DHAKA, AUG 2: Bangladesh’s interim government said on Saturday it will release its slate of democratic overhauls on August 5, the one-year anniversary of the overthrow of the previous autocratic administration.

The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, ending her 15-year rule.

Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who is leading the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has said he inherited a “completely broken down” system of public administration.

Yunus previously pledged to unveil a “big package” to overhaul democratic institutions.

But efforts to reach agreements have made slow progress as political parties jostle for power ahead of elections, slated for early 2026.

Yunus’s government has warned that political power struggles risk jeopardising the gains that have been made.

On July 29, Yunus said he was working to “build a broad national consensus around a renewed political system — one that delivers inclusive, participatory, and credible elections”.

Yunus’s office said on Saturday that the “July Proclamation” would be “presented to the nation … in the presence of all political parties involved in the mass uprising”.

Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

Her government was also accused of politicising courts and the civil service, staging lopsided elections and dismantling democratic checks on its power.

Hasina, 77, fled to India, where she has defied court orders to attend her ongoing trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity.

Protests began on July 1, 2024, with university students calling for reforms to a quota system for public sector jobs.

They culminated on August 5, 2024, when thousands of protesters stormed Hasina’s palace as she escaped by helicopter.

ISLAMABAD, AUG 2 /DNA/ – Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, met today with the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, in Islamabad. Foreign Minister Araghchi is part of the delegation accompanying the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, for his state visit to Pakistan on 2–3 August 2025.

During the meeting, the two sides held preliminary discussions on key substantive issues to be addressed at the leadership level. These included regional developments, bilateral trade and connectivity, energy cooperation, and the need to strengthen mechanisms for regular consultation and coordination.

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the longstanding and brotherly ties between Pakistan and Iran. They also emphasised the importance of sustained dialogue, enhanced cooperation on economic and security matters, and greater people-to-people exchanges.

ISLAMABAD, AUG 2 /DNA/ – Muhammad Ali Randhawa, Chairman CDA and Chief Commissioner Islamabad chaired a high level meeting to review overall performance of CDA at CDA Headquarters. The meeting was attended by CDA Member Administration and Estate Talat Mahmood,
Member Engineering Syed Nafasat Raza, Member Planning Dr. Khalid Hafiz, Member Environment Esfandyar Baloch and Member Finance Tahir Naeem.

The meeting reviewed CDA’s overall performance, particularly in sector development, water supply in Islamabad, beautification projects, across the board actions against illegal housing societies, encroachments, construction of new sports complexes, operationalization of the Gandhara Citizen Art Center, upgradation of CDA Hospital, transformation of CDA Nursery into a “Gardenia Hub,” establishment of a Food Street in Blue Area, improvement of CDA Model Schools and the upgradation of 25 cricket and 25 football grounds, among other matters.

Chairman CDA and Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa said that provision of housing facilities to the of citizen of Islamabad is the their top priority of CDA. He said that while sports complexes are being constructed, all necessary steps along with resources must be allocated for uplifting of 25 cricket and 25 football grounds in Islamabad in order to promote sports activities and health activity in Islamabad. He said that no effort should be spared in the development and beautification of Islamabad, as well as installation of beautiful lights at all major roads.

Chairman CDA further said that in addition to addressing housing demands, strict action is being taken against illegal housing societies and cooperative societies across Islamabad. The CDA is also conducting surveys to assess how much land these societies originally applied with permission of lay out plan to CDA and how much land they possessed now and how many additional files they have sold out to citizen beyond their legal authorization. CDA intends to proceed all such illegal housing societies who have violated their layout plans as well as NOCs and will cancel illegal layout plans and withdraw all such NOCs in accordance with the law. Chairman CDA directed that all housing societies must install water treatment plants in their respective housing societies regarding provision of clean and safe drinking water to their citizens and ensure plot allotments strictly follow approved layout plans, rules and NOCs (No Objection Certificates).

Regarding water supply, Chairman CDA said that CDA is taking serious steps in order to meet the demands of citizen regarding provision of water. He said that establishment of Islamabad Water Agency is a step towards ensuring adequate water. He instructed that ensuring clean water for Islamabad is a major priority. Measures such as installing underground water septic tanks, fully operationalizing water tankers, tube wells and establishment of water treatment plants are being taken. He also directed the formulation of a sustainable water supply strategy, including seeking donor funding for long-term solutions, and further activating the Islamabad Water system.

