Senate | Pakistan

PESHAWAR: The upcoming Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have become a significant challenge for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as all covering candidates have refused to withdraw their nomination papers. Internal rifts within PTI continue to surface, with deep divisions persisting among party members. Irfan Saleem, one of the covering candidates, stated, “I am standing against […]

All candidates contesting the Senate elections from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been elected unopposed following a mutual understanding between the provincial government and the opposition parties.

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday appointed eight polling officers to oversee the Senate elections set to take place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 21.

• New amendment proposes life term for offences under PPC’s Sections 354-A and 402-C • Law introduced to meet EU’s GSP+ conditions requiring limitation of death penalty to the ‘most serious crimes’ • PTI leader slams govt over ‘poor’ disaster response ISLAMABAD: A bill seeking to abolish the death penalty for harbouring hijackers and for publicly stripping a woman of her clothes was among the four bills passed by the Senate amidst voices of dissent from both sides of the aisle. The Criminal Laws Amendment Bill, aimed at aligning Pakistan’s laws with its international obligations under the GSP+ trade agreement with the European Union (EU), which requires limiting capital punishment to the most serious crimes, was moved in the House by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry. The bill proposes the replacement of the death penalty under Sections 354-A and 402-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) with life imprisonment. Currently, Section 354-A states: “Whoever assaults or uses criminal force against any woma...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) political committee has rejected any deal for unopposed Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Around 13,000 to 15,000 Pakistani students go to the United Kingdom for permanent residence every year, a Foreign Office (FO) official told the Senate on Friday. “Every year, 13,000 to 15,000 Pakistani students go to the UK for permanent residence,” a FO representative told the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis in a meeting chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada. “Pakistani students prefer to settle in the UK rather than return to the country,” the official added. “These students are willing to work even for minimum wage.” According to the official, Pakistani students then become part of the UK labour market. The FO representative told the panel that there are currently 1.8 million Pakistanis living in the UK. “Pakistani citizens face difficulties [in the UK] due to lack of English proficiency,” the official added. Earlier in the week, UK’s government launched e-visas for Pakistani students and workers as part of an “enhanced” border and immigration system. The announcement came just a day after t...

Deep divisions have surfaced within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the controversial distribution of Senate election tickets, with party organizers threatening protests if their demands are not met.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is grappling with internal discord ahead of the Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as several senior party workers and leaders have voiced strong dissatisfaction over the allocation of tickets.

Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi has summoned a session of the provincial assembly on July 20, a day before the scheduled Senate elections in the province.

Tensions within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have intensified amid reports of internal disagreements over Aleema Khan’s alleged interference in key party decisions, particularly regarding the nomination for a vacant Senate seat.

Governor Kundi says their target is to get five Senate seats from the K-P

ISLAMABAD - The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) yesterday issued the schedule for Senate elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, setting July 21 as the polling date.

The Republican-led US Senate approved President Donald Trump’s mammoth domestic policy bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, despite misgivings over delivering deep welfare cuts and another $3 trillion in national debt. Republican leaders had struggled to corral support during a record 24-hour “vote-a-rama” amendment session on the Senate floor, as Democrats offered dozens of challenges to the most divisive aspects of the package. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune was able to turn around wavering moderates to deliver a 50-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie. The sprawling text now heads to the House of Representatives, where it faces unified Democratic opposition and multiple Republicans baulking at the budget-busting costs, as well as slashed health care and food aid programmes for poor Americans. Trump’s bill proposes a $4.5tr extension of his first-term tax cuts, contentiously offset with $1.2tr in savings mainly targeting the Medicaid health insurance programme, as well as fe...

WASHINGTON DC: The Republican-led US Senate approved President Donald Trump’s mammoth domestic policy bill Tuesday by the narrowest of margins, despite misgivings over delivering deep welfare cuts and another $3 trillion in national debt. Republican leaders had struggled to corral support during a record 24-hour “vote-a-rama” amendment session on the Senate floor, as Democrats offered dozens […]

The Republican-controlled US Senate narrowly advanced President Donald Trump’s, sweeping tax-cut and spending bill on Saturday, during a marathon weekend session marked by political drama, division and lengthy delays as Democrats sought to slow the legislation’s path to passage. Lawmakers voted 51-49 to open debate on the 940-page megabill, with two of Trump’s fellow Republicans joining Democrats to oppose the legislation that would fund the president’s top immigration, border, tax-cut and military priorities. Trump on social media hailed the “great victory” for his “great, big, beautiful bill”. After hours of delay, during which Republican leaders and Vice President JD Vance worked behind closed doors to persuade last-minute holdouts to support the measure, Democrats demanded that the megabill first be read aloud in the chamber — a task that could delay the start of the debate until Sunday afternoon. Democrats say the bill’s tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthy at the expense of social progr...

• Proposes raising purchase limit for filers from 130pc to 400pc of declared wealth • Tax approved on previously exempt luxury private clubs • Proposed e-commerce tax rejected; tax on online academies approved ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee has recommended raising the threshold limit for purchases made by “eligible individuals” — a new term for people who file their tax returns — and approved a measure to tax luxury clubs nationwide. The development came as the Senate and National Assembly Standing Com­mittees on Finance and Revenue held simultaneous sessions at Parliament House to conduct a clause-by-clause review of the Finance Bill 2025-26. Chaired by Senator Saleem Man­dviwalla and MNA Naveed Qamar respectively, both panels proposed several amendments and rejected some measures outright. The Senate standing committee expressed concern over the newly inserted clause in the Finance Bill, which restricts the “eligible person” from making any purchase exceeding 130 per cent of the wealth reflected in th...

ISLAMABAD: Barbs flew in the Senate on Friday with PTI and PML-N accusing each other of being involved in corruption. The two parties also held each other responsible for the economic mess the country was facing. Opening the budget debate in the House, Leader of the Opposition Syed Shibli Faraz said the government had set wrong priorities of public sector development. He said that while an allocation of Rs135 billion was proposed for water it was Rs227bn for roads. He alleged that it was because it was an easy way to make money. He said that the proposed federal budget for the next year had become controversial in the beginning as questions were being raised about the apparently fudged economic figures presented in the budget. “The sanctity of the budget and the numbers in the budget document appear to be compromised,” he said, adding that the budget is a manipulation of figures as serious objections have been raised over it for the first time. He underlined that agriculture contributed 24 per cent to GDP, wh...

Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday distanced himself from the massive hike in the salaries of senior parliamentarians including himself, saying he was not consulted before the raise was approved. The government recently approved a fivefold increase in the salaries of the Senate chairman and National Assembly speaker, taking it to Rs1.3 million a month. A May 29 notification revealed that the Senate chairman and NA speaker’s salaries have been raised from Rs205,000 to Rs1.3m, besides 50pc of the revised salary (Rs650,000) as the sumptuary allowance. The hike will take effect from January 2025. “I have full respect for the defence minister. I have nothing to do with my salary increase,” Gilani told reporters at the Senate building when asked about the hike amid an economic crisis and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s criticism of the move. The PPP stalwart said the decision regarding the raise will be made by the government. When asked if he would refuse the salary hike, he replied, “I didn’t say about ...

Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday presented the Finance Bill 2025 in the Senate, in line with Article 73 of the Constitution, inviting recommendations from the upper house on the government’s fiscal roadmap for the upcoming financial year.

ISLAMABAD - Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday laid a copy of the Finance Bill for the next fiscal year before the Senate amidst a protest by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led opposition benches.