Category: 1. Pakistan

In a startling disclosure, the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) subcommittee has revealed that more than 1,000 laptops distributed under the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme Phase-II went missing.

Audit officials informed the committee that 1,011 laptops were reported stolen or untraceable. While 784 have since been recovered, 227 remain unaccounted for, causing a financial loss of around Rs. 12 million. Despite the lapse, no action has been taken against those responsible.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) clarified that earlier discrepancies involved 179 laptops, but the number has now been reduced to 143, with Karachi and Government Sadiq College Women’s University, Bahawalpur, still under scrutiny.

The PAC has directed authorities to ensure recovery of the remaining laptops within one month, warning that if they fail, the losses will be recovered from those held accountable.

A Karachi anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday sent Chanesar Town Municipal Corporation (TMC) Chairman Farhan Ghani on a three-day physical remand over the alleged assault of a government employee.

Farhan, brother of PPP leader and Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, was arrested and remanded in a terrorism and attempted murder case on Sunday for allegedly assaulting a government employee overseeing fibre optic network laying work on Sharea Faisal. Saeed had said his brother and his associates would voluntarily surrender themselves and prove their “innocence in court”.

Farhan, Shakeel and Qamar Ahmed were produced before Judicial Magistrate (East) Waseem Abbas today upon the completion of their one-day police custody.

The judge asked the IO the charges under which the accused were booked, to which the IO responded that the accused had beaten up the plaintiff while he and others were laying down the fibre optic cable on Sharea Faisal.

Farhan, who did not have legal representation, denied the claim, stating that he was “falsely accused”. He went on to say that he was only passing by and, as TMC chairman, he had a “right to ask why the area had been dug up”.

“I asked for a permission certificate, but they could not produce one,” Farhan claimed, adding that it is his job “to stop anything illegal”.

In response to the judge’s enquiry on how the suspects were arrested, the IO said they had turned themselves in.

The IO then requested Judge Abbas to grant the police 14-day custody of the suspects for further investigation. However, the judge approved a four-day physical remand till August 28.

He also ordered the IO to present a progress report at the next hearing.

Complainant Hafiz Sohail Jadoon had filed a first information report (FIR) at the Ferozabad police station on late Saturday night.

According to the FIR, at around 4:47pm on August 22, around 20-25 persons, including Farhan, arrived at the site of the incident in three vehicles and asked him whether he had permission to dig up Sharea Faisal.

Jadoon alleged that he told them he had all the required permissions, but some of them misbehaved with him and asked him to stop the work immediately. The complainant said that when he insisted that he had all the required no-objection certificates, they started using abusive language and beating him.

He went on to say that the men dragged him at gunpoint to a room of a nearby fuel station, keeping him in illegal confinement and continued to beat him.

In the meantime, a police team arrived and rescued the complainant. They took him to the police station, where he lodged the FIR.

Asim Jahangir, a suspect known for causing fear and terror in the federal capital, was critically injured on Monday after his own men shot him during a police operation, said officials.

A raid team from Shalimar Police Station was escorting Asim for the identification and apprehension of his associates. As the team reached Green Area, Asim’s men opened direct fire on the convoy.

Asim is in hospital in critical condition, said police sources, adding that the police van was damaged but no one else was hurt. Four teams are hunting for the attackers.

Read: Another life snuffed out by trigger-happy muggers

DIG Muhammad Jawad Tariq confirmed that Asim is wanted in 19 cases.

According to a senior federal police officer who spoke to Express News, on the night of August 13th and 14th, Asim Jahangir took a police team hostage during a raid in Islamabad’s Sector E-11 and fatally shot ASI Khushaal, the duty officer of Shalimar Police Station.

The Foreign Office on Monday said India had shared flood warnings with Pakistan but stressed that the alerts were routed through diplomatic channels rather than the Indus Waters Commission, as stipulated under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

India in April held the IWT in abeyance following the attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 — an incident New Delhi blamed on Islamabad without evidence. Pakistan termed any attempt to suspend its water share an “act of war”, noting the IWT had no provision for unilateral suspension.

Under paragraph 8 of Article IV of the IWT, “each party agrees to communicate to the other party, as far in advance as practicable, any information it may have in regard to such extraordinary discharges of water from reservoirs and flood flows as may affect the other party”.

Punjab is on high alert for floods before the arrival of a fresh monsoon spell as the provincial government on Saturday evacuated thousands of people along the Sutlej River, as the river surged to a high flood level at Ganda Singh Wala, recording a dangerous flow of 129,866 cusecs.

Amid the situation, a missive on Sunday from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, notified the government of a high flood in Jammu’s Tawi River that flows into the Chenab River.

Confirming the development today, FO Spokesperson Shahfqat Ali Khan said: “On August 24, 2025, India communicated flood warnings through diplomatic channels, rather than through the IWC as required under the IWT.

