ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has given assent to a controversial bill passed by the both houses of parliament to ‘regulate’ public gatherings in Islamabad, making it a law within less than a week after it first landed in the Senate. Aimed to empower the district magistrate to regulate and ban public gatherings in Islamabad, the ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public …
RAWALPINDI: Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) foudning leader Imran Khan has condemned the recent amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws, calling them unconstitutional and a path to destruction. Speaking from Adiala Jail, where he is being held, he accused the country’s elite of pardoning their own crimes through these amendments while asking the public to make …
ISLAMABAD: The government is renegotiating contracts with independent power producers (IPP) to rein in “unsustainable” electricity tariffs, said Power Minister Awais Leghari, as households and businesses buckle under soaring energy costs. Rising power tariffs have stirred social unrest and shuttered industries in the $350 billion economy, which has contracted twice in recent years as inflation hit record highs. “The existing …
ISLAMABAD: Senators on Friday decried government’s decision to give special powers to the army and civil armed forces in Balochistan, allowing security forces to detain suspects of terrorism for three months. The lawmakers expressed their concern over the issue a day after the federal cabinet approved an amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997, giving sweeping powers to the security …
ISLAMABAD: After a long interval, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met disgruntled PML-N leader Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan to condole the death of his sister, said an official press release. The statement, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), said Mr Sharif expressed his deep grief over the demise of Mr Khan’s sister and prayed for the departed soul. …
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected fresh applications filed by the PTI in a case regarding its intra-party polls. The PTI, through four applications, had called into question the ECP’s jurisdiction to look into its internal elections. The party had asked the ECP to issue directives for the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to return the record taken …
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved an increase in electricity prices under quarterly and fuel price adjustments, while also reducing charges by 37 paisa per unit for July’s fuel cost adjustment. In a statement issued by NEPRA on Friday, it was confirmed that a quarterly adjustment of Rs1.75 per unit has been approved and sent to …
GUJRANWALA: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has warned that the government will be held responsible if the Rawalpindi agreement is not implemented within 16 days. He also cautioned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif not to complain about the party’s next steps. Speaking at a workers’ convention and membership drive inauguration in Gujranwala on Friday, Hafiz Naeem said, “The public will …
ISLAMABAD: Following in the footsteps of the Senate, the National Assembly on Friday approved a bill regulating public meetings in Islamabad, ahead of PTI’s September 8 rally. The bill, which has been seen by Dawn.com, is called the ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024’. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq allowed ruling PML-N’s MNA Danyal Chaudhry to introduce it as a private …
RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Friday told the nation to “not allow political differences turn into hatred”, stressing that the strong relations between the army and the public will serve as the foundation to defeat any enemy trying to create rifts between the two. The army chief was addressing a ceremony at the General Headquarters …