Blasts from at least one parcel bomb in Myanmar have killed five people, including an ousted lawmaker and three police officers who had joined a civil disobedience movement opposing military rule, media reported on Tuesday. Since the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in a coup on Feb 1, Myanmar has seen an increasing number of …

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of China to Pakistan Nong Rong called on Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters on Monday. “Matters of mutual interest, recent developments in Afghan peace process, progress on CPEC, regional security and current situation of Covid-19 were discussed during the meeting,” said a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations. …

LAHORE: With cases of senior bureaucrats in BS-20 to BS-22 being considered for forced retirement by a high forum in Islamabad, former Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) Umar Sheikh has served a legal notice on Establishment Secretary Ijaz Munir for considering him for the purpose in violation of rules and regulations. Touted as one of the country’s most influential …

LAHORE: A court here on Monday allowed two identical references of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and formally approved the closure of two inquiries into assets beyond means against PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi. Accountability court’s presiding judge Sajjad Sheikh took up the references and approved NAB’s request to close the 20-year-old inquiries for …

LAHORE: A Pakistani-origin British woman was found slain at her rented house in Defence on Monday. Identified as Maya (25), she was shot in the head. She had arrived from the UK some two months back where her family is settled, Cantt Operations SP Sayyed Ali told this reporter. He said the deceased woman’s friend was living in her adjoining …

ISLAMABAD: While Covid-19 is on its peak, water in small dams in the federal capital and nearby towns are being polluted by ill-planned settlements and private housing societies, causing serious issues, including the spread of diseases such as hepatitis and gastroenteritis, besides contaminating the underground water. It has come into the notice of relevant authorities that some private housing societies …

ISLAMABAD: According to the new notification issued on Monday by the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira), a 20pc concession in fees has been offered to parents paying more than Rs8,000 per month. Last year, Peira had notified a 20pc fee concession in all schools charging more than Rs5,000, to facilitate parents from the middle and lower middle classes. However, …

ISLAMABAD: The law ministry has finalised a summary for establishment of special courts that would conclude the trial of accused in rape cases in 120 days. The ministry has proposed that the courts of district and sessions judges will be designated as special courts for speedy trial of accused persons. According to a law ministry spokesperson, the summary will be …

ISLAMABAD: Apprehensions about the backchannel engagement with India are growing because of what is being seen as an ‘absence of strategic clarity’ on Pakistani side. Concerns are also being fuelled by scant details of what is being discussed in the talks, worries about Indian intentions behind its outreach, and pessimism about the process helping resolve the Kashmir dispute. These reservations …

• PM’s aide claims 70m people will be vaccinated by end of year • Says Pakistan to begin producing single-dose CanSino Bio vaccine locally • 79 deaths, 4,213 cases reported in a single day ISLAMABAD: After a continuous rise in Covid-19 cases for almost three months, a downward trend was finally witnessed on Monday as both the positivity ratio and …