Daily News Pakistan

The review Mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by its Chief, Nathan Porter, called on Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Tuesday. The meeting discussed and reviewed the economic and fiscal policies and reforms agenda to accomplish the 9th review under the Extended Fund Facility. The Finance Minister briefed the Mission on fiscal and economic reforms and measures being taken by the government in different sectors including bridging the fiscal gap, exchange rate stability and in energy sector for the betterment of the economy. He said reforms are being introduced in power sector and a high level committee has been formed for devising modalities to offset the menace of circular debt in gas sector. Expressing the government's resolve to complete the current IMF program, Ishaq Dar said Pakistan is committed to work with IMF for reaching an agreement to complete the 9th review under Extended Fund Facility. On the occasion, the IMF Mission Chief expressed the c...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved loans of $4.7 billion to Bangladesh for disbursal starting immediately, making it the first to secure such funds out of three South Asian countries that applied last year amid economic trouble. The loans are a win for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ahead of a general election early next year and will help the country, which has seen a sharp widening of its current account deficit, depreciation of the taka currency and a decline in its foreign exchange reserves. Bangladesh will get about $3.3bn under the IMF’s extended credit facility and related arrangements, with an immediate disbursement of about $476 million. The IMF executive board also approved about $1.4bn under its newly created Resilience and Sustainability Facility for climate investments for Bangladesh, the first Asian country to access it. The IMF said the loans will “protect macroeconomic stability and rebuild buffers, while helping to advance the authorities’ reform age...

Did you know cricketer Shaheen Shah Afridi had an artistic side to him? The pace bowler is exercising his creative powers to design Lahore Qalandars’ new kit. CEO of Lahore Qalandars Atif Rana shared the news and said, “Shaheen Shah Afridi is our leader and our captain. He is designing Lahore Qalandar’s new kit and it is the best. The way he takes out wickets, his kit design will also blow everyone’s minds. We hope all the fans will really like the new design.” The PSL team also teased the design donned by Shaheen himself. They have been dropping Easter eggs all this time. It looks like 2023 is a big year for Shaheen, not only is he unleashing the designer within for the PSL tournament next month, he is also reportedly tying the knot with Shahid Afridi’s daughter Ansha in a couple of days. A source close to the Afridi family confirmed that their nikah ceremony will be held in Karachi on Feb 3. Maybe the bowler is taking notes from his father-in-law to be who explored new horizon...

Following the petrol bomb, people can get some relief from electricity bills as National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday reduced the cost of electricity per unit by Rs10.80 for K-Electric’s consumers and Rs2.31 for other consumers. The NEPRA has approved a reduction in electricity price by Rs10.80 per unit for the month of December, in the form of a monthly fuel adjustment. The decision was taken following an open hearing which was presided over by Chairman of Nepra, Tauseef Hasan Farooqi where the complainants were also present. During the hearing, Nepra member Rafiq Shaikh expressed his disappointment with the failure to produce cheap electricity. Additionally, consumers complained about ongoing load shedding in Karachi, which Nepra officials expressed indignation about. The reduction in electricity price was approved after reviewing the data on power generation and transmission. Nepra has also approved the reduction in the cost of electricity per unit ...

At least 28 people, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in two attacks by armed assailants in Burkina Faso, a regional governor and the army said in separate statements. According to international medi reports, the army said on Monday that a combat unit in Falagountou, in the north of the country near its border with Niger, came under attack and that 10 soldiers, two fighters of the volunteer force and a civilian were killed. The army said the bodies of 15 assailants were found after the attack. In a separate statement on Monday, Jean Charles dit Yenapono Some, governor of the country’s Cascades region in the south near the border with Ivory Coast, said the bodies of 15 men, all civilians, had been found following an attack on Sunday. The governor said armed men had stopped two transport vehicles carrying eight women and 16 men. The women and one man were freed, he said. “This January 30, the corpses of the victims, showing signs of bullet impact, were found near ...

