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Punjab mining bills draw flak for targeting forests

• PA panel approves three bills to permit mining in protected areas • WWF-P says biodiversity loss will be irreparable, move against climate pledges LAHORE: Serious concerns emerged over potential damage to protected forests and wildlife habitats after the Standing Committee on Forests and Wildlife of the Punjab Assembly unanimously approved three similar amendment bills that would permit mining activities in protected areas. The committee approved the Punjab Protected Areas (Amend­ment) Bill 2026, the Forests (Amendment) Bill 2026, and the Punjab Wildlife (Protection and Management) (Amendment) Bill 2026 during a meeting chaired by acting chairperson Chaudhry Akhtar Abbas Bosal. Under the proposed legislation, the Punjab government decided to promote the mining sector by allowing mineral extraction even in protected forests and designated conservation areas. The amendments aim to revise existing laws, including the Forest Act 1927, the Punjab Protected Areas Act 2020 , and the Pu...
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Trump eyes round two of Islamabad talks within days

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Workers and journalists stand in front of a building in Tehran, which was hit by US-Israel air strikes days before a ceasefire took effect last week.—AFP • Says dialogue with Iran may resume within two days as diplomatic efforts intensify • PM Shehbaz set to visit S. Arabia, Turkiye as Dar meets top diplomats • China warns naval blockade of Hormuz to aggravate confrontation • Iranian president praises states for stance against ‘warmongering’ Israel • Macron urges Trump, Pezeshkian to resume talks, include Lebanon in ceasefire • Xi meets UAE leadership, puts forward four-point proposal WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday hinted at a possible second round of talks with Iran in Islamabad within days, even as Washington stepped up military pressure by enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports following the failure of weekend negotiations . Speaking to the New York Post in a phone interview, Trump said fresh talks could take place in Pakistan “over the ...
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Lebanon, Israel agree to direct negotiations after Washington talks

Israel and Lebanon agreed to direct negotiations following talks in Washington on Tuesday that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had hailed as a “historic opportunity” for peace. The two countries have technically been at war for decades, and Tuesday’s talks have been vehemently opposed by Hezbollah, which announced that it had fired rockets at more than a dozen northern Israeli towns just as the meeting was getting under way. The United States is pressing for a halt to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, fearing it could derail the two-week ceasefire in Washington’s war with Iran after talks with Tehran in Pakistan failed to achieve a breakthrough. Tuesday’s meeting in Washington, the first high-level direct talks since 1993, was mediated by Rubio and involved the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States. “This is a historic opportunity,” Rubio said as he welcomed the ambassadors, acknowledging the “decades of history” complicating the process. “The hope toda...
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No Strait answer: Can international law stay afloat in Hormuz?

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On Sunday, President Donald Trump stepped in to raise the stakes of an already volatile standoff, announcing that the United States Navy would begin “BLOCKADING” the Strait of Hormuz — delivered, in classic Trump fashion, the emphatic all-caps. The deadline passed at 7pm (PST) on Monday. The developments came after a night of diplomacy in Islamabad that promised more than it delivered, with inconclusive takeaways and very little to show for 21 hours of deliberations. The negotiations ended with a terse briefing from JD Vance, confirming what everyone had been hoping to avoid: nothing had been agreed. Judging from the string of off-the-cuff, rhetorically charged posts on Trump’s Truth Social feed, he appears to have revived what once again looks like the ‘madman theory’ — using brinkmanship and unpredictability as a strategic bargaining chip. He seems to be signalling that if Iran can rattle markets by blocking one of the world’s primary energy arteries, Washington can rattle t...
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Two Customs officers arrested for allegedly replacing 400kg of seized silver with lead

The Pakistan Customs said on Monday that two of its preventive officers had been arrested on charges of “swapping 400 kilogrammes of seized silver bullion with lead”. In a statement on X, the Pakistan Customs said the alleged replacement of silver with lead was carried out “during official transportation from Quetta to Pakistan Mint Lahore”. A first information report had been registered and both officers were in custody, the statement said. It added, “The officers were officially deputed to transport 688 kg of confiscated silver in 36 sealed boxes via Pakistan International Airlines from Quetta to Lahore. Upon unpacking at Pakistan Mint, 400 kg of silver was found to have been replaced with fake lead bricks of identical weight and packaging.” According to the statement, CCTV footage from Safe City in Quetta “confirmed the deliberate swapping of the transportation vehicle carrying the original silver”. from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/hOBvRio
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LHC sets aside ruling that struck down policy for regulating foreign funding of NGOs, NPOs

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday set aside a ruling that had struck down a federal government policy introduced in 2022 to regulate foreign funding of non-governmental and non-profit organisations. The policy was set aside by a single bench in September 2024, with Justice Asim Hafeez observing the constitutional scheme did not envisage the exercise of legislative powers by the federal cabinet unless such power or authority was exercised under the authority of the legislature. He had declared the policy unlawful, invalid and of no legal effect. But a two-member bench comprising Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal and Justice Syed Ahsan Raza Kazmi observed today that such policy-making squarely fell within the executive domain and was protected from “undue judicial interference”. The bench restored the Policy for Local NGOs/NPOs Receiving Foreign Contributions 2022. Multiple intra-court appeals were filed by the federation in the wake of a Sept 6, 2024 judgment. Advocate Saqib...
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Israeli minister storms Al Aqsa Mosque again amid restrictions on worshippers

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sunday stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem under heavy police protection. Citing the Jerusalem Governorate, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said the incursion came amid an ongoing escalation of violations against Islamic and Christian holy sites in East Jerusalem, as well as continued restrictions on worshippers’ access to the mosque. Such incursions by Ben-Gvir are typically carried out without prior public announcement. Israeli ministers are only permitted to enter the Al Aqsa compound with advance approval from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The minister has continued these provocations despite repeated Arab, Islamic, and international condemnations. Al Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area Temple Mount, claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times. Sunday’s raid comes after Israeli forces turned part...
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