Day: March 11, 2026

RAWALPINDI: The three major associations representing private educational institutions have strongly criticised the closure of schools, colleges and universities from March 10 to March 31, describing the decision as a serious blow to the country’s teaching and learning system. They have demanded the immediate reopening of all educational institutions. According to the leaders of the associations, February and March are among the most crucial months in the academic calendar, as they are key periods for teaching, admissions and examination preparation. Abrar Ahmed Khan, President of the All Pakistan Private Schools…

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RAWALPINDI: The Secretary for Schools Punjab has released funds totalling Rs3.271 billion for government schools across the province to meet routine expenditures, including utility bills, furniture repairs, and the salaries of security guards and sweepers. According to official sources, the allocated funds will be transferred to the respective District Education Authorities’ government accounts through District Accounts Offices (DAOs) within two days. Thereafter, the amounts will be disbursed from the accounts of District Education Officers (DEOs) to the official bank accounts of individual schools. Under the allocation, government schools in Rawalpindi…

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RAWALPINDI: Citizens faced severe inconvenience and court work was largely halted after the newly introduced digital white-paper system for the issuance of stamp papers remained paralysed across the Rawalpindi division on Monday and Tuesday. The Punjab Board of Revenue (BoR) abruptly scrapped the e-stamp paper system, introduced two years ago, after the scheme reportedly failed to function effectively. In its place, authorities launched a new digital white-paper format, abolishing the role of the Bank of Punjab (BoP) in issuing stamp papers and returning the responsibility to traditional licensed stamp vendors.…

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday approved declaring Friday as an additional weekly holiday as part of the government’s austerity and energy conservation measures, while directing all federal ministries and divisions to strictly implement the policy. Chairing a review meeting at the Prime Minister’s House, the premier said the government was making every possible effort to keep the national economy stable despite the prevailing global and regional challenges. He informed the meeting that a special committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had been constituted to…

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ISLAMABAD: Former Supreme Court judge Athar Minallah has said that when the executive abdicates its fiduciary duty towards those in custody, judicial intervention is not activism but a constitutional obligation. Speaking at Harvard Law School, Justice (retd) Minallah said the true test of judicial independence lies not in speeches or rhetoric but in whether the powerless trust that courts will protect them when their rights are violated. Reflecting on his tenure and the institutional struggles faced by the judiciary, he said courts must stand as guardians of the voiceless even…

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani leadership on Tuesday congratulated Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei in a move aimed at maintaining a delicate balance at a time when raging conflict between Tehran and the US-Israel alliance continues to reshape the regional security landscape. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif separately wrote to Mojtaba Khamenei, following his assumption of the position of the supreme leader after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Islamabad’s carefully calibrated move came at a time when Pakistan is attempting not only to maintain…

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ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has objected to recently approved legal amendments that have limited public disclosure of assets of the parliamentarians, raising prospects for the reversal of the move that is also in breach of the Fund’s good governance and anti-corruption framework. The global lender also inquired about recent amendments in another law — the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) — which granted three-year extension in the tenure of the incumbent National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman. The government has managed to defend the NAO amendment, said the sources privy…

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