The Election Commission of Pakistan ruled on Tuesday that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will remain president of the PML-Q. The commission had reserved its decision regarding a decision by the party’s central working committee to remove Shujaat from the party leadership on August 18 of last year. The decision said that the CWC’s ruling carried no legal basis and also declared the recently-held intra party election illegal. The PML-Q had decided to replace Shujaat with his brother Wajahat as the party’s president at a meeting in Lahore. The party had also removed Tariq Bashir Cheema as the general secretary and appointed Kamil Ali Agha in his place. Chaudhry Shujaat had challenged the party’s decisions in the election commission. The move against Shujaat had come after a dispute over their alliance with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the Punjab Assembly. Pervaiz Elahi, who was then hoping to get elected as the province’s chief minister, and Shujaat had issued contradtictory direction...

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman on a PTI petition seeking the announcement of a date for elections in the province. The PTI had on Friday approached the LHC, seeking a direction to the Punjab governor to immediately announce the date of a general election in the province since the assembly had been dissolved. The petition, filed through PTI General Secretary Asad Umar, stated that more than 10 days had passed since the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly but the respondent [Governor Rehman] had failed to fulfil his constitutional duty of announcing an election date. At the outset of the hearing today, Justice Jawad Hassan noted that a petition had been received seeking direction to the governor for an announcement of polls in the province. “The governor did not sign the notification for the dissolution of the assembly after which the legislature stood automatically dissolved. This...

The local administration has advised tourists to take precautionary measures while travelling to Murree and other hilly areas in wake of a fresh snowfall spell. Roads from Murree to Abbottabad have been closed as spells of intermittent snowfall and rain continued while tourists from across Pakistan have started visiting the hilly areas to enjoy nature. Local administration is taking preemptive measures to avoid any untoward situation, that occurred last year in January when nearly two dozen tourists froze to death in their vehicles after being stuck on roads amid a heavy snowstorm. Meanwhile, snow camps, and additional personnel of law enforcement were deployed in the mountain resort city to help tourists. Machinery for clearing snow was also in action. Met Office forecast rain-wind, and thunderstorms in several parts of the country including the federal capital Islamabad, the Pothohar region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, and Gilgit Baltistan during the next twelve hours. Isolate...

A wave of attacks on villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo attributed to Daesh-affiliated ADF militants have killed at least 15 people. According to international media reports, the Sunday's killings come a week after a similar attack left at least 23 people dead. "There were simultaneous attacks this Sunday between 4:00 and 5:00 am on three villages" said local official Dieudonne Malangai. "In Manyala village we found seven bodies at Ofay, there were eight dead, including seven women," Malangai told reporters, and indicated that the final toll might be higher. "These ADF rebels also attacked Bandibese village but ran into resistance from soldiers who intervened and so there were no civilian deaths," Malangai said after the raids on three villages in Ituri province bordering Rwanda. "We are tired of giving the death toll day after day," he added. ADF fighters were also blamed for last week's raids in the neighbou...

Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday sent a Rs10 billion legal notice to former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. In the notice, sent by Naek and Associates acting on behalf of their client Asif Ali Zardari, it was stated that Imran in a public address – which was widely reported across the world – had accused Zardari of “false, fabricated and scandalous remarks/statements as well as leveled baseless allegations of serious nature” that he had paid his corruption money to a terrorist organization being supported by powerful state agency facilitators to launch another fatal attack on him. The notice read that the baseless accusations were of “malicious and defamatory nature” that tried to defame Zardari nationally as well as internationally. “Through your defamatory, libelous, scandalous remarks and allegations of serious nature you have tried to create a link between our client and terrorist org...

