Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was on Friday requested to direct the Punjab government to empower the local governments so that the institutions could fulfil their mandatory obligation under Article 140 of the Constitution. A petition moved by retired Col Mubashar Javed, mayor of the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore (MCL), through his counsel Mubeenuddin Qazi, pleaded to restrain the Punjab government, which …

KARACHI: The All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) and the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) have criticised the federal cabinet’s decision to set up the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PMRA) that is to replace the existing bodies regulating print and electronic media. The APNS termed the decision a particularly regressive measure and the CPNE described it as a move aimed at curbing …

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly witnessed a rumpus on Friday when opposition lawmakers, particularly those belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, created a scene in the house, forcing the speaker to adjourn the sitting till next week. The hefty agenda of the day largely remained untouched when Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani adjourned the session till Monday soon after Question Hour amid pandemonium. …

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has constituted a high-powered committee to suggest reforms in the Punjab police on the pattern of those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, giving a prime role to Interior Secretary retired Maj Azam Suleman and Principal Secretary to the PM Muhammad Azam Khan. The chief secretaries of Punjab and KP, Yousuf Naseem Khokhar and Naveed Kamran, have been …

RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Friday termed the supplementary finance bill 2019 business friendly. “It will offer incentives to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), industry, agriculture and capital market that will set the direction of the economy,” RCCI President Malik Shahid Saleem said in a press release. He said that despite economic crunch and a number of …

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior was on Friday not satisfied with the answers provided by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Amjad Javed Saleemi to questions regarding the alleged extra-judicial killings of four people, including three of a family, in Sahiwal by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). The parliamentary panel met with Senator Rehman Malik in the chair. …

UMERKOT: Foreign Min­is­ter Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that winds of change have started blowing from Karachi and will reach every nook and cranny of Sindh. Mr Qureshi said at a large gathering outside the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNA Lal Malhi here on Friday that people of Punjab and Balochistan had rejected the Pakistan Peoples Party and now people …

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has opposed accepting the claim of Tabassum Ishaq Dar, wife of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, to the ownership of a property in Lahore and said her husband is the original owner of the confiscated property. In response to an application filed by Ms Tabassum for de-freezing of the property in Gulberg, Lahore, NAB …

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday constituted a third special medical board to examine former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. “On the recommendations of the medical board of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) for evaluation of the health condition of National Accountability Bureau convicted prisoner Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, a special medical board is constituted for examination and management of …

ISLAMABAD: After receiving a SOS call from the embassy of China, which a police officer said was unjustified, the capital police, paramilitary troops and the army along with emergency and rescue officials reached the premises within minutes. However, once in the embassy located in Diplomatic Enclave, the law enforcement agencies were informed that the alarm had been sent out only …