Pakistan News

Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday imposed a rain emergency in the province and declared tomorrow to be half-day for all government and private offices in Karachi. On Wednesday, the Sindh Pakistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had issued an urban flooding warning and directed the deputy commissioners and all officials concerned to take required measures. According to the advisory issued by the Met Department, rain/thunderstorms with few heavy falls are expected in northern parts of the province from Feb 29 till March 2. Similar weather conditions are likely to prevail in the rest of the province from March 1. “Heavy falls may generate urban flooding in low-lying areas. Fishermen of Balochistan are advised not to venture in deep sea till March 1 while those of Sindh are advised to remain careful during the forecast period,” it said. Today, the Sindh chief minister chaired a meeting regarding the situation at the CM House. During the meeting, CM Murad d...

Newly elected members of the 16th National Assembly were sworn in on Thursday in a session marred by mainly pro-Imran Khan sloganeering. Outgoing NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf administered the oath to the MNAs-elect. The session was originally scheduled to begin at 10am but was delayed by more than an hour. Notable politicians who were sworn in as MNAs included PML-N supremo and former premier Nawaz Sharif, ex-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Further, three Senate members — PML-N’s Nuzhat Sadiq, JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani — resigned from the upper house of Parliament in order to join the National Assembly. PTI leaders, some of whom have joined the assembly under the banner of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), were also sworn in. These included Barrister Gohar Khan, Ali Muhammad Khan, Omar Ayub Khan and Sher Afzal Marwat...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored 19 of his 34 points during a brilliant fourth quarter, leading the Los Angeles Lakers back from a 21-point deficit for a dramatic 116-112 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. Kawhi Leonard missed a 12-footer with five seconds to play, and James threw a long pass to Cam Reddish for a dunk that punctuated a stunning victory for the Lakers in these Los Angeles rivals’ final regular-season game as co-tenants of their downtown arena. The 39-year-old James was the center of it all, hitting five of his season-high seven 3-pointers while outscoring the Clippers by himself in the fourth quarter (19-16). He either scored or assisted on 11 of the Lakers’ 13 baskets in the final period. The Clippers led 98-77 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, but James led a 29-8 run in just 7:34. The Lakers won three of four over the Clippers this season, winning the season series for the first time since 2011-12. Davis had 20 points and 1...

In a session marred by ruckus, around 115 newly elected representatives of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly were sworn in on Wednesday. The provincial legislature meeting was summoned by KP Governor Ghulam Ali last week following advice from the caretaker Chief Minister Syed Arshad Hussain Shah. The KP Assembly is the third provincial assembly have its members take oath after the February 8 general elections. It should be mentioned that the previous assembly was dissolved in January 2023 and the province had been functioning in the absence of the provincial legislature for more than 13 months. Today’s session was scheduled to begin at 11am. However, it was delayed by over an hour due to protests and riots by PTI workers present in the gallery and party-backed lawmakers — now members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). The session finally began a little after 1pm with outgoing KP Assembly Speaker Mushtaq Ghani in the chair. At the outset, he prayed for the high ranks of martyrs...

One student was killed and two others were injured after being hit by a speeding car in Khanewal district’s Mian Channu on Wednesday, according to officials. A statement by Rescue 1122 said that the incident took place in front of the Government Girls Model High School, adding that the car hit the students as they were on their way to school. It said that the car was totaled in the incident. It further said that the the deceased, Shiza, was in the eighth grade, adding that the two injured were taken to the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital. Meanwhile, Khanewal District Police Officer (DPO) Rana Umar Farooq said that police had arrested the driver of the vehicle who had initially fled the scene. In a statement, he also confirmed the number of casualties. “A case has been registered and legal proceedings have been initiated,” he added. He also offered his condolences to the bereaved family, adding that all the legal requirements of the case would be fulfilled. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Mini...

VANCOUVER — Rarely does a first-place team leading its division by double-digits punch itself in the face for underachievement as often as the Vancouver Canucks . Their standards are so high now that leading the Pacific Division by 10 points — and still topping the entire National Hockey League in points, but only fifth in winning percentage — is not good enough for the Canucks, who could easily be another five points clear in their division due to the outbreak of mediocrity throughout the top half of the Western Conference since the All-Star break. Listening to Canuck players and coach Rick Tocchet, it feels like the team’s 5-5-2 February is a disaster. To be sure, it would be worse if conference rivals like the Colorado Avalanche (4-5-1 in their last 10 games), Dallas Stars (4-3-3), Vegas Golden Knights (4-5-1) and Edmonton Oilers (5-4-1) were not also nightly grinding their gearboxes trying to get out of second. But the Canucks would need to leap into an active volcano over the l...

After being summoned for a third time, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday finally appeared before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in a case pertaining to missing Baloch students. During the hearing, which was presided over by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Kakar said that the issue should be solved by the country’s “major political parties” as the incoming government would have the powers to legislate on the issue. Justice Kayani had resumed hearing a petition regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. At the previous hearing, he had remarked that the “purpose of summoning the prime minister was to inquire why the state’s premier is failing in his duties.” The commission was established in 2011 to trace missing persons and fix responsibility on the individuals or organisations responsible for it. The IHC had previously summoned PM Kakar on Nov 29. After he had failed to appear before the court, ...

One cop was martyred while three others were injured in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Mardan’s Katlang tehsil during the early hours of Tuesday, according to an official. Speaking to Dawn.com , Mardan District Police Officer (DPO) Mardan Najeebur Rehman said that a police team headed by Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Aijaz Khan Sherpao headed to the Mata Katlang area on the reported presence of terrorists. He said that upon spotting the police team, the terrorists opened fire. “The militants also threw a grenade due to which SP Sherpao was martyred,” the DPO said. He further said that Rural Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Naseem Khan and two constables, Mansoor and Saleem, were injured in the incident. He said that the injured were initially taken to Katlang Hospital but were then shifted to Mardan Medical Complex Hospital. DPO Rehman added that two of the militants were also killed in the exchange of fire. The DPO said that an additional police contingent arri...

Alibaba-owned e-commerce platform Daraz Group has announced layoffs across the group to “adopt a more streamlined and agile structure”, acting Chief Executive Officer James Dong said on Tuesday in an internal memo to employees reviewed by Reuters . The memo did not mention the number of people affected by the layoff. Daraz declined to comment on the percentage or absolute number of employees impacted across its operations in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. “Reluctantly, we will bid farewell to many valued members of the Daraz family,” the memo to staff said. Last year, Daraz told Reuters it employed 3,000 employees across its geographies, prior to the e-commerce marketplace cutting its workforce by 11 per cent due to difficult market conditions, the Ukraine crisis, supply chain disruptions, soaring inflation, higher taxes and fewer government subsidies, among other reasons. “Despite our efforts to explore different solutions, our cost structure continues to fal...

An Islamabad district and session court on Tuesday granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) five-day remand of journalist Asad Ali Toor in a case pertaining to an online campaign against the judiciary. In January, the car­e­taker government had formed a five-member joint investigation team (JIT) to “ascertain facts behind a malicious social media campaign” against the judiciary in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to deprive PTI of its iconic ‘bat’ symbol. Last week, Toor was interrogated for nearly eight hours by FIA officials on the same matter. The interrogation had taken place despite the attorney general for Pakistan assuring the apex court last month that the FIA would not take action before the general election on the notices sent to journalists. The apex court had adjourned the hearing in the case till the first week of March. Last night, Toor’s legal team confirmed that he had been arrested by the agency. Toor’s counsel Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir said ...