Daily News Pakistan

In a major development, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday accepted PTI's petitions against the election of Hamza Shehbaz as the Punjab chief minister. A five-member LHC bench headed by Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan announced the verdict on pleas filed by PTI, against Hamza's election as CM on Thursday. Further details will be revealed shortly in a written verdict. Hamza was elected as chief minister Punjab in a ruckus marred session of the Punjab Assembly on April 16, 2022. Ahead of the vote, three PTI members of the Punjab Assembly were arrested for attacking Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari as the party boycotted the session to elect the new chief minister. Hamza was elected as the new chief minister with 197 votes. While his opponent, Elahi did not receive any votes as his party and PTI had boycotted the polls. More to follow...

A French court has handed a life sentence to Salah Abdeslam the main accused of 2015 Paris attacks that killed 130 people in a night of carnage across Paris, bringing some closure to survivors and a country whose psyche was left scarred. Salah Abdeslam was found guilty on terrorism and murder charges, with no possibility of early release, the most severe criminal sentence possible in France and one handed out only four times previously. Nineteen other men judged for helping organise the Nov. 13, 2015 attacks that targeted the Bataclan music hall, six bars and restaurants and the Stade de France sports stadium were also all found guilty. "Justice has been served," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said. "Against inhumanity, it's our democracy's strength to respond with justice to the attacks that plunged our city and our country in mourning. Paris remembers and will always stand by the victims and their families." Arthur Denouveaux, a survivor of the Bataclan a...

Minister of the State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar called for an easing of Western sanctions against Afghanistan under the Taliban government, saying the basic functioning of the Afghan economy must not be endangered. The Taliban takeover last year prompted foreign governments, led by the United States, to cut development and security aid, and the strict enforcement of sanctions has debilitated the country's banking sector. In an interview with Germany's Welt newspaper published on Thursday, Khar said isolating Afghanistan economically was pushing the country into economic collapse. "If the country remains locked out of international banking and its foreign assets remain frozen, then that is what will happen. We must not promote famine," she added. The minister said the Western troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in which Germany was also involved, had serious repercussions because it was not preceded by a negotiated solution, calling on Germany to play ...

Britain will provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) of military support to Ukraine, the British government said on Wednesday, as NATO branded Russia the biggest "direct threat" to Western security. The funding will go towards boosting Ukraine's defence capabilities, including air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of equipment for Ukrainian soldiers. "UK weapons, equipment and training are transforming Ukraine's defences against this onslaught. And we will continue to stand squarely behind the Ukrainian people to ensure Putin fails in Ukraine," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. The latest funding comes after Britain said in May it would provide an additional 1.3 billion pounds in military support and aid to Ukraine, and takes the UK's total military and economic support to 3.8 billion pounds this year. Ukrainian troops have also started training in Britain aft...

 Federal Minister for Energy Engineer Khurram Dastgir on Wednesday said the loadshedding would be reduced significantly till July 20 as the government was striving to provide uninterrupted electricity to the masses. The minister while explaining the electricity generating plan, said that the refilling of 1100 megawatt nuclear power plant was in progress which would be completed soon to add electricity in the national grid. He said the government would import coal from Afghanistan in the coming days to ensure low-cost power generation and save its precious foreign Currency reserves. He held responsible, the previous government of PTI, over energy crises as they delayed in purchasing LNG and coal from international market to tackle the energy crisis. He expressed confidence that in the upcoming few months, there would be massive decreased in the prices of petroleum, gas, electricity and other utility products to provide relief to the masses.

 One person was killed and 15 other were wounded in collision between a passenger coach and trailer near Rahim Yar Khan on Wednesday night According to details, the accident occurred at the Multan Motorway near Rahim Yar Khan where a passenger coach going to Punjab from Sukkur collided with a trailer due to over-speeding, killing one person on the spot and injuring 15 other. Police and rescue teams reached the spot and shifted the dead and injured to hospital. According to rescue sources, the death toll may rise further as most of the injured were in critical condition.  

