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Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in a phone call with British counterpart David Cameron on Monday, stressed the need for early resumption of national carrier Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) flights to the United Kingdom to “bolster linkages”, according to the Foreign Office (FO). In July 2020, the UK had joined several countries in suspending PIA’s flight operations due to concerns about the authenticity of pilot licences . On Saturday, Dar had said that PIA flights to the UK would res­ume “in weeks, not months”, and that he took up the matter of banned flights of the national carrier with British government officials over the weekend in London. Sources had told Dawn that the matter came under discussion during Dar’s meetings as he urged UK officials to review the matter. Today, a press release from the FO said Dar received a call from British Foreign Secretary David Cameron during which the foreign minister made his request regarding the resumption of flights, saying that it w...

Russia on Monday challenged assertions by the United States that the Islamic State (IS) militant group orchestrated a gun attack on a concert hall outside Moscow that killed 137 people and injured 182 more, accusing Washington of covering for Ukraine. In the deadliest attack inside Russia for two decades, four men burst into the Crocus City Hall on Friday night, spraying the crowd with bullets during a concert by Soviet-era rock group Picnic. Four men, at least one a Tajik, were remanded in custody on terrorism charges. They appeared separately, led into a cage at Moscow’s Basmanny district court by Federal Security Service officers. IS has claimed responsibility for the attack, a claim that the US has publicly said it believes, and the militant group has since released what it says is footage from the attack. US officials said they had warned Russia about an imminent attack earlier this month. President Vladimir Putin has not publicly mentioned the militant group in connection wi...

The principal of Lahore’s Aitchison College, Michael A. Thompson, tendered his resignation on Monday, citing “prejudiced actions by Governor House” and referring to them as “unwarranted interference and brazen directives”. Although the letter did not specify the reason for tendering the resignation, media reports suggested the move was prompted by Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman’s decision to waive the tuition fees for PML-N leader Ahad Cheema’s sons. In a letter addressed to the college staff, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , Thompson said: “This is not how I planned to leave Aitchison, but I will share with you that a continuation of very poor governance has left me no other choice. Throughout my time as principal, I have done my very best to to protect the school’s reputation while extending compassion to those in need.” However, he said that there was a difference between this pursuit and the presence of “blatant policy manufacturing to accommodate certain individua...

• Provincial authorities, law enforcement agencies tasked with collecting information on Afghan Citizen Card holders • Authorities estimate around half a million returned during first phase PESHAWAR: Pakistan has begun preparations to launch the second phase of its repatriation drive to send nearly one million ‘documented’ Afghans back to their homeland, with directives to district authorities and police to map and collect data of their whereabouts across the country, documents reveal. An official privy to the development said instructions had been issued to district administrations and police to expedite the mapping of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders. No date has yet been announced, but an official said the campaign to repatriate hundreds of thousands of ACC holders could begin in early to mid-summer, following approval from the federal government. “We have already started the mapping process,” Abid Majeed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s additional chief secretary, told Dawn . “It will...

The federal government on Sunday appointed Ghulam Nabi Memon as Inspector General of Police Sindh for the second time. Memon, a BS-21 officer of police service of Pakistan, was serving as State Life Insurance Corporation executive director until now. A notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com , issued by the cabinet secretariat office, said: “With the approval of the federal government, Mr Ghulam Nabi Memon […] is transferred and post as Provincial Police Officer (PPO), Govt. of Sindh, under Section 10 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, with immediate effect and until further orders.” Memon comes with vast policing experience and also served at the UN Mission in Bosnia and as the Pakistan High Commission in the United Kingdom. It is the second time he has been appointed as the provincial police chief. He was appointed as the IGP Sindh in 2022 and was removed by the caretaker set up, which appointed Riffat Mukhtar Raja as the IGP. Memon had also served as Addition...

A Pakistani commerce ministry delegation is scheduled to arrive in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday to explore ways to remove obstacles in transit and bilateral trade, said an Afghan official. Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesman for the Afghan Commerce Ministry, confirmed to Dawn.com today that Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi will lead the Afghan delegation. Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed that the Pakistani delegation, headed by Secretary of Commerce Khurram Agha, will undertake the two-day visit. “Pakistan remains committed to promoting trade and people-to-people ties with Afghanistan,” Baloch added. Other delegates from Pakistan include Joint Secretary (Ministry of Commerce), Maria Qazi, Additional Secretary Commerce Dr Wajid Ali Khan, Director General Transit Trade and Additional Secretary of Interior Khushal Khan. Discussions will be held on overall bilateral and transit trade, said the Afghan Commerce Ministry’s spokesman. “We will t...

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir on Sunday said that he reconsidered his decision regarding international retirement after “few positive” discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and announced his availability for the ICC T20 World Cup starting in June. In 2020, the veteran pacer had announced his retirement and said that he was being “mentally tortured” by the PCB management. View this post on Instagram The cricketer was referring to the infamous scandal in 2010 when he was implicated in allegations of spot-fixing for bowling two deliberate no-balls in return for payment as part of a betting scam in the Lord’s Test against England. He was subsequently questioned by Scotland Yard along with teammates Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt and pleaded guilty. He was convicted in November 2011 and banned from playing for five years. He had said that the current environment at the PCB and the way he was sidelined from the 35-member s...