ISLAMABAD: The US and Pakistan on Tuesday reaffirmed their close ties and pledged to enhance cooperation on regional security, according to the Foreign Office. The FO, in a statement issued after a meeting between a visiting US delegation led by Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs John Bass, and Acting Foreign Secretary Ambassador Rahim Hayat Qureshi, said the “discussions covered …
BEIJING: At the invitation of China, representatives of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) recently visited Beijing for in-depth and candid talks on promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation, and the talks progressed to discussing next steps, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular press briefing in …
ISLAMABAD: Clearing the air after months of confusion and speculation, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Monday finally designated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and parliamentary opposition leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz to hold talks with the military establishment. Their names were confirmed by PTI founding chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan while speaking to media persons …
ISLAMABAD: The government on Tuesday slashed the price of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) for the next fortnight by Rs5.45 and 8.42, respectively. In a notification, the finance ministry said the reduction was due to price variations in the international market because of a decreasing trend in prices of petroleum products during the last fortnight. It said the new petrol …
ISLAMABAD: PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah was appointed as adviser to the prime minister on political and public affairs on Tuesday. A statement from the Presidency said President Asif Ali Zardari approved the appointment on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice under Article 93(1) of the Constitution. It added that Sanaullah will hold the rank of a federal minister as well. …
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday said it had received the final $1.1 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund under the stand-by arrangement. On Monday, the Fund had approved the immediate disbursement of approximately $1.1bn to Pakistan. Its executive board met in Washington and completed the second review under the SBA, bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to …
ISLAMABAD: Justice Athar Minallah on Tuesday said the state had to protect the country’s judges and the independence of the judiciary. He made the remarks as a six-member Supreme Court (SC) bench resumed hearing a case pertaining to allegations made by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges regarding interference by the country’s security apparatus in judicial matters. Headed by Chief Justice of …
ISLAMABAD: Riyadh told Islamabad on Monday that Saudi agriculture companies were looking at Pakistan with great interest and expressed the hope that both countries would benefit from joint ventures for improving the value chain of agriculture economy. This transpired at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meeting with Faisal Al-Ibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, and Eng Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, Minister of …
ISLAMABAD: Delivering his maiden speech in the National Assembly, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday lambasted the “establishment” for “constantly interfering” in politics and announced his party’s plan to launch a protest movement from next month against the alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls. The announcement from the JUI-F chief to begin the protest movement with …
ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday came out in open support of the PTI’s democratic and constitutional rights to hold protests and rallies. The JUI-F and the PTI had reached a consensus in the aftermath of February’s elections and announced that the elections were rigged. The parties have since touched base on protesting against the government, but the …