ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called upon the international community to pressure Israel to halt its “oppression of Palestinians”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. In his message on the International Al-Quds Day — observed on the last Friday of Ramazan to express solidarity with the people of Palestine struggling against Israeli occupation — the premier strongly denounced Israeli atrocities in Gaza. …

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court reserved on Thursday the verdict on the acquittal pleas of PTI founder Imran Khan, vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and ally Sheikh Rashid among others in cases lodged against Haqeeqi Azaadi March. The judgment will be announced on June 6. Judicial Magistrate Malik Imran heard the acquittal pleas where Rashid, a former PTI ally and Awami Muslim League chief, appeared …

ISLAMABAD: The federal government of Pakistan has officially declared a four-day Eidul Fitr holiday from April 10 to April 13. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has given his approval for the holiday period, allowing citizens to celebrate the festive occasion with their families and loved ones. The announcement comes as anticipation builds for the sighting of the Shawwal moon, which marks …

ISLAMABAD: A day after a senior Afghan Taliban leader urged the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad to sit together and negotiate for peace, the Foreign Office (FO) ruled out talks with the militant group. On Wednesday, Muhammad Nabi Omari, deputy interior minister of the interim Taliban government in Afghanistan, made the remarks at an Iftar gathering in the southeastern …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the government would launch a probe into letters laced with a “suspicious powder” received by the judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts in Islamabad and Lahore. On Tuesday, letters were delivered to all eight Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges in white envelopes sealed with cello-tape. The names of the judges …

KARACHI: Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday was elected as the sixth emir of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) for a five-year term, the party said in an announcement on its official account on X. It said that he would serve as the party chief from April 2024 to April 2029. He had previously served as the chief of the party’s Karachi chapter. …

ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: The defence counsel in the cipher case informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday that ex-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was facing legal proceedings for not testifying against former prime minister Imran Khan. Barrister Salman Safdar, counsel for the two PTI leaders, told the division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb that Mr …

PESHAWAR: Acknowledging that the activities by an outlawed militant organisation inside Pakistan were leading the international community to point fingers at Afghanistan, a senior Afghan Taliban leader on Wednes­day urged the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad to sit together and negotiate for peace. “We ask the government of Pakistan and advise the brothers (TTP) who are fighting with them …

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: A day after the judges of the Islamabad High Court received letters allegedly laced with a toxic substance, similar letters arrived in the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court, prompting the Counter-Terrorism Department to register two terrorism cases in Islamabad and Lahore. The letters in the top court were sent to CJP Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Jamal …

ISLAMABAD: The counsel for former prime minister Imran Khan urged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday to discard the testimony of the former principal secretary to PM in the cipher case, since it was ostensibly obtained under dubious circumstances. Barrister Salman Safdar made this argument before an IHC division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan …