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The Interior Ministry has informed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that the armed forces would not be able to perform security duties during the provincial assembly elections in Punjab and KP as well as by-elections on 64 National Assembly seats as it was busy conducting census and counter-terror operations, it emerged on Thursday. Earlier this week, the electoral body …

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday rejected a second post-arrest bail plea filed by Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid after he challenged a judicial magistrate’s dismissal of his previous petition for bail. The Islamabad police had arrested the PTI loyalist on Feb 2 for allegedly making defamatory remarks against the PPP leadership after which the court remanded him to the police’s custody for …

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Thursday that the NA Secretariat had not yet received the Lahore High Court’s order — in which the acceptance of the resignations of 43 PTI lawmakers was suspended — as the de-notified MNAs began arriving at the Parliament House. The PTI resigned en masse from the NA last year in April. After Ashraf stalled the process …

The Lahore High Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Punjab governor to file replies by tomorrow (Feb 10) in response to a PTI petition seeking the announcement of a date for elections in the province. The PTI on Jan 27 had approached the LHC, seeking it order the Punjab governor to immediately announce a date of an …

President Arif Alvi on Wednesday urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to “immediately announce” the date for polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and put an end to “dangerous speculative propaganda” on both the provincial assembly and general elections. The Punjab and KP assemblies were dissolved on Jan 18 and Jan 14, respectively, after former prime minister Imran Khan had announced that his governments …

A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) training plane on Wednesday made an emergency landing in the fields near Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan after facing issues mid-flight, the PAF said. Both pilots present in the plane — a Super Mushshak training aircraft —survived the crash-landing, the PAF said in a statement. It added that a board of inquiry would be constituted to investigate …

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday urged the federal government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — currently in the midst of negotiations to revive a stalled lifeline — to consider the plight of the flood affectees and ensure they are “protected” from economic difficulties. Pakistan is currently in talks with an IMF delegation to release much-needed money under …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday suspended National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s acceptance of the resignations of 43 PTI lawmakers and put by-elections in 43 constituencies on hold. The court order was pronounced by Justice Shahid Karim on a petition filed by PTI’s Riaz Fatyana and 42 other MNAs against the NA speaker’s acceptance of their resignations and …

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Wednesday granted the Murree police one-day transit remand of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief and PTI ally Sheikh Rashid. Rashid was arrested Feb 2 by the Islamabad police for remarks he made against former president Asif Ali Zardari. Later, another case was also registered against him at the Murree police station for manhandling a police …

Former army chief and military ruler retired General Pervez Musharraf’s funeral prayers were offered at a mosque in Karachi’s Malir Cantonment on Tuesday afternoon. The ex-president, who passed away in Dubai on Feb 5, will be laid to rest at an army graveyard near Kala Pull, All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) spokesperson Tahir Hussain said in a statement to Dawn.com. Former army chiefs …