ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has selected six companies qualified to bid to buy national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the privatisation minister said on Monday. The announcement came a couple of weeks after Pakistan had extended the date for submitting expressions of interest. A total of eight companies and consortiums had expressed an interest. Air Blue, Arif Habib Corporation, Blue World City, Fly …
ISLAMABAD: The PTI’s demand that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa should not sit on benches hearing cases related to the party invited the wrath of the legal fraternity, as Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) not only condemned the “tactic being used to put pressure on the CJP” but also requested the …
ISLAMABAD: In another major relief, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday acquitted PTI founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb announced the short verdict after accepting the appeals of the former premier and diplomat against their convictions in the case. The court …
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China from June 4, hopes are high in Islamabad that the flagging multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will be revived. This is after a successful visit in mid-May by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to Beijing, at which pledges were made by both sides to put the massive investment plan back on track after it …
ISLAMABAD: As the Supreme Court on Monday took up the case of reserved seats, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail noted that the public did not vote for independent candidates but those nominated by the PTI in the February 8 general elections. Justice Mandokhail noted, “The public did not vote for an independent candidate but rather the candidates being supported by a …
LAHORE: Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachhar has opposed the appointment of retired high court judges as heads of election tribunals and threatened a series of protests against PTI activists’ “victimisation”. The federal government had promulgated an ordinance allowing appointment of retired judges to fill the vacant slots of election tribunals last week. “Election is a sensitive subject …
LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor and senior leader of Pakistan Peoples Party Faisal Karim Kundi has said that a decision to join the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz governments in the Centre and Punjab will be taken by the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC). Talking to journalists at the residence of PPP leader Aziz-ur-Rehman Chan here on Sunday, the governor said that a …
MUZAFFARGARH: JUI-F emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman criticised the powerful establishment for interfering in politics over the weekend, saying that parliament should have the people’s representatives, and not those of any other agency. Since the February 8 general elections, the JUI-F emir, who is otherwise known for his ability to keep friends and foes alike on an even keel, has been critical of …
LAHORE: The ruling PML-N has got endorsement for its call for a national dialogue from its ‘sworn’ foe Dr Tahirul Qadri, accused by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif of being a part of the much-touted ‘London plan’ allegedly orchestrated by the establishment to oust him from power back in 2014. “If one desires to see the homeland come out of …
SINGAPORE: Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun delivered a speech on China’s approach to global security on Sunday at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore. Dong highlighted the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative in his address. People in the Asia-Pacific are …