PESHAWAR: KP government’s spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has said that Afghan nationals living legally in Pakistan should not be “harassed or expelled”, warning that any action in this regard could sour relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The government launched the first round of repatriation of what it called “undocumented aliens” in November last year. No official data has been released as …

WASHINGTON: Finance Minister Muhammad Aura­ngzeb revealed on Saturday that an IMF team is anticipated to visit Pakistan by mid-May to negotiate a new long-term process, aiming to secure a staff-level agreement by mid-July. Speaking to US-Pakistani media at the conclusion of his week-long visit, the minister mentioned the Fund’s intention to expedite the process. “The contours of the new programme will shape …

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that provincial government needs more support from World Food Programme and other donor agencies for the development of merged districts. He said that promoting quality education and creating employment opportunities in merged districts were priority areas of his government, according to a statement issued here on Saturday. He was talking to a …

QUETTA: Justice Hashim Khan Kakar on Saturday took oath as the Balochistan High Court (BHC) chief justice. Balochistan Governor Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar administered the oath to the new chief justice in a ceremony held at the Governor House. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, high court judges, provincial ministers, MPAs, advocate general and senior lawyers attended the ceremony. Justice …

ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Ambassador Dr Reza Amiri Moghaddam met Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday to discuss arrangements for the Iranian president’s upcoming visit to Pakistan. The two officials deliberated upon the details of President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit. The Iranian ambassador congratulated Mr Naqvi on assuming the charge of interior minister and appreciated his performance as caretaker chief minister of Punjab. …

QUETTA: JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman once again “rejected” the February 8 general elections, vowing that his party will not let the existing government function as it was “fake” and a product of rigged polls. Addressing a public meeting at the Taj Lala Stadium in Pishin on Saturday, he said: “Our anti-government movement will spread across the country, and nobody …

ISLAMABAD: The incarcerated founding chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, wrote a letter to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Saturday and drew his attention to seven key issues that he felt needed urgent intervention by the top court and the top judge to safeguard the rule of law and maintain the supremacy of the …

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has authorised the deployment of civil armed forces and the Pakistan Army for the provision of general security to assist the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the peaceful conduct of the April 21 by-elections, it emerged on Saturday. The poll campaign for by-elections in around two dozen National and provincial assembly constituencies came to a close on …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that the economic and cultural relationships between Pakistan and China were rapidly growing due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In a message on global observance of the Chinese language as one of the largest dialects for communication, he said that a “sufficient number of Pakistanis” were learning the Chinese language, …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan rejected what it said was the “political use of export controls” after the United States imposed sanctions on four entities for their alleged involvement in supplying “missile-applicable items” to Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday. The US State Department claimed on Friday evening that the entities — three Chinese and one from Belarus — were …