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Punjab requests deployment of Pakistan Army, Rangers for Muharram security measures

The Punjab Home Department has written to the interior ministry to requisition troops from the Pakistan Army and Rangers to ensure security during the month of Muharram, it emerged on Monday. In a letter to the interior ministry, dated June 4, the Home Department sought necessary action regarding the requisition of troops as requested by the Punjab police chief for security assistance. The letter stated that the “present security environment underlines the requirement of evolving a deliberate and foolproof security mechanism” during the upcoming month of Muharram, in order to prevent action by terrorists or “miscreants”. In total, the services of 137 army and Rangers companies, including 61 of the Pakistan Army and 76 of Rangers, have been requested across at least 37 districts of Punjab, according to the letter. The deployment of both Army and Rangers personnel has been sought for Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana, Gujranwala, Narowal, Gu...

Most of JAAC's demands from Oct 2025 agreement fulfilled: minister

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry maintained on Sunday that most of the Joint Awami Action Committee’s (JAAC) demands, agreed between the JAAC and the government last October, had been fulfilled. “Thirty-five out of 38 demands have been implemented,” he said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. He maintained “negative propaganda was being spread that the government has only three out of 38 demands,” emphasising that the solution cannot be “violent demonstrations” and dialogue should be the way forward. At this, the minister asked if the unrest was an attempt at “portraying Pakistan and AJK as separate entities; is it an attempt to weaken Pakistan’s relation with AJK; is it an attempt to draw parallels between the people of India-occupied Kashmir and AJK, and lastly, is this an attempt to weaken the Kashmir cause?” He held that the government had not disregarded the JAAC’s demands; however, he pointed out that, “when we talk to them about resolving is...

Peshawar-Torkham Highway reopens after protests against recent 'targeted attack'

KHYBER: The Peshawar-Torkham Highway was reopened on Sunday following a temporary closure by Sultan Khel tribesmen protesting the handling of ‘targeted killings’ in their area by Zaka Khel elders and government authorities. Two Sultan Khel residents were gunned down by unidentified assailants on Friday evening — in the same area where two policemen had been targeted over the last few months. The fresh violence prompted Sultan Khel residents from the Zaka Khel tribe to block the Peshawar-Torkham Highway by staging a protest on Saturday. The road closure also temporarily suspended the repatriation of Afghan families via the Torkham border. Murad Hussain, a leading figure among the protesters, told Dawn on Sunday that a negotiating committee comprising young Sultan Khel tribesmen was formed to hold talks with government functionaries to find ways to restore peace in the Landi Kotal tehsil, while also securing the main Peshawar-Torkham Highway from nighttime terrorist movement reporte...

Israel's permanent state of war comes with economic, social costs

The enormous costs of Israel’s multi-front war and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination to turn his country into a “super-Sparta” of the Middle East are driving up the defence budget and raising fears of cutbacks in education and healthcare. The total cost of the series of interconnected regional conflicts that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 stood at 405 billion shekels ($138bn) as of late April, according to the governor of the Bank of Israel, Amir Yaron. “That’s a huge figure, more than 17 per cent of GDP,” he said during a recent economic conference in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. Just the military campaign against Iran, which began with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on February 28, incurred an additional cost of 35bn shekels ($12bn) for the state up until a ceasefire took effect on April 8, according to an initial estimate by the finance ministry. Following the adoption of the 2026 budget in late March, the go...

Large parts of country set to experience heatwave conditions from June 7 to 12: PMD

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a heatwave warning for various parts of the country from June 7 to June 12. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the districts of Peshawar, Mardan, Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan are expected to record maximum temperatures four to six degrees Celsius above normal, ranging between 41°C and 46°C from June 8 to 11. Temperatures are expected to rise to 37°C-40°C in KP’s northern districts of Chitral, Dir and Swat, as well as in Gilgit-Baltistan, from June 8 to 10. In Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujrat, Mirpur, Bhimber, Kotli, Bagh and Muzaffarabad, maximum temperatures are expected to range between 41°C and 44°C from June 8 to 10. From June 8 to 11, temperatures are expected to range between 44°C and 48°C in Punjab’s Lahore, Okara, Kasur, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Joharabad, Khushab, Mianwali, Noorpur Thal, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Khanewal, Pakpattan, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Ba...

Tribesmen block highway in KP's Khyber in protest of targeted killings

KHYBER: Enraged Zakhakhel tribesmen blocked the main highway leading to Torkham on Saturday, announcing picking up arms in self-defence after two men were killed in a targeted killing incident late on Friday evening. Headed by a local tribal elder, Malak Abdullah Khan, the protesters — including scores of political party activists, civic society members and local tribesmen — announced that armed tribesmen would be assigned the responsibility of patrolling local areas. They also announced a complete ban on motorcycle riding and barred all the government employees hailing from the Zakhakhel tribe from attending to their official duties until a durable solution to restore lasting peace was found. Furthermore, they called for a boycott of polio vaccination drives and for the closure of all the government and private schools in the Zakhakhel area. The protesters also refused to meet any government functionary till a meaningful crackdown was initiated against suspected militants holed up...