Page 32 - Pakistan

Pakistan orders Afghan nationals to leave by March 31 or face deportation

The Pakistan government has asked Afghan nationals living in Pakistan to leave the country by March 31, ARY News reported.According to ARY News, Pakistan's Ministry of Interior has asked Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to leave the country themselves otherwise, they will be deported from April 1,The Afghan nationals will be deported from April 1st, the ministry said in a statement.Earlier, reports of Pakistan planning to evict Afghans had emerge,d but this is the first the Interior Ministry has officially confirmed the development, ARY News reported"Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Program (IFRP) is being implemented since November 1, 2023. In continuation of the government's decision to repatriate all illegal foreigners, national leadership has now decided to also repatriate ACC holders," the interior ministry said in an official handout."All illegal foreigners and ACC holders are advised to leave the country voluntarily before March 31, 2025; thereafter, deportation will commence ..

Pak water authority asks farmers to brace for up to 35% water shortage

Pakistan's leading water regulator has warned that up to 35 per cent less water would be available for crops this season due to water shortage in the country's two main reservoirs. The warning comes as the staple food crop of wheat approaches its prime when it needs more water to bring more produce. The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) on Friday warned Punjab and Sindh the two major bread baskets to brace for up to 35 per cent water shortages in the last leg of the current crop season, with the Tarbela and Mangla dams rapidly approaching their dead levels. According to the Dawn newspaper, in a letter to irrigation secretaries, Isra told the four provinces that both reservoirs were close to their dead levels. There is the likelihood that provinces of Punjab and Sindh may face a shortfall of 30-35pc while operating the reservoirs on run-of-the-river mode at or around dead levels, wrote Irsa's Director of Regulation Khalid Idrees Rana. According to Irsa's latest data, Tarbela Da

Pakistan sets March 31 as deadline for Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave

The Pakistan government has set March 31 as the deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACCs) holders to leave Pakistan voluntarily as part of a plan to repatriate all illegal foreigners, according to an official document. The document, purportedly leaked to the media on Friday night, indicated that the ACC holders staying in Islamabad and Rawalpindi would be moved out and sent back to Afghanistan as part of a multiphase relocation plan for Afghan migrants, including those awaiting resettlement in third countries. The decision comes amidst deteriorating ties between Islamabad and Kabul over the issue of terrorism and it may impact over 800,000 documented Afghan refugees holding Afghan Citizen Cards and are included in the category of documented refugees, contrary to hundreds and thousands of undocumented ones. It stated that the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Programme (IFRP) has been implemented since November 1, 2023 and in continuation to the government's decision to repatriate all ..

'Kashmir issue will be solved when stolen part under Pak occupation returns to India': Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that the Kashmir issue will be solved once the "stolen part of Kashmir" returns to the Indian fold. He was speaking at the Chatham House

Pakistan vacating PoK will solve Kashmir issue, says S Jaishankar

S Jaishankar said revoking Article 370, boosting growth, ensuring social justice, and holding high-turnout elections were key steps, but Kashmir issue will be solved only when PoK is vacated

Four killed, five injured in market blast in Pakistan's Balochistan

At least four people were killed and five others injured on Wednesday in an explosion in a market in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, officials said. An improvised explosive device (IED) was attached to a motorbike which was parked in the Naal Bazaar of Khuzdar, according to police. Naal police Station House Officer (SHO) Bahawal Khan Pindrani in a media interaction confirmed the casualties, saying that the condition of one of the injured was serious. Khuzdar Senior Superintendent of Police Javed Zehri said that some vehicles were also destroyed in the blast. Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the blast in a statement, adding that orders were issued to provide the injured with the best medical care available. Terrorism will be eradicated in all its forms, Bugti was quoted as saying. Elements hostile to peace will fail in their nefarious objectives and those involved in this incident will be brought to justice. Balochistan has been braving viol

Donald Trump thanks Pakistan during address to US Congress: Here's why

Trump announced the arrest and imminent extradition of the suspect, Sharifullah, who was involved in the 2021 Kabul airport bombing

