05-04-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ BALKH/ ISLAMABAD: Taliban forces have killed six members of the ISIL armed group (ISIS) in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province during an overnight raid, a Taliban spokesman said on Tuesday. The raid comes as the Taliban rulers crack down on the regional affiliate …

04-04-2023 By SJA Jafri ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court has declared the country’s poll panel’s decision to delay the assembly elections in two provinces as “unconstitutional”. The top court on Tuesday ordered the government to hold snap polls in the most populous province of Punjab on May 14. The court’s verdict …

01-04-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: On the fifth day of the holy month of Ramadan, Matiullah Wesa, an advocate for girls’ and women’s education in Afghanistan, went to a neighborhood mosque in Kabul for asr (evening) prayers. As the 30-year-old left the mosque with his younger …

29-03-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: A prominent Afghan campaigner for female education has been arrested by the Taliban, even as teenage girls and women remain barred from classrooms. Matiullah Wesa, 30, had often received threats, he has spent years travelling across Afghanistan trying to improve access …

22-03-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE/ QUETTA: An earthquake of 6.8 magnitudes shook parts of Pakistan on Tuesday, killing dozens people including two women, and injuring over 260 others as well as causing many buildings to collapse, authorities said. Earthquake tremors were felt in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, …

17-03-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Amidst the Afghan capital, a madrassa witnesses rows of teenage girls fervently reciting verses from the holy Quran, while a religious scholar keeps a close eye on their progress. Following the return of the Taliban to power in August …

16-03-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE/ KARACHI: After clashing with supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan outside his home for a second day Wednesday, police paused their efforts to arrest the ousted premier for failing to appear in court last week on graft charges. Police …

16-03-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + BBC MELBOURNE/ QUEENSLAND/ TOWNSVILLE: Once again, another alleged state crime, deliberate negligence and committed human discrimination exposed when world media reported about a teenage boy’s solitary detention and almost half of the world population declared Australian authorities are more worse than anyone, …

16-03-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies DUBAI/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Emirati authorities on Wednesday of arbitrarily detaining for over 15 months as many as 2,700 Afghan evacuees who have not qualified for resettlement elsewhere. Many of the Afghans in Emirates Humanitarian City are …

15-03-2023 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report LAHORE/ ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI: Supporters of Pakistan’s main opposition leader Imran Khan have clashed with police outside his home as officers try to arrest him. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the supporters, who threw stones and bricks. There is a tense situation …