Pakistan

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Rangers, the anti-terrorism wing of Punjab Prison, Rawalpindi police, Bomb Disposal Squad and emergency services Rescue 1122 conducted a joint mock exercise to deal with terrorism and emergency situation in Adiala jail on Wednesday. In addition, the contingents of Rawalpindi police carried out a search operation around the jail, which lasted for more than five hours. It may …

ISLAMABAD: A day after the Punjab government banned the entry of visitors in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail owing to ‘security concerns’, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday sought a reply from the jail superintendent on the notification issued by the government that banned meetings with the prisoners for two weeks. The petition filed by PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat was taken up …

ISLAMABAD: Days after refusing to attend the oath-taking ceremonies of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur broke the ice as he called on the premier on Wednesday, assuring him of working together “with a positive intention to resolve problems of the people”. After a long political battle in which …

The government on Thursday withdrew a notification appointing a former federal secretary as chairman of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) after strong opposition from the PPP, a provincial lawmaker said. According to a picture of the notification shared by Sindh MPA Maleeha Manzoor on X, the orders for the Irsa chairman’s appointment were to be “treated as withdrawn”. A day …

The Peshawar High Court on Thursday dismissed the Sunni Ittehad Council’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to reject the party allocation of reserved women and minority seats. In a 4-1 verdict earlier this month, the electoral watchdog ruled that the SIC was not entitled to claim quota for reserved seats “due to having non curable legal defects and violation …

LAHORE: Hussain and Hassan, sons of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, returned to the country on Tuesday, six years after they left for London to avoid arrest in corruption cases in the Panama Papers scandal. Their return was made possible after an accountability court had last week suspended their arrest warrants in three corruption cases related to Panama Papers. Like their father, both had …

ISLAMABAD: The government declared its intention on Tuesday to negotiate a “longer and larger” ec­o­­nomic bailout package with the International Mo­n­­e­tary Fund (IMF), targeting to sustain the nasc­ent macroeconomic stability. In his first formal media interaction after having a series of briefings, including on external account needs and fiscal situation, Finance Minister Auran­gzeb Khan, a professional banker, also hinted at …

As the Peshawar High Court on Wednesday resumed hearing the Sunni Ittehad Council’s petition pertaining to the allocation of reserved seats, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan said a political party could get reserved seats only if it won a general one. The SIC — joined by PTI-backed independents who won the elections sans their electoral symbol — has challenged the …

KARACHI: Remaining bodies of four missing fishermen were recovered in a joint search and rescue operation conducted by the Pakistan Navy (PN) in coordination with the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) on Tuesday. A fishing boat, Al-Assad, with an onboard crew of 45 had capsized in open sea off Hajmbro Creek on March 5 due to bad weather. As many as 31 …

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F and PPP have agreed to support each other’s candidates in the upcoming Senate by-elections on March 14 after a meeting between the parties’ leaders on Tuesday. The former has shown some flexibility in its rigid stance of not taking part in the parliamentary process as it announced support for PPP’s candidate for the upper house from Islamabad. The …