The Sindh High Court on Wednesday extended the stay on a local court's orders to exhume deceased televangelist and PTI MNA Aamir Liaquat Hussain's body for an autopsy till July 19. The SHC had suspended orders of the judicial magistrate (East), who approved a petition seeking the autopsy of the deceased anchorperson, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his residence earlier this month. Hussain's former wife, Syeda Bushra Iqbal — who is on the frontline in pursuing her children's case against the exhumation — said while speaking to media on the occasion that she doesn't know who is behind the demand for exhumation. "Humanity has faded away from us, unfortunately," Bushra said while telling journalists that her lawyer will address the questions on Hussain's third wife Dania Malik. Hussain's sudden demise came weeks after some indecent videos of him had gone viral. It is being widely believed that Dania — who filed for nullifica...

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday said it would look at the Punjab chief minister election and see if the Supreme Court's interpretation on Article 63-A could apply in the present circumstances as it resumed hearing the pleas of PTI, PML-Q and Punjab Asse­mbly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi against Hamza Shehbaz's elevation to the role. A five-member bench comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan, Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry, Justice Sajid Mahmood Sethi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh is hearing the case. Hamza was elected as the Punjab CM on April 16, during a provincial assembly session that was marred by violence. He received a total of 197 votes — 11 more than the required 186 — including from 25 dissident PTI MPAs that were crucial for his victory. On May 20, those lawmakers were de-seated by the ECP for defecting. Since then, a series of petitions have challenged Hamza's election as the chief minister. All of them were, however, cl...

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa Tuesday said that the Kartarpur corridor was the practical manifestation of Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to religious freedom and harmony. His comments came during a meeting with the British Sikh soldiers' delegation, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. During the meeting, General Bajwa said that Pakistan respects all religions and recognises the need for the promotion of religious tourism in the country. The British Sikh soldiers' delegation lauded the Pakistan Army's efforts in bringing peace and normalcy to tribal districts. The delegation — comprising 12 members who visited the General Headquarters (GHQ) — was headed by Deputy Commander Field Army UK Major General Celia J Harvey. The delegation visited Lahore where it witnessed a flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah border. It also visited Lahore Fort, Allama Iqbal Mausoleum, and the Badshahi Mosque. During their stay, the Britis...

The Karachi police on Tuesday used tear gas and baton-charged protesting residents of Lyari near the Mauripur road, who took to the streets against K-Electric for carrying out unannounced and prolonged power loadshedding and frequent breakdowns. The demonstrators, who have been protesting since last night, burnt tyres and blocked the road for traffic — which links the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and SITE industrial areas. However, at 11am today, the police baton-charged the protesters after they refused to vacate the main road. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asif Bughio, the residents dispersed for a while after the police action but resumed the protest shortly after. Electricity in several areas of Lyari, particularly the one adjacent to Mauripur road, has been suspended since 4pm yesterday, he said. "Due to prolonged disruption in the power supply, hundreds of residents blocked the road for hours," the officer told media, adding that the police tried...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is addressing the "Turn Around Pakistan" conference, where he spoke about receiving a text from Finance Minister Miftah Ismail this morning, saying Pakistan will receive $2 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "Miftah Ismail sent a message this morning saying that Pakistan will receive not $1 billion but $2 billion from the IMF. I told him in response, our goal is self-reliance," the premier told the audience. The prime minister's address comes shortly after Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail confirmed Pakistan has received the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) from the IMF for the seventh and eighth reviews.

Pakistan has received the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the seventh and eighth reviews, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail confirmed Tuesday morning. This is a critical development signalling that the two sides have reached an agreement. The draft MEFP is a prerequisite to pave the way towards striking a staff-level agreement. Early this morning, the Government of Pakistan has received an MEFP from the IMF for combined 7th and 8th reviews. — Miftah Ismail (@MiftahIsmail) June 28, 2022 Now that Pakistan has received this document, it will be analysed and scrutinised for three days by the country's economic team. The finance minister and State Bank of Pakistan governor will then sign it if no major problem is found. The staff-level agreement will then be presented before the IMF’s Executive Board next month for approval, after which the tranche will be released. The MEFP may be considered as the crux of decis...