Suicide attack on cantonment kills 12 in Pakistan, 6 terrorists neutralised

The suicide bombers hit the wall of Bannu Cantonment, about 200 kms south-west of Peshawar, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the evening around sunset time

Situation across border very bad despite Chinese help: J-K CM Omar Abdullah

Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, even though he ensured a smooth house proceeding, later decried Mir's remarks and sought a clarification from party leader Abdullah

Pak's ex-PM Imran Khan seeks global help for democracy, regional stability

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has appealed to the international community, particularly the United States, to reaffirm its commitment to democracy, human rights, and regional stability. Dawn reported that in an article published in Time magazine in his name, the incarcerated politician congratulated US President Donald Trump on his political comeback. He also expressed the hope that the US would work with Pakistan to foster economic partnerships, promote stability, and prevent conditions that lead to conflict and extremism. It remains unclear if the article was indeed penned by Khan, and how it was delivered to the magazine. Khan reflected on the political turmoil' in Pakistan and his ongoing fight for democracy. He expressed deep concern over the alleged erosion of democracy in the country, describing the current period as one of the most challenging in the nation's history. He underscored that his imprisonment and the charges brought against him were politic

Pakistan's Punjab Police arrest 20 alleged terrorists linked with TTP

Law enforcement agencies arrested 20 terrorists, including a Sikh, allegedly belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Punjab province of Pakistan, police said on Saturday. A Punjab Police Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) spokesperson in a statement said law enforcement authorities foiled a major terrorist plan by arresting 20 TTP terrorists during 162 intelligence-based operations in different areas of Punjab this week. "Three extremely dangerous members of TTP -- Manmohan Singh, Naqeebullah and Riyaz -- have been arrested from Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Rahim Yar Khan, respectively," the statement said. According to the statement, 6,238 grams of explosives, 23 detonators, safety fuse wire 61 feet, three IED bombs, and banned literature have been recovered from their possession. "They planned to target important buildings in Lahore and other cities. Eighteen cases have been registered against the arrested terrorists and further investigation is being carried out," the statem

5 dead in suicide bomb attack at seminary in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

A top cleric and four worshippers were killed and 20 others injured in a blast triggered by a suicide bomber during Friday prayers at a seminary in northwest Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province ahead of the fasting month of Ramazan, police said. The blast claimed the life of Hamidul Haq Haqqani, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) and caretaker of the Madrassa-e-Haqqania, located in Akora Khattak town of Nowshera district, Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah confirmed. Born in 1968, Hamidul Haq became chief of his JUI (Sami Group) after the death of his father Maulana Sami ul Haq. IGP, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zulfiqar Hameed said it is suspected to be a suicide bombing and Hamidul Haq appeared to be the target. We had provided six security guards to Hamidul Haq, he said. DPO Nowshera district Abdur Rasheed said the blast occurred during Jumma' prayer. The Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa propagates the Hanafi Deobandi school of Sunni Islam. It was founded by .

Maharashtra CM Fadnavis' office receives bomb threat from Pakistani number

According to Mumbai Police, the person introduced himself as Malik Shahbaz Humayun Raza

Imran Khan orders PTI members holding govt jobs to relinquish party posts

Earlier last month, the PTI founder had removed KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as the party's provincial president and appointed Junaid Akbar as the new head

Pak SC to hear Imran Khan's pleas on poll rigging, May 9 violence

Pakistan's Supreme Court will take up on Friday petitions filed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan seeking a judicial probe into the May 9 violence and alleged rigging of last year's general elections, according to media reports on Tuesday. A five-member constitutional bench of the apex court led by Justice Aminuddin Khan will conduct the hearing, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Khan's petition for the May 9 investigation was filed in December last year. On May 9, 2023, violent protests erupted after Khan's arrest by paramilitary Rangers from the premises of the Islamabad High Court. His party workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander house) and the ISI building in Faisalabad. The PTI leadership alleges that May 9 was planned by its opponents. Khan had said he was implicated in the cases related to the violence as a result of a well-orchestrated plan to harass him for political reasons. In March 2024, Khan