“We reaffirm that India is obligated to fully comply with all provisions of the treaty. India’s unilateral declaration to hold the treaty in abeyance constitutes a serious violation of international law and could have significant negative consequences for peace and stability in South Asia.”

An Indian government source told Reuters today that the country shared the warning on possible cross-border flooding on “humanitarian grounds” and not under the IWT.

The Indian High Commission in Islamabad shared the warning following heavy rains in occupied Kashmir, the source said. India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The source declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 25 (APP):National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Monday called upon citizens, civil society, and the business community to extend wholehearted support to families affected by recent floods across Pakistan, terming rehabilitation a “collective national responsibility.”

In a statement, the Speaker emphasised that both individual and coordinated efforts were vital to provide relief and rehabilitation to those who had lost their homes, livelihoods, and loved ones.

He urged philanthropists, welfare organisations, and civil society to actively contribute to ongoing relief operations, noting that joint efforts alongside government measures would significantly ease the suffering of flood victims.

He stressed that coordinated assistance alongside the government’s ongoing measures would significantly ease the suffering of the victims.

“Rehabilitation of the flood-affected communities is our collective national responsibility. No segment of society can remain indifferent at this critical hour,” Speaker Sadiq remarked.

He highlighted that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and several other regions of the country are in urgent need of food, shelter, and medical assistance.

Appealing to the business community and generous individuals, the Speaker called for wholehearted contributions for the reconstruction of damaged houses and the restoration of basic facilities in flood-affected areas.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq also appealed to the youth of Pakistan to volunteer their time and energy in relief and rehabilitation efforts. “Young volunteers can play a decisive role in assisting with the distribution of food, medical supplies, and in rebuilding the lives of those devastated by floods,” he added.

The Speaker urged the nation to demonstrate unity, compassion, and a spirit of sacrifice during this difficult period. He underlined the importance of making affected families feel that they are not alone in their struggle.

“This is a time for solidarity and empathy. Standing by our brothers and sisters in their hour of need is not only a moral obligation but also a national duty,” Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said.

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan’s eastern city of Faisalabad sentenced senior aides of former prime minister Imran Khan for up to 10 years in prison on Monday for being involved in the attack on a federal minister’s house during the May 9, 2023, riots, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a statement.

Angry Khan supporters took to the streets on May 9, 2023, when the former prime minister was first briefly arrested by the country’s anti-corruption agency, NAB, in a land bribery case popularly called the Al-Qadir trust case. The government says supporters of Khan’s PTI had attacked important state buildings and damaged vehicles during the riots and ransacked military facilities. Khan and his aides deny instigating supporters to attack government and military installations. 

According to the PTI, the ATC sentenced 75 people out of a total of 109 accused, acquitting 34. Fifty-nine were issued 10-year prison sentences, including senior Khan aides Omar Ayub Khan, Shibli Faraz, Zartaj Gul Wazir, and others for attacking the residence of Minister for Provincial Coordination Rana Sanaullah in Faisalabad during the May 9 riots, the party said. 

“Under the guise of May 9, innumerable injustices have been inflicted upon ordinary citizens, families and leadership of PTI, harassed, lives shattered, and individuals subjected to unspeakable torment,” the PTI said in a message to the media. 

Other aides of the former prime minister slapped with 10-year imprisonment sentences include Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, nephew of former railways minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Rai Murtaza Iqbal, Kanwal Shauzab, Rai Hassan Nawaz, Ahmad Chattha, Ansar Iqbal, Bilal Ijaz, Ashraf Sohna, Mehr Javed, Shakeel Niazi and others.

Former information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain and Zain Qureshi, son of senior Khan aide Shah Mahmood Qureshi, were among those acquitted of the charges. 

Earlier this month, a court in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore sentenced over a dozen members of the PTI to as many as 10 years in prison for their involvement in the May 9, 2023, riots. These included Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhry, Mahmood-ur-Rashid and Umar Sarfaraz Cheema. PTI leaders Alia Hamza and Sanam Javed were also sentenced to five years in prison. 

Earlier, an ATC in Pakistan’s eastern Sargodha city sentenced Khan aides Ahmed Chattha, Bilal Ejaz and Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar to 10 years in prison on July 22 for their involvement in the 2023 riots as well.

It was followed by the sentencing of 108 PTI members on July 31, including Omar Ayub Khan, Faraz, Hamid Raza and Wazir to 10 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on July 31.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has welcomed the court’s ruling, accusing PTI supporters of setting fire to government buildings, damaging military property and injuring law enforcement personnel during the May 9, 2023, unrest.

Khan, who remains popular despite being ousted from office after a parliamentary vote in April 2022, says the cases against him are politically motivated to keep him and his PTI away from power. The government denies these allegations and says Khan’s party carries out violent protests to derail the government’s efforts to ensure sustainable economic progress. 

Pakistan’s top court last week granted bail to Khan in eight cases linked to the 2023 riots. He has been in jail since August 2023 when a court sentenced him to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts while he was the premier. The sentence barred the opposition leader from contesting in 2024 general elections.