ISLAMABAD: A three-member International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will visit Pakistan to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the country’s 2024 Extended Fund Facility programme, the finance ministry said on Sunday, without specifying dates. The ministry added that the report will recommend actions for addressing corruption vulnerabilities and strengthening integrity and governance, noting that the findings would help …

ISLAMABAD: Senator Barrister Ali Zafar — while citing the “controversy surrounding the seniority of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges” — requested Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi to postpone the meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan scheduled for tomorrow, it emerged on Sunday. The IHC was recently subject to the transfer of three judges from other high …

ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has penned a second open letter to Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir, alleging mistreatment in prison and criticising the military’s alleged role in politics, urging it “to return to its constitutional limits”. This follows his first letter on Feb 3, in which he cla­imed a growing disconnect between the military and …

SIALKOT: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on Saturday that the government will not allow Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to disrupt the state again by repeating the events of May 9 or Nov 26. Speaking at a press conference at his residence in Sialkot Cantt, Mr Asif criticised PTI’s plans to hold protests, accusing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of misusing public funds …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday at the invitation of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to participate in the World Governments Summit (WGS) in Dubai. A press release issued by the Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday said that this would be the premier’s second visit …

LAHORE: In a clear violation of Section 144, ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar held a public rally in the city to celebrate “achievements of the government”. In the wake of the black day protests planned by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) for ‘stealing’ its mandate in the last February general elections, the Punjab …

MUZAFFARABAD: Police used tear gas and batons to disperse activists and leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Friday as they protested against alleged rigging in last year’s general elections in Pakistan, purportedly in violation of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The confrontation initially erupted outside the Press Club before intensifying near Domel, where PTI activists clashed with law …

ISLAMABAD: A ban on all gatherings was imposed across Punjab, Balochistan, and Islamabad as the PTI took out a rally on Saturday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swabi district to mark a year since the Feb 8, 2024 general elections. The PTI is marking February 8 (today) as a “black day” on the first anniversary of last year’s elections, the results of …

KARACHI: The picturesque seafront of the Pakistan Navy Dockyard with windsurfers, sailboats and Navy boats painted a beautiful backdrop for the flagpoles from which fluttered the flags of 60 nations participating in the ninth Multinational Maritime Exercise ‘Aman-25’ on Friday morning. The biennial exercise commenced with a formal flag-hoisting ceremony, followed by the cutting of a cake by senior representatives …

LAHORE: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider has sounded the alarm on the coalition government’s tenure, saying he expects it to last only six more months if the situation is “not fixed” amid tensions between the allies. The PPP has been complaining — publicly and privately — about Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s attitude, most notably through Governor Haider and other …