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Jailed leader says he has support to form next government but analysts say results only suit the armyImran Khan’s political party has declared it intends to form the next government after claiming a shock election victory, despite efforts by the opposition to take power in a backroom coalition deal.Even as results showed that candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party run by the...

Country faces uncertainty after strong performance by independent candidates loyal to former PM Imran KhanPakistan’s army chief has told feuding politicians to show “maturity and unity” after an election failed to produce a clear winner, leaving the military’s favoured party having to cobble together a coalition in order to rule.The country faces days of political horse-trading after a strong performance by independent candidates loyal...

Projections on local television channels slow coming in compared to previous elections as some early urban results show surprise lead for Imran Khan’s partyPakistan’s vote count following a national election has been hit by unusual delays, leading the country’s election panel to issue a late-night warning to polling officers, 10 hours after polls closed, to release results immediately.An “internet issue” was the reason behind...

Caretaker government says it took decision for security reasons after two bomb blasts targeted election officesPhone services have been suspended in Pakistan as polls opened in its general election, with candidates and political parties voicing concerns there may be attempts to rig the results.The caretaker government said phone services, including mobile internet, had been suspended for security reasons. Continue reading...

Phone services suspended for security reasons as voting begins, a day after at least 30 killed in attacks in Balochistan provincePhone services were suspended in Pakistan on Thursday as polls opened in its general election, a day after two bomb blasts at the election offices of a political party and an independent candidate in south-west Pakistan killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens...

Exclusive: $9bn port, airport and military base on Great Nicobar Island will cause ‘genocide’ of isolated Shompen, academics warnAcademics from around the world have urged India to cancel a huge construction project on Great Nicobar Island, warning it would be “a death sentence” for the Shompen hunter-gatherer people who live there.The $9bn (£7bn) port project, planned to transform the Indian Ocean island of 8,000...

Military has put its faith in former PM for fourth time, leading many to believe election outcome is already decidedWith days to go before Pakistan goes to the polls, the feverish buzz and boisterous rallies that usually mark the campaign season have been unusually muted.“There is a sense among many people that the outcome is already predetermined,” said Samina Yasmeen, a fellow from the...

Pakistani former PM says case was created to ‘humiliate’ him and Bushra Bibi, who were sentenced to seven years eachA local court in Pakistan has sentenced Imran Khan, the country’s former prime minister, and his wife to seven years each in a case related to their marriage, which it declared “un-Islamic”.Khan and Bushra Bibi were both last week separately handed 14-year sentences in a...

Reality TV star reveals social media stunt and says she is proud of what ‘death news has been able to achieve’An Indian model who faked her own death in a publicity stunt to raise awareness about cervical cancer has defended her actions, saying in a social media post that she was proud of what her “death news has been able to achieve”.Poonam Pandey, a...

Towns and cities empty during protest on anniversary of military takeover and arrest of Aung San Suu KyiCities and towns across Myanmar have come to a standstill as people took part in a silent strike to signal defiance against the military junta on the anniversary of the 2021 coup.Three years since the military detained political leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, its grip on...

Fears decision on Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi could increase religious tensions and inspire more claimsAn Indian court has ruled that Hindus can worship inside a contested mosque, a verdict that it is feared will increase religious tensions and galvanise further claims against other Muslim places of worship.Gyanvapi mosque, in the holy city of Varanasi, was built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor...

Ten people extradited on Tuesday accused of being key figures in fraud involving victims of traffickingMyanmar has extradited 10 people, including notorious warlords, to China, where they are wanted for their alleged role in running abusive online and telephone fraud centres in which tens of thousands of foreign nationals are trapped and forced to run scams.The centres – which target people in China as...

Former PM, once military’s golden boy, has been sentenced in two separate cases to 10 and 14 yearsThe script seems eerily familiar. Imran Khan, once the golden boy of Pakistan’s powerful military establishment, found himself at the receiving end of not one, but two, damning court verdicts this week.Sentenced to 10 years in jail on Tuesday, and 14 years on Wednesday, the brazen timing...

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...

Police start to interview witnesses following Guardian reports on adoptions to the Netherlands nearly 50 years agoRead more: ‘I was told I could visit. Then she went missing’: the Bangladeshi mothers who say their children were adopted without consentPolice in Bangladesh have launched an investigation into historical allegations that children were adopted abroad without their parents’ consent, after a Guardian investigation into adoptions to...

Authorities warn of potentially widespread damage after the 7.0-magnitude quake, with tremors felt in neighbouring countriesA 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck along the China-Kyrgyzstan border, as authorities warned of potentially widespread damage.The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake hit Wushu county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2am local time, according to the state-run Xinhua press agency and about 200 rescuers were dispatched to the...

Narendra Modi hails controversial opening as fulfilment of ‘dream that many have cherished for years’More than three decades after a mob of militant Hindu radicals razed a mosque to the ground in the Indian town of Ayodhya, the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has inaugurated the new Hindu temple that will stand in its place.For some, the inauguration marks a hugely significant religious moment....

Rescue teams find charter ambulance flight from Thailand to Moscow after it disappeared from radar screens Four people are reported to have survived after a private jet carrying out a medical evacuation from Thailand to Russia disappeared from radar screens and crashed in a remote and mountainous area of north-eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.Russian aviation authorities said two passengers and four crew members were onboard...