ISLAMABAD: A day after the Punjab government banned the entry of visitors in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail owing to ‘security concerns’, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday sought a reply from the jail superintendent on the notification issued by the government that banned meetings with the prisoners for two weeks. The petition filed by PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat was taken up …

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak resisted growing calls on Wednesday for his Conservative party to return millions of pounds to a major donor accused of making racist comments about a high-profile black lawmaker. Businessman Frank Hester, 57, is alleged to have said that Diane Abbott — Britain’s longest-serving black MP — made him “want to hate all black women” …

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly lawmakers and MPAs from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will elect six senators in a by-election, being held on the vacant seats of the upper house of parliament today. Besides a seat from Islamabad, five seats — three from Balo­chistan and two from Sindh — fell vacant after the occupants were elected to the national and provincial assemblies. …

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday accused the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) of conspiring against Pakistan by approaching the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), against the country’s interests. “PTI spokespersons are getting instructions from [Adiala] jail to harm the country. But no one will be allowed to harm the economy,” Mr Tarar said while addressing his …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Rangers, the anti-terrorism wing of Punjab Prison, Rawalpindi police, Bomb Disposal Squad and emergency services Rescue 1122 conducted a joint mock exercise to deal with terrorism and emergency situation in Adiala jail on Wednesday. In addition, the contingents of Rawalpindi police carried out a search operation around the jail, which lasted for more than five hours. It may …

ISLAMABAD: A day after the Punjab government banned the entry of visitors in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail owing to ‘security concerns’, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday sought a reply from the jail superintendent on the notification issued by the government that banned meetings with the prisoners for two weeks. The petition filed by PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat was taken up …

WASHINGTON: The judge in Donald Trump’s Georgia election subversion trial on Wednesday dismissed three criminal counts against the former US president and three others against co-defendants, a court filing showed on Wednesday, while letting the overall case proceed. Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee decided that allegations by state prosecutors that Trump and his co-defendants tried to get Georgia officials to violate their …

President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the US sent troops to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict. Putin, speaking just days before a March 15-17 election which is certain to give him another six years in power, said the nuclear war scenario …

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan ranks 161st on a list of 191 countries on the UN Human Development Index, scoring 0.544 points, according to a report released on Wednesday. This shows a slight improvement from 2023, when Pakistan was ranked 164th with 0.540 points, which was three rungs below its 2022 ranking. The 2022 report also noted that Pakistan’s HDI rank remained fixed at …

ISLAMABAD: Days after refusing to attend the oath-taking ceremonies of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur broke the ice as he called on the premier on Wednesday, assuring him of working together “with a positive intention to resolve problems of the people”. After a long political battle in which …