Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Some police officials deployed outside the Diplomatic Enclave – a high-security zone in the federal capital where many embassies are located – were found involved in taking bribes from visitors to facilitate their entry inside the area. Sources said the staff of the security division, including some policemen attached with the senior officials of the same division, were exposed …

ISLAMABAD: A full court meeting of the Islamabad High Court decided to introduce several measures, including the reactivation of ‘empo­wered’ inspection teams to put an end to the alleged meddling of intelligence officials in judicial affairs. The meeting, held at the IHC building on Tues­day, was chaired by Chief Justice Aamir Farooq against the backdrop of allegations levelled by six judges …

ISLAMABAD: Low voter turnout, procedural irregularities and restrictions on independent obse­r­vation in two provincial constituencies in Punjab overshadowed the improved results management and lower numbers of ballots excluded from the count during April 21 elections in 22 national and provincial assembly constituencies, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) said in its report, released on Tuesday. Polling station establishment, voter identification, and …

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday arrived in Karachi on a day-long visit, where he is expected to hold meetings with the Sindh chief minister and governor, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Upon his arrival at the Karachi airport, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah welcomed PM Shehbaz. The prime minister visited Mazar-i-Quaid, where he laid a floral wreath …

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday concluded his three-day official visit to Pakistan, during which he visited Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Housing Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada saw off the Iranian president and his delegation at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, Radio Pakistan reported. According to Iran’s news agency IRNA, Raisi left for Sri Lanka’s …

ISLAMABAD: A six-member committee formed to probe the blaze at a petrol pump in Blue Area has revealed that the oil tanker caught fire due to an “electric spark” from a water cooler installed on the premises, officials told Dawn. The incident occurred at a PSO site near Beverly Centre, Blue Area, on April 19 during the decanting of petrol from …

LAHORE: PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif on Monday left for China on a ‘low-profile’ five-day visit, with the ruling party refusing to divulge details about the nature of his trip. PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurang­zeb and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar did not confirm the elder Sharif’s “unannounced visit” to Beijing. “I have no idea (about Nawaz Sharif’s China visit),” Mr Tarar …

RAWALPINDI: The Met Office on Monday forecast rain-wind/thunderstorm in many parts of the country, including Rawalpindi and Islamabad from April 24 to 29. It said a westerly wave was likely to enter western parts of Pakistan on April 24 (night) and likely to grip most upper parts of the country on April 26. Under the influence of this weather system, …

ISLAMABAD: A full court meeting of the Islam­abad High Court (IHC) will deliberate upon proposals on Tuesday (today) to finalise the same before their submission to the Supreme Court in a matter related to the alleged meddling by personnel of intelligence agencies in judicial affairs. Interestingly, six of the eight IHC judges who will take stock of the issue and come up …

ISLAMABAD: In a surprise display of conciliation in the National Assembly, opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday offered “cooperation and constructive engagement” in the parliamentary proceedings, as the government made a significant goodwill gesture by withdrawing suspension of the two PTI lawmakers whose entry had been banned by the speaker due to their rowdy behaviour during the joint sitting of parliament last …