Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reached Iran on a two-day visit on Tuesday, where he will hold talks with Iranian dignitaries on a range of issues, including bilateral ties, trade, regional security and Islamophobia. This is Bilawal’s first official visit to Iran. He is visiting the country at the invitation of Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian, who welcomed him upon …

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor on Monday hinted at withdrawing appeal against the acquittal of former president Asif Ali Zardari by an accountability court in the ARY Gold reference. NAB’s Additional Prosecutor General Jahanzeb Khan Bharwana, who had earlier requested the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to either dispose of the appeal or adjourn the hearing till the retrieval …

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday announced a reduction of Rs250 per kilogram in ghee price and said the commodity would be available at all outlets of Utility Stores in the country at Rs300/kg whereas a bag of 10kg wheat flour was already being sold for Rs400. Speaking at a press conference, she said that in 2018 the …

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Monday sent five employees of a privately managed train to prison for their alleged involvement in a case pertaining to the gang rape of a woman in moving train. The court also directed the investigating officer of the case to submit the forensic analysis report of footage of gang rape made by the suspects. The …

LAHORE: The judge of a special court (Central-I) on Monday observed that none of the prosecution witnesses levelled allegations of bribe, kickbacks or corrupt practices against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz in the Rs16 billion money laundering case instituted by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). “Prima facie, allegations of gratification, corrupt practice, abuse …

Nafees Naeem — an assignment editor at the Aaj News television channel who went missing from near his residence in Karachi on Monday after he was reportedly picked up by men in plain clothes — has “returned home safely, within 24 hours of being abducted”, a report by the media outlet said. The report added that the Aaj News team received the news of Naeem’s return by 5am …

ISLAMABAD: Fulfilling a mere formality, the National Assembly on Monday began a general debate on the federal budget presented by the coalition government last week with an unimpressive speech by Leader of the Opposition and PTI dissident Raja Riaz Ahmed. In his speech, perhaps the shortest by an opposition leader on the federal budget, Mr Ahmed gave some suggestions to …

After hitting a new peak on Monday, the US dollar extended its gains against the rupee in the interbank market and rose past the Rs205 mark to reach a new high during the early hours of trading on Tuesday — a trend that is largely attributed to the dollar strengthening in global markets, a dearth of dollar inflows and the …

Doda Ellahi and Ghamshad Baloch — students of Karachi University’s Philosophy Department allegedly taken away from their house in the city on June 7 — have returned home, Nasarullah Baloch, chairman of non-profit organisation Voice of Balochistan Missing Persons said on Tuesday. In a brief confirmation, the activist told Dawn.com that the students returned to their home near Maskan Chowrangi in Gulshan-i-Iqbal …

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Monday witnessed a daylong drama as Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi refused to conduct the session and allow the provincial budget to be presented, demanding the inspector general of police (IGP) first tender an apology to him and all cases lodged against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and PML-Q workers and parliamentarians be withdrawn. After back-to-back meetings between …