Chairman CDA emphasized that all recruitments in CDA are being conducted transparently purely on merit to ensure the best talent to join CDA. He also ordered third-party audits of all CDA projects in order to maintain transparency, high-quality standards, from reputed audit firms to be engaged for this purpose.

To enhance healthcare services, Chairman CDA said that qualified doctors are being appointed at Capital Hospital, and the process of medicine procurement has been streamlined. Efforts are being made to ensure best treatment as well as medical facilities for all patients.

Regarding the CDA Nursery transform into Gardenia Hub, Chairman CDA said that funds are being utilized to transform it into a state-of-the-art “Gardenia Hub,” with Baku collaboration. He directed that efforts should be made for early completion of development and beautification of Gardenia Hub.

While expressing satisfaction on CDA’s overall performance, Chairman CDA urged further improvements to increase its performance and service delivery so that citizen should be further happy with the excellent performance of CDA.

ISLAMABAD, AUG 2 /DNA/ – Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif receives the President of Iran H.E. Dr. Mahmoud Pezeshkian and his delegation upon their arrival to Islamabad on their two days official visit to Pakistan.

The Iranian president — who was welcomed in Lahore by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif — is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including senior ministers and other high-ranking officials.

He paid a visit to the mausoleum of Allama Iqbal where he received a guard of honour from smartly turned-out personnel of the armed forces.

He offered fateha at Mazar-i-Iqbal and recorded his remarks in the visitor’s book.

The Iranian president, who is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, later arrived in the federal capital. Upon his arrival at the Nur Khan Air Base, the premier welcomed the visiting dignitary.

During his stay, the Iranian president will meet his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari and hold delegation-level talks with PM Shehbaz.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran ahead of his departure, Pezeshkian — who has embarked on his first official visit to Pakistan as president — had said the purpose of the visit was to enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Iran and Pakistan.

“The objective of this trip is to boost commercial and economic ties,” he stated. The Iranian president added that matters related to border security and regional peace would also be discussed during the visit.

“We believe that cross-border markets and connectivity can open new avenues for mutual cooperation,” he remarked.

President Pezeshkian further expressed hope that bilateral trade volume could be raised to $10 billion. He also highlighted Iran’s interest in active participation in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key component of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.

“The OBOR project offers Iran an opportunity to connect with Europe,” he noted, adding: “Attempts to undermine the Islamic unity between Pakistan and Iran will fail.”

During his stay, Pezeshkian will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, and hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who last visited Iran on May 26 and invited the Iranian official to visit Pakistan.

According to the Political Adviser to the Iranian President, Mehdi Sanai, official meetings and discussions with “cultural and business elites” were planned during the president’s visit.

“The relations between the two countries encompass political, economic, religious, and cultural dimensions,” he had said in a X post on July 30.

The development of provincial and border cooperation, as well as increasing trade from the current $3 billion, are among the objectives of the visit, the adviser concluded.

Pezeshkian will be the second Iranian president to visit Pakistan within two years. The visit was originally scheduled for the final week of July.

In April 2024, Ebrahim Raisi paid a three-day official visit to Pakistan — just a month before his death in a helicopter crash.

RAWALPINDI, AUG 2: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has criticised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, suggesting that he should resign if he fails to maintain law and order in the province, according to sources.

“If Ali Amin Gandapur cannot restore peace, he should step down,” the PTI founder was quoted as saying by sources, who spoke to Geo News on Saturday.

He further remarked that if Gandapur is unable to resolve governance issues, someone else should be given a chance.

Pakistan witnessed a surge in terror activities, particularly in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces, since the return of Taliban rulers in Afghanistan in 2021.

At least 476 incidents of terrorism were reported across KP during the first seven months of 2025, according to a police report obtained by Geo News.

The province-wide wave of violence left 121 civilians dead and 301 others injured. In the line of duty, 66 police personnel embraced martyrdom and 90 sustained injuries.

The report also noted that 10 Levies personnel were martyred and 8 injured, while the Frontier Corps (FC) lost 48 personnel with another 109 wounded. Overall, 55 members of other security forces were martyred and 112 injured during the same period.

Privileges reinstated

Meanwhile, sources added that the PTI founder’s jail privileges have been reinstated, including access to books and newspapers. Additionally, he was allowed a one-hour phone conversation with his children on the previous day.

He reportedly told prison officials that his children are welcome to visit him. However, he learned during the phone call that their National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOPs) had expired.

Imran, as per sources, said he had never asked his children to come to Pakistan for political protests.

Khan’s sister, Aleema Khan, had announced that PTI founder’s sons — Suleiman Khan and Kasim Khan would be taking part in August protest, which would be staged for the ex-premier’s release.

