RIYADH: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif in Riyadh on Tuesday, where the two vowed to strengthen security cooperation. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have long shared a multifaceted relationship rooted in mutual economic interests, strategic military cooperation, and shared Islamic heritage. Historically, these ties have encompassed economic assistance, energy supplies and military …

ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday tacitly acknowledged on the floor of the National Assembly that it was behind the ongoing internet disruptions and monitoring of social media platforms, citing prevailing security concerns. “Pakistan is facing great security threats, so we have to adopt some kind of a strategy. We cannot leave it [social media] unbridled like other countries,” Parliamentary Secretary …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Sheh­baz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Gene­ral Asim Munir on Monday held a meeting on key security concerns, including a recent PTI protest in Islamabad in which several lives were lost over the course of demonstrations spanning multiple days. The government did not share details of the meeting with the media, but a source privy to …

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has reserved its verdict on the admissibility of Imran Khan’s appeal in a defamation suit filed by Shehbaz Sharif. The hearing took place in the High Court regarding Khan’s appeal against the trial court’s decision to allow witnesses to provide written testimony in the defamation case, Express News reported. In his appeal, Imran Khan …

RAWALPINDI: Shah Mehmood Qureshi, senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former foreign minister, has been transferred to Adiala Jail, where he is expected to be formally indicted in connection with the May 9 attack on the General Headquarters (GHQ). The case is part of a broader investigation into the violent protests that erupted following the arrest of PTI chairman …

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Monday that it had decided to cut its key policy rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 13 per cent from 15pc amid demands for a major rate cut. “At its meeting today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 200 bps to 13 per cent, …

RAWALPINDI: Former PTI leader Shireen Mazari was indicted on Monday along with eight others in a case concerning the attack on the army’s General Head­quarters in Rawalpindi during violent protests, prompted by the arrest of the PTI founder in a corruption case on May 9 last year. Imran, who has been incarcerated in Adiala Jail since August 2023, was arrested …

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Monday, while strongly condemning casualties in attacks on polio workers in two separate incidents, sought reports from senior police officials and directed them to take action against the elements involved. Pakistan is one of the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic, with the disease mostly …

ISLAMABAD: The government plans to present a bill in the National Assembly today (Monday) to create a digital identity for citizens, with the aim of centralising social, economic, and governance data. The agenda of Monday’s sitting, issued by the National Assembly Secretariat, stated that the Minister of State for IT and Tele­communication, Shaza Fati­ma Khawaja, will introduce The Digital Nation …

WASHINGTON: Pakis­tan has made substantial progress in countering terrorist financing and addre­ssing regional extremist networks, a US State Dep­ar­tment report states while also highlighting significant security challenges including a sharp rise in terrorist attacks in 2023. The report released this week commends Pakistan for completing its updated National Risk Assessment (NRA) on money laundering and terrorist financing in 2023. This …