A powerful suicide blast inside a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines area on Monday martyred two policemen while more than 70 others were injured. The explosion took place when worshippers had gathered in the mosque for the afternoon prayers. A heavy contingent of police has rushed to the spot to cordon it off. The explosion was powerful enough to shatter window panes of nearby buildings and the blast was heard for areas relatively far away as well. Rescue workers and ambulances have rushed to the spot. They said they have shifted at least 70 people thus far to the nearby the Lady Reading Hospital and the Khyber Teaching Hospital. The area is located in a highly secure area of Peshawar with Police Secretariat and PTCL Colony all located nearby. To access the area, people have to cross several police check posts. With no commercial area located within the police lines, only people with authorized access can enter the area.

The Pakistani rupee continued to lose its value on Monday, trading at an all-time low of 270 against the dollar in the interbank market. The local currency, which had closed at a record low of Rs262.6 on Friday, fell Rs6.5 to a dollar or 2.32% today, according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP). The current spell of depreciation came after the coalition government ended its control on its price in order to woo the International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials to revive the $7 billion loan programme. With the latest drop, the domestic currency has cumulatively slumped by nearly 14% or Rs36 in the three days, compared to Wednesday’s close of Rs230.89 to a dollar, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data. In over two hours of today's trading session, the currency hit an intra-day low of Rs270 during the day, according to the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP). Meanwhile, the association reported that the currency was changing hand wi...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signalled that Ankara could accept Finland into NATO before taking any action on the membership of its Nordic neighbour Sweden. According to international media reports, Erdogan was speaking just days after Ankara suspended NATO accession talks with the two countries after a protest in Stockholm in which a far-right politician burned a copy of the Quran. “We may deliver Finland a different message [on their NATO application] and Sweden would be shocked when they see our message. But Finland should not make the same mistake Sweden did,” Erdogan said in a televised speech aired on Sunday. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, dropping their longstanding military nonalignment. Every member of the 30-nation alliance needs to approve their membership, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries yet to have done so. The Hungarian parliament is expected to approve the bids in February. Erdogan’...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan will contest for all 33 seats in the upcoming National Assembly by-elections set to take place on March 16, the party has announced — becoming the first person in the country's history to run for a sizeable number of seats. In a press conference after the party's core committee meeting in Lahore on Sunday, PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said: "Imran Khan will be PTI's candidate for all constituencies that [are up for grabs] and our [ex-]MNAs, who were earlier elected for those seats will be covering candidates." The move will likely pile up pressure on the ruling coalition as if the PTI chief successfully wins a majority of the seats, it might dent the government's popularity and give the Khan-led party an edge in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections — expected to take place in the next three months. The embattled government is under severe criticism from the masses as inflation is at a rec...

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Saturday a "strong, swift and precise" response to a deadly Palestinian shooting attack near a synagogue on Jerusalem's outskirts, as its military sent more troops into the occupied West Bank. Seven people were killed in Friday's attack and two others were wounded in another shooting in the city on Saturday. "We are not seeking escalation, but we are prepared for any scenario," Netanyahu said as he convened his security cabinet. He later said the security cabinet decided to increase gun permits for licensed civilians to defend against street attacks. Before the meeting, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would push for the move. A 13-year-old Palestinian boy in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan opened fire on Saturday at a group of Israeli passers-by, wounding two, before he was shot and wounded by one of them, police said The Israeli military said a Palestinian sp...

At least 10 children died after a boat carrying 25 madrasa students capsized in Tanda Dam of Kohat district. All of the dead so far recovered from Tanda Dam lake, near Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, were between seven and 14 years old. According to Rescue 1122, 18 students have been rescued while eight are under treatment in a hospital. Madrasah students of the village Mir Badshah Khel reportedly came to the Dam for a picnic. Mass drownings are common in Pakistan, when aged and overloaded vessels lose their stability and pitch passengers into the water. In July, 18 women drowned when an overcrowded boat carrying a wedding party across the Indus river in Punjab province capsized.

