Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday pressed his legal battle before a court in the capital, Islamabad, which granted him protection from arrest until early next month in several cases including terrorism charges for inciting violence.

The development comes as authorities have been cracking down on the supporters of Khan, now Pakistan’s top opposition leader. Thousands staged violent protests and attacked public property and military installations following Khan’s arrest earlier this month.

ISLAMABAD, May 22 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the country would not survive if any leniency was shown to the perpetrators of the arsons on May 9 involving the desecration of the martyrs, monuments, and damaging the security installations.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Monday ordered the release of an associate of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from detention, even as authorities press on with efforts to prosecute thousands of his followers implicated in recent anti-government violence.

Shireen Mazari, who served as rights minister under Khan during his 2018-2022 term in office, was arrested last Thursday in the capital, Islamabad, on charges of inciting people to violence.

ISLAMABAD, May 21 (APP): With just few days left for the G-20 Working Group meet on Tourism in Srinagar, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), China along with other key members would not attend the event as it is being held in the internationally recognized disputed territory.  

The Indian government announced that Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have not confirmed their attendance, indicating they too will skip the meeting, writes the Hindu, an Indian daily on Sunday. 

ISLAMABAD, May 21 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said that it was his cherished desire to transform the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) into a splendid institute like Johns Hopkins, but PTI’s chief Imran Khan and a former chief justice had caused huge damage to it. 

On his Twitter handle, the prime minister said that the PKLI had always been close to his heart and he wanted it to become an identity for Pakistan in the rest of the world for the treatment facilities in kidney and liver diseases.  

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An Afghan military helicopter crashed in the country’s north Sunday after hitting a power line base, killing at least two crewmembers, the Defense Ministry said.

The MD-530 chopper was patrolling in the area after it took off from northern Balkh province and crashed in the Kholim district in Samangan province, a ministry statement said.

Officials said the chopper hit the base of a high voltage power line before crashing.

ISLAMABAD, May 20 (APP): Pakistan on Saturday strongly condemned storming of Al Aqsa Mosque by a member of the Israeli occupation authority and members of the Knesset under protection of Israeli occupation forces.  

“Pakistan calls upon the international community to take urgent action to put an end to Israeli transgressions in the occupied territories that have been conspicuously ascendant since the beginning of this year,” Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a press statement.  

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan-Iran border markets would not only ameliorate the socioeconomic conditions of the border regions but also foster new opportunities for local businesses.

The prime minister, in an interview with Iran’s official news agency IRNA published on Thursday, stressed the importance of enhanced cooperation with Iran saying that the energy projects and border markets were emblematic of the vitality of Pakistan-Iran friendship.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan dialed down his campaign of defiance on Friday, saying he would allow a police search of his home over allegations that he was harboring suspects wanted in recent violence during anti-government protests by his supporters.

Khan, who is facing about 100 legal cases against him, also appeared before a court in his hometown of Lahore to seek protection from arrest in multiple terrorism cases that authorities have raised against the country’s top opposition leader.

ISLAMABAD, May 18 (NNN-APP) – Four children were killed and three others injured, in a wind storm, in Pakistan’s east Punjab province last night, police said.

The kids were sitting beside the wall of a mosque, in Mianwali District, when it collapsed on them, the police told the media.

The injured kids were shifted to a nearby hospital, where one of them is in a critical condition.