South Korea was strengthening surveillance and maintaining readiness for additional launches, while closely sharing information with ​the United States and Japan, it added.…

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The leader of a key Arab political party has offered to support an opposition-led Israeli government from outside the coalition to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as election results show no clear winner and Arab parties emerge as potential kingmakers. Yousef Jabareen of the Joint List said on Wednesday that his party would not join a government coalition under current circumstances, citing Israel’s war in Gaza, settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and other issues. “However, with the aim of bringing down this government, it would be possible for…

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Polling is underway for the Supreme Court Bar Association’s 2026-27 annual elections on Thursday, with voting delayed in Karachi as election officials await the arrival of polling agents. A total of 4,634 registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots at 13 polling stations across the country. Polling in Lahore and Karachi is scheduled to continue until 5pm, with a break at 1pm. The main contest for the presidency is between Syed Amjad Ali Shah of the Asma Jahangir Group, also known as the Independent Group, and Sardar Amanullah Khan…

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