Overview

• Islamabad High Court ordered an in‑camera briefing in the Umar Abdullah missing‑person case and gave officials until Oct. 6 to name the officer who will brief the court, noting Rs5 million in assistance was transferred to the family.
• A magnitude‑5.5 earthquake at 195 km depth was recorded in the Hindu Kush region and felt in Pakistan’s northeast, with no reports of casualties.
• Punjab’s smog steering committee approved a broad anti‑smog package that expands air‑quality monitoring to 41 stations with five mobile units, deploys drone and e‑squads, restricts high‑emission vehicles, supports farm machinery to curb stubble burning, and calls for eight‑hourly AQ updates.
• Federal Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said the Sukkur–Hyderabad and Hyderabad–Karachi motorways will be inaugurated this year with completion expected within two years, reported progress on the N‑25, and flagged planning for additional corridor links.
• The Federal Ombudsman took suo moto notice of Islamabad’s stray‑dog problem and directed CDA and the municipal corporation to implement the wildlife board’s policy, as Rawalpindi police touted Safe City‑driven declines in street crime and jewellers held a symbolic shutter‑down seeking tax talks.