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PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur challenging the decision to declare PTI members of the provincial assembly as independent lawmakers. The case was heard by a two-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel. In his petition, Gandapur had challenged Election Rules 94, arguing that the ECP had declared PTI-backed candidates as independents and should clarify whether PTI is recognised as a political party or not.

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on Wednesday that individuals with no legitimate role in public affairs were meddling in provincial politics, stressing that such interference threatened efforts to stabilise a region already scarred by decades of terrorism and institutional strain. Speaking at a joint gathering of police officers and civil servants in Peshawar, he said the provincial government was urgently supplying bulletproof vehicles, modern weapons and anti-drone systems, while a policy for the families of martyred civil servants was being developed. “The province is passing through…

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has declared that decisions made by the National and Provincial Action Committees will be implemented with full diligence, responsibility, and consistency. The chief minister on Wednesday presided over a high-level meeting of the CounterTerrorism Provincial Harden the State Committee at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, where progress on national and provincial action plans, law-and-order conditions, and ongoing security operations was reviewed in detail. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Hamza Shafqaat, and senior security officials.…

LAHORE: Issuance of cards for paying honorarium to prayer leaders in Punjab will be completed by February. The decision was taken in a meeting where Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif approved the launch of the CM Punjab Honorarium Card for Imam Masjid. The chief minister said the payments under the scheme would commence on January 1 with the first payments to be made through pay orders. Relevant authorities informed the chief minister that all payment from February 1 onward would be made through the card. Officials said 62,994 registration forms…

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday announced that the bidding process for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) would be broadcast live on national television, emphasizing that full transparency and merit would remain the government’s foremost priorities. “The entire bidding on December 23, 2025, will be aired live on all media channels so that the nation can witness the process firsthand,” he added. Speaking during a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House with all business leaders and company representatives participating in the PIA privatisation, the PM said the…

By Muhammad Sohail Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský took part in the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Brussels on 3 December. The foreign ministers of the thirty-two Allied nations discussed further support for Ukraine and the strengthening of collective defence in the face of the growing threat posed by Russia and the increasing challenge represented by China. The programme also included a session of the NATO–Ukraine Council.   The Allied ministers agreed that support for Ukraine must continue — politically, militarily and financially. According to the Czech minister, the…