Pakistan

LAHORE: According to a report by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has failed to supply gas to consumers, particularly home consumer, during mealtimes in certain areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). The IB was tasked by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with investigating SNGPL’s claims that it supplies gas throughout its entire …

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday restored former federal minister Faisal Vawda as senator and withdrew the victory notification of Senator Nisar Ahmad Khuhro. The ECP, in line with orders of the Supreme Court, withdrew the recent notification de-seating Mr Vawda from the Senate, and restored the notification dated March 10, 2021, declaring him a returned candidate. …

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to bring improvements to the building control regulations 2020. Moreover, a summary has been sent to the federal government for formation of a new commission to revise the master plan of Islamabad. A seven-member committee headed by the director general design has been working to finalise the changes. CDA officials said the …

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the state of Qatar Sheikh Saoud Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Wednesday said an investment worth $3 billion would be made in Pakistan. “During the recent visit of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to Doha, Qatar has announced to make an investment in Pakistan worth $3 billion. The Amir of Qatar has stressed the importance of the brotherly and strategic …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) while hearing appeals against the convictions in the Noor Mukadam murder case asked the prosecutor to play the CCTV footage in the courtroom to determine the role of the security guard who had stopped Ms Mukadam from leaving the house. On Feb 24, a sessions court sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death and security guard Mohammad Iftikhar …

ISLAMABAD: The Japanese government has announced a grant of over $3.87 million for the polio eradication programme in Pakistan and procurement of essential oral polio vaccine to reach more than 18.61 million children under five years of age living in endemic and outbreak districts. The notes of the grant were signed and exchanged between the Jap­an­ese government and the UN …

MUZAFFARABAD: The ruling PTI clinched victories in most rural and urban councils of Mirpur division where polling was held on Thursday in the third and last leg of local government (LG) elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) amid a largely peaceful environment. The PTI was followed by PML-N and PPP and a sizable number of independent candidates, as unofficial …

The Balochistan High Court directed police on Friday to quash all five first information reports (FIRs) registered against PTI Senator Azam Swati in the province over his controversial tweets against top military officials and release him if he was not booked in any other cases. Swati — who was arrested in Islamabad by the Federal Investigation Agency on November 27 for the …

The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday declared an agreement signed between the Pakistan government and two international firms — Antofagasta PLC and Barrick Gold Corporation — in March for the revival of the long-stalled Reko Diq mining project as legal. The verdict was pronounced by a five-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, on a presidential reference …

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Thursday removed the hurdle on the restoration of petroleum exploration activities in the country, green-lighted transit trade with Tajikistan and received the “post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA)” report on the devastating floods. The cabinet, which met with Prime Minister Shehabz Sharif in the chair, approved the restoration of 11 petroleum exploration licences on the recommendation of …