Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are in the process of restoring diplomatic ties and reopening embassies, two officials said, more than two years after Arab states ended a boycott of Doha that had shattered the Western-allied Gulf Arab bloc. “At present, the activation of diplomatic ties, which will include the reopening of embassies, is under process between both …

KARACHI: While the intercity bus and coach operators have already hiked prices ahead of Eidul Fitr, the Sindh government on Monday warned of strict action against the transporters if they attempted to overcharge the people visiting families and relatives on the occasion of the religious festival. Speaking at a press conference, Sindh Information Minister said FIRs would be registered against …

ISLAMABAD: Amid the ongoing executive-judiciary tussle, the coalition government managed through the National Assembly on Monday the rejection of its own demand for provision of Rs21 billion as supplementary grant to the ECP for holding polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakht­unkhwa, thus nullifying the Supreme Court’s third directive for the release of funds for the purpose. Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf put the …

LOWER DIR: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq has said that Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan have agreed to start negotiations for holding general elections in the country. He said that clash among politicians always resulted in imposition of martial law. He said that instead of remaining neutral, judiciary, election commission and parliament had become parties. …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has allocated Rs21 billion for elections to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies on Supreme Court’s order and sought finance ministry’s nod to release the amount, SBP’s chief spokesman Abid Qamar told Dawn. The court, on Friday, directed the State Bank to release Rs21bn to the Election Commission of Pakistan and submit a compliance report by …

ISLAMABAD: A representative conference of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Monday threatened to launch a countrywide movement if the Supreme Court failed to recall its April 13 suspension of the proposed Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023. The gathering attended by the representatives of all the bar councils, including the Supreme Court and High Court Bar Associations, also appealed to …

ISLAMABAD: Calling out India’s ‘exploitation’ of the Pulwama attack for political gains, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said revelations by the former governor of India-held Kashmir have vindicated Pakistan. He also urged the international community to take note of the BJP government’s actions that could have led to disastrous consequences for the region. The prime minister’s remarks were in response to a recent interview …

MANSEHRA: A Chinese national working at the Dasu hydropower project was taken into police custody on Monday following unrest, after labourers at the dam site accused him of making blasphemous remarks during a heated argument. The man was booked on blasphemy charges in Upper Kohistan district and sent to prison on a 14-day judicial remand by an Abbottabad anti-terrorism court …

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Tuesday granted post-arrest bail to PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur who was arrested earlier this month in a case pertaining to threatening national institutions. The verdict, which was reserved on Monday, was pronounced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Sikandar Khan. The judge also directed the PTI leader to furnish two surety bonds amounting to …

A landslide during a thunder and lightning storm on the main road through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber Pass buried more than 20 trucks on Tuesday, killing at least two people, with dozens more feared trapped, officials said. Abdul Nasir Khan, the deputy commissioner of the Khyber district, told Reuters that two Afghan citizens had been killed in the landslide and authorities were trying …