Leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed their nations’ ties as a stabilising force in a chaotic world as they met Thursday in Beijing, where the Russian president is seeking greater Chinese support for his war effort in Ukraine and isolated economy. It is Putin’s first trip abroad since his March re-election and the second in just over six months to China, an economic …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi held meetings with senior police officers at the Central Police Office to discuss the revamping of the Investigation Wing and reforms in the Special Protection Unit, Anti-Riot Unit, Counter-Terrorism Department and Special Branch. The senior police officers include heads of the Investigation Wing, Special Protection Unit, Anti-Riot Unit, Counter-Terrorism Department, and …

TAXILA: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider on Wednesday said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had joined forces with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to address both economic and political crises in the best interest of the public. Addressing the party workers convention in his hometown of Pindigheb on Tuesday evening, Governor Haider said: “Joining hands with the PML-N is the need …

ISLAMABAD: The study by Islamabad-based think tank has blamed the obsolete and inefficientpower plants for circular debt crisis in the country. The report by Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) highlighted the challenges facing Pakistan’s power sector and criticised the officials for their deliberate negligence. The report titled ‘Circular Debt Reduction Is Possible In a Single Click to Save …

ISLAMABAD: As the Centre prepares the federal budget, set to be presented next month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to take all provincial governments on board so that the document could be finalised through mutual consultation. The prime minister expressed these views during a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the …

KARACHI: A university student lost his life but killed two suspected muggers in a gun battle near New Sabzi Mandi on Superhighway in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, police and his relatives said. Also on Wednesday, another citizen shot dead a suspected robber in Korangi. They said that Sheikh Muhammad Nihal, 22, and his uncle Sheikh Muhammad Ayaz were …

LAHORE: The Punjab government of Maryam Nawaz is introducing new defamation law in a bid to ‘stop fake news’. “A person who lies under the guise of a journalist with a specific agenda will face the music under this proposed law,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari told journalists here on Wednesday. As the defamation bill 2024 is being tabled in …

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq indirectly blamed the leaders of the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) that was behind Monday’s demonstrations in Muzaffarabad, saying that a tragedy could have been averted if its leaders had called off their protests once their demands were accepted. He was referring to the deaths of three young men who died …

BEIJING: China is ready to work with Pakistan to develop an “upgraded version” of the China-Pakis­tan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Pakistani counterpart on Wednesday. In talks with Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s new deputy prime minister, Wang hailed the “ironclad” relationship between the neighbouring countries and pledged to advance CPEC, the South China Morning Post reported. “Both sides should …

ISLAMABAD: PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday chided the PTI for seeking talks with the military, recalling that the party’s leaders had recently lectured on the importance of upholding the Constitution and warned the army against interfering in politics. Speaking in the National Assembly during debate on his father’s address to a joint sitting of parliament, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said, “They negate with their …