Pakistan

Students using ChatGPT to write essays may engage in less critical thinking

Hollywood star in driving seat for docuseries

Velvet Sundown's 850K listeners fuel AI rumours

Britpop band kicked off reunion tour on Friday

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Friday ordered the arrest of two officials and suspended three doctors at Pakpattan’s District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, following the deaths of 20 infants. An internal inquiry committee — formed to probe the deaths of only five children on June 19 — reported the deaths of 20 children, raising many serious questions. The findings confirmed that 15 of the 20 deceased were neonates and newborn babies, while all 20 deaths occurred between June 16 and June 22. A three-member external inquiry committee was formed to investigate the incident, particularly the reported oxygen failure, links between the fatalities and systemic shortcomings and the hospital’s emergency response. A statement issued today said that during a five-hour visit to the hospital, CM Maryam ordered the arrest of the chief executive officer and medical superintendent. She also suspended and launched inquiries against three pediatric doctors for alleged negligence. Three laboratory technicians were also ar...

PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said Pakistan had no objection to extraditing “individuals of concern” to India as a confidence-building measure, as long as New Delhi showed willingness to cooperate in the process. Ties between Pakistan and India have remained tense, further strained after New Delhi, without presenting evidence, blamed Pakistan for the deadly April attack in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam. This led to a four-day military confrontation in May, with both sides dropping their guns after American intervention. The PPP chairman has repeatedly called for India and Pakistan to engage in a dialogue to establish peace. Speaking during an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, the PPP chief responded to a question about extraditing Laskhar-i-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-i-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as possible concessions and good-faith gestures to India. “As part of a comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan, where terrorism is one of the issues that ...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the 17th ECO Summit in Khankendi, Azerbaijan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday urged stronger regional cooperation in the face of increasing geopolitical tensions, including the Iran-Israel conflict and Indian hostility towards Pakistan, stressing that the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) offered the country its “best hope” for a unified response. Addressing the 17th ECO Summit in Azerbaijan’s Khankendi city, the prime minister said two recent events — the Iran-Israel war and the India-Pakistan conflict — showed that “the forces of instability and chaos continue to destabilise our region for geo-political agendas. “The evolving global landscape has made regional cooperation even more essential,” PM Shehbaz said while addressing the 10-nation Eurasian bloc. “ECO represents our best hope, and Pakistan is a proud partner in these collective efforts.” Speaking about the 12-day Iran-Israel war, he said that “the unlawful, uncalled for and unjustified Israeli attack on Iran was the most recent manifestation of this dangerous trend.” According to ...

.

.

Says 588 city buildings declared unsafe for living, including 107 in Lyari alone

The rare surreal scene draws residents and beachgoers in large numbers

Opposition parties allege SBCA officials receive bribes to allow illegal structures

Says provincial govt incurs over Rs11m annually in paper costs alone

Given weak procurement mechanisms, healthcare facilities continue to purchase near-expiry medicines

.

SEPA raids Jamshoro filtration plant amid rising public health fears

.

The finance ministry on Friday issued notifications for a 10 per cent increase in the salaries of federal government employees, as well as granting Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA) worth 30pc of basic pay, according to documents seen by Dawn.com. The pay hike was announced as part of the budget for the coming fiscal year, where the salaries of federal employees from Grade 1 to 22 would be raised by 10pc and retired government servants would be eligible for a 7pc pension increase. According to one of the notifications, dated July 4, basic pay to armed forces personnel, civil armed forces, and civil employees of the federal government are subject to the pay raise. The notification read that the pay would be “subject to income tax; admissible during leave and entire period of LPR except during extraordinary leave; will not be treated as part of emoluments for the purpose of calculation of pension/gratuity and recovery of house rent.” It further said that the pay would “not be admissible to the employees durin...

Pakpattan officials booked for criminal negligence