Twitter users will be able to appeal account suspensions and be evaluated under the social media platform’s new criteria for reinstatement, starting Feb 1. Under the new criteria, which follow billionaire Elon Musk’s purchase of the company in October, Twitter accounts will only be suspended for severe or ongoing and repeat violations of the platform’s policies. Severe policy violations include engaging in illegal content or activity, inciting or threatening violence or harm, and engaging in targeted harassment of other users, among others. Twitter said that going forward, it will take less severe action, in comparison to account suspension, such as limiting the reach of tweets that violate its policies or asking users to remove tweets before continuing to use the account. In December, Musk came under fire for suspending accounts of several journalists over a controversy on publishing public data about the billionaire’s plane. He later reinstated the accounts.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned highly offensive desecration of the Holy Quran by a Danish politician. In a tweet on Sunday, he said that this is the third such incident in a row that should be strongly condemned by the civilised world. The Prime Minister said the need for global unity to fight Islamophobia couldn't be more urgent than it is now. He said we are deeply hurt. The Prime Minister urged the international community to come together and fight the rampant Islamophobia, saying "the need for global unity to fight Islamophobia couldn't be more urgent than it is now. We are deeply hurt." The highly offensive desecration of the Holy Quran by a Danish politician is the third such incident in a row that should be strongly condemned by the civilised world. The need for global unity to fight Islamophobia couldn't be more urgent than it is now. We are deeply hurt. — Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) January 29, 2023 A day earlier, the Foreign Office ...

An explosion at a military plant in Iran's central city of Isfahan was caused by a failed drone attack, Iranian state media has said, citing the Defence Ministry. "One of (the drones) was hit by the air defence and the other two were caught in defence traps and blew up. Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not cause any loss of life and caused minor damage to the workshop's roof," the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency IRNA early on Sunday. Iranian news agencies earlier reported the loud blast and carried a video showing a flash of light at the plant, said to be an ammunitions factory, and footage of emergency vehicles and fire trucks outside the plant. "[The attack] has not affected our installations and mission...and such blind measures will not have an impact on the continuation of the country's progress," the ministry statement said. In a statement released early on Sunday, the Iranian Defence Ministry said that ...

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Saturday slammed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and said that the ex-prime minister must be careful about what he says. Bilawal, who holds the portfolio of foreign minister, lambasted the PTI chief after the former accused his father, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, of hatching a plot to assassinate him with the help of terrorist organisations. "Imran must realize every time his wife has a dream he cannot just come on tv & make accusations about people. Her dreams won’t stand up in court," the minister said in a series of tweets. Bilawal claimed that Khan’s allegations had increased the threat to him and his family, especially given their history. “After terrorist outfits called [me] and my party out by name in direct threats, Imran has now made false accusations against my father former president [Asif Zardari]." "These statements increase threats to my father, my family ...

Intelligence agency busted a network of suicide bombers in multiple intelligence-based operations in North Waziristan and Jamrud, averting the risk of a major attack. A major TTP organiser has also been killed. The operations began after a suicide attacker targeted a police check post in Takhta Baig in Jamrud on January 19. The attacker injured three security officials with gunfire before blowing up his suicide vest. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. A forensic analysis of the site and geofencing led the security to believe that the attacker was TTP member named Umar. The first IBO conducted on January 23 resulted in the death of Satana Jan, the Jamrud resident who had aided Umar. The TTP also confirmed Jan’s death. Two people related to the attacker, Farman Ullah and Abdul Qayyum were taken into custody. Another operation was conducted on January 27 after receiving reports that some suspects were active in the area. Four mo...

Pakistan on Saturday joined other Islamic nations to strongly condemn the recent attack on Islam’s holy book Quran in Denmark. The strong response comes as an anti-Islam group burned copies of the Quran near a Copenhagen mosque and outside the Turkish embassy in the Scandinavian country. In the message, Foreign Office condemned in the strongest terms the senseless and deeply offensive act of desecration of the Holy Quran by the same Islamophobe who committed a similar act in Sweden a few days ago. “The repetition of the vile act leaves little doubt in the minds of Muslims around the world that freedom of expression is being blatantly abused to spread religious hatred and incitement to violence,” Foreign Office said. Pakistan also called into question the legal framework behind which the Islamophobes hide and spread hatred with impunity. At a time when there is an increasing need for inter-faith harmony and mutual respect for peaceful coexistence, the international community canno...

