NEW DELHI: Two soldiers and six Kashmiris were killed in two separate gun battles in India-held Kashmir, police said on Sunday. Police Inspector General Vidhi Kumar Birdi told AFP that authorities in the disputed territory had “carried out two different operations” in villages in the Kulgam district. Birdi said two members of the security forces had been killed, with clashes continuing in Modergram and Frisal Chingam villages. He claimed that the authorities had retrieved two bodies from Modergram and four others from Frisal Chingam. This is the latest incident in an uptick of attacks in the disputed territory. India and Pakistan both…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
GAZA STRIP: A Hamas-appointed deputy minister of labour was among several people, including children, killed as deadly Israeli strikes continued unabated in the Palestinian enclave with diplomatic efforts underway to secure a ceasefire and prisoner release deal. Ehab al-Ghussein was killed along with three other people in the attack, according to the Civil Emergency Service on Sunday. Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, an ally of Hamas, fired rocket salvoes at northern Israel, in the latest cross-border clashes that have sparked fears of a full-scale war. In Israel, anti-government protesters demanding a prisoner release deal blocked roads in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv as they marked…
QUETTA/GWADAR: Three people, including two tourists, were killed and 16 injured in two road accidents in Fort Munro and Ziarat on Sunday. Officials said a van carrying tourists from Alipur, Muzaffargarh in southern Punjab was travelling to Ziarat when it fell into a roadside ditch at the Fort Munro pass. Two passengers were killed on the spot, and 14 others, including women and children, were injured, said officials in Balochistan’s Barkhan district, which borders Punjab. The deceased and injured, who belonged to the same family, were immediately shifted to Dera Ghazi Khan Hospital by border police. Missing fisherman’s body recovered…
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) on Sunday evening opened the gates of the zoo to introduce the media to a female leopard that was rescued near Muzafarrabad and brought to the rescue and rehabilitation centre (former Islamabad zoo). The IWMB staff led small groups of media persons into a room where the leopard, almost a year old, was kept in a cage. Crouched in one corner of the cage, her face buried in the straw bedding as if ready to pounce. “She is recovering and is in good health now as 70 per cent of her tail has healed,” said…
RAWALPINDI: With the start of the new fiscal year, prices of edibles have skyrocketed despite claims by the local administration and Punjab government that the rates had been stabilised. According to the price list of edibles issued by the district administration, wheat flour has been fixed at Rs90 per kg but in shops and small mills (Chakis) it is being sold for Rs140 per kg. Similarly the price of Daal Channa has been fixed at Rs245 per kg but it is available for Rs345; Daal Masoor’s official price is Rs285 but it is being sold for Rs325 while Daal Maash’s…
ISLAMABAD: Unrelenting harsh weather has forced some climbers to abandon their summit attempts on Nanga Parbat while others, including skiers Anna Tybor and Tom Lafaille, continued to hold out, hoping for a change, said the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP). According to ACP Secretary Karrar Haidri, forecasts indicated an improvement over the weekend with a possible weather window lasting a few days. Chhang Dawa Sherpa, climbing director of Seven Summit Treks, reported that ropes were fixed up to Camp 4, the highest on the Diamer Face of the ninth highest peak in the world, reaching 8,126 metres. Mr Haidri estimated…
LAHORE: The Punjab government is embarking upon a policy shift from treating smog as a seasonal issue to a year-round epidemic requiring urgent interventions. The Punjab government, it is learnt, is attributing constant decline in air quality in the province, particularly in Lahore, to the previous strategy that treated smog as a seasonal issue. This approach not only downplayed the severity of the problem but also resulted in a mediocre response mechanism. As a result, Pakistan ranked as the second most polluted country, and Lahore was the fourth most polluted city in the world during 2023. Lahore’s Air Quality Index in winter…
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has recently ‘modified’ the results of at least 41 national and provincial assembly constituencies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by updating the Form 45s stored on its official Google Drive. Although it is not clear what modifications have been made to the documents, the move has raised questions on the transparency of the electoral process, especially at a time when several disputes have been placed before election tribunals for adjudication. The Form 45 constitutes a crucial record of the electoral process, as it contains key information about the polling station and number of ballots, and…
ISLAMABAD: As parliament authorised the federal government on June 28 to impose over Rs1.7 trillion in additional taxes for the current fiscal year, it was also compelled to retrospectively approve a record Rs9.4tr for expenditure overruns and re-appropriations, nearly five times more than the previous year’s amount. This massive overspending occurred despite claims of austerity and tight fiscal control by three successive administrations — PDM, caretakers and the incumbent coalition government — amid ongoing economic stabilisation efforts. Most of these supplementary grants are described as “charged expenditure” out of the Federal Consolidated Fund, which is just presented to parliament for its information…
ISLAMABAD: PTI Secretary General and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub on Sunday evaded arrest in a raid on his residence in Sector F-10 by a joint team of Islamabad and Mianwali police after warrants for his arrest were issued by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Sargodha. Mianwali police, in a handout, claimed that their assistant sub-inspector (ASI) had only gone to the residence to serve the bailable warrants, not to arrest the opposition leader. The PTI leader, who went into hiding after the raid, lashed out at the authorities for being so “desperate” to apprehend him. “Bailable…