Later, reports emerged that Khan barred his children — who resided in the United Kingdom — from travelling to Pakistan and partaking in any political activity.

However, soon after such reports surfaced, the party rubbished them, stating that there’s no doubt that Suleman (28) and Kasim (26) would visit Pakistan for their father.

The 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician has been behind bars since August 2023 after he was booked in multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism since his ouster from power via the opposition’s no-trust motion in April 2022.

According to the sources today, the PTI founder also disapproved of his sister Aleema’s recent remarks about Mishal Yousafzai becoming a senator, calling them unnecessary and advising her to refrain from political commentary.

‘Imran’s sons have applied for NICOP’

Earlier in the day, Aleema that the former prime minister’s sons have applied for NICOP — the identity card issued to Pakistani citizens residing outside the country and allowing visa-free entry.

“The PTI founder’s sons have applied for NICOP and visa,” Aleema said while speaking to the media, adding that possess NICOP, but it had since then been lost.

Expanding on the youngsters’ visa issue, Aleema said that had the tracking number for their application despite the fact that the people at the embassy were saying that they had not received any application.

“A friend called the ambassador and said that permission has to be taken from the Ministry of Interior. I told him that whoever takes permission, take it from [Interior Minister] Mohsin Naqvi.”

“Yesterday, a news surfaced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be issuing the visa and not the Ministry of Interior,” Aleema said, adding that the ambassador was now not answering any queries.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 2 (APP/DNA): Residents of G-8/1 and G-8 Markaz are urging the authorities concerned of CDA to expand on-ground operations, ensure safer streets, and launch awareness campaigns to prevent pet abandonment.

Talking to APP here on Friday, residents of Sector G-8/1 have raised serious concerns over the growing number of stray dogs in their neighbourhood, urging the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to take immediate and humane action.

Shumyla Noreen, a local resident, warned that the unchecked presence of stray dogs is becoming a daily threat, especially for children and the elderly. “It’s becoming risky for people to move around freely, particularly during early morning and late evening hours,” she said.

Another resident, Sanum, echoed the concern, highlighting the difficulties faced by pedestrians. “Many people are afraid to walk on certain streets due to the fear of being chased or bitten,” she said.

In response, when a senior official from CDA was contacted, he negated the impression and said that the civic body was taking all possible measures to effectively tackle the issue.

“The public is welcome to visit the center and observe the care and treatment being provided to these animals,” the official stated.

The CDA had inaugurated Islamabad’s first dedicated facility for stray dog management in September 2022, with a capacity to house 500 dogs, he said.

The center aims to implement humane, non-lethal methods such as sterilization and vaccination under the World Health Organization’s Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (TNVR) model, he added.

Animal rights activists, however, continue to raise concerns about delays in the release of sterilized dogs and alleged neglect at the facility.

The Islamabad High Court, in a recent ruling, directed authorities to strictly follow scientific and humane protocols, warning that the center’s operations could be halted if standards are not maintained.

In recent months, the presence of stray dog packs has grown, particularly in the Capital Territory sector G/8, G/9 and Chattha Bakhtawar.

GENEVA, AUG 2 /DNA/ – Mr. Isphanyar Bhandara concluded his participation in the 6th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva as a member of Pakistan’s five-member parliamentary delegation led by Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

On the sidelines of the conference, the Pakistani delegation engaged in a series of high-level interactions with parliamentary speakers from key strategic partners including the United Kingdom, China, Türkiye, and Iran. These meetings focused on enhancing parliamentary cooperation, fostering people-to-people linkages, and reaffirming shared positions on critical regional and global challenges.

Key issues discussed included the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and broader multilateral engagement. Strategic priorities such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and strengthening institutional collaboration were also prominently featured.

Mr. Bhandara expressed his honour at representing Pakistan on this important global platform, contributing to dialogue aimed at promoting peace, mutual understanding, and long-term partnerships.

ISLAMABAD, AUG 2 (DNA): Admissions for all academic programs from Matriculation to PhD are now open at Allama Iqbal Open University for the Autumn Semester 2025.

According to the AIOU, this is a golden opportunity for students across the country to benefit from modern and quality education while staying at home. All interested students can obtain the online admission form and prospectus from the University’s official website www.aiou.edu.pk.