Pakistan and France have signed an agreement for the suspension of loans amounting to $107 million under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), the Economic Affairs Division said on Monday. In a press release, the Economic Affairs Division said the amount, initially repayable between July and December 2021, would now be repaid over a period of six years — including a one-year grace period — in semi-annual instalments. The agreement was signed by Ministry of Economic Affairs Secretary Mian Asad Hayaud Din and French Ambassador Nicolas Galey, the statement said. "The government of Pakistan has already signed agreements with the French Republic for suspension of $261m. Due to the support extended by the development partners of Pakistan, the G20 DSSI has provided the fiscal space which was necessary to deal with the urgent health and economic needs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," the statement added. The total amount of debt that has been suspended and res...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday confirmed that a member of the five-nation summit BRICS "blocked Pakistan's participation" in a dialogue for non-member states held virtually on the sidelines of the event last week. The BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) brings together five of the largest developing countries in the world, representing 41 per cent of the global population, 24pc of the global GDP and 16pc of the global trade. This year, China is hosting the summit in its capacity as the chair of the group. On June 24, leaders of two dozen non-member countries of the BRICS' "High-level Dialogue on Global Development" attended the meeting virtually. However, Pakistan remained absent from the meeting. Today, in response to media queries over the matter, the FO, without naming the country, said: "Regrettably one member blocked Pakistan’s participation." It is believed that the country blocking Pakistan's participation was India ...

PML-N senior leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar is expected to return to Pakistan any time next month in July. According to the sources, Dar is likely to visit Pakistan in the second week of July. They further stated that Dar will first take oath as a Senator after which he will take charge as the finance minister. The post is currently being held by Miftah Ismail. In January, Dar was reinstated to the Senate by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). "In pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan dated December 21, 2021 in Civil Appeal No.352 of 2018 [...] the Election Commission of Pakistan hereby recalls the notification dated June 29, 2018 and the notification of even number dated March 9, 2018, to the extent of Mohammad Ishaq Dar, as returned candidate, is hereby restored," an official notification had read. In 2018, the ECP withdrew a notification of former finance minister Ishaq Dar's election as a senator. The notification was with...

Vladimir Putin will visit two small former Soviet states in central Asia this week, Russian state television reported on Sunday, in what would be the Russian leader's first known trip abroad since ordering the invasion of Ukraine. Russia's February 24 invasion has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and led to severe financial sanctions from the West, which Putin says are a reason to build stronger trade ties with other powers such as China, India, and Iran. Pavel Zarubin, the Kremlin correspondent of the Rossiya 1 state television station, said Putin would visit Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and then meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo for talks in Moscow. In Dushanbe, Putin will meet Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon, a close Russian ally and the longest-serving ruler of a former Soviet state. In Ashgabat, he will attend a summit of Caspian nations including the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Turkmenistan, Zarubin said. Putin also plans to vis...

Following the failure of the PTI government to take the necessary action to resolve the issue of including escalated costs in true-up tariffs, Korean investors have filed a claim with the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) against the government of Pakistan, seeking $94 million (Rs19.6 billion) in compensation. The Korean investors claimed that the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) failed to evacuate electricity from the 147-megawatt Patrind Hydropower project for at least six months after the project's COD, as well as the cost of constructing a point from which the electricity was to be delivered to the national grid, according to a top official of the power division. According to the official, the power division, under Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir, smelt a rate and decided to fix the racket of unscrupulous officials of NTDC, CPPA, and power division who were responsible for not evacuating electricity from the project on time and rai...

