Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: As the United Nations Satellite Centre’s imagery indicates an estimated eight million people still potentially exposed to floodwaters or living close to flooded areas, the latest UN report released on Tuesday said floodwaters still present in 11 districts of Sindh and two districts of Balochistan. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance’s report said floodwaters continued to recede in …

RAWALPINDI: To make Rawalpindi a smoking-free city, the district administration on Tuesday asked all civic bodies and the provincial departments to prepare plans within two weeks to enforce strict rules in public places. The decision was taken at a meeting of the District Tobacco Control Cell with Deputy Commissioner Shoaib Ali in the chair. Representatives from all district departments participated …

ISLAMABAD: After days of efforts, Health Secretary Mirza Nasiruddin Mashhood on Tuesday succeeded in convincing employees of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) to call off their strike againstMedical Teaching Institutions (MTI) law. Over 100,000 patients who intended to visit outpatient departments (OPDs) suffered and around 5,000 elective surgeries were postponed due to the strike which lasted 16 days. …

ISLAMABAD: A day after a verbal spat between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas in Mangla, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday accused Mr Ilyas of damaging the Kashmir cause to protect his business interests. Speaking at a press conference with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Azad Kashmir president and former …

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has sought explanations from authorities concerned about restrictions on women from offering prayers and visiting the main hall of Faisal Mosque. The president said that he believed that women should be allowed to pray in an enclosure in the main hall and visit the main hall to appreciate the architectural beauty of this magnificent mosque. …

PESHAWAR: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Syed Asim Munir on Tuesday reaffirmed the military’s resolve to continue fight against terrorism till the achievement of enduring peace and stability in the country. The reaffirmation has came in the wake of a recent uptick in terrorist attacks across the merged areas and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the outlawed …

The Punjab government has announced the closure of schools three days a week across Lahore in view of aggravated levels of smog. A notification to this effect was issued last night by the provincial government. “In compliance with the directions of honourable Lahore High Court, Lahore, in writ petition No. 227807/ 2018 vide order dated 02-12-2022, it is notified that …

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the government to constitute a new special joint investigation team (JIT) comprising intelligence officials to probe the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya. The apex court issued the directives while hearing the suo motu case on Sharif’s killing. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial said the JIT should include officials from …

ISLAMABAD: Former national security adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf on Monday emphasised that Pakistan must prepare itself to face the changing global geo-political and geo-economic situation. Speaking at a conference on theme, Geopolitical Conflicts: Implications for Pakistan’s Geo-economic, he said unipolarity is transforming into a new world order, which will make it difficult for Pakistan to escape its implication. The …

ISLAMABAD: The ministry of railways informed the Senate standing committee on railways that the ministry did not have funds to restore the 65km railway track from Peshawar to Torkham. However, the ministry was in negotiations with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for financing the project and the KP government had shown willingness to finance the track restoration, Ministry of Railways Secretary …