Pakistan

Incarcerated Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) lawmaker Ali Wazir, who was admitted to Karachi’s Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre on Tuesday, has claimed that his life is in danger and demanded that he either be shifted back to Central Jail in Karachi or be taken to Islamabad to attend the ongoing budget session in the National Assembly (NA). Wazir — who is facing sedition …

The Supreme Court’s Karachi registry (SC) on Thursday disposed of a petition filed by the father of Dua Zehra — the teenage girl who went missing from Karachi in April and was recovered from Punjab earlier this month — challenging the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) order after he withdrew his plea. On June 8, the high court had ruled that Dua, who …

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) filed a petition in the apex court on Thursday for a review of the court’s May 17 decision on the interpretation of Article 63-A, which pertains to the status of defecting lawmakers. On May 17, the Supreme Court’s larger bench had given a 3-2 spilt decision on a presidential reference seeking the court’s interpretation of Article …

As Covid-19 cases resurge across Pakistan, the positivity rate in the country’s financial capital, Karachi, reached alarming levels to come in at 21.23 per cent on Thursday. Data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed that on June 16, 53 people in the metropolis tested positive for the virus. The number of cases, however, more than doubled within …

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday restrained the police from exhuming the body of lawmaker and television personality Aamir Liaquat Hussain for a post-mortem examination to determine the “actual cause of his death”. Following Hussain’s sudden death on June 9, the police had said an autopsy would be conducted but performed only a preliminary examination before relinquishing custody of the body …

KARACHI: While the majority of the people currently infected with new Covid-19 variants are experiencing a mild disease and recovering at home, there is a dire need that people resume wearing face masks and maintain social distancing at public places to prevent the fast transmission of the new variants, warned health experts on Tuesday. According to health department officials, Karachi …

ISLAMABAD: Taking full advantage of the non-serious atmosphere and the absence of a meaningful opposition, the lawmakers on Tuesday continued to deliver one-sided and lengthy political speeches during the budget debate in the National Assembly with almost every speaker blaming the previous PTI government and former prime minister Imran Khan for the prevailing economic and political mess in the country. …

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said on Wednesday that a Chinese consortium of banks and Pakistan had signed a $2.3 billion (15bn renminbi) loan facility agreement, with cash inflow expected within a “couple of days”. The minister made the announcement on Twitter, saying the agreement was signed by the Pakistani side yesterday. “We thank the Chinese government for facilitating this transaction,” …

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday decided to issue Sukuk bonds and impose more tax on wealthy people to provide relief to the poor who were burdened by unprecedented inflation. Presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the meeting decided to issue Sukuk bonds in both local and international markets on 40 assets including highways, lands and hotels of the …

A monitoring mission of the European Union’s (EU) Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday for an assessment of the effective implementation of 27 international conventions, a press release issued by the EU mission in Islamabad said. Pakistan was granted GSP+ status in 2013, granting Pakistani products duty-free access to the European market. The EU monitoring mission, comprising …