Pakistan

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday issued a strong condemnation of violations of the Indus Waters Treaty, urging the international community to take notice and intervene.

Awami Muslim League chief and former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was stopped from flying abroad on Wednesday, despite possessing a Lahore High Court order permitting him to travel for Umrah.

BERLIN: Berlin is offering cash to Afghan refugees in Pakistan if they agree to give up their places on a programme for resettlement in Germany, activists said on Tuesday. The Afghans were accepted under a refugee scheme set up by the previous German government but around 2,000 have been stuck in Pakistan since conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz took office in May and froze the programme. According to the initiative Airbridge Kabul, refugees have been sent a letter offering them money and other support in return for exiting the resettlement programme. In the case of a single woman, the payments would be an initial 1,500 euros (about $1,700) in Pakistan and a further 5,000 euro payment if she travels to Afghanistan or a third country. A spokeswoman for the interior ministry said that “there are offers within the framework of a voluntary return programme to Afghanistan or departure to another third country”. Single woman may get 1,500 euros in Pakistan and a further 5,000 euros if she travels to Afghanistan...

ISLAMABAD: The government has given an undertaking to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will publish the much-delayed Governance and Corruption Diagnostic (GCD) Assessment Report before the Fund’s upcoming executive board meeting that will consider a $1.2 billion disbursement for Pakistan. Under the $7bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF), publication of the IMF-prepared GCD report and a subsequent action plan to address governance weaknesses across federal and provincial tiers is a key structural benchmark. The deadline, initially end-July and then reset to end-August and end-October 2025, remains unmet owing mainly to technical and factual disagreements between Pakistani authorities and the IMF team. “We have reaffirmed the structural benchmark and, with mutual understan­ding with the IMF, have committed to publish the report before the [IMF exe­­­c­utive] board meeting” later this mo­nth or early next month, an official said. Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment is a structural benchmark u...

• Insists proposed 27th Amendment to be tabled ‘soon’, won’t be rushed • Says bill may originate in Senate instead of NA • Stresses govt will consult allies as opposition warns of ‘constitutional crisis’ • PTI’s Ali Zafar brands move a ‘conspiracy’, claims devolution at risk • Upper house passes Asaan Karobar Bill, extends Virtual Assets Ordinance by 120 days ISLAMABAD: As the opposition in the Senate raised alarm over the proposed 27th constitutional amendment, Deputy Pri­me Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday confirmed the bill would be brought bef­o­re parliament “soon” but insisted it would not be rus­hed and denied “external hand” in the amendment. “We will try to present it in accordance with the Constitution. I assure this will not be put to a vote in a flash,” he told the upper house while responding to PTI parliamentary leader Barrister Syed Ali Zafar. Mr Dar’s remarks came amid a sustained protest by opposition senators over the delay in appointing the leader of the opposition. He said that after the PPP,...

DPM assures Senate bill will follow due process; Consultations with all allies to precede legislation

Pakistan seeks Qatar LNG deal review

President reaffirms Pakistan's commitment to social justice, equality and inclusive growth

ISLAMABAD - The outgoing cabinet of the Supreme Court Bar Association, led by Rauf Atta, and the newly elected cabinet, headed by Haroon ur Rasheed, Tuesday called on the Chief Justice of Pakistan at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

PESHAWAR - A senior leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and well known Naat Khwan, Maulana Abdul Salam was shot at and martyred by unidentified assailants near Hanif Petrol Pump on Mandani to Takhtbhai Road within the limits of Mandani police station, Charsadda.

LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday acquitted three men who had been sentenced to death in connection with the 2014 suicide attack at the Wagah Border.

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday directed jail authorities to arrange a meeting between PTI founder Imran Khan and senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja.

ISLAMABAD - Acting President Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has praised Beaconhouse for reshaping Pakistan’s educational landscape over the past five decades, calling the institution’s growth from a small classroom to a global network “a remarkable story of vision and perseverance.

Supreme Court dismisses husband’s petition seeking relief.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari extended his sincere greetings to the Sikh community in Pakistan and across the world on the 556th birth anniversary (Gurpurab) of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

LAHORE - Vice Chairperson Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) Jahan Ara Wattoo attended the 20-year service ceremony of Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) as the chief guest and lauded the organization’s humanitarian contributions in Pakistan and abroad.

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif reiterated that the Government of Pakistan was firmly committed to protecting the rights of all religious minorities.

ISLAMABAD - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday told the Senate that the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment would soon be tabled before the Parliament, assuring it would not be rushed through as the ruling PML-N would consult its all allies on the subject.

ISLAMABAD - Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, while addressing the inaugural ceremony of MG’s flagship dealership in Pakistan, said that today marks a new era for the rapidly growing automotive industry of the country.

Govt includes three more plants in sell-off list, plans to maintain uniform tariff