ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has dismissed the United States’ suggestion to probe electoral discrepancies, emphasising that it will not succumb to external dictates. In her weekly press briefing on Friday, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch categorically stated that no country can give directions to Pakistan, which is an independent and sovereign country. “We believe in our own sovereign right to make …
QUETTA: Months after stepping down as the caretaker interior minister, Sarfraz Bugti has been elected unopposed as the new Balochistan chief minister. The leader, who recently joined the PPP and enjoyed the support of PML-N, submitted his nomination papers with Assembly Secretary Tahir Shah on Friday. He was proposed by PPP leader and former chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and …
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Friday confirmed the pre-arrest bail of PTI founder Imran Khan in four cases pertaining to the murder of Zille Shah, attack on police outside Zaman Park, and torching of PML-N offices in Model Town and a container at Kalma Chowk on May 9, 2023. In his arguments against the bail petitions, Special Prosecutor Rana Shakil said the former …
ISLAMABAD: The PML-N and MQM-P on Friday signed a formal agreement to empower local governments, which will be directly established and draw powers from the federation instead of provinces. The memorandum of understanding, signed at Parliament House, relates to the two parties’ resolve to introduce the 26th amendment to the Constitution. The two-point agreement was signed by Ahsan Iqbal of …
LAHORE: Ignoring the pressure mounted by some religious sections, the Lahore police on Friday lodged the First Information Report (FIR) against dozens of miscreants who harassed a woman wearing a shirt with Arabic-script print a couple of days back in Ichhra Bazaar here. The suspects turning into a charged mob had accused the woman of “blasphemy” as they confused the Arabic alphabet …
ISLAMABAD: The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), after meeting the JUI-F, has announced the formation of a grand alliance aimed at ensuring election results according to Form 45. According to details, SIC leaders Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub Khan, Malik Amir Dogar and Junaid Akbar Khan arrived at JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s residence in the federal capital. Fazl was asked to …
ISLAMABAD: A day after more than 300 members took oath as lawmakers in the National Assembly, MNAs on Friday elected PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq as the speaker of the lower house of the Parliament and PPP’s Ghulam Mustafa Shah as his deputy. Sadiq, the Sharifs’ loyalist, and Mustafa defeated PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council nominees Amir Dogar and Junaid Akbar for the …
PESHAWAR: Amid intense sloganeering, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday elected PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur as the 22nd chief minister of the province. The PTI leader clinched an overwhelming victory with 90 votes against rival Ibadullah Khan from the PML-N. Gandapur, who had served as a federal minister during the PTI government, was nominated for the coveted slot by imprisoned …
NAROWAL: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Umar Dar returned home after spending two-and-a-half months in jail. Dar, the son of Rehana Imtiaz Dar, the candidate supported by the PTI in NA-71 Sialkot, was released on bail after 75 days. On coming out of jail, a large number of PTI workers garlanded him and showered him with flower petals. They raised slogans …
BEIJING: Miao Deyu, assistant foreign minister and director-general of the Department of Policy Planning of China’s Foreign Ministry, held a new round of foreign policy planning consultation with Salman Ahmed, director of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, in Shanghai on Tuesday. The two sides had a candid, in-depth and constructive communication on their respective foreign policies, the …