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Former Pakistan prime minister and one of his party deputies each sentenced to 10 years in prisonA Pakistani court has sentenced the former prime minister Imran Khan and one of his party deputies to 10 years in prison each after finding them guilty of revealing official secrets.According to Zulfiqar Bukhari, a spokesperson for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the court announced the verdict at a...

Foreign minister draws comparison to similar claim in Canada and says India must be held to accountPakistan has said it has credible evidence that Indian agents carried out two assassinations on Pakistani soil, and drawn comparisons to the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada.In a press briefing on Thursday, the foreign secretary, Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, said India was running a “sophisticated and...

Airstrikes come after Iran targeted sites inside Pakistan that Tehran claimed were used by a Sunni militant groupMiddle East crisis: live updatesPakistan has launched retaliatory strikes against militants in Iran in response to attacks by Tehran that targeted sites within Pakistan’s borders allegedly belonging to a Sunni separatist militant group.A statement by Pakistan’s foreign office early on Thursday confirmed it had undertaken “a series...

Pakistan says attacks killed two children in ‘unprovoked violation’ of its airspace, adding to regional instability sparked by Israel-Gaza warMiddle East crisis: latest updatesIran has launched airstrikes on Pakistan territory, apparently aimed at a Sunni militant group, in the latest sign of a wave of violence rolling across the Middle East and beyond.Pakistan’s foreign ministry said two children were killed and three others were...

Supreme court ruling is latest setback for jailed leader before general electionPakistan’s supreme court has rejected an attempt by the party of the former prime minister Imran Khan to retain its traditional electoral symbol of a cricket bat, in the latest setback for the jailed leader before a general election.Khan’s party, at odds with powerful army generals, has been grappling with a military-backed crackdown...

Afghan affiliate of IS claims responsibility for blasts in memorial crowd as Tehran tightens security on its eastern bordersMiddle East crisis – live updatesIslamic State has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on a crowd in southern Iran marking the anniversary of the death of the senior Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Suleimani.At least 84 people died when two blasts ripped through the crowd near Suleimani’s...

Former prime minister is barred from standing in elections after being jailed for unlawfully selling state gifts while in officePakistan’s election body has rejected former prime minister Imran Khan’s nomination to contest the 2024 national elections in two constituencies, officials and his party’s media team said on Saturday.The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since...

Border officers say most drones carry opium and heroin, fuelling a drugs crisis in Punjab, while others drop weaponsIndian border security have said they are battling an unprecedented “drone menace” infiltrating the border with Pakistan, fuelling the drugs crisis in the state of Punjab and raising serious security issues.Officials from India’s border security force (BSF) in the border state of Punjab told the Guardian...

All five children remain in Pakistan, despite efforts of Surrey council to secure their returnThe older brother and half-siblings of the 10-year-old schoolgirl Sara Sharif, who was found dead at the home of her father and stepmother in August, have been made wards of court in this country.Despite efforts by Surrey county council to secure their return to the UK, all five children, aged...

Cloud seeding improves air quality in city of Lahore but experts say practice is not a sustainable solutionArtificial rain has been used in an attempt to lower pollution levels in Lahore, Pakistan.The capital city of the eastern province of Punjab, near the Indian border, has some of the worst air quality in the world and has become extremely polluted because of a growing population...