Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Amending the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) for a third time in less than a month, the federal government has stripped the Sup­reme Judicial Council (SJC) of the powers to remove the National Accountability Bur­eau (NAB) chairman and authorised the president to do so. The National Accounta­bility (Third Amendment) Ordinance 2021 promulga­t­ed on October 31 has come into force at …

ISLAMABAD: A Sup­reme Court judge on Mon­day withdrew himself from the bench that has taken up for hearing a set of petitions moved by the Federal Gov­ernment Employees Hou­sing Authority (FGEHA) as well as its director general against the Aug 20 restraining order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against allotment of prized plots in the federal capital. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, …

LAHORE: As the federal government’s steering committee held its second consecutive meeting here on Monday evening, it is learnt the government is considering releasing Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Rizvi. “The government is seriously considering to cool down the situation in a manner that its efforts do not go waste and a long-term solution is reached in wake of government-TLP …

The Punjab government has released more than 800 workers of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), days after reaching a deal with the group to end nearly two weeks of protests and clashes, Punjab Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Raja Basharat said on Tuesday. Talking to Dawn.com, he said the people who were released were those arrested during crackdowns on the protests — …

The Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan was reopened on Tuesday, nearly a month after the Taliban closed it claiming that traders, patients and passengers were “facing difficulties”. The reopening follows an agreement reached between Pakistani and Afghan authorities a day earlier. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl leader Qari Mohammad Aslam, who participated in the meeting, said that citizens of …

At least 13 people were injured, including four critically, in a blast in Balochistan’s Kharan district on Tuesday, Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Qasim said. The four critically injured patients were shifted to Quetta while nine others were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital, he said. Qasim said the explosion occurred shortly after a vehicle of security forces passed through …

National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf said on Tuesday that Western countries may have the luxury to disengage from Afghanistan but Pakistan did not have that option. The NSA was addressing a news conference in Islamabad after Pakistan and Uzbekistan signed a Protocol on the Establishment of Joint Security Commission that was followed by the inaugural session of the commission. …

ISLAMABAD: Media in Pakistan works within an increasingly repressive environment with attacks on press freedom coming from all fronts and space for free expression continuously shrinking. This abysmal situation was highlighted in three reports released in connection with the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’ which is observed on Nov 2. In the first report prepared by …

GWADAR: Two passers-by were killed and three security personnel injured in a bomb blast in Panjgur town of Makran division on Sunday. Police said unidentified people parked an explosive-laden motorbike in the Cheetkan Bazaar area which was detonated by remote control when a Frontier Corps vehicle reached there. Two people were killed and three FC soldiers travelling in the vehicle …

Lahore-based startup Zarya — a business-to-business social commerce platform — has raised $1.7 million in pre-seed funding, the company announced on Monday. The pre-seed round was led by Raed Ventures and participants included Fatima Gobi Ventures, US-based Class 5 Global, Global Founders Capital, and Egyptian social commerce startup Taager, it said in a press release. According to the press release, …