TEHRAN: Iranian reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn before parliament on Tuesday as the Islamic republic’s ninth president at a ceremony attended by foreign dignitaries. Pezeshkian won a runoff race against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili on July 5 to replace president Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May. Tuesday’s ceremony came two days after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei officially endorsed Pezeshkian and …

RAWAPINDI: Former army official Akbar Hussain has been court-martialled for “inciting sedition” among military personnel, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday. Hussain was booked by the Islamabad police last year on charges of sedition and terrorism for his alleged involvement in the violence and vandalism that was witnessed amid protests that erupted in the wake of PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest. …

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday notified 93 returned MPAs in three provinces as PTI lawmakers in pursuance of the July 12 Supreme Court order in the reserved seats case. In a unique majority verdict, the Supreme Court on July 12 declared the PTI eligible to receive reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial …

RAWALPINDI: An accountability court in Rawalpindi on Monday extended PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi’s physical remand for 10 days in a new Toshakhana case. Imran, 71, has been imprisoned at the Adiala Jail for almost a year following his conviction in four cases — two Toshakhana references, the cipher case, and the Iddat case, in which …

ISLAMABAD: Pir Zaheerul Hasan Shah, the vice-emir of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Paki­stan (TLP), has been booked in a terrorism case, it emerged on Monday, as the government vowed an “iron fist” response to elements inciting violence against a top judge. The development comes after the TLP held a series of gatherings last week in various parts of the country against the Supreme Court’s judgement in the …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Monday that it had decided to cut the key interest rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 19.5 per cent from the previous rate of 20.5pc. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statement issued by the central bank said that it had decided to cut the policy rate by 100bps to 19.5pc, …

ISLAMABAD: Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on Monday hailed Pakistan’s “resilience, passion and determination” in the last two years as it dealt with the challenges and damage inflicted by the super floods of 2022. Addressing a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, Scotland referred to the “terrible events of two years ago” and said: “Pakistani resilience, passion …

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunk­hwa government has initiated the process of making a written request to the chief justice of Peshawar High Court (PHC) to depute a judge for conducting a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots. KP government’s spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that the process to conduct a judicial process into the May 9 violence has begun, …

ISLAMABAD: The PTI has again called for countrywide protests, including a possible sit-in outside the Parliament House, to seek the release of its jailed founder Imran Khan. The party had announced plans for a similar demonstration in the federal capital last Friday but backed out of it at the last minute on Islamabad High Court’s advice. The announcement about fresh …

ISLAMABAD: Former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top leadership on Sunday announced to hold a nationwide protest against the government on August 5. During a press conference, Omar Ayub stated that the behaviour towards their parliamentarians has been unacceptable, pointing out that their MNAs are being picked up by agencies and presented before anti-corruption bodies. He mentioned five intelligence agencies, explaining …