Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Just a day before the fresh session of Punjab Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has ruled out the possibility of dissolution of provincial assembly and snap general elections. During a meeting with a delegation of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F) on Sunday, Chaudhry Shujaat said: “Punjab Assembly will not be dissolved and there is no possibility of …

ISLAMABAD: A retired general convicted of sharing ‘classified information’ with foreign spies has been pardoned by the new military leadership and released from prison. However, he still plans to continue challenging the guilty verdict, awarded to him by an army tribunal until he is honourably acquitted, his lawyer told Dawn on Saturday. Lt Gen retired Javed Iqbal was released from Rawalpindi’s Adiala …

LAHORE: A day after former prime minister Imran Khan changed his mind and agreed to put off the vote of confidence that he insisted the Punjab chief minister must take before Jan 11, it appears Parvez Elahi is unlikely to go ahead with the exercise when proceedings of the 42nd session of the provincial assembly resume on Monday (today) — if the …

UNITED NATIONS: As Pakistan and the United Nations are co-hosting a conference in Geneva on Monday to mobilise international support for the flood victims, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari warned the nation that recovery from climate-induced disasters “is a long process”, which cannot be achieved in one or two conferences. “We do not want to raise expectations. It’s not like we …

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ruled on Monday that the local government (LG) polls in Karachi, Hyderabad and Thatta divisions would be held on Jan 15 as per the schedule. The verdict was pronounced by the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja on a petition filed by MQM wherein it had challenged the decision of the electoral body for …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is currently addressing a press conference in Geneva alongside alongside United Nations chief Antonio Guterres. The premier is in Geneva to co-host the ‘International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan’ alongside the UN secretary general. The purpose of the day-long moot — which is being attended by heads of state and government and other stakeholders — is to marshal …

ISLAMABAD: British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner has said the issuance rate of British student visas from Pakistan is 97pc, which meant 97pc of the applicants get the visa. Refuting the perception that British student visa was the hardest to get, Dr Turner said they had issued 23,500 student visas which doubled from the time he arrived in Pakistan three …

MIRPURKHAS: While people have been protesting across the province against meager supply of subsidised flour, a labourer was killed in a stampede when several hundred people stormed the few trucks laden with wheat flour as soon as the consignment arrived at a designated spot, Gulistan-i-Baldia Park, in Mirpurkhas on Saturday. Several other people were injured in the incident. The incident …

KARACHI: While the killer of a teenage student, who was murdered at a coaching centre in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Friday, is still at large, victim’s family and relatives took the coffin and held a protest demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club on Saturday demanding justice for the victim. A student armed with a Kalashnikov rifle along with his accomplices shot dead …

ISLAMABAD: Noting that the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was becoming a major irritant in Islamabad’s relations with the Taliban government in Kabul, a leading think tank has called for reorienting Af­­ghan policy, civilianising Na­­t­ional Action Plan (NAP) and counterterrorism regime. “Parliament is the centre of collective decision-making, and the parliament must take a lead role in counterterrorism efforts. It must …