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At least three children killed, several injured in South Waziristan attack: security sources

At least three children were killed and several people were injured in two separate attacks in South Waziristan on Thursday, security sources said. According to reports, an explosion occurred near a civilian settlement in the Gawa Khwa area of South Waziristan, while mortar shells were also fired at civilians by Afghan Taliban forces in the border tehsil of Angoor Adda. The explosion, they said, was caused after “ Fitna al Khawarij hid cylinders filled with explosives near a house in a nearby settlement”. Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. “Three innocent children of a family were martyred and several people were injured” as a result of the explosion, the security sources said, noting that the victims were a 15-year-old boy and two girls of eight and seven years old. Security sources added that those injured in the attack were immediately taken to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana. Locals expres...

Dar says Pakistan's focus is now on making US-Iran ceasefire permanent

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed hope on Wednesday that the indefinitely extended ceasefire between the United States and Iran could be made permanent. US President Donald Trump has indefinitely extended what was initially a two-week ceasefire between the two countries, brokered with the help of Pakistan’s mediation, but the conflict — and its widespread economic fallout — remains unresolved. Addressing the second session of the Ulema Council Conference in Islamabad, the foreign minister said that Pakistan’s efforts had been directed towards securing direct negotiations and a ceasefire — “first it happened, then it was extended, then extended a second time, then a third time”. “At least the deaths of several hundred people a day — with the toll going into the thousands — has stopped,” he added. He called on the council to pray for Pakistan’s efforts, saying that they were now geared towards turning the ceasefire into a “permanent end to the war”. Da...

Counsel for Imran, Bushra seeks adjournment of May 7 hearing, says he is not authorised to argue main appeals in £190m case

ISLAMABAD: A day before the scheduled hearing in the £190 million corruption case, counsel for former prime minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi on Wednesday said they were not authorised to argue the main appeals against conviction and sought an adjournment of the May 7 hearing. In an application filed before the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Barrister Salman Safdar, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and Sarmad Muneeb said their engagement was limited to arguing applications for suspension of sentence, adding that no formal power of attorney or instructions had been obtained for the main appeals. The lawyers also informed the court that, despite repeated efforts, the authorities at Adiala jail had not facilitated meetings with the clients for the purpose of obtaining instructions or executing fresh powers of attorney. “The undersigned expresses inability to proceed further in the absence of proper instructions, formal engagement, and requisite Power(s) of Attorney,” t...

SC, FCC operate as coordinate courts, exercising clearly demarcated jurisdictions: CJP Afridi

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi has ruled that the constitutional scheme following the passage of the 27th Amendment treated the Supreme Court (SC) and the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) as coordinate courts exercising clearly demarcated jurisdictions over distinct matters. The ruling was made in a 13-page order authored by the CJP and issued on a set of petitions arising from a Feb 17, 2020 Peshawar High Court consolidated judgement. It was issued by a two-member bench, comprising CJP Afridi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan. The order stated that the constitutional scheme following the 27th Amendment did not position the SC or the FCC as an appellate forum to each other. The constitutional amendment was passed by Parliament in November last year, leading to the establishment of the FCC as a court that was to hear all matters of a constitutional nature, including those involving disputes between provincial and federal governments, public interest and the ...

I’ve asked power in Pakistan one question for ten years on my podcast. This is the answer

Last year’s military confrontation with India delighted us with something Pakistan rarely experiences: a unified national response. One voice and one direction from a collective will that held under pressure. We have the same reaction, at a smaller scale, during a cricket match against India. And then we watch as it dissolves. A pressing question lies behind this pattern. It is one I have asked for ten years on my podcast and in private conversations. I have asked people from the corridors of power, the circles of military brass, the layers of our Establishment, and the captains of industry. I have asked four Prime Ministers, Generals, CEOs. I have asked them all the same thing, on the record and off it: how do we fix Pakistan? Their answer is almost always the same. We know the problems. We often know the solutions. So why, after a decade of these conversations, does nothing change? We only unite when there is an enemy Pakistan’s capacity for collective action is not a myth. It ...

What's stopping Pakistan from making the transition to renewable energy?

How does Pakistan stack up against its South Asian neighbors on renewable energy adoption? Globally, renewable energy adoption has accelerated over the past decade, with SA players such as India and Bangladesh leading the charge. Although Pakistan harbors great potential for installation of renewables such as solar, wind and hydropower, utilisation is still very low, and there is a serious lack of grid adaptation, financial frameworks and policies built to support the transition to renewables. In Front Seat To Climate Change , Dr Aazir Khan, director of the Integrated Engineering Center of Excellence University of Lahore, breaks down Pakistan’s position and progress in the regional race for renewable adoption. As Pakistan confronts the accelerating realities of climate change, the urgency to move from awareness to action has never been greater. Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, Pakistan remains among the most climate-vulnerable natio...