LAHORE, Sep 29(ABC): Former Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz has attacked the former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan after his alleged audio has been leaked in which he could be heard talking about a cypher message with his key aide Azam Khan. Criticizing the PTI Chairman Hamza said that Imran Khan’s audio leak has raised curtains …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 29(ABC): Senator Dr Sania Nishtar met Imran Khan on Thursday and updated him about the donations received for the rehabilitation of the flood affectees. During the meeting, Senator Sania also briefed Imran Khan about the transparent and fast process of transferring the donations. PTI Chairman Imran khan said that a large number of people have been affected by …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 28 (ABC): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday announced the results of local government elections held in 57 wards of 11 Union Councils of four districts of Baluchistan  which were delayed due to torrential rains and floods. According to consolidated results of three wards, the candidates of JUI-F and PK-MAP managed to secure one seat each from …

ISLAMABAD, Sept 28 (ABC): Renowned Shia cleric and philanthropist Hafiz Basheer Hussain Najfi has issued a passionate appeal to the affluent people to come out for help of the flood affectees. “Our country fellows are in distress due to recent floods and we all are aware of it. It is an obligation for us to help those who have been …

PESHAWAR, Sep 28(ABC): Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday quashed the petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Qaiser, in which he challenged the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) inquiry against him in the prohibited funding case. A PHC bench headed by Justice Lal Jan delivered a short verdict, while the court also directed the FIA to continue the inquiry. Asad …

KARACHI, Sep 28(ABC):  Another patient lost her life to the dengue virus in Karachi’s central district on Tuesday, taking the death toll of the disease in Sindh to 33. The patient was under treatment at a private hospital in the North Karachi area of the port city, according to the Sindh Health Department. Overall, 436 people have been affected by …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 27(ABC): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday strongly rejected “irresponsible and baseless allegations” leveled by a “political figure”, saying the ECP will keep taking decisions under the law and the Constitution in fulfilment of its lawful obligations. The statement from the ECP comes a day after former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan targeted Chief Election Commissioner …

KARACHI, Sep 27(ABC): Former president and PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari has been admitted to a private hospital in Karachi’s Clifton area after his health deteriorated. According to sources, a medical team, led by Dr Asim Hussain, is examining the former president, adding that a “procedure” will be performed on Zardari’s lungs. Sources privy to the development added that further …

LAHORE, Sep 27(ABC):  Vice-Chancellor Dr Asghar Zaidi was dismissed on Tuesday from the search committee established for federal universities after he invited PTI Chief Imran Khan to address the Government College University Lahore. According to a notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Asghar Zaidi has been replaced with Dr Shoaib Mir as a member of the search committee. …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 27(ABC): The Ministry of Interior officials Tuesday clarified that the identity cards and passports of Pakistanis living in the United Kingdom cannot be revoked merely on the basis of their inappropriate behaviour towards lawmakers. The clarification came after Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Ata Tarar announced that action will be taken against those who misbehaved with Information …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 27(ABC): A plea seeking PML-N leader Ishaq Dar’s disqualification was withdrawn by the petitioners on Tuesday, ahead of his oath-taking as a senator. Dar — who touched down in Pakistan on Monday night after ending five years of self-imposed exile in the UK — will be sworn in as a senator today at 4pm, sources privy to the matter said. …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 27(ABC): A local court in Islamabad discharged on Tuesday senior journalist Ayaz Amir from the murder case of his daughter-in-law Sarah Inam. Shahnawaz, Ayaz Amir’s son, allegedly killed his wife Sarah at home after a row over a “family issue” on September 23. He was detained by the police from a farmhouse in Islamabad’s Chak Shahzad area for …

