Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Delaying his parliamentary address, President Asif Zardari has now summoned a joint sitting of both houses of parliament on April 18, as the National Assembly Secretariat on Sunday issued a six-point agenda for the sitting on Monday (today), which includes the laying of an ordinance promulgated by the caretaker government and a calling attention notice on the issue of …

TAXILA: Several thousand Sikh devotees performed ‘Bhog’, the main ceremony of the Baisakhi festival, at Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Hassanabdal on Sunday, as the temple echoed with Sikh religious slogans. Baisakhi, or Vaisakhi, is celebrated on the first day of the month of Vaisakh and also marks the beginning of the harvest season. The festival was celebrated at Gurdwara Punja …

KARACHI: A Saudi delegation, led by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, will tour Pakistan from April 15 to 16. The delegation consists of Saudi Minister of Water and Agriculture Abdul Rahman Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadley, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Ibrahim Al Khorayef, Deputy Minister of Investment Badr Al Badr, the head of Saudi Special Committee, …

LARKANA: As a multi-party opposition alliance geared up its protest against the coalition government, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday warn­ed against the ‘politics of sit-ins’ and advocated for reconciliation instead. Speaking at a public gathering to mark the 45th death anniversary of PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said “some people” were trying to …

GUJRAT: All nine victims of Friday’s Noshki attack were laid to rest on Sunday in their native areas in central Punjab districts. The men, hailing from Wazi­rabad, Gujranwala and Mandi Bahauddin, were abducted from a Taftan-bound bus and shot dead by Balochistan Liberation Army gunmen. Their bodies were later dumped under a bridge in a hilly area of Noshki. The bodies of …

LAHORE: Amir Sarfraz Tamba, the man who allegedly killed Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in Kot Lakhpat prison in 2013, was critically injured in an attack on Sunday, according to police officials. Media reports claimed that the victim was killed in the attack, but Lahore SSP Operations Syed Ali Raza confirmed to Dawn that the victim was alive, but critically injured. Tamba was at his …

ISLAMABAD: While the impact of the Middle East escalation is yet to materialise, the higher international market is estimated to push up the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel by about Rs2.50 and Rs8.50 per litre, respectively on Monday (April 15) for the next fortnight, despite a decline in the import premium and a slightly improved exchange rate. Informed sources …

QUETTA: PTI leader Omar Ayub said on Sunday that his party was in contact with other political forces to shore up the six-party opposition alliance to strengthen its bid to oust the incumbent government led by the PML-N. Addressing a press conference in Quetta, Mr Ayub said that political parties, labour organisations and other segments of society would also be …

TAXILA: Police on Saturday claimed to have busted a racket allegedly involved in child sex and pornography. According to sources, a citizen reported to Taxila police that his 12-year-old son, a grade 4 student, was sexually assaulted by a gang who then continued blackmailing him. The police arrested two of the suspects and recovered video clips from their possession and …

KARACHI: Six additional judges of the Sindh High Court took the oath of office as permanent judges on Saturday. SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi administered the oath to the six judges in a ceremony held on the premises of the high court. The six judges are Justice Amjad Ali Bohio, Justice Sana Akram Minhas, Justice Jawad Akbar Sarwana, Justice …