Pakistan

Over 4,100 cases filed in three months as family courts see rising burden

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Rwandan High Commissioner to Pakistan Fatou Harerimana called on Chairman Senate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani in Multan, where both sides discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties.

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Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to simplifying Pakistan’s tax regime and promoting ease of doing business.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held separate telephone conversations with Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday, focusing on evolving regional developments.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Qatar are in an advanced stage of discussions for the supply of at least four cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which could pass through the Strait of Hormuz, sources told Dawn on Sunday. They also said that after facing criticism over loadshedding even before the start of summer, the Power Division had already placed an order to the Petroleum Division for arranging around 400 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power generation. LNG imports to Pakistan were disrupted early last month after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid a war in the Middle East, which began with US-Israel attacks on Iran. In retaliatory action, Iran targeted fuel installations in some of the Gulf countries that had US assets and bases. It was against this backdrop that Qatar declared force majeure early last month in all its global LNG contracts, including those with Pakistan. Sources told Dawn that due to the resultant fuel and electricity shortfall, the Power Divisio...

Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said that if the Iran conflict had continued, oil prices could have surged beyond Rs 600 per litre, potentially causing economic instability in 193 countries.

Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots showed off their fast-improving athleticism and autonomous navigation skills as they whizzed past ​human runners in a half-marathon race in Beijing on Sunday, highlighting the sector’s rapid technical advances. The race’s inaugural edition last year was riddled with ‌mishaps, and most robots were unable to finish. Last year’s champion robot recorded a time of 2 hours 40 minutes, more than double the time of the human winner of the conventional race. This year’s contrast was stark. Not only had the number of participating teams increased from 20 to more than 100, but several robot frontrunners were noticeably faster than professional athletes, beating the ​human winners by more than 10 minutes. Unlike last year, nearly half of the robot entrants navigated the tougher terrain autonomously instead of being directed by ​remote control during the 21-km (13-mile) race. The robots and 12,000 men and women ran on parallel tracks to avoid collisions. The winning ⁠robot, developed...

Religious scholar and lecturer Muhammad Ali Mirza narrowly escaped a gun attack on Sunday after an unidentified assailant opened fire outside his academy in Jhelum.

Senior Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that Pakistan is gaining recognition at the international level and its strength and capabilities are being acknowledged by the world.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone conversation with Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski on Saturday, during which both sides agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors.

A special meeting chaired by President Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif in Lahore reviewed progress on the Murree Protection and Rehabilitation Plan on Sunday.

GILGIT: The Karakoram Highway (KKH) was reopened for traffic on Sunday while the Astore Valley road remained blocked as heavy rainfall lashed parts of Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering landslides across the region. The KKH was blocked after a landslide near the Lachi area in Kohistan late Saturday night. According to local police, light traffic was restored to the KKH after nearly 20 hours. Due to the blockage, thousands of passengers travelling to and from GB to other areas remained stranded for several hours, police said. District administration has urged the public to take precautionary measures in light of the weather. As per the police, landslides have also blocked the Shounter Road in the Astore Valley. Last week, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had predicted rain, wind, and thunderstorms — with isolated heavy falls and hailstorms — in the upper parts of the country from April 16-19. A westerly wave was expected to enter the nort­h­western parts of Pakistan on April 16 and is likely to persist i...

Security in Islamabad has been further tightened ahead of a potential second round of talks between the United States and Iran, according to reports citing official sources.

Police in Austria said late on Saturday that rat poison was found inside a jar of HiPP baby food, following a recall of the product from more than 1,000 SPAR supermarkets in the country over safety fears. Police in Burgenland, Austria, said in a statement that a sample from one of the 190-gram jars of “Carrots and Potatoes” baby food reported by a customer had tested positive for rat poison. HIPP had said on Saturday that it could not be ruled out that a dangerous substance was introduced into the product and that its HiPP Vegetable Carrot with Potato jars may have been tampered with. Consuming the contents of jars could be life-threatening, HiPP said. The police statement said the affected jars had a sticker with a red circle on the bottom of the jar and a lid that had already been opened, damaged, or missing a safety seal, or had an unusual smell. They said initial lab tests on similar jars seized by police in the Czech Republic and Slovakia showed the presence of a toxic substance. The statement gave no fu...

The first Hajj flight under the Road to Makkah project departed from Islamabad International Airport on Sunday, marking the start of this year’s Hajj operations from Pakistan.

A growing number of Pakistanis are seeking employment opportunities in Germany, but experts stress the importance of understanding the country’s structured hiring and qualification recognition system before applying.

In a significant development for Pakistan’s healthcare sector, the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology Lahore (INMOL) has been designated as a collaborating centre by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), becoming part of its global network.

A fresh spell of rain and hailstorms affected several parts of the country on Sunday, including Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir, with authorities warning of further wet weather in the coming hours.