India-Pakistan CT clash breaks viewership record at 602 mn on JioHotstar

The India-Pakistan match in Dubai at the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday turned out to be a mega blockbuster touching a record viewership of 60.2 crore on the streaming platform of the newly created platform JioHotstar. The peak concurrency, which is the highest number of viewers during a live stream, for the Indo-Pak match on JioHotstar, formed by the merger of erstwhile platforms JioCinema and Disney +HotStar, was 60.2 crore when Virat Kohli hit the winning runs chasing a target of 241 runs. Kohli himself completed his 51st century with the last stroke, keeping viewers absorbed. When the first over of the match was bowled by Mohammed Shami, the viewership jumped to 6.8 crore at the end of it and kept increasing through the match. The viewership reached 32.1 crore in the last over of Pakistan's innings and reached 32.2 crore during the innings break. When India began their run chase, the viewership increased to 33.8 crore and remained stable at 36.2 crore for a substantia

'No passengers, no planes': Here's why Pak's newest airport is a mystery

With no passengers and no planes, Pakistan's newest and most expensive airport is a bit of a mystery. Entirely financed by China to the tune of USD 240 million, it's anyone's guess when New Gwadar International Airport will open for business. Located in the coastal city of Gwadar and completed in October 2024, the airport is a stark contrast to the impoverished, restive southwestern Balochistan province around it. For the past decade, China has poured money into Balochistan and Gwadar as part of a multibillion dollar project that connects its western Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea, called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC. Authorities have hailed it as transformational but there's scant evidence of change in Gwadar. The city isn't connected to the national grid electricity comes from neighboring Iran or solar panels and there isn't enough clean water. An airport with a 400,000 passenger capacity isn't a priority for the city's 90,000 people. This airport is no

Pak govt unveils 1 bn PKR master plan for renovation of temples, gurdwaras

The Pakistani government has prepared a 'master plan' for the renovation and beautifying of temples and gurdwaras in the country at a cost of PKR 1 billion. The decision was taken on Saturday in a meeting of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) here under its chief Syed Attaur Rehman. "Under a master plan, temples and gurudwaras will be decorated and development works will be done with a budget of PKR 1bn," said Rehman. "A huge amount of money is being spent on minority places of worship," he added. Rehman also said the ETPB received more than Rs 1 billion in revenue this year. The meeting was attended by members of the Hindu and Sikh communities from all over the country, as well as government and non-government members. Speaking about the ETPB development scheme that needs to be revised, board secretary Farid Iqbal told the members that after changing the scheme to increase the department's income, the trust properties are now being presented for development. "The departmen

Pakistani security forces kill 6 terrorists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan security forces on Friday killed at least six terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military's media wing said. According to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted on the reported presence of terrorists. The statement said that troops effectively engaged the militants and six of them were killed in the operation. The ISPR said that a sanitisation operation was conducted to eliminate any other militant found in the area as the security forces are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country. The country witnessed a sharp increase in terror attacks in January 2025, surging by 42 per cent compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, a think-tank. The data revealed that at least 74 militant attacks were recorded nationwide, resulting in 91 fatalities, includin

We have lost our credibility, need urgent economic reforms: Pak FM

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Thursday that Pakistan had lost its credibility as the country struggled to achieve economic stability. He was speaking at a Senate climate change committee meeting, where he discussed the country's climate financing challenges and its negotiations with international lenders, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. We have lost our credibility as a country, Aurangzeb stated, adding that urgent economic reforms were necessary to restore the trust. He revealed that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had committed USD 500 million, while Pakistan expects to secure USD 1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week. The government is also working on issuing green panda bonds to attract further investment, he said. The green panda bonds are issued in Chinese yuan by a foreign entity and the proceeds from these are used for green projects or assets. Aurangzeb also announced a major shift in tax policy, stating that the Finance ..