Pakistan

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced that general elections would be held in the last week of January 2024. The timeframe that was announced by the ECP today lacks a specific date for the elections. It also exceeds the Nov 6 cut-off date suggested by President Arif Alvi by more than two months. In a statement, the election commission …

ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Privatisation Commission on Tuesday discussed privatisation of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and agreed a clear timeline for the purpose. The meeting, presided over by Minister for Privatisation Fawad Hasan Fawad, was held to meet the target set by the caretaker prime minister and the federal cabinet for PIA’s privatisation. The privatisation minister held detailed …

LAHORE: The controversy around the death of Ammar Abad Farooq, the son of PTI leader Abad Farooq, refuses to go away even after his burial as social media and a section of the press continue putting the blame of the minor’s death on the government, demanding an independent inquiry. Since his father is incarcerated over the May 9 violence and is awaiting …

LAHORE: Lahore received hours of heavy rain on Tuesday, resulting in urban flooding across the city. The downpour, which began at about 5am disrupted daily life for residents, leading to school closures, office delays and transportation chaos. While the rain brought a change to the weather, it simultaneously posed challenges, bringing the city to a standstill in some areas. The …

KARACHI: Amid growing concerns over the delay in medical admissions across the country, the Sindh government on Tuesday set up another committee to investigate the allegations of paper leak in the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) held nationwide over a week ago. According to a notification issued by the Sindh chief secretary, the body will “probe into the allegations of …

ISLAMABAD: Chief Jus­tice Qazi Faez Isa will meet representatives of the Pakistan Bar Cou­n­cil and the Supreme Court Bar Association on Wednesday (today) to deliberate on how to clear the bac­klog of thousands of cases pending in the top court. PBC Vice Chairman Haroon Rashid confirmed that CJP Isa, who assumed office on Sunday, is convening a meeting on Wednesday …

LAHORE: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday spoke in no uncertain terms when he said that his party’s complaints regar­ding an ‘uneven playing field’ were directed at its erstwhile ally, the PML-N. “Our demand for a level playing field is from the PML-N. We have empowered President Zardari to address the complaint and he must be given time for this …

A Hindu hostage, among five people abducted by riverine bandits earlier this month, has been recovered, according to family. Earlier this month, citizens had staged sit-ins for the recovery of members of the Hindu community who had been abducted in Kashmore, including Mukhi Jagdish Kumar, Sagar Kumar, Jaideep Kumar, Dr Munir Naij and Mushtaq Ali Mumdani. On September 4, Mukhi Jagdish Kumar …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday gave the Punjab police chief a “last opportunity” to recover missing anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan by September 26, adjourning the proceedings in a petition demanding his recovery till then. Imran Riaz — a YouTuber and television anchor — was arrested two days after violent protests broke out across the country following PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9. …

ISLAMABAD: The gender gap among voters has reduced with the addition of 11.74 million women, compared to 9.28m male voters, to the electoral rolls since 2018 general elections, bringing the total number of registered voters in the country to around 127m from the erstwhile 106m. The latest statistics released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday showed that the difference …