With Pakistan maintaining that the decision to recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan should be a regional one, Federal Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi informed his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Wednesday that he would be making visits to other countries to develop a “regional consensus on the evolving situation in Afghanistan”. A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs …

The Biden administration froze about $9.5 billion of the Afghan government’s reserves in US banks on Sunday after the Taliban seized Kabul, according to US media reports. The undeclared action was first reported by The Washington Post on Tuesday. The Post reported that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and personnel at the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had decided to freeze the accounts. “Any central bank …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Internat­ional Airlines (PIA) Chief Executive Officer Arshad Malik has praised Captain Maqsood Bajrani for bringing a PIA flight from Kabul during a crisis-like situation on Sunday. “In a crisis situation, the use of understanding, experience and skills is a sign of a real professional,” the PIA CEO said. He said as soon as the situation in Kabul deteriorated, …

PESHAWAR: Seventeen people died of coronavirus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as health officials expressed concerns over the widespread active cases, which could spread the infection further. Infectivity level of the virus also surged to 13.6 per cent in Abbottabad and 13.5 per cent in Peshawar on Tuesday. Positivity in Peshawar and Abbottabad was recorded 12 per cent and 9.3 per cent …

ISLAMABAD: One of the suspects arrested by the capital police in connection with the couple harassment case was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The court order issued by Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri said the petition was accepted subject to furnishing bail bonds of Rs1 million. The order said this is a tentative assessment which shall not affect …

KARACHI: While showing concerns over the developing situation in Afghanistan, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Tuesday came up with a cautious response to the recent situation after the Taliban takeover and demanded that the government take parliament on board before any decision regarding the new regime in the neighbouring country, warning that it would not accept any compromise on …

LAHORE: Justice Tariq Nadeem of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday sought a report from the registrar office on fixing the hearing of a petition against detention of Hafiz Saad Rizvi, the leader of proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), before a single bench instead of a division bench as the case was related to the anti-terrorism law. As the single …

ISLAMABAD: No oath-taking ceremony for the newly-appointed ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh — currently serving as chief justice of the Sindh High Court — could take place on Tuesday, though elaborate arran­gements were made at the Supreme Court building for the purpose. On Monday, the Law Ministry issued a notification stating that President Dr …

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested seven persons for looting tourists in Malakand division earlier this month. Briefing mediapersons at the Central Police Office, government spokesperson Kamran Khan Bangash and police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari said the arrests included four robbers and three accomplices, picked from different parts of the city. On Aug 5, two …

Public figures, including politicians and celebrities, have renewed their calls for the protection of women in Pakistan following the horrifying assault of a woman by over 300 men in Lahore on Independence Day. The female TikToker was assaulted by a massive crowd at the city’s Greater Iqbal Park — the video of which started circulating on social media on Tuesday, leading to …