LAHORE: While terming earning the hosting rights of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy a milestone, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja on Wednesday said the country would further improve its management capabilities to make the prestigious event a success story. On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council in its 2023-2031 cycle gave the hosting rights of the 2025 Champions Trophy to Pakistan. …

Asif Ali and Imad Wasim were the notable absentees as Pakistan announced their 12-man squad for the first Twenty20 International (T20I) match against Bangladesh that is set to be played on Friday. The first T20I will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium on Friday, the statement said, adding that the second and third T20Is would also be played at …

KARACHI: The government rejected almost all competitive bids in the auction of treasury bills held on Wednesday while it accepted only Rs0.5 billion for three-month tenor. However, the government raised Rs55.258bn through non-competitive bids for three-month making the total as Rs55.8bn. The cut-off yield remained unchanged at 8.5 per cent. The early monetary policy call by the State Bank has …

KARACHI: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production Abdul Razak Dawood has said he’s “worried” the ongoing gas shortage may slow down the pace of exports’ growth in December and beyond. Speaking to journalists at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, Mr Dawood said industrial units, particularly in the textile industry, that have combined-cycle captive power …

KARACHI: Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 12 per cent in the first four months (July to October) of the current fiscal year, according to data issued by the State Bank on Wednesday. In real terms, FDI inflows stood at $662 million during the four-month period compared to $750.6m a year ago. In October, the inflows plunged by 24pc to …

ISLAMABAD: Postal Life Insurance Company Limited (PLICL) has been granted permission by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to manage private pension funds under the Voluntary Pension System (VPS). PLICL is the first life insurance company to be granted the permission by the SECP. Private pension funds under the VPS are regulated by the SECP according to the …

An explosion hit a minivan in a Shia neighbourhood of western Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding three others, a Taliban official said. Zabihullah Mujahid, deputy minister for culture and information in the Taliban-led government, told The Associated Press that an investigation is continuing. He did not elaborate. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. The militant …

KHARTOUM: Sudanese security forces shot dead at least 10 anti-coup protesters and wounded dozens more on Wednesday, medics said, in the bloodiest day since the military’s October 25 takeover. The fatalities — all in Khartoum, especially its northern districts — raised to 34 the death toll from unrest since the military seized power, a pro-democracy doctors’ union said. Hundreds more have …

Afghanistan is “on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe” and its collapsing economy is heightening the risk of extremism, the UN’s special representative for the country warned on Wednesday. Deborah Lyons said the United Nations predicts that 60 per cent of Afghanistan’s 38 million people face crisis levels of hunger in a food emergency that will likely worsen over the …

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to issue a notification directing private offices in Lahore to halve staff attendance in an effort to tackle smog. Justice Shahid Karim issued the directives while hearing a set of petitions on the provincial government’s failure to appropriately deal with environmental issues. Advocates Azhar Siddique And Sheraz Zaka represented …