Pakistan

KHYBER: A policeman was martyred when suspected militants opened fire at him in Landi Kotal, while a young Tirah resident was executed by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan affiliates in Bar Qambarkhel area of the valley on Sunday. An official at the Shah Kas police centre said unidentified militants gunned down constable, Aminullah in Sultankhel locality. Following the incident, he said …

KARACHI: Traffic authorities on Monday decided to close various key arteries for vehicular traffic for at least two hours on Tuesday (today) as part of security arrangements for the visiting Iranian president. The city commissioner had already announced a public holiday for today, but banks, stock exchange, offices of the federal government, Supreme Court, high court and district courts, etc will continue to …

ISLAMABAD: Just a day after by-elections were held across the country, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders alleged that intelligence and security agencies had played a role in rigging the polls. Saying that April 21 will be remembered as a “black day” in the history of Pakistan, the party urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to withhold the notifications of results and announced …

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Lahore on Tuesday morning and visited Allama Iqbal’s mausoleum, where he highlighted a “special connection” with the Pakistani people. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz received Raisi and his delegation at the Allama Iqbal International Airport on the second day of his three-day official visit. His visit is the first of its kind by any …

ISLAMABAD: A Saudi national was kidnapped from F-8 sector while the body of a woman was found in the jurisdiction of Industrial Area police station. According to the FIR registered with Margalla police station on April 18, Saudi diplomat Badar Al Haribi informed the police that a Saudi citizen, Hannan Abdullah, was kidnapped from F-8 sector in Islamabad. The diplomat …

ISLAMABAD: Comsats University Islamabad (CUI), which has been functioning under an interim arrangement, is embroiled in an alleged controversy as a clause of its statute was recently changed by the university syndicate headed by the rector who is working on a look-after basis. In July last year, following the acceptance of the resignation of rector Dr Mohammad T. Afzal, chancellor …

WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurang­zeb has stated that the process of privatising PIA will be finalised by the end of June or early July, with Islamabad airport potentially following suit shortly after. “The government has no business being in business,” the minister declared at a Saturday afternoon news briefing, explaining the government’s plan to divest from state-owned enterprises (SOEs). “We …

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: At least three people, including two Customs officials, were slain in an attack near Bannu Road late on Saturday, according to police. This was the second attack on Customs officials in Dera Ismail Khan in five days. A police spokesman said the Customs officials were travelling in a vehicle when armed assailants opened fire near Yarik Toll …

Iran and Pakistan have decided to increase the trade volume between the two countries to $10 billion, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday, adding that the existing volume was “not acceptable”. Raisi — who is currently on a three-day visit to Pakistan — made the remarks during a joint press conference alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after the two …

“National security” — a term abused so frequently by successive governments in Pakistan that it would be better off archived. Over the years, the term has been stripped of its true essence — devolved to an enervating level of widespread dismissal among many of us; mutated into an ugly weapon and spiked with alarmingly sweeping conditions. From the deepest recesses …