SAHIWAL: The district police have registered cases against 25 nominated and 700 unidentified workers and local leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including party’s parliamentarians, ticket-holders and office-bearers of Okara, Pakpattan and Sahiwal chapters. These workers have been accused of organising and participating in a ‘workers convention’ at Anjum Farms on Sunday afternoon, without getting permission for the event. The …
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday fixed for hearing an application challenging the controversial Punjab Defamation Law, which was given assent by the acting Punjab governor over the weekend. The Punjab Assembly passed the Defamation Bill, 2024 on May 20, rejecting all amendments proposed by the opposition amid protests by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council and journalists covering parliamentary …
BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday called for a full play to the strategic significance of “greater BRICS” to build the platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries into one of openness and inclusiveness. In the face of the battle between forces promoting a multipolar world and those upholding unipolar hegemony and between economic globalization and …
ISLAMABAD: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked the Sharif brothers for their congratulatory messages on him becoming the premier for a third time. Modi was sworn in on Sunday at a ceremony attended by leaders from Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. However, China and Pakistan were not present. Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered a brief congratulations to …
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Monday that it had decided to cut the interest rate by 150 basis points (bps) to 20.5 per cent. The decision to cut the key rate to 20.5pc comes ahead of the annual budget and a week after data showed inflation slowed to a 30-month low of 11.8pc in May. In a statement, …
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court’s (IHC’s) Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani has ordered that Kashmiri poet Ahmed Farhad be declared an “enforced disappearance/missing person” till he reaches his home safely, it emerged on Monday. A written order of Friday’s hearing stated: “Syed Farhad Ali Shah is declared an enforced disappearance/missing person until he reaches his home safely.” Farhad had been allegedly abducted …
LAHORE: Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider has said the approval of the controversial defamation law was inevitable as bills automatically become laws 15 days after being sent to the governor, even if they choose not to give assent. “I did not sign the Defamation Bill. However, it was supposed to be passed automatically after 15 days,” he told a private TV channel from the …
QUETTA: Several PTI leaders have been booked for alleged anti-state and provocative speeches during a public gathering in Bostan area of Pishin. Levies police station has registered an FIR against PTI leaders, including Shehryar Afridi, Shandana Gulzar, Haleem Adil Sheikh and Dawood Shah Kakar. The FIR included charges under sections 123-A (advocacy against Pakistan’s sovereignty), 124-A (Sedition), 143 (Punishment for …
ISLAMABAD: In an apparent jibe at PTI, PML-N President Nawaz Sharif on Sunday called street protests “futile” as parliament was the real forum for strengthening, protecting, and ensuring constitutional supremacy. Mr Sharif made the remarks during a meeting with Senate Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan Nasar, who called on him in Murree. According to a party spokesman, Mr Sharif congratulated the …
LAKKI MARWAT/BAJAUR: At least seven security officials, including an army captain, were martyred after an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted their vehicle in Lakki Marwat on Sunday, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police repulsed a pre-dawn ambush at their checkpost in Bajaur. Local officials said the vehicle was on its way to the Kaichi Kamar area when it came under attack near …