ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday gave assent to the government’s tax-heavy Finance Bill 2024 for the new fiscal year. The government had presented the budget two weeks ago, drawing sharp criticism from opposition parties, especially the PTI, as well as coalition ally PPP. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had moved the finance bill in parliament, which had been opened to seek …
ISLAMABAD: In a letter sent to the Supreme Court registrar to dispel the impression that contempt proceedings against Senator Faisal Vawda and MNA Mustafa Kamal were initiated on his complaint, Justice Athar Minallah stated unequivocally that neither any complaint was filed by him nor was he in any manner consulted in this regard. “My view regarding contempt proceedings is manifest from the …
ISLAMABAD: The PTI has called for the resignation of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq after his fellow judges questioned his conduct in the Tyrian White case against former prime minister Imran Khan. A day after the decision of a three-judge IHC bench was published, the PTI said CJ Farooq had no moral ground to continue holding his office. Earlier …
WASHINGTON: A senior US official has assured Islamabad that the United States and Pakistan maintain a stable and broad-based relationship despite occasional friction between the two allies. The assurance follows the recent adoption of a resolution by an overwhelming majority in the US Congress, expressing concerns about the state of democracy and human rights in Pakistan. Islamabad responded strongly, rejecting the concerns …
ISLAMABAD: Justice Athar Minallah has asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to satisfy the Supreme Court that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was excluded from the electoral process legitimately, thereby forfeiting its claim to reserved seats. As a member of the full-court bench of the Supreme Court hearing the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) appeal against the denial of reserved seats for women and minorities, …
China on Friday hosted an international conference in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence with experts applauding the spirit and value of these propositions amid a turbulent world. The five principles include mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence. …
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue instructions to all civil and military agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence, against contacting or approaching “any judge” or member of their staff. Justice Shahid Karim issued the directions in a written order — which emerged on Saturday — on a complaint filed …
LAHORE: Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan barred 11 opposition members from attending the next 15 sittings of the house for resorting to “rowdyism” during the speech of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in the house on Friday. An annoyed speaker also put off the discussion on supplementary budget for Saturday, contrary to the agreed schedule. The suspended MPAs belonging …
ISLAMABAD: The government has extended exemptions in specific sectors while announcing new tax measures in several areas to generate additional revenue in the coming fiscal year to meet the International Monetary Fund’s criteria. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced the new measures in the National Assembly on Friday. These include introducing a capital value tax on property in Islamabad and implementing new tax measures on …
WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s envoy to the US, Masood Khan, has urged Washington to provide small arms and modern equipment to the country to ensure the success of Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, a newly approved counter-terrorism initiative. The federal government recently greenlit the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive, however, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif clarified that this initiative would not be a large-scale military operation and would …