WASHINGTON: The CIA said on Thursday it will create a top-level working group on China as part of a broad US government effort focused on countering Beijing’s influence. The group will become one of fewer than a dozen mission centres operated by the CIA, with weekly director-level meetings intended to drive the agency’s strategy towards China. The CIA also announced …

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday emphasised the need for regular engagement with the United States as US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman reached here for talks on bilateral ties and Afghanistan situation. Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar, at the weekly media briefing, said: “Close and regular engagement between Pakistan and the United States has always been mutually beneficial …

BRUSSELS: As desperate Afghans resort to selling their belongings to buy food, officials are preparing to fly in cash for the needy while avoiding financing the Taliban government, according to people familiar with the confidential plans. Planning for the cash airlifts is going ahead against the background of a rapidly collapsing economy where money is short, although diplomats are still …

GENEVA: The European Union on Thursday won its battle at the UN Human Rights Council to create a new special rapporteur on Afghanistan, despite opposition from China and Russia. The rapporteur will be responsible for monitoring the rights situation in the country following the Taliban takeover, and make recommendations on improvements. “This is an essential step to ensure continued monitoring, …

National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf has said that a “wait-and-see approach” on Afghanistan is tantamount to abandoning the war-torn country and has called for holding a donor conference to formulate immediate humanitarian and economic relief plans for averting the risks of instability and threat of terrorism faced by the entire world. “A wait-and-see approach, although more politically tenable for …

The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia. They were cited for their fight for the freedom of expression. The winners were announced on Friday by Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. “Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies …

ISLAMABAD: The per-day clearance of trade cargoes at the Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT) reached 51 per cent in August from less than 40pc last year, a development that will help reduce the cost of doing business. The information was shared during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs presided over by Amer Ali Khan Magsi …

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Friday announced that students will not be allowed to attend classes from October 31 unless they are partially vaccinated against the coronavirus. In addition, students will be required to be fully vaccinated by November 30 in order to attend their classes, he said while addressing a press …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday vowed that polling would be conducted through electronic voting machines (EVMs) in general elections of 2023 at any cost. Presiding over a meeting of core committee of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the prime minister also said that overseas Pakistanis would surely cast their ballots in the next general elections in the country. …

ISLAMABAD: Vowing to challenge the newly-introduced National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance at every forum and “with full force,” the opposition on Thursday submitted a requisition notice to the National Assembly secretariat for convening the session of the lower house of parliament to discuss the issue of the extension in the tenure of NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal through the controversial ordinance. …