A gunman has killed seven people near a synagogue in an Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem before being fatally shot, in an escalation of violence following a deadly Israeli military raid in the West Bank a day earlier. According to international media reports, after Friday’s shooting, the Magen David Adom emergency service confirmed that seven people were dead, five of them men and two women, while hospitals were still treating three wounded, one in critical condition. The emergency response agency reported a total of 10 gunshot victims, including a 60-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy. “I heard a lot of bullets,” Matanel Almalem, an 18-year-old student who lives near the synagogue, told the reporters. An earlier police statement said there was a “terror attack in a synagogue in Jerusalem” and that “the shooting terrorist was neutralised [killed]”. Police later said the suspect was a 21-year-old resident of East Jerusalem who appeared to have acted alone in carryi...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has expressed the confidence that Pakistan will conclude a deal with the International Monetary Fund in a bid to overcome the financial challenges. Speaking at inaugural ceremony of Greenline train service between Islamabad and Karachi in Islamabad on Friday, the Prime Minister said headway in talks with IMF would help the country address the current economic situation. The IMF delegation will be visiting Islamabad from 31st of this month to 9th of next month to continue discussions regarding the ninth review of the 7 billion dollars Extended Fund Facility. The Prime Minister emphasized the adoption of austerity at a massive scale to tackle difficult economic problems. He said the government has set its priority keeping in view its foreign exchange reserves, thus allowing the import of medicine and food as essential items. Shehbaz Sharif expressed confidence that with dedication and commitment, the country would soon regain its glory. He r...

PTI chief Imran Khan — in what can be termed an explosive claim — alleged on Friday that former president Asif Ali Zardari was behind a new plot to assassinate him for which the PPP co-chairman had “given money to a terrorist outfit”. “Earlier, in a public rally, I had told my supporters that there were four people who had planned to kill me […] but they backed off when I made these revelations.” Then a “plan B” was made to “eliminate” me in the name of religion, Imran continued, referring to the attack on his life in Wazirabad. “But I got to know about that too and I revealed their plan in two public rallies.” Referring to Wazirabad attack, he said that the people behind these “conspiracies” had almost succeeded but “God saved him”. “Now they have made a plan C and Zardari is behind it. He has unlimited corrupt money […] the money he loots from the Sindh government is used in elections, to buy MPAs […] whether it is the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Gilgit-Baltistan, he rec...

Asserting the government was firing on all cylinders to salvage the country's economy, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar Friday said Pakistan is the only country founded in the name of Islam and Allah Almighty is responsible for its development and prosperity. Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Green Line Express Train service in Islamabad, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that he had full faith that Pakistan would progress because it was created in the name of Islam. If Allah can create Pakistan then He can also protect, develop, and make it prosper, Dar added. The finance minister said, "they are trying their best to improve Pakistan's condition under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's leadership". Dar reiterated the incumbent government inherited several problems from the previous government, adding, the government was working day and night. "The team is trying to improve the situation ahead of the elections." He said the co...

The top brass of the three major parties in the ruling alliance on Thursday put their heads together at PM House to discuss possible strategies for the upcoming by-polls on vacant National Assembly (NA) seats, as well as elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assemblies, with the possibility of delaying the electoral exercises being discussed as one of the options. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also president of the PML-N, met with PPP leader Asif Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to “discuss the prevailing overall political situation in the country,” according to an official announcement. This was for the second straight day that the prime minister and his close aides consulted major allies on the “political and economic issues”, after a detailed meeting with Mr Zardari on Wednesday. The huddles come after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suggested elections in Punjab between April 9 and 13, and in KP between April 15 and 17. Simila...

