ISLAMABAD: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Saturday linked its support for the government’s constitutional amendment package to the inclusion of provisions that strengthen local governments across the country. The demand was made during a meeting between Sindh Gov­ernor Kamran Tessori, an MQM-P delegation and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. MQM-P representatives asked the government to amend Article 140-A …

The continuous popularity of “China Travel,” the successful overseas expansion of digital gaming products, and the trending of Chinese cultural IPs abroad… These hot topics reflect the rapid development of China’s service trade. Government support is partly to thank, with China’s State Council recently unveiling a set of guidelines to promote the high-quality development of trade in services with high-standard …

KARACHI: A preliminary report over the recent explosion near Karachi’s Jinna International Airport has indicated that the attack was executed with the assistance of a foreign intelligence agency. The report, submitted by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) to the anti-terrorism court, stated that the suicide bombing targeted Chinese engineers as part of a conspiracy to damage Pakistan-China relations, as reported by …

PESHAWAR: At least 11 people were killed and eitght others were injured in two firing incidents that took placed in the Parachinar area of Khyner-Pakhtunkhwa province’s Upper Kurram district. The first incident occurred in the hilly area of Kanj Ali Zai, where hunters from Shank were shot at by rival tribes, resulting in 11 fatalities and injuries to five others, …

ISLAMBAD: Seven prime ministers, including those from China and Russia, will attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of Government in Islamabad next week, Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed on Saturday. Prime ministers from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will also be present, along with Iran’s First Vice President and India’s External Affairs Minister. …

ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday strongly condemned the PTI’s D-Chowk protest call for October 15, when the two-day Shanghai Coopera­tion Organisation (SCO) summit is set to begin, as “political terrorism”, aimed at maligning the country and stopping its development and economic progress. The PTI has announced the suspension of its protests in Punjab and issued a nationwide call …

ISLAMABAD: There was a whiff of consensus on the proposed constitutional amendments during talks between the government and opposition on Friday, as major parties shared their drafts with each other; but only the PPP made its proposals public. A meeting of the parliamentary commi­ttee with both government and opposition members, formed to review the proposed amendment, discussed the drafts threadbare, …

QUETTA: At least 21 coal miners, including three Afghan nationals, were killed and six others injured in a deadly terrorist attack at a mines area of a private company, some 10km from Duki district headquarters, in the wee hours of Friday. Officials said that militants fired rockets, hurled hand grenades and opened indiscriminate fire, killing the labourers and destroying at …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was irritated on Friday with an application seeking adjournment of a case moved by the PTI regarding the denial of election symbol — cricket bat — to the party. Through the case, the party had requested for the fixation of a petition seeking review of the court’s Jan 13 decision upholding the denial by the ECP …

ISLAMABAD: In order to provide foolproof security to hundreds of delegates arriving in Islamabad for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Islamabad police have chalked up a comprehensive digital surveillance plan to monitor routes and key locations in real-time. Police officials told Dawn that the route surveillance will focus on Route-I, Route-II and Route-III designed to transport the ‘VVIPs’ and …