ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the government was ready to form a parliamentary committee to continue talks with the PTI as against the party’s demand to constitute a judicial commission to probe the protests of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024. After more than a year of heightened tensions between the government and the PTI, …
ISLAMABAD: Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi wondered on Wednesday whether crimes committed during violent nationwide riots on May 9, 2023, were more serious than terrorist incidents as the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench heard a case on military trials of civilians arrested over the incident. The case pertains to the military trials — and recent sentencing — of civilians for their role …
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday expressed Pakistan’s desire to improve economic ties with the United States, a day after a delegation of investors led by Gentry Beach, US President Donald Trump’s close aide, met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Pakistan and the US have delicate and complex ties, shaped by shared security concerns and divergent strategic priorities. In a …
ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Bench (CB) of the apex court, on Wednesday, returned sealed envelopes submitted by the government counsel, which outlined the procedures followed during the military trial of civilians involved in the May 9, 2023, attacks on military installations. Though the judges took a cursory look, they returned the envelopes when Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail suggested that it would …
ISLAMABAD: After negotiations between the government and PTI hit a roadblock, the former has decided not to form judicial commissions for the May 9 and Nov 26 violent protests, instead proposing alternative options, including the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the incidents. Although the government’s negotiation team did not submit its replies to National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz …
ISLAMABAD: A close aide to US President Donald Trump, who is currently leading a delegation of investors to Pakistan to explore business opportunities, said on Wednesday the US administration has nothing but respect for the incumbent leadership of Pakistan, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Gentry Beach, who also met PM Shehbaz, made these remarks at a press conference as …
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari assented to the much-debated changes to the country’s cybercrime laws on Wednesday despite calls by journalists and media bodies to not sign off on the law. The development comes a day after the Senate passed amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016, triggering protests across the country by media workers. Journalists have …
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to give one more chance to the PTI to rejoin the dialogue after the opposition party did not turn up for the fourth round of talks on Tuesday, in which the government had promised to share its response to its charter of demands. Senator Irfan Siddiqui, the spokesperson for the government negotiation team, said they …
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s “iron ties” with China in their greetings to the Chinese people on Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice on December 21. Each year the new year in China falls on a different date than on …
ISLAMABAD: The government removed Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Ahmed Ishaq Jahangir from his position on Wednesday amid ongoing action against other officials of the watchdog. According to a notification by the Cabinet Secretariat, Jahangir, a BS-21 officer of the Interior Division was transferred and posted as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Establishment Division “with immediate …