Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has opposed the possible imposition of governor’s rule or an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing such a move as an attack on the democratic mandate and constitutional rights of the province’s people.

In a statement issued after a joint meeting of the party’s political and core committees on Saturday, PTI warned that imposing governor’s rule could heighten political tensions and public unrest in the province.

The party stressed that the constitutional rights of residents of the merged tribal districts, along with the protection of peace and promotion of development, must remain priorities.

It also reiterated its unconditional condemnation of terrorism in all its forms.

According to the statement, measures to combat terrorism should take into account resolutions passed by the provincial assembly and the positions of political parties.

PTI maintained that consultation with elected public representatives was essential for effective counterterrorism efforts.

The party welcomed what it described as the democratic stance of the Awami National Party (ANP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and Jamaat-e-Islami, urging other political parties to contribute to protecting constitutional supremacy and the public mandate.

PTI also expressed full support for the ongoing peaceful long march led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and reiterated its demand for the release of the party’s founder.

The statement rejected reports of differences between Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and the party’s political and core committees. It said the chief minister could not attend the meeting due to his busy schedule and insisted that there was no disagreement between him and the committees.

Members of both committees expressed full confidence in Afridi’s leadership, according to the statement.

PTI further announced that its political and core committees would convene again if any extraordinary constitutional or administrative measures were introduced in the province.

The party reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the Constitution, safeguarding democratic institutions and continuing its peaceful political struggle.
 

Police Saturday claimed to have detained a man and a woman in connection with false documents pertaining to a foreign university scholarship linked to the suicide of a student.

Gold medalist Ijaz Ijaz of International Islamic University Islamabad was discovered dead in the city a day earlier. Police are probing her alleged suicide and charges that a man impersonating a government official had cheated her family by giving them fake documents for university admissions after collecting money to sponsor her studies overseas.

Sources said the Islamabad Police has arrested the nominated suspects of fraud and an inquiry has been started.
Police have also received CCTV footage of the girl apparently committing suicide walking through a roadway.

Earlier, a case was launched against two persons at FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle.

The FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle has registered a case for getting Rs9.3 million on the premise of granting US visa and scholarship. In the case the names Muhammad Noman and Fatima Sarwar were mentioned.

Similarly, FIA officials added that Rs2.9 million out of the sum collected was paid through Laiba Ijaz’s bank account and the rest was paid in cash.

In the FIR, it was alleged that the deceased victim Laiba Ijaz died due to the financial scam and the resultant mental agony.

– Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday denounced a Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which reportedly killed 12 people and injured more than 300, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to the kingdom’s security under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

In a post on X, the prime minister said attacks targeting civilian and critical infrastructure were “completely unacceptable” and posed a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

He stressed that such acts of violence, which he described as a flagrant violation of international law, must stop immediately.

Reiterating Pakistan’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia, Shehbaz said Islamabad remained firmly committed to safeguarding the kingdom’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security in line with the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement and the longstanding fraternal ties between the two countries.

On Saturday, an attack on Riyadh’s international airport killed at least 12 people and wounded 309 others, some of them seriously, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation officials said, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to vow on Sunday a decisive response against Yemen’s Houthis.

Four Saudi citizens were among the dead, as well as two Bangladeshis, one US citizen, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese, the statement added.

The coalition blamed the group for the strike on King Khalid International Airport, describing it as a “full-fledged war crime” that a diplomatic source attributed to a missile.

Earlier in the day, authorities had suspended operations at Riyadh’s international airport. The Saudi civil aviation authority had initially confirmed an attack had injured several people at the sprawling King Khalid International Airport, with a diplomatic source attributing it to a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The situation prompted health officials to activate a rare mass call-up of doctors to deal with the “serious emergency”, a medical source said, while foreign embassies warned their citizens to avoid the facility.

Houthis have repeatedly targeted the facility, claiming a series of strikes on Thursday that killed three people and damaged a plane, though they did not announce any new attacks on Saturday.

Air traffic monitor Flightradar24 said 155 arriving and 161 departing flights had been cancelled, while a total of 222 flights were delayed.

At around 6pm local time, Flightradar24 noted that flights bound for the airport were “diverting elsewhere, mainly to Jeddah at the moment”. It later shared a notice to airmen (Notam) for operations suspended till 12am.

A witness at the airport reported hearing an explosion while waiting to board a flight, and another said they saw a strike that left people wounded and fleeing in panic.

“I was on gate 403” at the domestic terminal, the witness told AFP. “I saw 401 hit, I saw injured [people] in front of my eyes. Everyone was running.”

A medical source told AFP that the health ministry had ordered ER doctors to report to hospitals around the capital to treat the wounded on Saturday.

“We were told we are dealing with a ‘serious emergency situation’. Injured are being moved to hospitals across Riyadh”, with many in critical condition, the source said.

The aviation authority said the number of injured from the attack was still being assessed, adding that airport “operations had been temporarily suspended pending the completion of an assessment of the damage and verification of the safety of the facilities”.

The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers after a truce in their long-running war with Yemen’s coalition government unravelled in July.

A source at a local hospital said five people were in intensive care there after being wounded at the airport, with “dozens of people injured” in all.

A relative of one wounded person said they had been hit in the shoulders and arms by shattered glass. Three witnesses confirmed people being evacuated from the airport.

Two doctors told AFP that several pilgrims headed to Makkah had been injured while waiting to board their flight.

A diplomatic source briefed on the matter told AFP the airport was hit by “a missile around 3:00pm” (5pm PKT).