ISLAMABAD, Sept 27 (ABC): The Chinese government has provided 400 million RMB worth of humanitarian assistance and China’s civil society has also lent a helping hand, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin during a regular press briefing in Beijing. To a question that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Pakistan to seek debt relief from China so …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 27(ABC): The government is working on a possibility of removing duties and taxes on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in an effort to ensure uninterrupted supply of paracetamol in the country. The country had recently faced a shortage of paracetamol which had also affected the people in flood-hit areas. Following the shortage of the medicine, the drug regulator had …

ANKARA, Sep 27(ABC):  The 14th plane carrying humanitarian aid from Turkey is heading to flood-hit Pakistan, the country’s disaster management authority announced on Monday. In a statement, the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) said Turkeycontinues to extend its helping hand to Pakistan, where millions of people have been affected by floods. Turkey has so far dispatched 14 planes and …

QUETTA, Sep 27(ABC): Three children were killed in firing by unidentified suspects on Joint Road in Quetta during the wee hours of Tuesday. According to the police, all three victims were sons of a famous local medical practitioner Dr Nasir Achakzai. The police said that Dr Achakzai, along with his family, was returning to his house located in Railway Housing …

LAHORE, Sep 27(ABC): Pakistan has reported no death in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases has surged to 1,572,410. The nationwide tally of fatalities stands at 30,612 on Tuesday. According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 39 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 across the …

Sep 27(ABC): Amid warning from the authorities about the spread of waterborne diseases in the flood-affected areas of Sindh, a long-eliminated infectious disease, Diphtheria, has reared its ugly head and has killed 10 children in the province in the last two months. Health experts fear that the number of deaths due to the vaccine-preventable disease could be much higher than the …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 26 (ABC): The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo on Monday dispatched humanitarian aid assistance for the flood victims in Pakistan. The Government of Indonesia has joined the international community in providing humanitarian assistance for the flood victims in Pakistan, said a press release issued here by the Embassy of Indonesia in Islamabad. The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo …

QUETTA, Sep 26 (ABC): The Communication and Works Department on Monday said majority of the flood affected highways had been restored in the province. Handout issued by the Communication and Works Department said that highways in worst-hit Naseerabad division were continuously monitored. “More than 104 roads have been restored and the rehabilitation work on 6 link roads is being completed …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 26 (ABC): Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif on Monday said Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has saved the country from bankruptcy by taking difficult political decisions. Talking to a private news channel, he said PML-N has history to sacrifice personal interests and given priority to the state over politics. Javed Latif said that under the visionary leadership of …

KARACHI, Sep 26(ABC): The city’s power utility, K-Electric (KE), on Monday was stopped from collecting municipal charges in its bills, noting that residents cannot face the possibility of losing their power if they do not pay the power bill because of auxiliary charges which are not linked to their power consumption. This was directed Monday by the Sindh High Court …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 26(ABC): Senior journalist Ayaz Amir’s ex-wife and mother of Shahnawaz — who allegedly killed his wife Sara at home after a row over a “family issue” — has approached an Islamabad court for bail to avoid arrest in the murder case. Shahnawaz — who was detained by the police from a farmhouse in Islamabad’s Chak Shahzad area for …

KARACHI, Sep 26(ABC): The army personnel cleared the National Highway and restored traffic on the main artery of communication in Sindh, removing scores of vehicles which were stuck there because of the devastating floods, officials said on Sunday. The highway saw a severe logjam due to flood damages between Kandiyaro and Halani, for several hours. The army took immediate action …

KARACHI, Sep 26(ABC): Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast a windy and partly cloudy weather in the port city on Monday. “Currently southwesterly winds are blowing with a speed of 12 kilometers per hour, which will reach 20 to 25km per hour in the day ahead,” according to the weather office. “The mercury presently stands at 27 degrees Celsius”, PMD stated …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 26(ABC): The number of dengue cases in Islamabad is continuously on the rise as the federal capital has reported 68 infections in the past 24 hours, reported on Monday. According to District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad, as many as 68 dengue cases were reported in the federal capital during the past 24 hours, taking the total number of …