Details about all programs, admission criteria and other guidance can be obtained by contacting the university’s helpline at 051-111-112-468. In addition, complete information and assistance can also be availed from nearby regional campuses.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Nasir Mahmood has strictly instructed all regional offices to ensure complete guidance and maximum facilitation for students so that no aspiring learner is deprived of this educational opportunity. He has also directed regional coordinators to effectively promote the admission campaign at the grassroots level to convey the message of education to every segment of society.

Dr. Nasir Mahmood expressed the hope that students from across the country would take maximum advantage of this opportunity and resume their educational journey toward a brighter future. He further instructed that students who are unable to pay fees due to financial constraints should be provided fee concessions so that underprivileged and deserving children are not deprived of education.

This initiative of Allama Iqbal Open University will prove to be an important milestone in promoting education and ensuring access for every segment of society. Whether you are a student or a parent, seize this opportunity today and secure a bright future by enrolling now.=DNA

ISLAMABAD, AUG 2: “Disasters have no religion, no humanity and no mercy. We need to have a socially cohesive and inclusive climate adaptation action plan at grassroot level countrywide. Community based disaster risk reduction and preemptive measures for every household on shared vision is a must to combat the menace of climate impact at the final era of this human race. Being a top most vulnerable country to climate induced disasters, our communities are the frontline victims which are estimated to 70 percent of the population,” said Munir Ahmed, a renowned environment, climate, and development diplomacy expert, and Executive Director of Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan), while delivering the keynote address at a community dialogue titled “Climate Change and Social Cohesion – Our Responsibilities for grassroot Communities.”

The event was jointly organized by Alfalah Without Walls and the Christian Study Centre at Islamabad on Saturday, bringing together an inclusive gathering of faith leaders, civil society representatives, educators, youth, development professionals, and concerned citizens. The aim was to explore the growing connection between climate change impacts and the erosion or strengthening of social cohesion—particularly at the grassroots level.

In his keynote speech as a guest of honour, Munir Ahmed emphasized that climate change is already reshaping the daily lives of ordinary citizens in Pakistan. From severe droughts in arid regions to flash floods and urban heatwaves, the consequences of changing climate patterns are visible and increasing in frequency and intensity. “The most vulnerable, especially women, youth, elderly citizens, religious minorities, and those living in informal settlements face the harshest consequences of a crisis they did not cause,” Ahmed said. “Their resilience is not just a matter of survival, it is central to our national climate response.”

He elaborated on how the fragmentation of communities due to climate stress, such as competition over scarce water, livelihood losses, or inequitable disaster relief, can undermine social trust and peace. However, he also offered a hopeful perspective: “Where communities stand united, informed, and organized, they can turn these challenges into opportunities for collaboration and mutual support. Social cohesion becomes the foundation for climate resilience.”

Ahmed underlined that climate change should be treated as a bottom-up policy for a paradigm shift that centers local communities as the frontline actors. “Each neighborhood, village, town, and urban block has the potential to lead localized climate solutions.”

Calling for climate responsibility at the grassroots level, he urged that climate action must start from home and radiate outward into the community. “Avoiding open waste burning, reducing single-use plastic, conserving water, and reusing greywater for gardens or sanitation purposes are simple yet impactful actions. Community members can collectively organize ‘green neighborhood’ campaigns, a drive the Devcom-Pakistan launched in 2015.”

He also advocated for leveraging the moral influence of faith leaders and places of worship to embed climate awareness into sermons, religious education, and community outreach. “Islamic and Christian teachings alike emphasize stewardship of the Earth, moderation in consumption, and justice in resource use. We must align our faith-based values with climate advocacy and action agenda.”

Furthermore, Munir Ahmed called on local governments and development partners to invest more in community-based climate adaptation and resilience-building programs. He suggested forming Community Climate Action Circles that would bring together diverse stakeholders—teachers, religious leaders, youth activists, and elders—to plan and implement context-specific climate solutions.

Organizers from Alfalah Without Walls and the Christian Study Centre, Fahmeeda Salim, Ilyas Iderys, advocate Basharat Masih and Shumaila Amir appreciated Munir Ahmed’s insights and reaffirmed their commitment to promoting interfaith harmony, inclusive participation, and community resilience. They noted that local dialogues such as this are essential in bridging knowledge gaps and mobilizing communities to own their role in environmental stewardship.

The event ended with a powerful community pledge, conducted by the Devcom-Pakistan chief, to integrate climate action into daily life by the individuals. Participants agreed to form a working group to sustain engagement beyond the event and collaborate on small-scale but meaningful local initiatives. A song of love for humanity and togetherness for peace and harmony was also launched. The song is written and composed by Ilyas Inderyas and the team Alfalah Without Walls.