Pakistan

Islamabad police said on Friday that the statement of a teenage maid, who was reportedly severely tortured by a civil judge’s wife, had been recorded. A resident of Sargodha, the teenage girl was shifted to the Lahore General Hospital on Monday when her employers — a civil judge in Islamabad and his wife — were accused of torturing her. According to …

PESHAWAR / QUETTA / LAHORE: At least 10 people were killed in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday as monsoon rains wreaked havoc, triggering flash floods in hilly areas, inundating urban localities, and destroying mud houses across the country. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a red alert for the next three days, saying that a “vigorous monsoon activity” was …

The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday said it had arrested 17 suspects associated with defunct organisations during various intelligence-based operations (IBOs). According to an official statement by the CTD, officials conducted 132 IBOs in various parts of the province. During these operations, the CTD interrogated 134 suspects, resulting in the arrest of 17. The statement disclosed that two …

ISLAMABAD: Offeri­­ng an ‘apology of sorts’ for his remarks, Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said on Thursday that he would only say sorry on the condition that PTI members repented the alleged abusive lang-uage they had used for Maryam Nawaz and Faryal Talpur. Speaking on the floor of both Senate and National Assembly a couple of days after making the offensive …

LAHORE: Two clinics of Dr Zarqa Suharwardy – a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf senator who responded to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s objectionable remarks against the PTI lawmakers – were sealed by a team of Punjab health department after conducting a surprise raid in Lahore. A Punjab health department’s team conducted a surprise raid at the PTI Senator Dr Zarqa Suharwardy in Lahore …

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Thursday that China has rolled over a $2.4 billion loan to Islamabad for a period of two years, a boost to the country’s economy as it tries to build its foreign reserves after clinching a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Chinese Exim bank rolled over principal amounts totalling $2.4bn which are due …

LAHORE: Doctors say the test reports of the maid allegedly tortured by employers in Islamabad unveil some internal injuries, besides arm fracture. According to Lahore General Hospital Chief Executive Prof Dr Al-fareed Zafar, the second follow-up meeting of the board formed for the treatment of Rizwana, 15, examined her new medical reports. He said the board conducted a detailed physical …

ISLAMABAD: An environmental sample collected from Peshawar has tested positive for wild poliovirus. According to the Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health, the virus has been detected in a sewage sample collected from the Naray Khuwar site and is genetically linked to poliovirus in circulation in neighbouring Afghanistan. Federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel said the …

ISLAMABAD: Following vociferous opposition from allies and opposition alike to its plan to grant greater powers to the caretaker government, a diluted version of amendments which would allow the interim set-up to take major policy decisions regarding multilateral and bilateral projects was approved by parliament on Wednesday. It took the joint sitting three to four hours to pass these amendments. At one …

ISLAMABAD: Police on Wednesday claimed that the judge and his wife involved in alleged torture of a 13-year-old maid had gone into hiding, thus hindering the investigations. According to police officers, the police teams raided the judge’s residences in Islamabad and Lahore, but found both the houses locked. According to them, the police high-ups had not yet decided whether the …