ISLAMABAD: Former speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser on Monday alleged that as many as 91 projects of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were excluded from the federal development budget, claiming that such policies were becoming reason of terrorism resurgence. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, the PTI leader said that the excluded projects were related to health, education, energy and other important …
ISLAMABAD: In a rare display of harmony between the government and opposition, all 42 Senate standing committees have been notified within the stipulated period. This was unlike in the National Assembly — which held its first session 40 days before the upper house — where the process of notifying standing committees has been stalled. On Monday, notifications regarding all 42 …
ISLAMABAD: In a return to previous practice, the National Economic Council (NEC) decided on Monday to continue funding constituency-based schemes and ongoing provincial projects, while approving an indicative national development plan worth Rs3.792 trillion for the next fiscal year to increase the economic growth rate to 3.6 per cent from the current 2.4pc. The expansionary public investment stance is likely to come under tight …
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting a ceasefire plan in Gaza, as Washington leads an intense diplomatic campaign to push Hamas to accept the proposal. The text — passed with 14 votes in favour and Russia abstaining — “welcomes” the truce and hostage release proposal announced on May 31 by President Joe Biden, and …
SAHIWAL: The district police have registered cases against 25 nominated and 700 unidentified workers and local leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including party’s parliamentarians, ticket-holders and office-bearers of Okara, Pakpattan and Sahiwal chapters. These workers have been accused of organising and participating in a ‘workers convention’ at Anjum Farms on Sunday afternoon, without getting permission for the event. The …
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday fixed for hearing an application challenging the controversial Punjab Defamation Law, which was given assent by the acting Punjab governor over the weekend. The Punjab Assembly passed the Defamation Bill, 2024 on May 20, rejecting all amendments proposed by the opposition amid protests by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council and journalists covering parliamentary …
BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday called for a full play to the strategic significance of “greater BRICS” to build the platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries into one of openness and inclusiveness. In the face of the battle between forces promoting a multipolar world and those upholding unipolar hegemony and between economic globalization and …
ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked the Sharif brothers for their congratulatory messages on him becoming the premier for a third time. Modi was sworn in on Sunday at a ceremony attended by leaders from Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. However, China and Pakistan were not present. Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered a brief congratulations to …
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Monday that it had decided to cut the interest rate by 150 basis points (bps) to 20.5 per cent. The decision to cut the key rate to 20.5pc comes ahead of the annual budget and a week after data showed inflation slowed to a 30-month low of 11.8pc in May. In a statement, …
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court’s (IHC’s) Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has ordered that Kashmiri poet Ahmed Farhad be declared an “enforced disappearance/missing person” till he reaches his home safely, it emerged on Monday. A written order of Friday’s hearing stated: “Syed Farhad Ali Shah is declared an enforced disappearance/missing person until he reaches his home safely.” Farhad had been allegedly abducted …