Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan wants to expand trade and investment ties with China ahead of his first official visit to the neighbouring country. In an op-ed published in the Chinese newspaper Global Times, the premier described the ties between the two countries using the words “longevity, love and trust”.   “There is no relationship like ours which …

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday barred the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) from holding a by-election for NA-95 (Mianwali) which had fallen vacant after PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s disqualification in the Toshakhana reference. The court issued the directives while hearing Imran’s plea against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to disqualify him. Days after disqualifying Imran under Article 63(1)(p) …

ISLAMABAD: Over 25 per cent of inmates in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail and Lahore’s District Jail are drug addicts, a report by National Commis­sion of Human Rights (NCHR) has revealed. The report has pointed out that 2,309 out of 9,038 inmates in the two prisons were addicts. The inspection by the commission revealed that out of 3,800 inmates in the District …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has expressed ‘shock’ over Supreme Court’s directions to PTI chief Imran Khan’s two counsel, requiring them to answer the federal government’s allegations that they had breached their undertakings about party marchers not reaching D-Chowk on May 25. In a statement issued on Saturday, PBC Vice Chairman Hafeezur Rehman Chaudhry and its Executive Committee Chairman Pir …

ISLAMABAD: Over 40pc of children aged five and below in Pakistan are stunted whereas 2.5 million children are “severely wasted” — acutely malnourished — according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Pakistan was one of the first countries to adopt the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve a 40pc reduction in childhood stunting and maintain childhood “wasting” below 5pc. …

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chair­man Imran Khan’s sudden disappearance from the party’s long march, soon after the sunset and party’s Secretary General Asad Umar announcing that Mr Khan has left for Lahore to attend a “very important meeting”, left the media and the participants speculating. Earlier, the march had begun its second, but brief, leg from Shahdara with Mr Khan continuing …

ISLAMABAD: Days after the directives of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice for the immediate release of children detained in Adiala jail, the human rights ministry has failed to end the incarceration of the under-trial juvenile prisoners “for lack of funds to submit surety bonds”, Dawn has learnt. The nine minors aged 10 to 15, arrested for petty crimes, are still …

ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Safety and Security (NISAS) of the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) has become a collaborating centre of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for nuclear security education, training and technical support. Built on a long-term partnership between IAEA and Pakistan, NISAS became IAEA’s 10th collaborating centre in the field of nuclear security in the world. …

ISLAMABAD: The interior ministry on Saturday extended the capital’s Red Zone area up to Faisal Avenue from Attaturk Avenue to protect key installations against any threat in view the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) long march scheduled to reach the federal capital on Nov 4. The ministry also banned gatherings and rallies inside the relevant areas, sources said, adding that Section 144 …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that he expects to further deepen strategic relations and enhance trade and business ties with China during his visit on Tuesday. “This visit — most definitely — I hope will result into further cementing our relations, further enhancing business, our trade, our strategic relations with China,” he told China Global Television Network (CGTN) in an interview. The prime minister …