Explosions rocked a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv Sunday morning as G7 leaders gathered in Germany to discuss their backing of Ukraine against Russia's invasion, with a crucial Nato meeting set to follow in days. The first attack on the capital in nearly three weeks was intended to “intimidate Ukrainians... at the approach of the Nato summit”, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said. “Some of the inhabitants have been evacuated. Two wounded people have been hospitalised,” Klitschko said after visiting the apartment building that was hit, adding people remained “under the rubble”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to address both the G7 and Nato gatherings, said cities as far away as Lviv, near the Polish border, had been struck by a wave of attacks on Saturday. “This confirms... that air defence systems — the modern systems which our partners have — should not be on (their current) sites or in storage, but in Ukraine,” he said in his daily address...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says Pakistan is working closely with international organizations to address the challenges stemming from illicit drugs. In a message on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, being observed today (Sunday), he said Pakistan is a signatory to all global conventions and protocols related to prevention of drug abuse and illicit trafficking. The Prime Minister said easy availability of synthetic drugs pose dangers to the general public, especially the youth, which make up more than sixty percent of Pakistan's population. He said we must work collectively to protect young people from the risks of drug abuse and safeguard their health and wellbeing. The Prime Minister said preventing drug use before it begins is the most cost-effective, common-sense approach to promote safe and healthy communities. President Dr Arif Alvi, in his message on International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, has stressed...

Iran's indirect talks with the United States on reviving the 2015 nuclear pact will resume soon, the Iranian foreign minister said on Saturday amid a push by the European Union's top diplomat to break a months-long impasse in the negotiations. "We are prepared to resume talks in the coming days. What is important for Iran is to fully receive the economic benefits of the 2015 accord," Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, adding that he had held a "long but positive meeting" with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The pact appeared close to being revived in March when the EU - which is coordinating negotiations - invited foreign ministers representing the accord's parties to Vienna to finalise an agreement after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and President Joe Biden's administration. But the talks have since been bogged down, chiefly over Tehran's insistence that Washington remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps...

Voting is underway today (Sunday) for the first phase of local government elections in 14 districts from four divisions of Sindh. The polling began at 8am and will continue until 5pm without any pause. The 14 districts of Sindh include Larkana, Kambar-Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Naushehro Feroze, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Tharparkar. Elections in the rest of the districts of Sindh will be held on July 24. At least 21,298 candidates are in the field against 6,277 seats of 101 town committees, 23 municipal committees, 14 districts councils, four municipal corporations, eleven town municipal corporations and 887 union councils and union committees. The election commission has established 9,023 polling stations, including 1,895 for women, to facilitate over 11 million registered voters. According to a spokesperson of the Election Commission of Pakistan, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja is monitori...

US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law his country’s first gun-control bill in decades that seeks to prevent people with criminal records and mental problems from acquiring firearms. The bill — now known as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act 2022 — passed the House of Representatives on Friday evening by 234 to 193 votes. The US Senate passed the bill late Thursday by a 65-33-vote and sent it to the House. As promised by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House acted swiftly and sent it to the president on Friday evening for signing it into law. President Biden also acted promptly and put his signature on the bill early Saturday morning before leaving on a week-long trip to Europe. “God willing, it’s going to save a lot of lives,” said the president after signing the bill. He recalled that the last time Congress passed meaningful gun safety laws was almost 30 years ago and he attended that event as well. He mentioned major school and public shootings that killed hundreds of A...

A local court in the port city on Saturday directed the provincial health secretary to conduct Dua Zahra’s ossification test again as her case required further investigation. It may be noted that an ossification test has already been carried out on Zahra as per SHC's order which revealed that the girl is between 16 to 17 years of age, with a confirmation by radiologist Dr Saba Jamil. Zahra had made headlines across the country after she had mysteriously disappeared from Karachi in April but later declared that she had run away from her home to marry 21-year-old Zaheer Ahmed. In today’s hearing, the police submitted a challan and requested the case be classified as “C Class” in light of no evidence being found. Police typically request the court to have a first information report (FIR) listed as “C Class” in matters when a criminal case is filed due to a mistake of fact or if the offence complained about is civil in nature. But the petitioner’s lawyer Jibran Nasir protested, ...

