WASHINGTON: This week’s democracy summit in Washington would be a test for Pakistan’s diplomacy as it’d look to rekindle ties with the US without irking its longtime ally China. The virtual summit, led by the US, will begin on Tuesday (tomorrow). Like the first democracy summit in 2021, both India and Pakistan have been invited to the summit. India attended …

ISLAMABAD: A joint sitting of parliament and a separate National Assem­bly meeting are set to take place on Monday (today) to discuss important iss­ues, including the respect of state institutions. The National Assembly will meet at noon while the joint sitting is scheduled for 3pm. PTI senators have also announced that they would attend the joint session. According to an …

ISLAMABAD: PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui revealed on Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was ready to step down in May to pave the way for general elections in September 2022. “Elections were offered to Imran on a platter but he missed out on this golden opportunity because of his stubbornness, obstinacy, and bullying,” he claimed while talking to reporters. He …

GWADAR: Following the arrest of Haq Do Tehreek (HDT) chief Maulana Hidayatur Rehman in mid-January, the situation in Gwadar has been calm so far. But after the lifting of section 144 in the town, protests against the Maulana’s arrest have simmered again. Deserving special mention was a demonstration by Burqa-clad women who raised their voice for Maulana Hidayat’s release. Maasi …

LAHORE: Chief organiser of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz has said that former premier Imran Khan desires to be ‘selected again’, this time through what she called ‘judicial establishment’. “This time Imran Khan has found ‘judicial establishment’ for his selection [as prime minister], while the remnants of Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa are still there in the [military] …

ISLAMABAD: Amid criticism over the distribution of free wheat flour in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the federal government has called upon the Gilgit-Baltistan administration to urgently rationalise the cost of subsidised wheat for citizens in a phased, targeted manner and charge the affluent people market rates to ensure a sustainable supply. The GB’s elected government has recently made a commitment …

ISLAMABAD: Hopes for a dialogue between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) faded after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a strongly-worded letter accused President Arif Alvi of being “biased and partisan”. The premier in his letter to the president lambasted Mr Alvi for sending a letter to him [PM] in which he had asked the PM to assist all relevant …

LONDON: As members of the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf face a slew of cases, late-night arrests and even alleged enforced disappearances, representatives of the party in the United Kingdom and Europe have sprung into action by staging protests, writing to MPs and speaking with human rights organisations to inform them about the crackdown against the party at the hands of the …

Justice Munib Akhtar of the Supreme Court said on Monday that the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decisions had become an “obstruction” in the way of the apex court’s orders. He passed these remarks as the top court took up PTI’s petition challenging the electoral body’s orders to put off Punjab Assembly elections till Oct 8. The five-member larger bench — headed …

The Islamabad High Court on Monday granted PTI Chairman Imran Khan interim bail in seven cases registered against him following clashes at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) on March 18 when the former premier had appeared in the Toshakhana case. In petitions filed in the IHC today, the PTI chief sought interim bail in the cases registered against him at Golra, Bara Kahu, …