Category: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House on Monday for a one-on-one meeting, amid rising tensions between the federal and provincial governments over security and the displacement of people from Tirah Valley. The meeting concluded with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Rana Sanaullah, Amir Muqam and K-P Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam also in attendance. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Afridi said he expressed condolences over the situation in Balochistan. “We discussed the NFC and other outstanding dues,” Afridi said, adding…

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LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday ordered the arrest of a Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA) project director, manager, and a consultant over the deaths of a woman and her infant daughter, who fell into an open manhole near Lahore’s Bhatti Gate. Condemning the tragic incident, she directed that the contractor responsible for the site compensate the family of the deceased woman with Rs10 million. The bodies of the 24-year-old woman and her 10-month-old daughter were recovered after an extended rescue operation, officials said earlier on Thursday. According to…

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LAHORE: A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court seeking registration of a criminal case against Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari, Lahore deputy commissioner, and other officials for allegedly spreading false information regarding the deaths of a mother and daughter who fell into an open manhole near Bhatti Gate. The petition noted that more than 10,000 manhole covers are stolen in Lahore annually, yet effective preventive measures remain absent. It argued that the police registration of an FIR under Section 322 is inadequate, as the deaths were not…

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ISLAMABAD: A trial court in Islamabad has rescinded a section from its judgement in a social media post case against rights activist and lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, that referred to certain countries as “terrorist states”, it emerged on Friday. The two were convicted in Islamabad last week in a case linked to alleged posts and reposts on X that investigators described as “anti-state”. The case was registered in August 2025 by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA)…

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ISLAMABAD: In a landmark ruling aimed at dismantling colonial-era language and restoring the dignity of citizens, the Supreme Court has prohibited the use of the phrase “Bakhidmat Janaab SHO” in applications addressed to police officials, declaring it incompatible with constitutional values and democratic governance. The verdict, authored by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar, observed that such language reflects an outdated mindset inconsistent with the role of public servants in a modern democratic system, where police officers are meant to serve citizens, not the other way around. The issue surfaced during court proceedings…

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ISLAMABAD: Since the passage of the 26th Amendment, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has found itself treading water in the superior courts, struggling to secure any substantive relief as key petitions linked to its jailed founder and senior leadership remain in limbo, deepening the party’s legal and political uncertainty. The party, whose founder and chief Imran Khan remains incarcerated for over two years, continues to knock on the doors of the judiciary for hearings on his cases. However, progress has been at a snail’s pace, with PTI’s petitions still caught in a…

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced major relief measures for the industries and exports sectors, including a reduction in electricity tariffs by Rs 4.04 per unit and wheeling charges to less than Rs9 for industry, alongside a significant decrease in the export refinance scheme rate from current 7.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent and the issuance of blue passports for the leading exporters for two years. He said the government had allocated Rs1,052 billion for the export refinance scheme, of which Rs900 billion had already been utilised,…

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RAWALPINDI: In a mega financial scandal involving the alleged transfer of over Rs2 billion through CDRs from the official accounts of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and contractors’ security deposits, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has tightened the noose around 48 individuals, including the current RDA director general, eight former DGs, and other senior officials. According to letters issued by NAB, asset details have been sought from the director generals of multiple development authorities, including CDA Islamabad, Gwadar, Lahore, Karachi, Malir, Peshawar, Quetta, and RDA. Those asked to provide details…

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RAWALPINDI: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allowed re-tendering of two out of four lots of its Rs33.95 billion loan-funded Dream Water Supply Project in Rawalpindi by terminating the awarded contracts worth Rs20.40 billion. The bank has issued a No Objection Letter (NOL) to the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and the Project Management Unit, permitting them to re-award the contracts. The re-tendering process is expected to result in savings of approximately Rs2 billion. The dispute over the contracts of the two lots had been ongoing for the past year.…

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders staged a sit-in outside the Supreme Court on Friday, demanding access to party founder and former premier Imran Khan and highlighting concerns over his medical treatment. The sit-in followed an overnight protest outside Adiala Jail, after the party filed a formal petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking access to the detained leader. Security at the Supreme Court was tightened ahead of the PTI leaders’ arrival, with extra personnel and prisoner vans deployed around the complex. Read: K-P CM Sohail Afridi, PTI end Adiala sit-in, turn…

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