KARACHI: Photo­journa­list Hassan ul Huq, popularly known as Sangrami, passed away in Vaughan, a northern municipality of greater Toronto, on Monday night, according to information that reached here on Wednesday. He was 66. Mr Sangrami had an open heart surgery some eight weeks ago, but developed complications afterwards. He was again rushed to hospital, where he died. He was a …

The United States and China have agreed in principle for their presidents to hold a virtual meeting before the end of the year, a senior US administration official said on Wednesday, after high-level talks aimed at improving communication between the two countries. The closed-door meeting at an airport hotel in the Swiss city of Zurich between US national security adviser …

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has hinted at “good news” in the coming week, saying the New Zealand cricket board was working on a new schedule to tour Pakistan after it abandoned the series last month citing “security threats”. The New Zealand cricket team had arrived in Pakistan on September 11 for the first time in 18 years to play …

QUETTA: Political crisis in Balo­ch­istan deepened on Wednesday when a group of disgruntled ministers, advisers and parliamentary secretaries submitted their resignations to the provincial governor after an embattled Jam Kamal Khan Alyani ignored the 24-hour deadline set by his opponents for him to step down as chief minister. Official sources said the angry group met Governor Syed Zahoor Ahmed Agha …

RAWALPINDI: The government has granted exemption from Covid-19 rapid antigen test and body scanning to US Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman and her seven-member team arriving on Thursday (today) on a two-day visit. The delegation will arrive at Islamabad International Airport by a chartered flight and depart on Friday at 8pm. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed the aviation division, …

ISLAMABD: The outpatient department (OPDs) of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) remained closed and over 300 elective surgeries were postponed on Wednesday as a protest against police baton charge and arrest of young doctors a day earlier. The OPDs in Polyclinic also remained partially closed. Young doctors were protesting against the National Licensing Exam (NLE) outside the Pakistan Medical …

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has said that a new legislation to increase the number of seats in the assembly for the merged districts of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) will be introduced in parliament after a political consensus on the issue. The speaker was presiding over a meeting of parliamentary committee on development of former Fata areas …

A sessions court in Islamabad on Thursday fixed Oct 14 for the indictment of suspects in the murder case of Noor Mukadam — daughter of a former diplomat. A total of 12 people will be indicted in the case, including Zahir Zakir Jaffer— the key suspect in Noor’s murder — his parents Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, their three household …

ISLAMABAD: While over 87 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered across the country, the National Com­mand and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday decided to approach unvaccinated people and convince them to get themselves vaccinated. Main target will be the districts which are lagging behind others in terms of percentage of vaccinated population. Meanwhile, it has been observed that …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has requested Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s (BMGF) co-chairman Bill Gates for financial assistance for the people of war-torn Afghanistan. “More than half of the population in Afghanistan is living below the poverty line and in dire need of financial assistance,” the prime minister told Mr Gates during phone conversation on Wednesday. According to the …