ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday confirmed that President Asif Ali Zardari will embark on a four-day state visit to China, starting on February 4 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. In November, the president had been unable to proceed to China on a scheduled official visit due to a foot fracture as the doctors had advised …
KURRAM: Four more bunkers were demolished as part of ongoing efforts to enforce a peace agreement in parts of Lower Kurram, on Sunday. So far, 22 bunkers have been demolished as per the peace accord signed between the warring sides last month. However, locals have complained that helicopter flights from Parachinar to Peshawar are too few and far between, while …
ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday after Mr Sadiq’s meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and discussed the scenario following the collapse of government negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). A source in the government told that the prime minister was advised to dissolve the dialogue committee formed to negotiate with …
PESHAWAR: The President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Junaid Akbar, has confirmed ongoing communication between the party leadership and institutional bodies while emphasizing that such communications have always taken place at PTI’s discretion in the past. Speaking to the media after presiding over the first meeting of PTI leaders in Peshawar on Sunday, Akbar stated that the gathering focused …
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched the year’s first nationwide anti-polio campaign, running from February 3 to 9, by administering polio drops to children under five and vowing to eradicate the disease from the country. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Despite global efforts to eradicate the …
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Bar Council, Islamabad High Court Bar Association, and Islamabad District Bar Association, in a joint meeting on Sunday, announced a strike in the district courts and the Islamabad High Court tomorrow to protest what they call “unconstitutional measures” undermining the judiciary and legal profession. The move comes a day after President Asif Ali Zardari approved the transfer …
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq met in Islamabad on Sunday, with the PTI’s “attitude” during the recent talks with the government coming under discussion. After more than a year of heightened tensions between the government and the PTI, the two sides commenced dialogue in the last week of December to bring down political …
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Kashmir Affairs, and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam said on Saturday that negotiations with Afghanistan fall outside the provincial government’s jurisdiction. Islamabad has repeatedly conveyed its concerns to the Afghan government over the presence of terror outfits, including the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), inside Afghanistan, saying that the militants have consistently used Afghan soil …
ISLAMABAD: The government has prepared a relief package for the real estate and housing sector aimed at benefiting the public. The package, devised by the Ministry of Housing’s 11-member task force, includes significant tax revisions and recommendations to revitalise the sector, Express News reported. The task force’s proposals, presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, suggest several measures to support the …
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Junaid Akbar has declared that the party’s next long march will not involve any negotiations with state institutions. ‘Unlike previous protests, PTI leadership will not engage in talks if demonstrations take place,’ he said. Speaking at an event in Malakand, Akbar warned that if he is arrested, key routes including the Silk Road, Pak-Afghan …