Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court (Official Secrets Act) on Friday allowed former prime minister Imran Khan to make a telephone call to his children on Saturday (today). Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain passed the order on the application filed by Khan’s counsel, Shiraz Ranjha. Ranjha stated before the court that Mr Khan had already spoken to his children on the direction of …

PESHAWAR: The caretaker government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has asked the federal government for funds to ensure smooth voluntary repatriation of undocumented Afghan refugees, insisting that it’s facing a financial crisis. “Around Rs1 billion is estimated to be our expenditure for ensuring the smooth return of ‘illegal’ refugees to their country but as we’re facing financial issues, we need that amount …

ISLAMABAD: The station house officer (SHO) and administration officer of Shalimar police station were suspended for not returning the belongings of Afghan ‘illegal’ immigrants. Police sources said during an operation against ‘illegal’ immigrants in the capital, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) with the assistance of Shalimar police arrested 20 Afghans after they failed to produce valid documents on Wednesday. After the …

ISLAMABAD: The electronic media regulator has issued a directive to all satellite-based news, current affairs and regional channels for the upcoming general elections scheduled to be held on February 8 next year. As per the directive issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Friday, the channels cannot air statements of proscribed organisations or their representatives or members. …

A sessions court in Islamabad sent PTI leader Asad Qaiser on judicial remand on Saturday, a day after he was taken into custody in an alleged corruption case. The court directed investigators to complete legal proceedings against the former National Assembly speaker in a week. The PTI leader was arrested on Friday from the capital during a raid on his residence jointly …

Former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, who is currently a member of the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party, was arrested on Saturday, according to his wife. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Hiba Fawad said, “Fawad [has been] arrested and taken to [an] unknown place.”     His brother, Faisal Chaudhry, also confirmed the same to Dawn.com, alleging that the ex-federal minister was “kidnapped …

PESHAWAR/ QUETTA: As the voluntary repatriation of the illegal Afghan nationals continued on a third consecutive day after the expiry of the deadline, the government has opened six more holding areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to facilitate the repatriation. On the other hand, Afghan consul general Gul Hassan called on Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai in Quetta, where the latter minced no …

Nine terrorists were killed in a clearance operation after the Pakistan Army foiled a terrorist attack on the Mianwali Training Air Base of the Pakistan Air Force in the early hours of Saturday, the military’s media wing said. The development comes on the heels of a series of incidents that left at least 17 soldiers martyred in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed authorities to seal factories emitting smoke throughout the province as a measure to address increasing smog levels. The court’s directives come on the heels of its recent instructions to the Punjab caretaker government, seeking immediate actions to mitigate the hazardous air quality. Following the court orders, the provincial government had issued a statement stating: “The smog …

LAHORE: The Punjab government has detained some 600 illegal Afghan nationals after a due verification process and kept them at holding centres. A first batch of around 80 illegal Afghan nationals will be handed over to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police at Swabi interchange on Friday (today) for their consequent transportation to Torkham border. The Punjab government is preparing illegal Afghan …