LAHORE: A lady health worker, part of a vaccination team for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation campaign for girls, was beaten up by local women in Mandi Bahauddin on Thursday, police said. Speaking to Dawn.com, Kuthiala Sheikhan Police Station House Officer (SHO) Sabir Hussain Sindhu said that the incident took place in Chak No 38. “LHW Ghulam Sughra was beaten …
LAHORE: The PPP and PML-N continued to engage in a war of words over flood relief on Thursday. While PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asserted that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was the “sole method” of providing relief to those affected by the recent floods in the country, PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz accused his party of “politicising” floods. The two parties, …
LAHORE: Six journalists, including Lahore Press Club President Muhammad Arshad Ansari, approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday to challenge notices issued by the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). The petition, named the NCCIA director, deputy director and inspector from Lahore as well as the director general from Islamabad as respondents in the case. The petitioners were named as …
GILGIT: Traders in Gilgit-Baltistan have decided to continue their sit-in despite the government agreeing to conditionally exempt imports routed through the Sost Dry Port from key federal taxes, trade leader Javed Hussain — who has been leading the protest — told Dawn.com on Thursday. Local traders in GB have been staging a protest sit-in, blocking the port since July. The …
QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Thursday that terrorists received “state patronage” in Afghanistan, from where they launched attacks on Pakistan. His comments come against the backdrop of a tumultuous security situation in Balochistan, which has worsened in recent months, as terrorists, long involved in a low-level insurgency, have stepped up the frequency and intensity of their attacks. …
NEW YORK: Pakistan has called for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be regulated by the United Nations charter, particularly its military use, warning that “AI must not become a tool of coercion.” As artificial intelligence advances without meaningful checks, Pakistan’s call at the UN reflects wider concerns voiced by developing nations that powerful states will shape the rules …
NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called upon the international community to honour its commitment on climate finance, stressing that debt-driven finance cannot address the climate catastrophe confronting vulnerable nations like Pakistan. Pakistan experienced unprecedented floods and landslides this year amid record monsoon rains, triggered by climate change. The country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reports that since …
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has hailed the Rs1.2 trillion bank loan secured to settle Pakistan’s circular debt as the “largest financing and largest restructuring transaction” in the country’s history. On Wednesday, the government signed loan facilities worth approximately Rs1.225tr with 18 banks to settle the outstanding dues of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) parked in circular debt. These dues will …
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Committee on Cabinet Secretariat has denounced the rampant unannounced loadshedding by electricity distribution companies (Discos) and termed it the violation of policies and directions set by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra). The committee chairman, Malik Ibrar Ahmad, decided to call officials of the power division at the next meeting to discuss the matter. The committee …
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will hold a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, in what officials describe as part of a renewed push to reset Pakistan-US ties. According to diplomatic sources, the prime minister will briefly travel to Washington from New York, where he is attending the session of the UN General Assembly, for …