ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday approved the constitution of the 13-member National Economic Council (NEC) — a constitutional body responsible for reviewing the country’s overall economic condition and formulating plans while ensuring balanced development and regional equity — under Article 156 of the Constitution. According to a notification from the Cabinet Division, the council includes Prime Minister Shehbaz …
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday notified Rs3.33 per unit additional fuel cost against consumption in April to enable ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) to raise another Rs29 billion in June as the government confirmed on record a minor impact of solar net metering on electricity sales. Nepra “has reviewed and assessed a National Average Uniform increase of Rs3.3321/kWh …
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday spoke highly of China-Pakistan relations and called for more efforts to build a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing. China and Pakistan are good neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, good friends who share faith and righteousness, …
ISLAMABAD: The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee on Friday announced that it sighted the Zilhaj moon and Eildul Azha will be observed on June 17. This meeting took place at the Pakistan Meteorological Department building in Karachi with simultaneous zonal meetings in the provincial capitals and Islamabad. Officials from the Peshawar zonal meeting said the moon was spotted albeit the central committee …
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, where they resolved to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project “from its detractors and adversaries”, the Foreign Office (FO) said. Addressing a weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the two leaders held delegation-level talks this morning as the premier and his delegation’s five-day China …
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will challenge Lahore High Court’s (LHC) order to notify six more election tribunals to hear poll disputes in Punjab, the electoral watchdog’s chief said on Tuesday. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja made these remarks on Thursday while hearing a set of applications filed by all three MNAs from Islamabad — belonging to the ruling …
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday directed the Punjab inspector general of police to recover two brothers of PTI social media head Azhar Mashwani allegedly picked up by law enforcement agencies. Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi gave the order while hearing a petition filed by Qazi Habibur Rehman, the father of the alleged abducted men — Zahoorul Hassan and …
ISLAMABAD: As it faces challenges to the recently promulgated ordinances about the accountability law and the elections, the federal government on Thursday tabled the Election (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 and National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 through supplementary agenda while the PTI described the laws “politically motivated”. The NAB law increases the remand period from 14 days to 40 days; whereas the election law allows the …
ISLAMABAD: After the federal government furnished ‘pictorial evidence’ to challenge PTI leader Imran Khan’s claim of solitary confinement in Adiala Jail, the former prime minister asked the Supreme Court to order an inspection of his jail cell. Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, however, observed the court may assign a judicial officer to conduct a discreet check, but did not propose …
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Appreciating the Chinese development model, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday Pakistan can become a great nation if it followed that model through hard work and focus on industrial and agricultural growth. “All Pakistanis will also have to pass through this thorny process. There is no other way to earn respect in the world,” the prime minister said …