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail Thursday slammed Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and said that the finmin doubted his ability to keep the economy afloat. The former finance minister said the attempt to run the country without the help of the Fund resulted in harming Pakistan, however, the government soon realised that it has no option other than embracing the tough conditions of the global lender. He further stated that a "strange system" has been established in Pakistan under which a small section of elites makes all the decisions. "Every country is ahead of us and the reason behind it is the fault in governance," Ismail said. He said that the governance system could never be fixed without the devolution of authority. The politician further stated that the authorities needed to create employment opportunities for the lower class. "We have seen the democratic system of government, presidential system, and dictatorship as well," ...

The Senate was informed in categorical terms on Thursday that no back-channel diplomacy was presently taking place between Pakistan and India. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar told the House during the question hour that hostility coming from the neighbouring country was of unique nature. She maintained that relations between the two nations were marred by a number of provocative steps by India. Khar added that the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi being banned by India vindicated Pakistan’s viewpoint on the Gujarat massacre. The minister said Islamabad was keen that its eastern and western borders remain peaceful and wanted to continue to be on a journey of peace. She stated that despite New Delhi's negative attitude, Islamabad would continue on the path of peace, and the tension between the two on the Line of Control had decreased. She continued that minorities in Pakistan enjoyed full religious protection but in India, they were being ...

After the emergence of apparent differences within the party ranks, the Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid (PML-Q) general council on Thursday removed Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as the party chief. The decision was made during a consultative meeting of the party held at the Pakistan Muslim League House situated at Davis Road in Lahore. Brother of Shujaat, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, has been given the command of the PML-Q. The meeting also removed Shujaat's close aide, Tariq Bashir Cheema, and selected Kamil Ali Agha as the central secretary-general of the party. The development comes days after Shujaat had suspended the basic membership of Chaudhry Parvez Elahi — for his statement about a possible merger with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). A show-cause notice served to Elahi mentioned that a meeting of the PML-Q — chaired by Shujaat — noted that the provincial president — Elahi — did not have the authority to merge the party with PTI. "Your [Elahi] party membership is suspe...

Meta Platforms Inc said Wednesday it will reinstate former US President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021. According to international media reports, the restoration of his accounts could provide a boost to Trump, who announced in November he will make another run for the White House in 2024. He has 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram, platforms that are key vehicles for political outreach and fundraising. His Twitter account was restored in November by new owner Elon Musk, though Trump has yet to post there. "In the event that Mr. Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation," wrote Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs, in the blog post.

Pakistan has reiterated to raise its voice on the continuing grave human rights abuses in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). At her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan will also continue to extend unstinted moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their quest for self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolution. She said we pay rich tribute to the sacrifices of martyrs of three massacres committed by the Indian occupation forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir during the month of January in the 1990s. With regard to situation in Afghanistan, the Spokesperson said Pakistan stresses the importance of peace and stability in our neighbourhood. She said we underscore our desire to work closely with regional countries to pursue continuous and practical engagement with the Interim Afghan Government on counteri...

A court in Mali has sentenced a man to death over a 2019 attack that killed three United Nations peacekeepers, the peacekeeping mission MINUSMA said on Wednesday, without naming the defendant. Mali, an arid West African country run by a military government, has been struggling for a decade with violence from armed non-state actors that has spread across the Sahel region despite costly international efforts to quash it. According to international media repots, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, as MINUSMA is officially known, has been operational in the country since 2013. But the peacekeepers’ presence has not stopped armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) from attacking villages and towns, army bases and police stations. The trial centred on an attack on five peacekeepers travelling through the rural commune of Siby in southern Mali, around 50km (31 miles) from the capital Bamako, on February 22, 2019. Three were killed, all fro...

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has once again been named the ICC's ODI Player of the Year after he won the International Cricket Council's award for the year 2022 with his spectacular performance in the calendar year 2021. The batting maestro achieved the feat a day after being named the captain of the ICC ODI Team of the Year for 2022. "There were match-winning knocks, spell-binding stroke-play and memorable moments from a personal perspective and his team in 2022 as Pakistan skipper Babar Azam claimed ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year Award for a second consecutive year," a statement released by the international cricket governing body said. The ICC reminisced some of Babar's memorable performances and outstanding achievements in the year. What Babar produced during 2022 was even better than 2021, a year for him to remember in ODI cricket, as the "ultra-consistent right-hander maintained his lead" as the No 1 ranked batter on the ICC Men's ODI...

