Pakistan

KARACHI: The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged with the highest number of winning candidates on Sunday in the first phase of Sindh’s local government elections, unanimously rejected by the opposition parties and marred by firing, scuffles and deaths. At least two people were killed and several others were injured on the polling day, which also saw the kidnapping of polling staff members …

ISLAMABAD: While former prime minister Imran Khan has alleged that attempts were being made to assassinate him or stop him from speaking against the ruling elite, staff at his Banigala residence on Saturday night caught a man red-handed while installing a spy device in his bedroom. The chief of staff of the former premier, Dr Shahbaz Gill, handed over the …

ISLAMABAD: Retired Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, former head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), remained in the media spotlight on Sunday after reports surfaced that he had apparently waded into the political sphere and ‘joined’ a political party. However, Gen Islam has not commented on these reports so far. On Sunday, journalist Saleem Safi posted a picture of the former DG ISI …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday formally launched its by-election campaign in Punjab with party chairman Imran Khan making whirlwind visits to four constituencies of Lahore to motivate workers to teach ‘turncoats’ a lesson with a humiliating defeat. The PTI has pitched four party diehards against dissidents (now PML-N candidates), who ditched the party at a crucial juncture of …

ISLAMABAD: The second Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNIDs) campaign of 2022 will begin on Monday (today) aiming to vaccinate 12.6 million children. The campaign will start in all four provinces, covering 25 very high-risk districts for polio, to vaccinate children under the age of five. Over 100,000 trained health workers will be engaged in the drive to inoculate children at their …

Karachi’s Covid-19 positivity rate on Monday crossed 22 per cent, the highest in the country, amid concerns of a surge in cases. According to data shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the positivity rate in the metropolitan city was recorded as 22.65pc over the last 24 hours. Muzaffarabad came in second with a positivity rate of 6.25pc, followed …

Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday inaugurated the intra-district Peoples Bus Service project for Karachi with the maximum ticket price capped at Rs50. Under the project, around 240 air-conditioned buses imported from China will be plied on seven routes in the metropolis. The Sindh government’s Peoples Bus Service is a project separate from the network of Bus …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday instructed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to notify PTI members on five reserved seats of the Punjab Assembly (PA) that fell vacant following the de-seating of 25 PTI lawmakers over defection. Last month, 25 PTI dissident lawmakers, which included five elected on seats reserved for women and minorities, were de-seated for voting for PML-N’s …

Senior MQM-P leader and former mayor Karachi, Wasim Akhtar, on Monday accused coalition partner PPP of violating their agreement and “stealing” his party’s mandate during the first phase of Sindh’s local government elections. The ruling PPP in Sindh and the MQM-P had signed a deal in March this year against the PTI-led government, with the former assuring the latter of meeting all its years-old …

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf central Punjab president Dr Yasmin Rashid says the by-election on 20 seats in the province has become a do or die matter and added the party will win maximum seats and form its government in Punjab again. Dr Rashid on Saturday held meetings with the party leaders as well as corner meetings in the four by-election constituencies …