A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Saturday granted interim bail to KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in different cases pertaining to vandalism during the party’s May 25 long march toward Islamabad The KP chief minister approached the district and sessions court of judge Kamran Basharat Mufi through his counsel Intezar Panjotha. Subsequently, the Islamabad court granted pre-arrest to Mahmood Khan in three FIRs till July 7 and also directed him to submit surety bonds worth Rs5,000 each. It is to be noted that several PTI leaders including former prime minister Imran Khan, Asad Umar, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and others had been booked by police in various FIRs related to Azadi March. Earlier, the district and sessions court in Islamabad granted Friday pre-arrest bail to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in 15 cases related to vandalism during long march. PTI Chairman appeared before the district and sessions court of ...

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday asked PTI lawmakers to approach National Assembly (NA) speaker against their eviction from parliament lodges. Capital Development Authority (CDA) on June 2 and June 3 served notices on Shaukat Ali Bhatti and Amir Sultan asking them to vacate the Parliament Lodges. However, the PTI MNAs approached IHC seeking restoration of their allotments. After the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan through vote of no confidence, PTI members resigned in protest. Though PTI members submitted their resignations to the NA speaker, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has not de-notified as yet which kept their status as MNA intact. PTI MNAs Amir Sultan and Shaukat Ali Bhatti belong to Jhang and Hafizabad and were residing in Parliament Lodges as members of National Assembly. The petitioners have accused CDA’s employees of forcibly evicting them and throwing out their households and taken over possession forcefully from the accommodation. Th...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday attended Pakistan Navy passing out parade at the Naval Academy in Karachi. According to details, PM Shehbaz inspected the guard of honor and addressed the passing out parade at the naval academy. Earlier, the prime minister landed in the port city Saturday morning where Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah welcomed him at the airport. Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that the nation is proud of its armed forces for making the country’s defence impregnable and playing a key role in the fight against terrorism. He was addressing the passing out parade of 117th Midshipman and 25th Short Service Commission course at Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi. The Prime Minister said Pakistan Navy has even more important role to play in the present age of ever growing blue economy, marine security and strategic defence. He said arming Pakistan Navy with latest technology for safeguarding maritime borders of the country is a...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan was granted bail in 10 vandalism cases on Friday linked to the party's 'Azadi March' by an Islamabad district and sessions court. The court heard the former premier’s bail plea in 15 cases of vandalism. PTI leaders Asad Umar, Ali Nawaz Awan and Dr Babar Awan also appeared before the court. The sessions court judge granted interim bail to Imran till July 6 and ordered him to submit a bond of Rs 5,000 in each case. The judge summoned police for the next hearing and asked the officials to bring the records. Imran obtained interim bail in cases registered in Aabpara Police Station, I-9, Kohsar, Karachi Company, Golra, Tarnol, Bhara Kahu Police Station, Sihala Police Station, Koral Police Station and Lohi Bhair and others. A total of 15 cases were registered against him in 11 police stations.  Earlier this month, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted the ex-premier transitory, protective bail for three weeks in cases registe...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Friday that the coalition government plans to impose a 10% super tax on large-scale industries, and that “tough decisions” have been taken to protect the economy on budget 2022-23. Addressing the nation, after a meeting with his economic team, the premier said that the coalition government has taken some “tough decisions” regarding the federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23. “I want to brief the people about those decisions and the actual [economic] situation of the country,” he said, highlighting the two major reasons behind these decisions. “Our first motive is to provide relief to the masses and to reduce the burden of inflation on the people and facilitate them,” he elaborated. “Our second motive is to protect the country from going bankrupt," he said, adding that it has been devastated due to the "incompetency and corruption" of the previous Imran Khan-led government. The decisions taken now will save the countr...

