Pakistan

Ten members of a family were killed as a fire erupted in a home located in Bhati Gate area of Lahore during the early hours of Wednesday, officials said. Bhati Gate Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Sajjad confirmed the death toll to Dawn.com. Lahore DIG Operations Ali Nasir Rizvi said that the deceased belonged to the same family. According to an …

PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that Pakistan had accepted the loan programme of the International Monetary Fund “under compulsion” as it had no other option. “We have not opted for the IMF programme gladly and instead, it was our compulsion to do so. We have to stand on our own feet to wean ourselves off loans and …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan could attract an investment of $40 billion to $50bn in the years ahead and could grow its food exports to Gulf states within two years, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday. Addressing a seminar on agriculture and food security, he termed agriculture the backbone of the country, saying that farmers worked hard to provide food to millions …

SWABI: A six-year-old girl belonging to a poor family was slaughtered with a dagger by a 17-year-old neighbour after she resisted an assault bid, DSP headquarters Jawad Khan said on Monday. He said the incident took place in Saleem Khan village of Swabi tehsil, and the girl’s body was recovered from a hujra (common guest house). DSP Jawad said the …

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Comm­ittee (PAC) on Monday recommended forensic audit of Haj expenses incurred under the government scheme during this year’s Haj. Presiding over a meeting of the committee, PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan said that despite completion of Haj proceedings, several officials including the additional secretary to the ministry of religious affairs and interfaith harmony, Mr Atta-ur-Rehman, DG …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s office raised administrative objections on Monday on a petition filed by a former confidant of Imran Khan seeking dissolution of the PTI in view of the “hate speeches and anti-institution rhetoric” of the ex-prime minister. Mohammad Aun Chaudhry, who has now joined the Istekham-i-Pakistan Party (IPP), argued in his petition that Mr Khan’s speeches “violate different …

KASUR / NAROWAL: The increased water inflow in rivers from India continued to threaten villages along the banks as more people were evacuated on Monday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities to make fool-proof arrangements to handle the possible flood situation in Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers, according to APP. Rescue 1122 evacuated 236 people, including 16 children, in …

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for PTI chief Imran Khan and ex-information minister Fawad Chaudhry in a case pertaining to contempt of the electoral body and the chief election commissioner (CEC). The order was passed by a four-member ECP bench headed by member Nisar Durrani. Last year, the ECP had initiated contempt proceedings against the …

LAHORE: PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain reportedly met his estranged cousin Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in prison on Monday, but the camps of both leaders gave contrasting versions of what transpired in the meeting. This was the third meeting between the two since Mr Elahi, who ditched his cousin to join PTI, was arrested in June. Since then Mr Hussain has …

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Punjab issued a “high alert” on Tuesday after India released 208,597 cusecs of water into the Sutlej river. Citing the flood levels below Sutlej in Firozpur, an Indian city located on the banks of the river, the PDMA said low-level floods were expected in plain areas. Over the last two days, hundreds of …