Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received the second tranche of funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.

ISLAMABAD: An Intelligence Bureau (IB) report claims that an “organised system of corruption” has been prevalent in the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), specifically highlighting the “fraudulent” establishment and recognition of Bahawalpur Medical College (BMC), according to a document available with Dawn. However, the current PMDC management has distanced itself from the allegations, asserting that any wrongdoing occurred in the past and that new checks and balances have now been introduced. “It is learnt that there is an organised system of corruption prevalent in PMDC primarily due to excessive discretionary powers and a lack of transparency,” the report stated. “A perception persists that heavy bribe is a norm for recognition of private medical and dental colleges as well as their affiliated teaching hospitals and for their inspections.” The report further alleged, “Repor­tedly, private medical colleges pay approximately Rs10 million per seat for the allocation of additional student seats. Anot...

QUETTA - A man died and 10 others injured when a bomb blast struck the convoy of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Ali Madad Jattak in Quetta on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari has warned that entire regional security was at risk due to the Hindutva ideology and Modi’s government wanted to use aggression against Pakistan for its political mileage.

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday allowed the prosecution/police to conduct polygraph (lie detection) and photogrammetric (facial and voice analysis) tests of incarcerated PTI founding chairman Imran Khan in 12 cases of May 9 (2023) riots against him. ATC-I Judge Manzer Ali Gill granted the permission to the prosecution accepting its written application, which was opposed by the lawyer of the former prime minister. The judge has ordered completion of the tests within 12 days, saying the prosecution may meet the PTI founding chairman in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, during that period. Earlier, the judge heard the concluding arguments of PTI founder’s lawyer, Barrister Salman Safdar, and the prosecution before reserving the verdict. Barrister Safdar opposed the prosecution request, questioning the police decision to conduct the polygraph and photogrammetric tests 727 days after the May 9 incidents. The lawyer argued that bail had already been granted to the former prime minister in 21 cases and the state...

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench has reinstated the Sales Tax Amendment Act for the formerly Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA), suspending the Peshawar High Court’s earlier verdict that had nullified the act.

ISLAMABAD - Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Yahya Afridi, bad farewell to Parvez Iqbal, Deputy Registrar, on his superannuation in a ceremony held at Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday.

FAISALABAD - Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said Wednesday that education-centric policies are imperative to harness the inherent quality of our youth enabling them to lead toward a brightened and progressive future of Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD - Virtual talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on preparations of the upcoming budget for next fiscal year 2025-26 started on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday reserved its verdict regarding the objections on petition seeking release of PTI founder on parole.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a heatwave alert, forecasting extreme weather conditions across most parts of the country from May 15, 2025.

KARACHI: A seminary student was found murdered in a seminary in the Gadap area on Wednesday and an autopsy revealed that he was raped before being killed, police said. They said that the body of the 13-year-old Mujeebur Rehman was found inside the seminary in Jameel Colony within the remit of the Gadap City police station. The corpse was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed said that the body bore multiple marks of injuries. “Findings [of the post-mortem examination] are suggestive of sexual violence,” she said. DIG-East Usman Ghani told Dawn that the victim boy was a seminary student. Police arrest madressah teacher after family lodges FIR Malir SSP Kashif Abbasi said that the police launched an investigation into the incident In a statement, he said that the seminary administration, teachers and students are being questioned about the incident. The crime scene unit of the police collected evidence from the spot. The victim was an orphan, who orig...

ISLAMABAD: Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, a member of the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench (CB), has questioned why the offices of the president, prime minister and the law division are being dragged into the controversy over the appointment of judges when allegations had been levelled against intelligence agencies for interference in judicial affairs. The observation came when senior counsel Muneer A. Malik, representing five Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, argued that the real reason behind the transfer of three judges to the IHC was the allegation levelled against intelligence agencies by six IHC judges. In a joint letter sent to the Supreme Judicial Council on March 25, 2024, the six judges had blamed intelligence agencies for meddling in judicial affairs. In response to the argument by the senior lawyer, Justice Afghan asked if the allegations were attributed to the intelligence ag­­e­­ncies, why the three high offices were being dragged into the controversy to build a gro­und of malice. He also won...

ISLAMABAD - Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi to inquire about Tauqeer Abbas, who was injured in an Indian drone attack near the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

ISLAMABAD - Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr.

BENGALURU: Indians are cancelling holidays in popular resorts in Turkiye and Azerbaijan after the two countries supported Pakistan during the recent conflict, two booking firms said. Turkiye and Azerbaijan, popular budget holiday destinations for Indians, issued statements backing Islamabad after India’s air strikes last week. “Bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkiye decreasing by 60 per cent (over the last week) while cancellations have surged by 250pc during the same period,” a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip said. EaseMyTrip’s Chief Executive Officer, Rikant Pittie, said the platform had seen a 22pc rise in cancellations for Turkiye and 30pc for Azerbaijan “due to recent geopolitical tensions”. Travellers had switched to Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Thailand and Vietnam, he added. Another ticketing platform, ixigo, earlier said in a post on X that it would be suspending flight and hotel bookings for Turkiye, Azerbaijan and China. EaseMyTrip’s founder and chairman Nishant Pitti said in a post on X that 287,000 Indians ...

• PM Shehbaz asserts Islamabad ready for both war and peace • Shares with UN chief concerns about inflammatory remarks by Delhi • Pakistan returns Indian border guard ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday invited India to a comprehensive dialogue to address all contentious issues, including the Kashmir dispute and the water distribution, between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The prime minister floated this offer during his visit to the frontline area of Pasrur Cantonment in Sialkot, where he lauded the armed forces for giving an exemplary response to India under the ‘Operation Bunyanum Marsoos’ conducted in response to Indian strikes inside Pakistan following the Pahalgam incident. Pakistan had struck 26 Indian military facilities, including its airbases, using jets and missiles. He said Pakistan’s response to the Indian attack on May 6-7 caused huge losses to the neighbouring country, in which the Pakistan Air Force downed multiple Indian Rafale aircraft. In reference to the Pakistani str...

QUETTA - Balochistan Chief Minister (CM) Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Wednesday said that the positive role of the opposition is a guarantee of the stability of democracy and province and our government is committed to the principles of transparency and consultation.

Labels Indian army spokesperson Colonel Sofia Qureshi 'sister of terrorists'

Senate committee raises questions over non-transparent tendering practices