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ISLAMABAD: In order to stabilise the economy, the federal cabinet on Tuesday decided to implement “bold” decisions that include the closure of markets at 8:30pm and wedding halls at 10pm, the use of efficient electronic appliances, and a 40 per cent reduction in power consumption in government offices. The cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, also vowed to …

The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) confirmed on Wednesday the detection of six coronavirus cases belonging to the highly-contagious Omicron subvariant category XBB in Karachi. “We have detected six cases, however, others have been found around the country,” AKUH Infectious Diseases Section Head Dr Faisal Mehmood told Dawn.com. “These have started since November.” According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the XBB is a …

ISLAMABAD: Investigators in the terrorism case in Islamabad have identified the suicide bomber and are searching for two suspects who facilitated him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Rawalpindi to reach the capital and detonate an explosive device on December 23. Sources close to the investigators told Dawn that there were two facilitators of the suicide bomber: one brought him to Islamabad on December 23 and …

The Foreign Office on Wednesday rejected remarks made by Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar in which he indirectly referred to Pakistan as the “epicentre” of terrorism while on a tour to Austria. Jaishankar made the remarks on Monday during a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg while on a two-nation visit to Austria and Cyprus. “Since the …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed on Wednesday to highlight the plight of flood affectees across the country at the upcoming Geneva conference, saying that thousands of flood-hit people were still waiting for help. The International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan will be held in Geneva on January 9. The event will be co-hosted by the Government of Pakistan and the …

The United States has thrown its weight behind the counter-terrorism decisions taken by the National Security Committee (NSC) in its recent meeting, saying “Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism”. The statement from US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price comes two days after the NSC — the highest civil-military forum for decisions on matters pertaining to national security — …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that the Covid-19 situation in the country was “under control”, but instructed authorities to remain prepared to tackle any possible spread of the virus. The premier passed these remarks in a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office to review the Covid spread in Pakistan. The participants were informed in detail about the …

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of threat posed by the new BF.7 Omicron variant of Covid-19, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday instructed National Institute of Health (NIH) to issue precautionary advisories for educational institutes, social gatherings and conduct weekly media briefings. In a related development, vaccination and screening test of pedestrians has been started at Torkham border on a …

ISLAMABAD: The Nat­ional Security Committee (NSC) on Monday categorically asked Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, without directly naming them, to deny safe haven to Pakistani terrorist groups on its soil and end their patronage, while reiterating its intent to crush terrorist groups operating inside the country with full force. The uncharacteristically strong-worded statement issued at the end of the NSC meeting, which …

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) are in talks to fight the next general elections on the same symbol, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has said. In an interview with the GNN TV channel that aired on Monday, the PTI chairman said he has also recommended that PML-Q merge with the PTI. Calling the coalition politics “tough,” he said partners …