The United Kingdom and Australia inked a new defence agreement in Canberra on Thursday, as they try to boost a fledgling nuclear-powered submarine programme with the United States. UK defence minister Grant Shapps signed the agreement in Canberra with his counterpart Richard Marles, establishing a legal framework that makes it easier to host troops and share military intelligence. The agreement …

ISLAMABAD: PTI foun­­der Imran Khan on Wed­nesday approached the Supreme Court to seek the constitution of a judicial commission to conduct a thorough audit by inquiring into the manner and process of the Feb 8 general elections, as well as subsequent developments involving the compiling of what he called ‘false’ and ‘fraudulent’ results, rendering winners into losers and losers into …

ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday suspended the sentence of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon and SSP Malik Jamil Zafar in a contempt of court case. IHC single member bench comprising Justice Babar Sattar had sentenced Memon to six months imprisonment, SSP Zafar to four months and Station SHO Margalla to two months imprisonment for flouting …

ISLAMABAD: Separate cases were registered against former Lal Masjid cleric and his wife under multiple sections of various laws including Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), police said on Wednesday. Both cases were registered with Aabpara police station, with one filed against Maulana Abdul Aziz in response to a complaint lodged by Constable Javaid Anjum. The case was registered after Maulana Aziz criticised the armed …

ISLAMABAD: Nine sewage samples collected from six districts were found positive for wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1). According to the Regio­nal Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH), WPV1 was found in two sewage samples taken from Quetta, two from Chaman, two from Peshawar and one each from Karachi South, Karachi Korangi and Mastung in …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed shock over “flagrant violations” of the law committed in the acquisition of a huge chunk of agricultural land for a cooperative housing society in Rawalpindi, almost two decades ago. What irked the court the most was that the entire process of the merger of land acquired to develop residential facilities for members of …

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minis­ter Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday said that the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) will be restructured on modern lines. Chairing an important meeting at Nacta headquarters here, Mr Naqvi said that the authority will be on the front foot in the war against terrorism and it will be restructured to achieve this objective. The national coordinator of Nacta, …

HYDERABAD: Sindh government is likely to move federal government and the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to further the outgoing caretaker government’s objection on the issuance of water availability certificate by the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) allowing creation of a new command area to irrigate desert lands of ‘Smaller Cholistan’ in south Punjab. The certificate was issued on January …

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan does not see the incumbent government lasting more than four to five months, and believes that its fall will pave the way for his re­­lease from Adiala Jail. Talking to reporters after the hearing of a £190 million corruption reference at Adi­a­la Jail, Mr Khan said this was the reason why the PPP did not join …

The military’s media affairs wing said on Thursday that a terrorist was killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Panjgur district. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted the operation last night. “During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location and resultantly terrorist Chakar Liaquat was sent to …