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail addressed a National Assembly (NA) session convened to wind up the budget debate on Friday and said the country was no longer on the way to default as it was on the path to progress. During his address, the minister accused the PTI government of bringing the country to the verge of default and said "we have saved the country from defaulting". "I want to give this good news to the nation today that the country [...] it is no longer on the way to default but on the path to progress," he said. 'Farmer-friendly budget' Miftah had presented the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 with an outlay of Rs 9.5 trillion on June 10. As debate on the budget commenced in the NA today, Ismail said most of the recommendations made by lawmakers in the Senate and NA during preceding sittings had been incorporated into the budget. He announced that the sales tax on cotton cakes (khal) had been removed and termed the budget "farmer-fri...

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday hinted at withdrawing the infamous ‘curative review petition’, which his predecessor had moved before the Supreme Court against Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a sitting judge of the apex court. The law minister also assured the bar representatives that he would personally talk to the PM for taking back the curative review by placing the matter on the agenda of the cabinet during the next meeting. The law minister come to the Supreme Court building to inaugurate the Directorate of Legal Education at the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) office in line with an earlier directive in an SC judgment highlighting the need for improving the standard and quality of legal education in the country. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the law ministry and the PBC in this regard and Usama Malik and Saqib Faraz were appointed director and deputy director, respectively, of the directorate. During the inauguration of the directorate, SCBA president ...

The Pub­lic Acco­unts Committee (PAC) direc­ted the energy ministry’s power division on Thursday to abolish free electricity units for power sector employees. However, the PAC — which helps parliament oversee the public ex­che­quer — suggested that the emp­lo­yees might be compensated with fin­ancial assistance instead of free units. The committee examined audit reports of the Ministry of Commu­ni­cations and Power Division for the year 2019-20. The meeting was presided over by its chairman Noor Alam Khan, who asked the power division secretary to abolish the free units. However, the secretary feared that abruptly withdrawing the facility would create panic among employees. Dr Ramesh Kumar, a PAC member, asked the secretary not to take pressure from the union or any other quarters to end this facility. Mr Khan, however, said the employees might be given an additional amount equal to free electricity in their monthly salaries. He said that even low-paid employees working in both...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not trust Pakistan as the previous Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government backed out of a “deal” with the Fund by freezing petroleum prices against a promised hike. “The IMF asked us how it can trust the government once the previous (PTI) regime backed out of the agreement,” the prime minister said while addressing senators from his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party here. He, however, apprised the nation that even after striking a fresh agreement with the Fund, the crippling economic situation will not change overnight and the government and the people will have to struggle to rid the country of the crisis. The prime minister remarked the PTI government should not have agreed to the IMF terms if it had reservations over them, hoping the deal with the global body had already matured and if any new conditions were imposed, an agreement would soon be signed. He said the Fund was ada...

A flight of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) plane on Thursday made an emergency landing in Lahore after a bird strike. As per details, the plane’s engine was struck by a bird while landing due to which the pilot had to make emergency landing. The pilot safely landed the plane on airport consisting 168 passengers. While the engine of the plane was completely damaged.

President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed their deep grief and sorrow over the death of mother of former president Asif Ali Zardari. The prime minister sharing grief with the former president observed that death of a person like mother was a huge shock. The president and the prime minister expressed their condolence with the bereaved family and prayed for the high ranks of the departed soul and for the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday on the directives of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has dispatched relief goods for Afghanistan earthquake victims. The National Disaster Management Authority dispatched a consignment including family tents, tarpaulins, blankets and emergency medicines, said the spokesperson of NDMA. “Pakistan has assured all possible support to ameliorate the sufferings of the Afghan people affected by the 6.1 magnitude earthquake which hit parts of Afghanistan on Wednesday, (Jun 22, 2022)”, the statement said. It merits mention that a powerful earthquake jolted a remote border region of Afghanistan overnight killing at least 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more, officials said Wednesday, with the toll expected to rise as desperate rescuers dig through collapsed dwellings. The quake struck hardest in the rugged east, where people already lead hardscrabble lives in the grip of a humanitarian crisis made worse since the Taliban...

