WASHINGTON: A US government panel renewed calls on Monday to blacklist India over religious freedom and remove the waivers that allow Pakistan to evade consequences of such a designation. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan panel with a congressional mandate, designated 15 nations as countries of particular concern (CPC) in its 2023 report. Besides India and Pakistan, the …

KOUFROUN: On donkeys or horses, by cart or by foot, hundreds of Sudanese, most of them women and children, each day cross a small, dry stream to find safety in neighbouring Chad. As of Monday, at least 20,000 people had found refuge at a makeshift camp in the Chadian border village of Koufroun, according to the United Nations refugee agency …

The Afghan Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that the Taliban administration’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi was scheduled to visit Pakistan by the end of this week. However, the date of the visit was not specified in the statement. “The foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate Afghanistan Maulvi Amir Khan Mutaqqi is scheduled to visit Islamabad by the end of …

Australia banned recreational vaping and tightened other aspects of e-cigarette laws on Tuesday in the biggest crackdown on the tobacco industry in more than a decade to try to stop an alarming rise in teenage vaping. The government aims to ban all disposable vapes, which often come in fruity flavours, ban the import of non-prescription vapes and limit nicotine levels, …

A Palestinian hunger striker died in Israeli custody on Tuesday, nearly three months after being detained over his ties to the Islamic Jihad group, drawing Arab condemnation of Israel and rocket fire from Gaza. The death of Khader Adnan was swiftly followed by three rockets fired by Gaza fighters, which “fell in open areas”, the Israeli army alleged. It reported …

TAXILA: A Facebook page which belongs to the district monitoring office (Attock) was hacked by anonymous hackers as a result of a cyber-attack and pornographic content was uploaded on it. Social media users as well as government employees working in various departments of Attock especially teachers were faced with an embarrassing situation when they found inappropriate content on the official …

MUZAFFARABAD: Officials in Neelum valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Monday lost hope of any survivals as none of the eight missing persons could be retrieved from Neelum River despite hectic efforts by the rescuers throughout the day. “It has been almost 24 hours and we have not been able to fish out even a single missing person. …

LAHORE / RAWALPINDI: After two senior members of the federal cabinet went public with their opposition to the government’s talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Mon­day demanded a “clear response” from the ruling coalition and warned of taking to the streets if negotiations ended up being an “exercise in futility”. The warning from the …

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz on Monday alleged that a ‘new judicial establishment’ has come forward to rescue PTI chief Imran Khan, who is facing multiple cases across the country. “After Imran Khan’s long march (on Islamabad), Jail Bharo Tehreek, and other tactics failed, a new judicial establishment has come forward to his rescue,” the PML-N …

ISLAMABAD: Cracks have developed on a patch of the newly-built Margalla Avenue, which is yet to be formally inaugurated. The road from G.T. Road to D-12 has been opened for traffic, however, it is yet to be formally inaugurated as some work is still pending, including a 700-metre portion of the road. During a visit to the site, it was …