KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced a 250-basis-point cut in its policy rate to 15% on Monday, citing easing inflation and a promising economic outlook. The new rate, effective from November 5, comes amid slower-than-expected inflation, which reached close to the central bank’s medium-term target in October. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) highlighted a drop in inflationary pressures, …
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday opposed transferring every case to constitutional benches, suggesting that more cases should remain with regular top court benches for efficiency. Justice Mansoor made the remarks during a hearing on an overbilling case, where the SC judge, speaking to the petitioner’s counsel, advised against forwarding every case to a constitutional …
ISLAMABAD: The district and sessions court in Islamabad on Monday reserved its verdict on bail pleas of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in seven cases. Additional Sessions Judge Mohammad Afzal Magoo heard the case where legal representatives for both Khan and Bibi appeared in the court, Express News reported. During the proceedings, Bushra Bibi also …
ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to travel to Islamabad this week as part of Tehran’s diplomatic outreach to consult regional countries before responding to the recent Israeli strikes amid simmering tensions between the two arch-rivals in the Middle East. After decades of shadow war, the two arch-rivals are now openly targeting each other. On October 26, Israel …
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly, which meets again today (Monday), is expected to pass three important bills in its current session, including two laws related to the Supreme Court and another regarding preventive detention of terror suspects for up to three months. Much-touted amendments to the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act is one of the three bills expected to be …
LONDON: Former prime minister and PML-N president Nawaz Sharif returned to London over the weekend, and is expected to spend less than a week here, ahead of his departure to another country for a medical check-up. Sources told that Nawaz would remain in London for less than a week, and that he is scheduled to have medical check-up in another …
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court in Lahore has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for key Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Murad Saeed, Hammad Azhar, and several others. The court has ordered their arrest and appearance by November 7 in connection with cases related to the May 9 riots and vandalism. The warrants extend to other PTI members, including Mian Aslam Iqbal, Mian Hammad …
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has removed the objections raised by its registrar office to the post arrest bail application of former prime minister Imran Khan in the second gift repository case. The IHC will hear the bail application on Monday. A single-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb on Friday heard the application along with …
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has formally conveyed to the federal government that it is ready to offer a bid for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which would surpass the highest offer of Rs10 billion by the Blue World Consortium. In a letter addressed to Federal Minister for Privatisation Aleem Khan, KP Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BOIT) vice chairman Hassan …
ISLAMABAD: The final bidding process for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines attracted just one bid of Rs10 billion for a 60 per cent stake, the Privatisation Ministry said on Thursday. The government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only real-estate development company Blue World City participated in the bidding process, placing a bid that was below the government-set …