ISLAMABAD: Six soldiers embraced martyrdom while 12 terrorists were killed during two encounters in North and South Waziristan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Friday. According to the military’s media wing, security forces on Thursday detected the movement of seven terrorists trying to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan’s Spinwam …

RAWALPINDI: The United Nations has awarded two Pakistani female peacekeepers with the Gender Advocacy Award for their “outstanding performance”, a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ISPR said the awards were presented to Major Sania Safdar, part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus, and Major Komal Masood, who served in …

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has said that proposed constitutional amendments can’t be challenged at this stage, since they are yet to be passed by parliament. Meanwhile on Thursday, lawyers continued to express concerns over the government’s attempts to “secretly” amend the Constitution. The SC registrar office returned a petition moved by former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Abid Shahid …

ISLAMABAD: An app­arently defiant Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is set to meet today (Friday) for the third consecutive day to deliberate over the Supreme Court’s order on reserved seats, whereas the National Assembly speaker urged the body to honour laws made by parliament, insis­ting that the amended Elections Act prevents independent lawmakers from switching parties. Sources told the ECP’s …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has reiterated his party’s long-standing demand for judicial reforms, emphasising the need for a constitutional court to ensure a fair judicial system. Speaking to representatives of lawyers across the country on Thursday, Bilawal praised the legal community for their resistance against dictatorships, particularly in defeating General Musharraf’s regime. “Lawyers have always stood …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Thursday Pakistan’s intention to enhance its trade, economic, energy, connectivity, and security relations with Russia during a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk in Islamabad. The discussions underscored the two countries’ mutual interest in expanding cooperation in key sectors, including agriculture, food security, business, education, and science and technology. PM Shehbaz …

ISLAMABAD: In a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Thursday stated that the Supreme Court’s judgment on reserved seats “cannot be implemented under the Amended Election Act, 2017”. In July, the SC declared Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) eligible for seats reserved for women and minorities, dealing a major …

NEW YORK: Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram on Wednesday warned the UN Security Council of a “serious threat of terrorism within and from Afghanistan”, emphasising that Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was fast emerging as an “umbrella organisation” with potential of causing regional destabilisation. The banned TTP, a separate group but aligned with the Afghan Taliban, had escalated attacks on Pakistani security …

KARACHI: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is convinced that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah would be the next chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) and would be taking charge of the top office next month. The PPP chairman also believes that they will be able to win over JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the proposed legislation that allows establishment of “constitutional courts”, …

ISLAMABAD: After Maulana Fazlur Rehman ‘completely rejected’ the proposed constitutional package chalked up by the PML-N, the coalition government without losing hope has stepped up consultations with other political parties to evolve a consensus on the controversial amendments to the Constitution. In a media talk following a meeting between the JUI-F chief and the PTI leaders at the residence of …