. ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday chaired the fourth meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Follow-up Committee to review preparations for Pakistan’s upcoming SCO Council of Heads of State (CHS) chairmanship for 2026–27 and the CHS Summit to be hosted in Islamabad in 2027. Sub-committees briefed the meeting…

Observes that top court generally does not interfere even in interim orders passed by HCs ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the federation and other respondents on a petition seeking suspension of the sentences awarded to lawyer Imaan Mazari and Barrister Hadi Ali Chattha, while observing that the Islamabad High Court (IHC)…

ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Monday indicated that the party could reconsider its decision to boycott the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly elections if it is provided a level playing field and its leaders and workers are not subjected to arrests or crackdowns. Speaking to reporters, Gohar said the boycott…

President Asif Ali Zardari, accompanied by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, witnesses a traditional Kyrgyz cultural performance at the Rukh Ordo Cultural Center in Cholpon-Ata. Photo: PID ISSYK-KUL/ CHOLPON-ATA, KYRGYZSTAN: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday arrived at Issyk-Kul International Airport for an official visit to the Kyrgyz Republic, where he was warmly received by his…

ISLAMABAD: The top military leadership on Monday announced that counterterrorism operations against terrorist groups operating from territory under the control of the Afghan Taliban regime would continue, in a rare and explicit declaration suggesting that Islamabad is prepared to take the war against terrorism deep inside Afghanistan if required. The message came at the 276th…

Moves to transfer administration to technocrats Retains control of security and ministries Humanitarian crisis p CAIRO: Hamas announced on Monday that it had dissolved its de facto government in Gaza and signalled its willingness to hand administrative authority to a US-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats, in a move aimed at advancing a stalled post-war peace…

SBP’s digital platform lets individuals buy govt bonds; aims to boost financial inclusion KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) launched InvestPak, a digital platform that allows individuals to invest directly in government securities, opening the Rs82 trillion sovereign debt market to ordinary citizens for the first time, according to a statement issued on Monday….

. VEHARI: The district has achieved 90 per cent of its cotton cultivation target. The first cotton picking is under way, with yields ranging between eight and 12 maunds per acre. Seasonal cotton harvesting is expected to begin by the end of August. Officials said the expansion of maize and other crops on traditional cotton-growing…

Rover finds organic carbon in Martian mudstone in Jezero Crater, hinting at possible ancient life signs Perseverance rover discovered organic carbon on Mars. PHOTO: NASA Using NASA’s Perseverance rover, scientists are getting a greater understanding of the nature of some of the organic carbon — the molecular backbone for all known ​living organisms — detected…