BreakingNews

The World Bank has approved $258 million to strengthen primary health care systems and accelerate national efforts towards universal health coverage in Pakistan, a press release issued by the international financial institution said on Wednesday. The National Health Support Programme “complements ongoing investments in human capital and builds on health reforms that aim to improve quality and equitable access to …

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday approved TikToker Nosheen Saeed alias Dolly’s pre-arrest bail application in a case related to a forest fire at the Margalla Hills last month. Saeed, who has more than 11 million followers on TikTok, had posted a clip of herself walking playfully in a silver ball gown in front of a burning hillside, presumably the Margalla …

The Sindh High Court on Wednesday ruled that Dua Zehra — the teenage girl who was reported missing from Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony on April 16 and was recovered from Bahawalnagar on June 5 — is free to decide her fate. Dua and Zaheer Ahmed — the person she is said to have contracted marriage with — appeared before the …

ISLAMABAD: Diplomats and security advisers of some embassies in Islamabad have expressed concerns over the prevailing law and order and crime situation in the capital. Sources in the police told on condition of anonymity that diplomats and security advisers from 35 countries from Far East, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa met senior officers of the capital police on Monday …

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday rejected a petition seeking Supreme Court’s consultation for the appointment of the National Accountability Bureau chairman. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah ruled that the law empowered the chosen representatives to make the appointment of NAB chairman through meaningful consultation. The petitioner was seeking a direction regarding the implementation of the recommendations/observations made by …

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 …