PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday dismissed the Sunni Ittehad Council’s petition challenging the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to reject the party allocation of reserved women and minority seats. In a 4-1 verdict earlier this month, the electoral watchdog ruled that the SIC was not entitled to claim quota for reserved seats “due to having non curable legal defects and …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday registered a strong protest against the implementation of India’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), according to a report from state-run Radio Pakistan. On March 11, India had announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that critics call anti-Muslim. The Modi government had not crafted implementation rules for the law after protests and sectarian violence broke out within weeks of the law’s enactment in December …

BEIJING: A cease-fire in Gaza has not materialized despite the arrival of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with international concern over the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis ramping up. China on Tuesday called for an immediate cease-fire and ensuring access to humanitarian aid for the people in the region.  Chinese analysts said the conflict will likely continue, and even …

PESHAWAR: The Attorney General of Pakistan told the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday that only parties that have won at least one general seat can be allotted reserved seats. The ECP’s counsel seconded the AGP’s arguments. The arguments came as the high court heard the Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) plea challenging the allotment of additional reserved seats to various political parties …

ISLAMABAD: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Peshawar on Wednesday in which he said the latter has committed to making a meeting with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan possible at Adiala Jail. Addressing the media after the meeting, Gandapur highlighted the key discussions centered around law and order, public issues, and the …

LAHORE: Hussain and Hassan, sons of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, returned to the country on Tuesday, six years after they left for London to avoid arrest in corruption cases in the Panama Papers scandal. Their return was made possible after an accountability court had last week suspended their arrest warrants in three corruption cases related to Panama Papers. Like their father, both had …

ISLAMABAD: JUI-F and PPP have agreed to support each other’s candidates in the upcoming Senate by-elections on March 14 after a meeting between the parties’ leaders on Tuesday. The former has shown some flexibility in its rigid stance of not taking part in the parliamentary process as it announced support for PPP’s candidate for the upper house from Islamabad. The …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s incarcerated Senator, Ejaz Chaudhry, said on Tuesday he had been deprived of his constitutional right by not letting him cast vote in the presidential election despite issuance of a production order by the Senate deputy chairman. Talking to reporters during his appearance in an anti-terrorism court, the senator regretted that the order of the deputy chairman …

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has asked the federal government to appoint Shahab Ali Shah – a BS-21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS) – as the province’s new chief secretary. Mr Shah, who had previously served as the additional chief secretary planning and development department under the Mahmood Khan government, is currently posted to Balochistan. In a letter …

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Tuesday warned that his province would move the court of law to claim dues from the centre. He also ordered the formation of a team of experts to “effectively” take up the matter with the federal government. “In case this issue isn’t resolved by the centre, we will use all …