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At least 5 dead, 29 injured in blast at BNP rally in Quetta’s Shahwani Stadium

At least five people were killed and 29 were injured in a blast at a rally of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) at Quetta’s Shahwani Stadium on Tuesday night. A statement from the Balochistan Health Department said the blast occurred at a rally of the BNP-M and listed five dead and 29 injured in the incident. It said the injured were brought to the Quetta Civil Hospital for treatment and were provided first aid before being admitted to the trauma centre for further medical attention. Quetta Civil Hospital spokesperson Dr Waseem Baig also confirmed the same toll. In a media talk at the hospital, Advocate Sajid Tareen, acting president of the BNP-M, said 13 party workers were killed in the blast and several were injured, adding that the attack occurred in the parking lot after a party rally to observe the death anniversary of party founder Attaullah Mengal. He had earlier posted a picture on X of the crowd gathered for the rally. Tareen said the party already had app...

Imran urged to seek overseas Pakistanis’ help for flood victims

• PTI parliamentary body says international community showed little interest in flood relief • Endorses boycott of by-polls and resignation from parliamentary committees; daily walkouts planned in NA and Senate to highlight ‘lack of democracy’ in country ISLAMABAD: Claiming that the international community has not shown interest in supporting Pakistan after floods , the parliamentary committee of the PTI on Monday urged former prime minister Imran Khan to appeal to overseas Pakistanis to donate funds through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to help flood-hit people in Punjab and KP. The committee endorsed the decision of Imran Khan to boycott the by-elections and resign from parliamentary committees. It also decided to stage a daily boycott of the National Assembly to send a message to national and international community that the democracy does not exist in the country. PTI leader Asad Qaiser, while talking to Dawn , said that during the meeting, Barrister Gohar Ali Khan brief...

Islamabad police arrest man for allegedly ‘harassing, attempting to kidnap’ social media influencer

Islamabad police on Monday arrested a man for allegedly harassing and attempting to kidnap social media influencer Samiya Hijab. A statement from the police spokesperson said the action was taken after her complaint and video statement. A case was registered in the capital’s Shalimar Police Station at her complaint under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 392 (punishment for robbery), 500 (punishment for defamation), 509 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The suspect had been stalking her for several days, the social media influencer said in the first information report. She added that on Sunday at 6:30pm, an attempt was made to forcefully take her out of the house “Today’s incident further escalated when he attempted to forcibly abduct me from my house while I was returning his gifts. This amounts to abduction, harassment, and assault under th...

First Afghan families allowed into Germany from Pakistan

A group of 47 Afghans who fled the Taliban arrived in Germany on Monday after months of waiting in Pakistan until German court rulings forced Berlin to offer them refuge. The 10 families have been among more than 2,000 Afghans caught in limbo in Pakistan as Germany’s conservative-led government this year froze a programme to offer them sanctuary. Most of them arrived in Hanover on a commercial flight from Istanbul around 2pm (1200 GMT), said an AFP reporter and the Airbridge Kabul initiative set up to help those affected. An interior ministry spokeswoman confirmed that “45 Afghan nationals entered Germany. These are all individuals who obtained visas through legal proceedings … All of these individuals have fully completed the admission procedure and security screening“. The Airbridge Kabul initiative later said that two more people had arrived after catching a later connection from Istanbul. A mother and daughter who did not want to give their names told AFP they were looking ...

Wheat plantation area declined by 6.5pc in Pakistan, says FAO

ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agri­culture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations says though the wheat production in Pakistan has officially been estimated at 29 million tonnes in 2025, reflecting about 5 per cent above the five-year average, the area planted has declined by 6.5pc compared to the previous year. The reason for the decline in area of plantation is attributed to the removal of the minimal support price since May 2024, combined with low domestic wheat prices at the planting time that led some farmers to shift to more profitable vegetables and cash crops, including oilseeds, condiments and vegetables, says Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) on Pakistan in its latest issue. In irrigated areas, yields are estimated to be above average, but dry weather conditions caused crop losses in rain-fed areas, which acco­unt for about 20pc of wheat plantings, and in some irrigated areas in northern parts due to shortage of irrigation water, the F...

Tremors jolt KP, Punjab after 6-magnitude quake hits Afghanistan

Tremors from a 6.0 magnitude earthquake were felt across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in the early hours of Monday, according to the authorities but no casualties or damage was reported. According to the state-run PTV which cited the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the earthquake was recorded at 12:18am. It added that the tremors were felt in Peshawar, Manshera, Abbottabad, Hangu, Malakand, Swat, Chitral, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. A Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said the quake was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometres with its epicentre located southwest of Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shocks were also felt in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Tajikistan. Following the tremors, district administrations across Punjab began inspections of buildings to assess structural safety. “However, no casualties or damage have been reported so far,” PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia confirmed. The PDMA stated that its provin...

Ogra notifies 0.54pc decrease in LPG price

The Oil and Gas Regulatory (Ogra) on Sunday notified the new price of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) at Rs214.19 per kilogramme for the month of September, according to a notification available with Dawn.com . Last month, the price of LPG was set at Rs215.37 per kg for August, down from Rs233.10 in July — a decrease of Rs17.73 per kg. Consequently, the price of an 11.8kg domestic cylinder was fixed at Rs2,541.36. According to today’s notification, Ogra set the per kg price of LPG at Rs214.19, down from Rs215.37 — a decrease of Rs1.18 per kg since last month. The price for an 11.8kg cylinder was set at Rs2,527.47 — making a cylinder Rs13.89 cheaper than the month prior. These prices are effective from September 1 onwards. “The LPG producer price is linked with Saudi Aramco-CP and US dollar exchange rate,” a separate Ogra press release read. “As compared to [the] previous month, Saudi Aramco-CP remains unchanged. The average dollar exchange rate has slightly decreased by 0.69pc resu...