Pakistan

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has declared null and void the Punjab caretaker government’s decision to remove Nabila Hakim Ali Khan from her position as Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace, restoring her to office with immediate effect. Justice Raheel Kamran issued a detailed 21-page judgement on a writ petition filed by Ms Khan, who had challenged her de-notification on Aug 4, 2023, on the grounds of lack of legal authority, procedural impropriety, and infringement of her guaranteed tenure. The petitioner was appointed for a fixed term of four years under the amended Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Act, 2022. The judge held that no removal is permissible during the tenure except for proven misconduct or incapacity, and even then, only after due process, which was entirely absent in this case. The judge observed that the caretaker government lacked the authority to remove the ombudsperson, terming the act outside its limited constitution...

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday thanked the leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its “constructive role” in helping defuse tensions during the recent conflict between Pakistan and India. During a meeting with UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, PM Shehbaz appreciated the Gulf state’s consistent efforts in promoting peace, dialogue and stability in the region. The high-level engagement took place as part of the prime minister’s day-long official visit to Abu Dhabi, aimed at reaffirming Pakistan’s gratitude to friendly nations that supported Islamabad’s position during its recent standoff with New Delhi. Tensions flared following what Islamabad termed a “false flag operation” by India in the mountainous resort town of Pahalgam. In the wake of the incident, both countries carried out missile and air strikes. According to Pakistan’s military, India lost six aircraft in the exchange, including a Rafale fighter jet. According to the Prime Ministe...

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Planning, Ahsan Iqbal, has said that as India has weaponized water and on the face New Delhi’s bad intentions, the government of Pakistan has decided to complete Di-amer-Bhasha and Mohmand hydropower projects on an emergency footing.

• Officers to get 50pc of salary, soldiers 20pc; ministry stays mum on financial impact • Minister expects policy rate to come down before next year, seems hopeful about privatisation • Finance secretary says current year’s uplift budget reduced to Rs967bn, hints at further drop • Lawmakers concerned over tax-to-GDP ratio, revenue shortfall, taxes on solar panels, among other things ISLAMABAD: Amid a downward revision in federal development spending, which may fall further by the end of this month, the Ministry of Finance told a parliamentary panel on Thursday that armed forces officers had been granted a special relief allowance at 50 per cent of their basic salary, while junior commissioned officers and soldiers would get 20pc allowance in the upcoming fiscal year. Testifying before the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, Secretary Finance Imdadullah Bosal highlighted relief measures proposed in the budget, saying that “special relief allowance at the rate of 50pc to officers and ...

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday issued a stay order in the case against NAB’s move to auction Bahria Town properties.

Bahawalpur - Three people lost their lives on Thursday due to intense heat wave in Bahawalpur.

QUETTA - Balochistan Chief Minister, Mir Sarfraz Bugti in a meeting with Federal Minister for Railways, Muhammad Hanif Abbasi on Thursday discussed key developments in the province’s railway infrastructure, particularly the proposed Sariab-Kuchlak shuttle train service in Quetta.

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader and head of the Senate parliamentary party, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, on Thursday strongly condemned India’s allegations against Türkiye and its recent actions targeting Turkish companies.

DAMASCUS: Syria’s interior ministry on Thursday said the Israeli military killed one civilian and detained seven people during an overnight incursion, with the Israeli army saying it seized members of Palestinian group Hamas. The Israeli army said on X that its soldiers seized several suspected members of Palestinian group Hamas in a “targeted” operation in Beit Jinn, 12 kilometres (seven and a half miles) from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria aimed at denying military assets to the Islamist-led interim administration. It has also deployed tro­ops across the demilitarised zone on the Syrian side of the armistice line that used to separate the opposing forces on the Golan. Syria’s interior ministry said “these repeated provocations constitute a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic… these practises cannot lead the region to stability and will only result in furthe...

LAHORE - An election tribunal of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the election victory of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Malik Saif-ul-Malook Khokhar from NA-126, Lahore.

QUETTA - The Balochistan government is likely to present provincial budget for fiscal year 2025-26 on June 17 (Tuesday).

WAH CANTT - A Quetta-bound passenger train on Thursday derailed near Margalla tunnel in Taxila, causing the suspension of railway traffic between Rawalpindi- Peshawar sections.

• Ahsan calls for shift from population-based formula • Says fiscal space shrinking, provinces must share burden and invest in human development ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday proposed shifting the “regressive” population-based formula for distributing divisible pool resources under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award to criteria based on climate adaptation and other performance indicators. Speaking at a news briefing, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the current NFC criteria were regressive as population, being the overwhelming consideration, had been made an incentive instead of a disincentive. He said the Centre would seek climate adaptation and other social sector indicators as key determinants for distributing resources with and among the provinces when the NFC meets in August this year. He went on to question the devolution planned under the 18th Amendment and the 7th NFC Award in place since 2009. He said the devolution was incomplete as the provinces had not devolved responsib...

ISLAMABAD - Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday organized a special ceremony in honour of the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) sanitary workers, acknowledging their exemplary performance and exceptional cleanliness operations in the city on Eid-ul-Azha.

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed 22 people across the Palestinian territory on Thursday, including 16 who were waiting to collect aid. The distribution of food and basic supplies in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory’s deep hunger crisis. Civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir told AFP that the Al-Awda Hospital received 10 dead and around 200 wounded, including women and children, “after Israeli drones dropped multiple bombs on gatherings of civilians near an aid distribution point around the Netzarim checkpoint in central Gaza”. He said that Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital received six dead following Israeli attacks on aid queues near Netzarim and in the Al-Sudaniya area in northwestern Gaza. GHF accuses Hamas of attacking aid workers; Palestinian group calls the foundation a ‘filthy tool’ of Israeli forces The Israeli army said it was looking into the reports when asked for comment by AFP. Restrictions impose...

Democratic U.S. Senator Alex Padilla was shoved out of a room, forced to the ground and handcuffed by security after attempting to ask a question at a Thursday press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla said during the press conference where Noem […]

No US role in Israeli assault; Iran hears explosions, raises regional security alarms swiftly

DHAKA:  A mob attacked and vandalised Tagore’s ancestral home in Sirajganj district, Bangladesh, following a dispute over parking fees. The incident took place at Rabindra Kachharibari, also known as the Rabindra Memorial Museum, prompting officials to establish a three-member investigating committee. The conflict started on June 8, when a visitor and his family allegedly had […]

ALBERTA: In an unexpected stroke of luck, lottery winner David Serkin, a retired cancer survivor from Lethbridge, Alberta, has secured his fourth viral jackpot. In his recent win, which came in the Alberta jackpot Lotto 6/49 Classic draw on May 3, he won $731,593.12. David Serkin’s run of victories started in August 2024 when he […]

KARACHI: The Sindh Excise and Taxation Department announced the relaxation in biometric requirements for vehicle ownership transfers. According to a notification issued here, ownership transfers for vehicles registered in Sindh can be processed using the seller’s CNIC till August 14. According to a spokesperson for Sindh Excise, a two-month relaxation has been granted, allowing vehicle […]