LAHORE: Amid massive in-house protests by the opposition, the Punjab government led by PML-N presented its annual budget of Rs5.45 trillion for the fiscal year 2024-25, though the Rs630 billion surplus budget reveals no plans to tax the agriculture and real estate sectors properly, despite ongoing pressure from the IMF. Currently, income from agriculture is being taxed by the province at …
ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday finally constituted 40 standing committees, including the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC), after more than a three-month delay. According to an official announcement of the National Assembly Secretariat, the speaker has finalised the members’ names of the committees in pursuance of the motion adopted in the National Assembly on May 17. A …
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday invited JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to become part of the ruling coalition led by the PML-N, as he visited the residence of his former ally to inquire about his well-being. The premier also proposed the formation of a committee to address the prevailing political issues and asked the Maulana to join it. …
LAHORE: Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar on Thursday told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that an investigation had been launched into the alleged threats to a judge of an anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Sargodha and his harassment by the intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The IGP and other police officials appeared before the court following a notice issued on …
BEIJING: China is the world’s largest cherry market, and Pakistan has reached a significant milestone by exporting its first shipment of fresh cherries to China. Utilizing a reefer container, Pakistan aims to export 260 tonnes of fresh cherries to China in reefer containers by the end of June. This achievement is a result of a phytosanitary agreement signed between China …
BEIJING: China on Thursday denounced the U.S.’s new sanctions on over 300 entities and individuals, including dozens of Chinese enterprises, which the U.S. side claimed helped Russia sustain military production to combat Ukraine. “China firmly opposes any illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. The normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia should not be interfered with, nor should …
BEIJING: Song Tao, a senior Taiwan affairs official, on Thursday called on the United States to work with China to maintain cross-Straits peace and stability, oppose “Taiwan independence” and support China’s reunification. Song, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the …
ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday challenged PTI founder Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s acquittals in the cipher case before the Supreme Court. The cipher case pertains to a diplomatic document that the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) charge sheet alleges was never returned by then-PM Imran, who long held that the document contained a threat from the US to topple his government. A special …
SAHIWAL: A special judge of the anti-corruption court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khawar Maneka, the ex-husband of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and his son Musa Maneka, for not appearing in the court in a land grab and tax evasion case. Special Judge Asif Bashir directed the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Okara, to arrest both suspects …
MIANWALI: A contingent of Mianwali police cordoned off the sessions court premises since Wednesday morning to rearrest the 37 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers booked in May 9 cases. On Tuesday, all 37 PTI workers were acquitted by ATC courts in Sargodha, including former MNA Amjad Ali Khan, but Mianwali City Police arrested them from the compound of Sargodha central jail as soon …