Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday slashed the delivery time for ordinary passports from 21 days to 14 days and ordered all passport offices to go fully cashless within 15 days. The decisions were taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry in Islamabad. “We have reduced the delivery time for normal passports from 21 days to 14 days,” Naqvi said, according to an official handout. The minister further stated that “a complete cashless system will be implemented in passport offices,” while giving passport authorities 15 days to end cash transactions at all offices nationwide. “Eliminating cash payments will end the agent mafia and facilitate citizens,” Naqvi said. Officials said the 14-day timeline for normal passports comes into effect immediately. Officials were also directed to finalise a separate “business passport” category soon and make the home-delivery system for passports more effective, the statement said. Naqvi said that...

Rice supply is expected to fall this year as farmers cut planting acreage across Asia because of fertiliser shortages and soaring fuel costs from the Iran war, with an emerging El Niño also set to squeeze output of the world’s most consumed staple. Rice is central to global food security, and even modest supply disruptions can ripple through countries, lifting prices and straining household budgets, particularly among price-sensitive consumers in Asia and Africa. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in April forecast rice output would expand by 2 per cent to a record high in 2025/26. The effects of the Iran war are impacting farmers in top exporters Thailand and Vietnam, as well as the import-reliant Philippines and Indonesia, growers and traders said. The war has cut fuel and fertiliser flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint that connects the Gulf to global markets. Southeast Asia’s mainly smallholder farmers also face mounting stress as the El Niño weather phenomenon is set to usher ...

At least five members of a family, including three children, were injured after alleged cross-border mortar shelling by Afghan Taliban in areas adjacent to Angoor Adda, security sources said on Thursday.

The government is set to reimpose a ban on new gas connections for both domestic and commercial consumers.

Pakistan has stepped up diplomatic efforts to promote peace and stability in the region, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif holding contacts with the leadership of several countries, the Foreign Office said on Thursday.

KARACHI: The Sindh Education and Literacy Department is set to introduce religious textbooks for Hindu students to be taught in grades three to five across government schools in Sindh, it emerged on Thursday. In a letter dated April 29 to the chairman of the Sindh Textbook Board (STBB), the education department requested the distribution of “three religious books for grades III to V for the current academic year 2026–27”, referring to a decision taken at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Sindh Curriculum Council on April 20. Chief Executive Advisor Dr Fauzia Khan wrote in the letter that the cost of publication will be borne by a social welfare organisation, Prem Sagar Sanstha Karachi, for the current academic year. “The distribution of the books will be carried out through STBB,” the letter said. Khan also requested the board to “allocate/adjust budget for the publication of the religious books for the next academic year”. A similar move was made by the federal government in 2023, when the National...

Islamabad High Court on Thursday heard appeals and sentence suspension pleas in the £190 million case involving Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, as the defense raised concerns over alleged solitary confinement and health issues.

LAHORE: An anti-corruption court on Thursday granted interim pre-arrest bail of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s daughter Rabia Imran and her husband Ali Imran Yousaf in a case of alleged irregularities in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC). The couple appeared before the court, where Judge Javed Iqbal Warraich presided over the proceedings. The court allowed the bail petitions and sought a reply from the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) by the next hearing on May 4. The couple had earlier been declared proclaimed offenders due to their absence from the country. They later approached an accountability court, which last week suspended their arrest warrants and allowed them to surrender before the law. However, the case was transferred to the anti-corruption court as the accountability court lost jurisdiction following amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance. The couple was accused of getting illegal monetary benefits by renting out their building to PSPC to establish its office. Other suspects, ...

Ishaq Dar on Thursday held a telephone conversation with Kaja Kallas to discuss the evolving regional situation and its wider economic implications.

Karachi continued to endure intense heat on Thursday as a temperature of 36°C felt like 44°C due to high humidity and weather conditions.

Senior lawyer Hamid Khan has approached the Supreme Court on behalf of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, challenging the transfer of judges from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to other high courts.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed a petition for hearing that seeks access to Bushra Bibi, the wife of PTI founder Imran Khan.

The Ruet-e-Hilal Research Council has forecast that Eidul Azha is likely to be observed on May 27, 2026, subject to moon sighting conditions.

The federal government has reinstated an 18 per cent sales tax on imported sugar, withdrawing a concession introduced last year to stabilise domestic supply, according to an official notification.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday launched the “PM Apna Ghar Programme” under which housing loans of Rs10 million will be given on easy instalments. The scheme will be implemented in the federal capital, all four provinces, as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing the launch ceremony in Islamabad, PM Shehbaz said a total of 500,000 housing units will be constructed under the programme, supported by a total allocation of Rs3.2 trillion. The loans are to be returned in 20 years, he said. During the first 10 years, the markup on the loan will be 5 per cent, while in the next 10 years it will be charged at the market rate at the time. The premier said that for the first year, the government has set a target to fund 50,000 houses for which an amount of Rs321 billion had been earmarked. Under the scheme, a maximum of 10 marla housing units will be allowed to be built. PM Shehbaz said he would personally review the programme’s progress on a monthly basis to address any sh...

The federal government has decided to introduce key reforms to improve the passport issuance system and enhance public convenience.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday formally launched the “Prime Minister Apna Ghar Scheme” and distributed bank cheques among individuals who qualified for housing loans.

The commissioning ceremony of the first Hangor-class submarine, PNS/M Hangor, was held in Sanya, China, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD: A day after the government notified the transfer of three Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges to other high courts, the Lahore Bar Association (LBA) moved the Supreme Court on Thursday to challenge the constitutionality of the 27th Constitutional Amendment under which these transfers were made. On Tuesday, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) approved the transfer of three judges from the IHC to other courts in a move that drew sharp criticism from lawyers’ bodies for lacking transparency and uniform criteria. Senior counsel Hamid Khan approached the SC, instead of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), on behalf of LBA President Irfan Hayat Bajwa, seeking a declaration that the recent transfer of three judges from the IHC to other high courts is unconstitutional and of no legal effect. The bar association also requested the SC to declare the omission and repeal of Article 184(3) of the Constitution — an inherent jurisdiction of the SC for the enforcement of fundamental rights but now repealed ...

ISLAMABAD: Counsel for former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday urged the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to consider his client’s release on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, citing prolonged solitary confinement and an eye infection. Defence counsel Salman Safdar’s request came as the IHC took up appeals filed by Imran and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, against their conviction in the £190 million corruption reference. During the hearing, Safdar requested the court to suspend the sentence, arguing that the case had remained pending for over 16 months and had already faced 17 hearings in the appeal. Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar questioned whether the petitioner was willing to settle the matter conclusively through a final decision on the appeal, observing that suspension of sentence could be decided without a final relief, but the appeal itself should be concluded expeditiously. Safdar maintained that despite the passage of over a year, the defence had not received any relief. He highlighted th...