Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Thou­sands of people rallied in the streets as the country observed Youm-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran (Sanctity of the Holy Quran day) on Friday in response to calls given by the government, as well as religious organisations and political parties, inclu­ding the opposition Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf, to protest the act of desecration committed in Sweden. “The Holy Quran is our red line,” chanted protesters, …

An Islamabad district and sessions court on Saturday declared a criminal complaint against former premier Imran Khan for concealing details of Toshakana gifts to be maintainable. Additional Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar announced the verdict that was reserved earlier as he heard the PTI chief’s plea challenging the maintainability of the said complaint sent to the trial court by the Election …

GILGIT: With the election for the Gilgit-Baltis­tan chief minister slated to be held on July 13, the opposition parties have decided to nominate a joint candidate against the PTI — which enjoys a clear majority in the house — faced with internal strife after the emergence of two dissenting groups. The new date was announced in light of the appellate …

LAHORE: Alamgir Khan Tareen, brother of Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party Chairman Jahangir Khan Tareen, committed suicide by shooting himself in the temple at his residence here on Thursday. Alamgir (63) was also the owner of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans. Police found him dead with a pistol and a suicide note he left at his Gulberg residence. In the …

ISLAMABAD: Expressing apprehensions over the data leak of citizens, especially of military authorities from the Nadra, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Interior to conduct a joint investigation into the breach of data. PAC Chairman MNA Noor Alam Khan said that the Pakistan Tele­communication Authority (PTA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and Military Intelligence (MI) …

Rallies were taken out across the country on Friday to protest of the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden as the nation observed “Youm-i-Taqaddus-i-Quran” (Quran Sanctity Day). Last week, a man had desecrated the Holy Quran in Sweden’s capital Stockholm, resulting in strong condemnation from several Muslim states, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union, Pope Francis and the Swedish government, among others. Earlier this …

LAHORE: The 34-year-old case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was reopened for “political victimisation” and to damage his reputation, said the accountability court verdict which acquitted Mr Sharif of all charges. The detailed verdict issued on Thursday was hailed by several PML-N leaders as the “vindication” of the party’s supreme leader. The proceedings started in 2020 when during the …

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday held out an assurance that general elections will be held on time. Talking to Canadian High Com­mis­sioner Ms Leslie Scanlon, who called on him here, the minister said that strengthening democracy was the top priority of the government. The remarks came in the wake of rumours about extension …

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Friday directed PTI Chairman Imran Khan to become part of the investigation into five cases registered in connection with violence in the country on May 9. The cases in question concern the attacks on Jinnah House, Askari Tower, the Shadman Town police station, vandalism at the PML-N office in Model Town, and the setting ablaze …

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has warned its employees about a ransomware attack that it said was “trying to steal information” through phishing methods, it emerged on Friday. The letter — seen by Dawn.com, dated July 6, titled “Cyber Security Alert” and written by ECP Information Security Specialist Naveed Ahmed Kandhir — shared a screengrab of an email sent to …