LAHORE: Former Water and Power Development Agency (Wapda) chairman retired Lt-Gen Muzammil Hussain skipped the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s hearing on Monday in a hydro power project scam. The ex-general is accused of causing a loss to the national kitty to the tune of $753 million in the extension-IV hydro power project at Tarbela Dam. NAB had summoned him for …

HARIPUR: Fire again erupted in the Makhniyal and Khanpur forests on Sunday, engulfing a sizeable area, locals and officials of forest department said on Monday. The fire broke out in the private forest in Makhniyal, destroying trees on several acres. “The fire erupted in private forest of Kotla and travelled fast fueled by gusty winds to the reserved area. Forest …

ISLAMABAD: Amidst a hue and cry over inaccuracy of preliminary elector rolls, the Election Commission of Pakistan has approached the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) seeking its help to use digital and technological tools to rectify human errors in voters’ lists, sources in the ECP told Dawn. The development comes following the disclosure about dozens of alive voters, including …

ISLAMABAD: The National Asse­m­­bly on Monday adopted a resolution with a majority vote urging the “state” to move the Supreme Court against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan over his “anti-Pakistan and anti-armed forces” remarks during a TV interview last week. The lawmakers passed four Imran-era bills, including those required to meet conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), after …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought an explanation from the Religious Affairs Ministry, an aide said Tuesday, over a report claiming that a list of 200 ministry officials has been finalised for Haj this year — dozens of whom staff the office of Religious Affairs Minister Mufti Abdul Shakur. The report, published in The News International, said that 35 people on the …

The rupee fell sharply against the dollar in interbank trade on Tuesday morning to hit an all-time low of Rs203.45, with analysts attributing the local currency’s decline primarily to oil-related payments and uncertainty surrounding the resumption of the International Monetary Fund’s loan facility. According to the Forex Association of Pakistan, the greenback gained Rs2.85 against the previous day’s close of …

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, in her maiden visit to Pakistan on Tuesday, called on the international community to “give a loud and clear message” to the Afghan Taliban that they were “heading in the wrong direction”. At a media conference in Islamabad alongside her Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the German diplomat warned of the humanitarian crisis brewing in …

ISLAMABAD: In order to combat unprecedented economic crisis in the country, the government has arran­ged a gathering of top economists, industrialists and businessmen to find short-, medium- and long-term solutions to the problem, besides providing relief to inflation-hit people in the forthcoming federal budget 2022-23. According to the Prime Minister Office, Shehbaz Sharif will address a day-long ‘Pre-Budget Business Conference’ …

Saturday holidays have been restored for the public sector, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced on Tuesday, as the government seeks to implement austerity measures to rein in a spiralling cash crunch. The day he entered office on April 16, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued directives to public sector offices to open at 8am and abolished the official Saturday holiday, triggering some protests from …

Kourtney Kardashian showered love on Travis Barker’s eldest son Landon Asher as he graduates high school. Taking to Instagram, the Blink-182 drummer paid a sweet tribute for his son as he dropped some black and white photos. “So proud of you @landonasherbarker,” the musician captioned the post. He added, “It has been a great pleasure and honor to raise you and I …