After losing Rs12 against the US dollar in the open market, the Pakistani rupee also lost Rs11.11 against the greenback in the interbank market on Thursaday. The local currency was being traded at Rs242 per dollar in the interbank market around 10:48am, according to the data from the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP). After the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) removed an unofficial cap on the exchange rate, the Pakistani rupee on Wednesday closed at Rs243.00, falling 2.25 or 0.92% in the open market. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the exchange rate of the Pakistani rupee also depreciated by 49 paisa against the US dollar in the interbank trading and closed at Rs230.89 against the previous day’s closing of Rs230.40. On the other hand, the buying and selling rates of dollar in the open market were recorded at Rs240.60 and Rs243.00 respectively. The price of the euro appreciated by 27 paisa and closed at Rs251.28 against the previous day’s ...

Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav has been named ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year for 2022. Yadav claimed the prestigious award as he overpowered Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, England’s Sam Curran and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza – the other three nominees in the category. “The winner of the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year had one of the best years any player has had in the format’s history,” said ICC in a media release on Wednesday. The No.1-ranked T20I batter had a stellar year with the bat during which he broke numerous records in the formal. He became only the second batter after Rizwan to score more than 1000 T20I runs in a calendar year. The right-handed batter, known for his unorthodox shots and exceptional ability to hit every part of the ground, amassed 1164 runs during last year at an astonishing strike rate of 187.43. “Yadav was at his stupendous best during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, recording three fifties in six innings and averaging nearly 60 d...

Four children were killed and two women injured in an explosion caused by gas leakage in a house in Quetta. The incident happened when one member of the family tried to light a heater, without realizing the accumulation of the leaking gas in the room, the reports said. The house partially collapsed in the incident, and a big fire erupted due to which the kids and the women got serious burn injuries, and were shifted to a nearby hospital by rescue teams, the reports added. The children succumbed to injuries whereas the critically injured women are being treated at the hospital, said the reports. Quetta is currently under an extreme cold wave and the mercury drops to minus three degrees Celsius at night and early hours of the morning, therefore gas heaters are widely used to keep homes warm.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins was sworn in as New Zealand's prime minister in a formal ceremony on Wednesday, following the resignation of outgoing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last week. The Labour party elected former COVID-19 Response and Police minister Hipkins, 44, to lead the party and the country on Sunday. Ardern, 42, resigned last week, saying she had "no more in the tank" to lead the country. Hundreds gathered in the grounds of Parliament as Ardern left for the final time, hugging each of her members of parliament in turn, with many looking visibly emotional. She then travelled to Government House, where she tendered her resignation to King Charles' representative in New Zealand, Governor General Cindy Kiro. Hipkins and his deputy Carmel Sepuloni — the first person of Pacific Islander descent to hold the role — were then sworn in, in a ceremony lasting a few minutes. Hours later, Hipkins met with journalists after his first cabinet meeting as Prime Min...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the nationwide power outage that plunged the country into darkness on Monday and is still impacting areas across Pakistan. Taking to his official Twitter handle, the premier expressed his "sincere regrets" for the inconvenience suffered by the people due to the breakdown. "On my orders, an inquiry is underway to determine [the] reasons of the power failure. Responsibility will be fixed," he stated. A massive breakdown in the national grid on Monday triggered the worst electricity outage across the length and breadth of the country in months, paralyzing life and highlighting the weak infrastructure of the heavily indebted nation. The authorities concerned began restoring power to millions of people late in the night, which began at around 7:00 am local time. As evening drew on and homes were without electricity in the dark, Minister for Power Engineer Khurram Dastgir wrote on Twitter that authori...