KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Monday that it had decided to cut the key interest rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 19.5 per cent from the previous rate of 20.5pc. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statement issued by the central bank said that it had decided to cut the policy rate by 100bps to 19.5pc, …
ISLAMABAD: Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on Monday hailed Pakistan’s “resilience, passion and determination” in the last two years as it dealt with the challenges and damage inflicted by the super floods of 2022. Addressing a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, Scotland referred to the “terrible events of two years ago” and said: “Pakistani resilience, passion …
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has initiated the process of making a written request to the chief justice of Peshawar High Court (PHC) to depute a judge for conducting a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots. KP government’s spokesperson Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said that the process to conduct a judicial process into the May 9 violence has begun, …
ISLAMABAD: The PTI has again called for countrywide protests, including a possible sit-in outside the Parliament House, to seek the release of its jailed founder Imran Khan. The party had announced plans for a similar demonstration in the federal capital last Friday but backed out of it at the last minute on Islamabad High Court’s advice. The announcement about fresh …
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced on Sunday that the government has returned approximately Rs68 billion in income tax refunds since the process began on July 1. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the finance minister said that if the government wants to expand the tax net and take it to 13 percent, then it also has to focus on …
RAWALPINDI: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Liaquat Baloch on Sunday said that the government will form a technical committee to resolve the power and tax hikes issues and complete their “internal workings” by tomorrow while the party’s ongoing sit-in at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh will continue. JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Saturday warned of expanding the party’s Rawalpindi sit-in to other areas across the …
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday held a meeting with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nawaf al Maliki, to discuss the positive trajectory of relations between the two countries. During the meeting, the two sides discussed various issues, especially enhancing cooperation in different sectors including education, trade and investment. The …
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the session of the National Assembly on July 30 (Tuesday). This will be the first NA session after the Supreme Court’s July 12 decision declaring the opposition PTI eligible to receive reserved seats for women and non-Muslims in the national and provincial assemblies, declaring it to be a parliamentary party. As a result of the …
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday instituted a complaint before the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) seeking a thorough inquiry by accusing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sultan Sikandar Raja and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of becoming incapable of performing their constitutional duties and thus guilty of misconduct. The complaint was jointly filed by the PTI and …
ISLAMABAD: Three days after a key minister in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet declared that the government had decided, in principle, to place a ban on the PTI, another minister on Saturday renewed talks offer to the opposition party to reduce political tensions and resolve economic issues being faced by the country. Speaking at a presser, Federal Minister for Petroleum …