Pakistan

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: As the police in the twin cities formed special teams to round up undocumented immigrants, the Islamabad police on Wednesday moved at least 64 Afghan nationals to the Torkham border crossing for deportation whereas the Rawalpindi police shifted more than 180 immigrants to a ‘holding centre’. Islamabad police officials said a team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and …

ISLAMABAD: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Islamabad on Wednesday allowed the family of former chief minister Parvez Elahi to celebrate his birthday in jail with him. Elahi’s family, through their counsel, appealed before the court that they could not meet Mr Elahi in jail during the visitation day last week. The counsel informed the judge that the birthday of the former …

LAHORE: Of the eleven Lahore High Court judges, at least two have withdrawn their requests for the interest-free loan of Rs32.86 million each for purchase/construction of house. The caretaker Punjab government’s move to disburse interest-free loan to the tune of Rs361.5m to 11 judges in September this year was widely criticised since it came at a time when the hapless …

KURRAM: Warring sides in Kurram tribal district have agreed to cease fire and end hostilities as the government acknowledged on Wednesday the loss of 25 lives since the clashes began on Oct 24, officials said. “There is a total ceasefire in the district and not even a single bullet has been fired today [Wednesday]. Police and other law enforcement agencies have taken …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has expressed its willingness to form an electoral alliance with its arch-rival, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), to counter its former ally, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). “We may enter into an (electoral) alliance with other parties, including the PTI, against the PML-N,” said Punjab PPP acting president Rana Farooq Saeed at a press conference …

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Thursday directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to confer with President Arif Alvi on the poll date after the electoral body informed the Supreme Court that general elections would be held on February 11. “Let the ECP meet with the President of Pakistan today and the date for holding general …

ISLAMABAD: A day after the Supreme Court gave nod to accountability courts to continue proceedings on corruption references, Islamabad’s accountability court on Wednesday summoned former president and PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari and Ijaz Ahmed Khan, a former secretary to the Sindh government, in the Thatta water supply case. The case was among dozens of references transferred from accountability courts …

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government has increased salaries and perks of top bureaucrats in management positions — commonly described as management position (MP) scales — by a flat 45 per cent with effect from Oct 1. The increase would apply to all MP-I, MP-II and MP-III positions, including basic salaries, house rents and utilities as approved by the caretaker prime minister, …

By: Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada Houston, Texas: The funeral prayer for Dr. Talat Jahan Khan, a Pakistani woman tragically killed in Conroe, took place in Houston. In attendance were hundreds of mourners, including the deceased’s husband, son, daughter, and brother, wjahat Khan, as well as Consul General Houston Aftab Chaudhary. The emotional service was held at Hamza Mosque in Houston, …

ISLAMABAD: On a petition filed by a group of human rights defenders, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) on Tuesday wrote a letter to the government and concerned stakeholders urging them to deal with the Afghan asylum seekers according to national and international human rights commitments. The human rights defenders in their petition requested the NCHR to play its …