Pakistan

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has stated lawyer Jibran Nasir and his wife Mansha Pasha’s inclusion in the watch list — which led to them being stopped from travelling to Dubai last month — was done “secretively”, adding that the move to bar them from travelling abroad was “without lawful authority”. Earlier this month, Nasir — who was “picked up …

ISLAMABAD: In a reality check following almost week-long consultations, caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Wednesday told senators and the electricity consumers to “manage (their) expectations” raised by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar for relief in excessive power bills, saying the country’s fiscal space did not permit any subsidy or relief. “Please manage your expectations,” she said apparently …

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday dismissed the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) plea asking the top court to revisit its order of holding elections to the Punjab Assembly on May 14. “The court will intervene whenever the Constitution is violated,” Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial remarked during the hearing. In a una­n­imous judgment on April 4, the bench had quashed …

UNITED NATIONS: Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar plans to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which opens on September 5, Dawn has learnt. If the trip materialises, Mr Kakar will apparently be the first interim prime minister to represent Pakistan at the UN General Assembly. A UN press statement marked Sept 19 as the first day …

ISLAMABAD: The Ele­ct­ion Commission of Pak­istan (ECP) on Tuesday sought immediate rem­o­val of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary. In a letter sent to the secretary of establishment division, with the signatures of Election Commission Secre­tary, the ECP asked for im­­mediate replacement of the official. “Mr Nadeem Aslam Chau­dhry, Chief Secre­ta­­ry of Khyber Pakhtun­kh­­wa, is unable to perform his functions efficiently and …

RAWALPINDI: The Senate Committee on Aviation discussed the ongoing strike by Pakistan International Airlines employees in protest against privatisation plans at its session on Tuesday. Senator Mian Raza Rabbani emphasised that workers had a right to engage in any type of action for their fundamental rights and called for withdrawal of an FIR registered against PIA employees. Amir Hayat, the airline’s Chief …

The Sindh Wildlife Department on Wednesday shifted a lion, that managed to escape from its owner’s custody on Sharea Faisal a day earlier, to the Karachi Zoological Garden as five suspects were booked for allegedly keeping the animal in their custody. On Tuesday evening, the lion being illegally transported in a vehicle managed to escape from its owner’s custody near …

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Tuesday filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking a date for holding general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly. On Monday, PTI also approa­ched the court with a similar plea seeking a direction for President Arif Alvi to announce a date for elections within the three-month constitutional deadline. Separately, a three-judge …

Members of Karachi’s modelling fraternity are outraged after makeup artist Bryan William was assaulted by model Robina Khan Shah’s husband during a shoot for Nabila’s Salon. In a series of Instagram stories, Shah confirmed that her husband assaulted the makeup artist but claimed he “abused” her first. William has not commented on the situation and Images has reached out to him for …

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is likely to announce a schedule for the general elections well before the completion of delimitation of constituencies of national and provincial assemblies, informed sources told Dawn. They said a decision on this would not take months or weeks, but days. They said the issue was discussed during the commission’s consultative meeting with the …