WASHINGTON: The US State Department said on Thursday that Washington supports direct talks between India and Pakistan but will not tell them how to conduct those discussions. At the regular news briefing in Washington, spokesperson Matthew Miller also emphasised a strong counterterrorism partnership with Pakistan, stating that both countries are committed to maintaining this relationship. “We value our important relationships …

Former US president Donald Trump said he wants to grant green cards to foreign graduates from US colleges, in an apparent softening of his typically hard-line view on immigration, a key election issue. The Republican candidate made the remarks in a podcast published on Thursday, days after President Joe Biden announced a citizenship pathway for immigrants married to US nationals, counterbalancing his recent crackdown …

Stretching, arching his back and kneeling on a mat, India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi led hundreds of people performing yoga in India-held Kashmir on Friday. The exercises in Srinagar marked the 10th International Yoga Day, Modi’s own brainchild. But while yoga is not itself a religious practice, it has its origins in Hindu philosophy — the god Shiva …

ISLAMABAD: A request by the Islamabad police seeking possession of a vehicle — belonging to the Lahore High Court — to investigate its involvement in a two-year-old hit-and-run case has been denied by a judicial magistrate, who said the request made by the Khanna police was not justified. In 2022, a sports utility vehicle allegedly driven by the daughter of the Lahore …

ISLAMABAD: At least 377 election petitions challenging the outcomes of as many National and Provincial Assembly constituencies have been filed in 23 election tribunals appointed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), according to the post-election observation by the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen). According to Section 140 of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP appointed 17 tribunals — …

A man was killed by a mob over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in the Madyan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district on Thursday night, police said. Eight people were injured in the unrest, according to Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Zahidullah Khan. He said the police had moved the suspect of the alleged desecration incident to the …

PESHAWAR: National and provincial lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtun­khwa continued to forcibly enter grid stations and turn on power supply on Thursday even as the utility company warned such actions could seriously damage the transmission infrastructure. The provincial home and tribal affairs department has also directed district administrations to ens­ure no unscheduled loadshedding is carried out. This is the latest development in the row bet­ween …

ISLAMABAD: The purported differences bet­ween the PML-N and PPP on the budget for the upcoming fiscal year stood dissolved on Thursday after PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to assure him of his party’s support for the crucial finance bill. Sources told Dawn that the differences have fizzled out, with both sides agreeing to support each other and cooperate on …

ISLAMABAD: Refusing to suspend the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) May 29 pronouncement, the Supreme Court on Thursday sought the formation of a five-judge larger bench to settle the controversy over whether the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) or the high court should appoint tribunals to decide electoral disputes. The order was issued by a two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of …

QUETTA: Unknown armed men kidnapped at least 10 people, including a customs officer, from Shaban, a picnic point on the outskirts of the provincial capital, on Thursday. According to officials, a large number of people went to the Shaban area for picnic the other day, during which a group of armed men encircled the mountains and started checking the national …