ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad district and sessions court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on petitions requesting suspension of sentences given to former premier Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi in the iddat case. On Saturday, while resuming the hearing for pleas seeking suspension of sentences, additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Afzal Majoka asked Zahid Asif — the counsel for Bushra Bibi’s ex-husband, …

ISLAMABAD/QUETTA / PESHAWAR: In a late-night move, the government clarified that the campaign to be launched under the banner of Azm-i-Istehkam would not be a kinetic large-scale military operation, nor would it entail the mass displacement of the local population. The clarification came apparently in the wake of intense opposition criticism of the government’s plans to launch military action, ostensibly to safeguard …

LAHORE: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Monday “directed” the governments of his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif and daughter Maryam Nawaz in the Centre and Punjab, respectively, to take the party on board in the decision-making on important issues. During a maiden meeting after becoming the party’s president on Monday, the elder Sharif made it clear that both governments should be …

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has offered free health services to Afghan nationals living in the province if United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) agrees to fund the programme. The chief minister expressed these views while talking to a delegation of UNHCR in Islamabad on Monday. The delegation was led by the representative of …

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday directed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to recover the allegedly abducted two brothers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf social media head Azhar Mashwani by June 27. Earlier, JIT head DIG Investigation Zeeshan Asghar and its members appeared before the court. Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi was hearing a petition filed by Mashwani’s father Habibur Rehman for the …

KARACHI: Aside from ‘hardened criminals’, outlaws operating in the Katcha areas of Sindh should be rehabilitated if they surrender to the state, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday. Chairing a meeting on Sindh’s law and order situation in Sukkur, the president also emphasised the need to improve the road, healthcare and education infrastructure of the Kacha areas on a priority basis …

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law and Justice on Monday notified appointment of three judges in the Supreme Court and issued a notification for appointment of acting chief justices of Lahore High Court (LHC) and Sindh High Court (SHC). According to the notification, Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmed Khan, Chief Justice of …

BEIJING: A group of journalists from 16 countries say they are impressed by Xinjiang’s social stability, robust economic growth and well-protected culture, defying the negative portrayal of Xinjiang by some Western media. The group on Sunday concluded a trip to northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where they gained first-hand information about the region’s development and cultural protection. The trip, …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday reaffirmed his resolve to completely eradicate polio from the country in a meeting attended by Bill Gates and officials of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The meeting of the National Taskforce for Polio Eradication in Islamabad marks the second time Gates has visited Pakistan, previously meeting then-PM Imran Khan in February 2022 on …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Monday approved the promotion of “quality domestic” cricket on all levels, calling for tournaments to be organised from the club level to the national level. A stunning super-over humiliation for the Green Team at the hands of the United States was followed by a six-run loss to bitter rivals India in a game where they failed to chase …