RAWALPINDI: Commander of Royal Bahrain Naval Force Rear Admiral Mohammad Yousif Al Asam on Wednesday called on Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa here at GHQ and acknowledged the professionalism of Pakistan armed forces and vowed to enhance cooperation in various fields. During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation …

WASHINGTON: The group known as Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, “is based in Afghanistan, conducts operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is composed primarily of former members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan”, according to the latest US report on terrorism released this week. The US State Department’s annual report estimates that IS-K still has …

WASHINGTON: Authorities in India must stop targeting prominent Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez, a group of independent UN human rights experts said on Wednesday, while calling for his immediate release from detention. Mr Parvez has documented serious human rights violations in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including enforced disappearances and unlawful killings and has faced reprisals reportedly for sharing information with the …

WASHINGTON: The UN Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday unanimously adopted a US resolution, which Pakistan believes opens the door to providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan without violating UN sanctions on the Taliban. The resolution allowed the “payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources, and the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of such …

The United States on Wednesday authorised Pfizer Inc’s antiviral Covid-19 pill for people ages 12 and older at risk of severe illness, the first oral and at-home treatment as well as a new tool against the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Pfizer’s antiviral regimen, Paxlovid, was nearly 90 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths in patients at high risk of …

At least two people were killed and as many injured after a powerful explosion ripped through an Indian court building on Thursday, police said. Footage showed police officers carrying the injured out of the building and asking others to leave the premises after the explosion near a restroom of the judicial complex in Ludhiana, north of the capital New Delhi. …

A would-be suicide bomber was shot dead on Thursday outside Kabul’s main passport office, police said, as hundreds of Taliban fighters lined up for travel documents on a day reserved exclusively for their applications. “He was identified and killed at a checkpoint at the entrance,” Mobin Khan, spokesman for Kabul police, told AFP. There have been several attacks against Taliban fighters …

It was 2004 when a bear mauled Nenwang Konyak in the forest in Mon district, high up in the hills along India’s border with Myanmar. The men in his village, Oting, rescued him and carried him home. He survived, thanks to them, but was left with a jagged scar running down his face. When Nenwang heard that his village had …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday announced that the Association of Physicians of Pakistani-descent of North America (APPNA) would be given representation in the National Task Force on Health. The task force is led by the prime minister himself. Mr Khan also directed that a help desk be established in the Board of Investment to facilitate health professionals. He …

MUZAFFARABAD: A man accused of raping and subsequently impregnating his wife’s young niece some eight months ago in Jhelum Valley district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) was remanded by a judicial magistrate in police custody for two weeks on Wednesday. Manzar Hussain, station house officer (SHO) of City police in Hattian Bala, told Dawn that the 45 years old suspect was …