ISLAMABAD: Judge Abual Hasnat Mohammad Zulqarnain, who convicted former prime minister Imran Khan and foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the cipher case, has been granted a 20-day leave, according to an official notification. In a related development, the federal government has assigned another judge to the Special Court (Official Secrets Act), set up to prosecute the former premier and foreign …
ISLAMABAD: The Karachi Bar Association (KBA) and the Islamabad Bar Association filed two separate petitions on Saturday to become parties in a Supreme Court case concerning alleged interference by intelligence agencies in judicial affairs. The petitions, moved by senior counsel Salahuddin Ahmed, urged the Supreme Court to order the federal government to devise appropriate mechanisms for effective scrutiny and oversight over the …
ISLAMABAD: Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza has expressed discontent with the PTI and its talks with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, calling them a mistake on the former’s part. 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 …
LAHORE: The Supreme Court’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah on Saturday said that developing a firewall around the judicial system was “very important”, adding that there cannot be any external interference in the judiciary. The judge’s remarks come amid the situation revolving around the allegations made by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges against interference in judicial affairs by the country’s …
QUETTA: The arrest warrant against Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai was suspended on Saturday by a judicial magistrate in Quetta. A candidate for the presidential election, Achakzai was booked under section 448 (house trespass) and section 447 (criminal trespass) in a First Information Report (FIR) registered at Gwalmandi police station on March 11. Officials from the local administration and …
RIYADH/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif landed in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to attend the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) special meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy being held on April 28-29. PM Shehbaz and his delegation were received by Riyadh deputy governor Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Bin Abdul Aziz, Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia and embassy staff at the Riyadh …
BEIJING: More and more freight forwarders have turned to the China-Europe Railway Express (CRE), an extensive network of rail services connecting China and Europe, as a transportation alternative amid the Red Sea crisis, which has disrupted international shipping. Experts say the increased use of the network has highlighted the rail route’s vital role in stabilizing global supply chains. Houthis in Yemen have been …
BEIJING; Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday in Beijing, with the two sides reaching a five-point consensus based on a comprehensive exchange of views. First, both sides agreed to continue to work hard to stabilize …
LAHORE: A pro-Palestine protester on Saturday interrupted and chanted slogans during the German ambassador’s speech on civil rights at a conference in Lahore. Germany’s Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas was speaking at the 5th Asma Jahangir Conference titled ‘People’s Mandate: Safeguarding Civil Rights in South Asia’. Announced by the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell (AGHS), the two-day conference is being organised in …
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Saudi Arabia on Saturday to attend the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) special meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy being held on April 28-29. The premier was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. This is the prime minister’s second trip to Saudi Arabia in …