Pakistan

KARACHI: The Sindh government and Chinese security authorities have agreed to work together to evolve a foolproof security mechanism for the Chinese working in CPEC and non-CPEC projects in the province. This emerged on Saturday in a meeting between Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput and External Security Commissioner in China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Cheng Gouping along with their respective teams. …

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari discussed economic coordination, industrialisation and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Sunday. The meeting was held in Guangzhou, where the foreign minister arrived earlier today on his first bilateral visit at Wang’s invitation since assuming office in April. Taking to Twitter, Bilawal thanked Wang for his warm reception and gracious hospitality. …

QUETTA: A devastating forest fire continued to rage in different parts of the Koh-i-Sulaiman range on Saturday, with officials fearing that it may spread to populated areas. The army, provincial and federal disaster management authorities and other departments are struggling to douse the flames. The fire started a week ago after the area was struck by lightning and has since …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has held that depriving an illiterate ‘parda-nashin’ (covered) woman of a large proportion of her property without professional or independent advice, or without making her understand the deed, was not sustainable in law. “The real point is that the disposition of property must be substantially understood,” the Supreme Court held in a judgement authored by Justice …

HYDERABAD: Although Sindh has recently shown a marginal improvement in the overall availability of water at three barrages, the latest figures for downstream flows at the Tarbela dam and the Chashma barrage have set alarm bells ringing once again. An advisory released by the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) on Friday painted a gloomy outlook for the province, advising high-ups …

LAHORE: Beleaguered Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz has refused to step down after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday de-seated 25 dissident lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) who voted for him in the CM’s election, while the opposition PTI-PML-Q alliance sees a run-off election in the coming days claiming Hamza cannot “illegally” hold the office for long. …

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says the United States and Pakistan must move beyond past tensions over Afghanistan and are entering a new engagement after years of strained relations under former prime minister Imran Khan. Bhutto Zardari spoke in an interview with The Associated Press in New York, where he was attending meetings this week on the global food crisis at UN …

The government on Saturday appointed Dr Akbar Nasir Khan as the new inspector general of police (IGP) for the federal capital, replacing Mohammad Ahsan Younas. “Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, a BS-20 officer of Police Service of Pakistan, presently serving in National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta), is transferred and posted as Inspector General, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police, under Interior Division, …

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Saturday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed ministries to raise the violation of Kashmiri leader Mohammed Yasin Malik’s human rights after his conviction by an Indian court in a terror financing case — which she described as unfair. Malik, who leads the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, had been charged with ‘terrorist acts’, …

A special court in Lahore extended on Saturday the interim bail of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz until May 28 in the hearing of a Rs16 billion money laundering case against them. However, presiding judge of the Special Court (Central-I), Ijaz Hassan Awan, issued arrest warrants for Suleman Shahbaz, Tahir Naqvi and Malik Maqsood in …