KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s king said on Wednesday that the new prime minister he picks must swiftly seek a confidence vote in parliament after a deadline for all lawmakers to submit the names of their preferred candidates to the palace passed. Based on the lawmakers’ choices, King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said he will pick a candidate he believes has …

Afghanistan may be governed by a ruling council now that the Taliban have taken over, while the movement’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, would likely remain in overall charge, a senior member of the group told Reuters. The Taliban would also reach out to former pilots and soldiers from the Afghan armed forces to join its ranks, Waheedullah Hashimi, who has access to …

MUZAFFARABAD: The Indian army on Wednesday arrested three young residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) while they were catching fish in a water channel that serves as the Line of Control (LoC) in a Poonch district village, an official said. Arbab Rahim, 13, his sibling Umair Rahim, 11, and Daniyal Malick, 17, had gone to Rangar Nullah in the …

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the propaganda by Ashraf Ghani’s ousted government against the Taliban has proved false as the insurgents have announced general amnesty and are not barring girls’ education. Addressing Hussainia Conference and talking to the media here on Wednesday, he said: “There was a fear that the Taliban would impose a ban on the …

PESHAWAR: The Muharram 9 mourning processions concluded peacefully here and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday as around 33,000 police personnel deployed for security throughout the province. The mobile phone service remained suspended in the provincial capital throughout the day and will remain suspended on Ashura (today). The largest Muharram 9 procession was taken out from the Imambargah Hussainia …

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has recommended to the education ministry, to repatriate teachers without valid no-objection certificates (NOCs) to their parent departments. Sources said that FDE had moved a summary in this regard to the ministry a couple of weeks ago. The ministry has yet to take a decision on the matter. Around 300 teachers, mainly female, …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) on Wednesday said it had taken a number of steps for the betterment of the medical students and quality of education. According to a statement, the PMC Act 2020 was signed into effect on Sept 23 last year. President PMC Dr Arshad Taqi said that it was important to recognise that PMC was a new …

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Wednesday said Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cabinet would decide on recognising the Taliban government in Afghanistan. Speaking at a press conference, Mr Ahmed said a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan. “We are advocates of peace and we will not allow our land to be used against …

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to review its verdict of declaring the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Ordinance Act (SERA) 2010 illegal and unconstitutional keeping in view financial problems thousands of employees can face after its implementation. Talking to Dawn on Wednesday, PPP secretary general Nayyar Bokhari expressed concern over the SC verdict, saying that it would …

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government ordered strict Covid-19 restrictions in Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Chitral Upper and Lower, Mansehra, Kohat, Karak and Dera Ismail Khan due to high prevalence of coronavirus patients as 18 more passed away due to the pandemic and 770 new cases were detected on Wednesday. All trade activities with exception of those dealing in essential items or …