KABUL: Wily leg-spinner Rashid Khan will lead a strong 17-man Afghanistan squad in the Twenty20 International series against Pakistan starting in Sharjah this week, selectors announced on Tuesday. The three-match series, the first bilateral between the neighbours, will be played in Sharjah on March 24, 26 and 27. Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Naseeb Khan said the best available …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received $242 million from the United States to support flood relief, recovery efforts, disaster resilience and food security and the US-Pakistani diaspora contributed about $42m to the total. On Tuesday, US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome highlighted the valuable contributions of the diaspora and the private sector at a US Agency for International Development (USAID) conference aimed …

KARACHI: The outstanding auto financing continued to decline for the eighth consecutive month in February dipping almost 9 per cent to Rs326 billion from Rs357bn in the same month last year, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Tuesday. Samiullah Tariq, head of Research Pak Kuwait Investment Company, said car financing would remain depressed in coming …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company (PMRC) and Pakistan Housing Finance Company (PHFC) on Tuesday were prequalified to acquire House Building Finance Company Ltd (HBFCL). The meeting of the Privatisation Commission Board (PCB), chaired by Abid Hussain Bhayo, approved the recommendations of the prequalification committee to give a go-ahead to the two potential buyers to start due diligence of HBFCL. The …

KARACHI: The government should revise its tight gas policy to nudge energy companies towards exploring natural gas that’s obtained from reservoir rocks with low permeability using advanced technology. Addressing a seminar organised by CFA Society Pakistan on Tuesday, energy sector expert Muhammad Asim Subhani said each well that’s dug for tight gas must get a third-party certification in order to …

KARACHI: A record increase in returns on treasury bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) has failed to attract a single dollar. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased the interest rate by 300 basis points to 20 per cent and the discount rate to 21pc on March 2 to counter high inflation. Before announcing the interest rate hike, the government …

In phone calls with his Saudi and Iranian counterparts, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday hailed the resumption of ties between the two countries and termed it a “harbinger for peace, prosperity and development for the entire region”. The two regional heavyweights announced on March 10 a Chinese-brokered deal to restore ties seven years after they were severed. The deal is …

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has announced that Ramazan will start on Thursday after the moon was not sighted on Tuesday. In Pakistan, the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee will meet today (Wednesday) for the sighting of the Ramazan moon. Saudi Arabia’s supreme court ruled on Tuesday evening that Shaban will end on Wednesday, meaning Ramazan will begin the following day, the official Saudi …

NEW YORK: A judge on Tues­day rejected former US President Donald Trump’s bid to delay the scheduled Oct. 2 trial in state Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud lawsuit, calling the date “written in stone.” Justice Arthur Engoron in Supr­e­­me Co­­u­­rt in Manhattan agreed to req­uests by Trump and other def­endants to push back some deadlines for gathering evidence. “You …

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Tuesday that Chinese proposals could be used as the basis of a peace settlement in Ukraine, but that the West and Kyiv were not yet ready. In a joint statement issued at the end of Xi’s state visit to Moscow, the two men cautioned against any …