Pakistan first

Iran will give a “calculated and decisive” response to the killing of its top nuclear scientist, said a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader. “Undoubtedly, Iran will give a calculated and decisive answer to the criminals who took Martyr Mohsen Fakhrizadeh from the Iranian nation,” Kamal Kharrazi, who is also head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said in a statement. Fakhrizadeh, long suspected by Western and Israeli government of masterminding a secret nuclear weapons programme, was ambushed on a highway near Tehran on Friday and gunned down in his car. Iran’s clerical and military rulers have blamed the Islamic Republic’s longtime enemy, Israel, for the killing.

After years of campaigning by animal rights advocates and pop star Cher to rescue him from grim conditions with no companion, Kaavan is finally set to be airlifted to an elephant sanctuary today. Experts spent hours coaxing a slightly sedated Kaavan into a specially constructed metal crate — at one point using ropes to help pull him in — that was to be hoisted onto a lorry and taken to Islamabad airport. From there, Kaavan will be sent via a Russian transport jumbo jet for the lengthy flight to Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia. The plane will stop for refuelling in New Delhi. A 10-member medical team is also accompanying the 36-year-old elephant.

He was killed in Absard, east of Tehran, Iran on November 27, 2020. Officials on Friday confirmed Iranian allegations that Israel was behind the killing of the Islamic republic’s top nuclear scientist, according to a report. An unidentified American official and two unidentified intelligence officials told that Israel was responsible for the slaying of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh during an ambush near the capital of Tehran. It’s unclear whether the US knew about the attack ahead of time, but American and Israeli officials have long shared intelligence about Iran. Meanwhile, a former high-ranking CIA official told that Fakhrizadeh’s slaying appeared to be linked to President Trump’s electoral loss to President-elect Joe Biden, who has pledged to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on the condition that “Iran returns to strict compliance.” Revolutionary guards commander says will avenge his killing.

About 181 staff members of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) have tested positive for the novel coronavirus over the past two weeks, the hospital's Joint Executive Director Dr Minhaj said. All of the infected hospital officials, which include doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical professionals, are currently in quarantine, he added.

Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood has said that all educational institutions, including schools, colleges and tuition centres, will close down from November 26 (Thursday). He said that from Thursday students will continue their education at home.

At least four vehicles, one of which belonged to an interim minister, and a building of Gilgit-Baltistan's forest department were torched by unidentified persons as a protest against alleged rigging in a constituency in the recent GB elections turned violent, police said. Gilgit Senior Superintendent of Police Mirza Hussain said the violence started after a clash between security forces and protesters. He said there were no injuries and no one had been arrested. Police have sealed off roads in the region.

The PTI is all set to form the government in Gilgit Baltistan after having secured 22 of its 33 seats, according to the official results announced by the region's election commission on Tuesday. The PPP and PML-N — both of which have levelled allegations of rigging — hold five and three seats, respectively. In all, the GB Assembly has 33 seats — 24 of which are contested through directed elections; six are reserved for women and three others reserved for technocrats and professionals. Political parties can nominate their candidates to the latter through proportional representation. In the elections, the PTI emerged victorious on 10 seats, while seven were won by independent candidates. The JUI and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) won one seat apiece. Six of the independent candidates have joined PTI after the election and the party already had a seat adjustment arrangement with the MWM.

While an estimated cost of the Covid-19 vaccine is not yet available, Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved a $100 million allocation and allowed advance payment for procurement of the vaccine at the earliest. Moreover, it has been decided that different segments of society, such as senior citizens, health practitioners and people suffering from chronic diseases, will be prioritised for the vaccine that will be available in limited numbers during the ongoing winter season.

Repea­ling Donald Trump’s travel ban on some Muslim majority nations will be one of the four executive orders that President-elect Joe Biden plans to issue on his first day in the White House, his campaign managers say. During his election campaign, Biden had promised to undo a variety of policies pursued by President Trump. While addressing a Muslim voters’ club in July, Biden described the Muslim ban as unjust and pledged to rescind it on his first day in office. The executive actions would also include rejoining the Paris Climate Agree­ment, reinstating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme and rejoining the World Health Organisation, the campaign told Fox News on Monday night.