Afghanistan’s rapidly advancing Taliban insurgents entered a western provincial capital, an official said on Friday, hours after they captured the country’s second and third largest cities in a lightning advance just weeks before America is set to end its longest war. The seizure of Kandahar and Herat marks the biggest prizes yet for the Taliban, who have taken 12 of Afghanistan’s 34 …

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee has expressed concern over reports that the names of a number of public figures have appeared on a “kill list” referred to by a former TTP spokesperson and The Guardian last week. The committee called upon the government to carry out an investigation. Shazia Marri, the committee’s chairperson, directed the interior secretary to have an early meeting with …

HARIPUR: A local court on Thursday sent a schoolgirl to the Darul Aman (shelter home) and her alleged kidnapper and his father to jail on remand. The police produced the girl before a judicial magistrate. She told the court that she had converted to Islam of her own free will before marrying Zulqarnain Zahid in a Swabi court without any …

PESHAWAR: The district administration intensified crackdown on violators of the Covid-19 precautions as 20 more died of the virus on Thursday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including 11 in Peshawar. Last time, the same number of deaths due to coronavirus was recorded in a single day on May 25 in the province. The province also recorded 682 new cases of the virus, …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court office has asked its staff members to furnish by Aug 15 their income and assets declaration from July 2020 to June 2021. According to an office memorandum dated June 29, the office of the Assistant Registrar Admini­stration had communicated to all the staff members, officers and officials of the apex court to submit their income and …

ISLAMABAD: As the country reported over 100 deaths caused by Covid-19 in a single day after a gap of almost three months, NCOC head Asad Umar said that the recent Azad Jammu and Kashmir general elections had acted as a super spreader for the coronavirus and that positivity rate had surged to 30pc in the region. While criticising the opposition …

ISLAMABAD: The third parliamentary year of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government ended on Thursday with a new precedent when the National Assembly gave vote of thanks to President Dr Arif Alvi for his address to a joint sitting of parliament even though no debate was held on the address. The NA session that started after about 45 minutes’ delay passed …

LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal says he will not endorse any amendment to the NAB law which favours suspects. “If any amendment to the NAB law favours suspects, it will be useless. Yes… if any amendment is aimed at eliminating corruption, improving the accountability process and building people’s confidence in this institution, it should be brought …

GUJAR KHAN: Two army officials were injured after a Mushshak aircraft, due to a technical failure, crash-landed in the fields of Chammala village near Jhelum on Thursday. The aircraft took off for a routine flight from Nakodar Airbase at 8:41am and crashed in the nearby village at 8:45am. Both pilots inside the aircraft, Captain Ahmed Shah and Captain Daniyal received …

ISLAMABAD: As the number of cases and the positivity rate increased gradually, 15 more localities of Islamabad along with a school were sealed to prevent further spread of the virus. In the district of Rawalpindi, 50 per cent of the population aged 18 years and above has been vaccinated against Covid-19 while a campaign is underway at the union council …