RAWALPINDI, Sep 26(ABC): Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that the conditions of the poor segments will get worse if the political tussle continues in the country. In a tweet, the former interior minister said that an example of relations with Israel and trade with India has come to light in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leaked …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 26(ABC):  Apparently due to sheer negligence, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has failed to get possession of more than 700 developed plots from Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in lieu of the civic agency’s land which was handed over to DHA some 14 years ago. The CDA and DHA in 2007 signed an agreement, under which the CDA handed …

LAHORE, Sep 26(ABC): Pakistan has reported no death in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases has surged to 1,572,371. The nationwide tally of fatalities stands at 30,612 on Monday. According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 55 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 across the …

RAWALPINDI, Sep 24 (ABC): Chief Justice Islamabad High Court (IHC) Athar Minallah on Saturday paid a visit to Central Jail Adiala Rawalpindi and he received a briefing that the Jail was inhabiting 6,000 prisoners against it’s existing capacity of 2,100. He visited the jail on the petition filed by Human Rights Commission (HRC) against torturing the prisoners, corruption and other …

PESHAWAR, Sep 23(ABC):  The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has kickstarted an investigation into alleged corruption in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Peshawar. The anti-graft body has asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and the additional chief secretary of the Planning & Development Board to hand over the records of the project. According to a letter, written to the additional chief …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 23(ABC): Shahnawaz Amir, prime accused in the murder case of his wife Sara Bibi, was handed over to the police on Saturday on a two-day physical remand a day after being arrested for the murder. A district and sessions court in Islamabad also issued arrest warrants the accused’s father, prominent journalist Ayaz Amir, his wife, brother and sister-in-law. The defendant’s …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 24 (ABC):An analytical report of Stanford, a global internet observatory center, has exposed Indian government-backed social media accounts spreading plethora of fake news and propaganda against Pakistan on popular social media platform. The report published under title, ‘My Heart Belongs to Kashmir: An Analysis of a Pro-Indian Army Covert Influence Ope­ration on Twitter’ is available on the Stanford’s …

LAHORE, Sep 24 (ABC):The cases of dengue virus surging as 226 new cases were reported in Punjab during the last 24 hours. According to health department sources, a total of 4537 cases of dengue virus have so far been reported during the current year while 8 people died of dengue virus and 1086 patients were under treatment in different hospitals …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 24 (ABC): The ICT Police have mobilized security apparatus and started chalking out strategy in wake of any sit-in call in the federal capital. Following the special directions of Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah Khan, an important meeting was held at the central police office to deal with the sit-in under the chairmanship of Commandant FC Salahuddin Mehsud …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 24 (ABC): Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki has said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) paid special attention to all Islamic countries but Pakistan was the most important in the Islamic world that enjoy indeed cordial and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia. Addressing the 92nd Saudi National Day ceremony here at a hotel on Friday …

VEHARI, Sep 23 (ABC): President, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman said on Friday that PML-N government was taking steps to control price hike to provide relief to the people. He expressed these views while addressing a gathering of Ulema, students and notables at Jamia Khalid Bin Waleed in Thingi. PDM chief was on a …

LAHORE, Sep 23 (ABC): An accountability court on Friday granted permanent exemption from personal appearance to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Accountability Court Judge Sajid Awan conducted a hearing on the application filed by the prime minister for permanent exemption and announced the verdict after hearing detailed …

ISLAMABAD, Sep 23(ABC): Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad on Friday said that the government has lost it’s course and it wants anarchy in the country. Talking to media in Islamabad, Sheikh Rashid while lashing out at the incumbent government over the ‘record breaking’ inflation in the country and the disastrous situation of land and life after the …

Sep 23(ABC): The Transgender Rights Act, according to Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Sirajul Haq, is against Islamic Sharia. The recently passed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act by the National Assembly, was enacted in 2018. The law allows transgender persons equal rights to education, basic health facilities, writing their transgender identity on their identity cards and passports, besides the right to …