Mutahedda Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar’s mother passed away on Thursday at the age of 85 in Karachi. His mother was under treatment in a hospital in Karachi due to severe illness. President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, former premier Imran Khan and other political leaders expressed their deep grief and sorrow over the death of mother of MQM leader. The political leaders expressed their condolence with the bereaved family and prayed for the high ranks of the departed soul and for the bereaved family to bear the loss with fortitude.

The PPP on Wednesday announced that the party would support PML-N's candidates who will take part in the upcoming by-elections on the 20 vacant seats of the Punjab Assembly. The seats had fallen vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had de-seated PTI’s dissident lawmakers for voting against party policy. The polling will take place on July 17, as per the ECP schedule that was issued on May 26. Meanwhile, the nomination papers for the by-elections can be submitted from June 4 to 7 and this will be followed by the returning officers carrying out scrutiny of the nomination papers till June 11. However, the appeals against the returning officers’ decisions can be filed till June 15. "In view of the country’s interest, the PPP has decided to support the PML-N’s candidate for all the 20 vacant seats," PPP provincial minister Hassan Murtaza said while addressing a joint press conference flanked by PML-N’s Attaullah Tarar and Malik Ahmad Khan. Both the part...

PPP Co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari’s mother, Zareen Ara Bukhari, passed away in Karachi, the party confirmed Wednesday. Family sources said that the deceased was admitted to a private hospital for the past few days. After remaining at the medical facility, she passed away today. Following the news of his mother’s demise, the ex-president left Islamabad for Karachi. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani expressed grief over the demise of the former president’s mother. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto, Aseefa Bhutto, Sindh Health Minister Azra Fazal Pechuho, PPP leader Faryal Talpur, and others will arrive in Karachi as well. They will leave for Nawabshah via a special flight.

Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday suspended the orders for the exhumation of famous televangelist Aamir Liaquat Hussain's body for an autopsy to ascertain the cause of his death. Deceased TV host's children had approached the SHC against the orders issued by a judicial magistrate in Karachi. The judicial magistrate (East) on Saturday approved a petition seeking the autopsy of the deceased anchorperson, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at his residence earlier this month. Hussain's estranged family members, who came only for his last rites, decided to challenge the magistrate's orders in the SHC. During the hearing, petitioners’ counsel Zia Awan maintained that the judicial magistrate hastily issued the order over a random citizen’s plea seeking exhumation and postmortem while Hussain’s family was never in its favour.  “The plea was a publicity stunt over which the family’s stance wasn’t heard properly,” Awan stated. Accepting the plea against ...

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 killed at least 280 people in Afghanistan early on Wednesday, officials said, adding that hundreds of people were injured and the toll was likely to rise as information trickled in from remote mountain villages. The quake struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the city of Khost, near the Pakistani border, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGC) said. "Strong and long jolts," a resident of the Afghan capital, Kabul, posted on the website of the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). "It was strong," said a resident of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. Photographs on Afghan media showed houses reduced to rubble and bodies covered in blankets on the ground. The EMSC put the magnitude at 6.1 though the USGC said it was 5.9. Most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, where 255 people had been killed and more than 200 injured, said interior ministry official Salahuddin Ayubi. In Khost p...

Pakistan strongly condemned on Wednesday the extrajudicial killing of four more Kashmiri youths and termed it a result of "continuing state terrorism by Indian occupational forces", a statement from the Foreign Office read. The statement highlighted that since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, more than 636 Kashmiris have embraced martyrdom in fake encounters and so-called cordon-and-search operations. This year alone, 113 extrajudicial killings of Kashmiris have been recorded. The FO further stated that the intensified military crackdown and rising numbers of extrajudicial killings in IIOJK were part of the extremist anti-Muslim designs of the Hindutva inspired BJP-RSS combine in India. “Ironically, Kashmiri youth have been a specific target of the 900,000 strong Indian military occupation force stationed in the IIOJK,” said the FO. The FO denounced the use of brutal force against Kashmiris and said, “extrajudicial killings, custodial torture an...