ISLAMABAD / QUETTA: The Balochistan National Party leadership on Thursday condemned a late-night “raid” on the residence of party chairman Sardar Akhtar Mengal at the Parliament Lodges in Islamabad and accused authorities of kidnapping the sons of party senators to coerce the BNP into supporting a proposed constitutional amendment allegedly aimed at curbing the judiciary’s powers. However, the police clarified …
ISLAMABAD: The apex court on Thursday finally ordered the closure of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund, which was opened in 2018 amid much fanfare for generating funds to develop mega dams in the country. As of Oct 4, there were Rs23.6 billion in the account, most of which was …
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has met with President Asif Ali Zardari at the President house to discuss proposed constitutional amendments and the prevailing political situation. The meeting on Thursday comes as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) step back from their earlier proposal to establish constitutional courts, Express News reported. Moreover, during a special parliamentary …
DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday dismissed media reports of talks between Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Indian Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on resuming cricket ties during the 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for the SCO summit — the first such visit by an Indian foreign minister in …
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a petition seeking a declaration that the government’s much-touted ‘Constitutional Package’ cannot be introduced or enacted by parliament after the plea was withdrawn. The Constitutional Package comprises legislation proposing a set of constitutional amendments, including the extension of the top judge’s term. Experts fear that the proposed amendments would virtually erode the …
LAHORE/RAWALPINDI: At least 250 violent protesters were arrested in Rawalpindi as police used tear gas to disperse students demonstrating against the alleged rape of a Lahore student. Last week, reports related to the alleged rape of a private college student went viral on social media, prompting the police to arrest a security guard at the college who was allegedly involved …
LAHORE: The PTI’s political committee announced on Wednesday that it would oppose the constitutional amendments and called for nationwide protests on Friday (tomorrow) against the package and party founder Imran Khan’s incarceration. “All regional and local organisations are instructed to hold vigorous but peaceful protests at all district headquarters after Friday prayers. Total agreement not to accept any attempt by …
LAHORE: In a meeting at Jati Umra, the residence of the Sharif family in Lahore, the ruling parties on Wednesday virtually succeeded in winning over Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the JUI-F for their ‘judicial reform package’. However, the parties still require cooperation from the PTI to achieve complete consensus on the constitutional amendments, which have become a bone of contention …
ISLAMABAD: A special committee reviewing proposed constitutional amendments gave more time to PTI on its request to share its own draft, after the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and National Party submitted a joint draft of proposed legislation to the parliamentary panel on Wednesday. The PTI is likely to come up with its own draft of constitutional amendments today (Thursday), chairman …
LAHORE/GUJRAT: The agitation over the alleged rape incident in Lahore also spread to several other cities of Punjab on Wednesday, where students of public as well as private institutes resorted to violence, claiming the life of a security guard in Gujrat district, and ransacking and torching different campuses of the private college at the centre of the issue. The protesters …