ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says that the federal budget for next fiscal year 2022-23 represents a significant improvement in several ways. In a tweet today (Sunday), he said it has provided more educational opportunities for our youth, particularly from Balochistan and targeted subsidies for financially weaker people. The PM said that more importantly, it has taxed non-productive assets of …

ISLAMABAD, June 12(ABC): Forest fires that broke out over the weekend continue to rage on in various locations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, with the latest inferno reported by rescue teams in Kokarai on Sunday morning. In the hills of Marghuzar, where a fire broke out yesterday morning, efforts to put out the inferno have failed and the fire now …

KARACHI, June 12(ABC): Over 500 motorcycles, a bus, two rickshaws and six to seven cars kept at a central vehicle pool, commonly known as Nazarat, were reduced to ashes as the bushes near Karachi’s Aziz Bhatti Park caught fire. The fire initially broke out in the bushes, but the flames soon spread to the Nazarat — a place where case property or …

  ISLAMABAD, June 12(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has asserted that Pakistan will seek a deferred payment plan for liquefied natural gas bought under long-term deals with Qatar as Islamabad faces a balance of payments crisis and falling foreign exchange reserves. Miftah Ismail unveiled Budget 2022-23 on Friday aimed at fiscal consolidation as it tries to convince the International Monetary …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 12 (ABC): Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb Sunday said that former finance minister Shaukat Tareen had finally admitted that Imran Khan during his four year tenure as prime minister took Rs 20,000 billion loans which was 76 per cent of the total loan taken in the history of Pakistan. In a tweet, the minister said that …

RAWALPINDI, June 12(ABC): A soldier of the armed forces of Pakistan embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Data Khel area of North Waziristan, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Sunday. “Sipahi Shahzaib Imtiaz embraced martyrdom while fighting bravely during a crossfire with terrorists,” a brief statement issued by the military’s media wing read. It said that …

ISLAMABAD, June 12(ABC): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is still unhappy with the government over the budget, mainly because they did not implement the Personal Income Tax (PIT) measures suggested by it, revealed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail Saturday. Addressing the post-budget news conference at P-Block Auditorium, Ismail said there was no development on the IMF front at the moment. ‘No …

ISLAMABAD, June 12(ABC): Former prime minister Imran Khan thinks that the “powerful quarters” are disturbed due to the ongoing political and economic crisis. In conversation with journalists and anchorpersons on Saturday, the PTI chairman said the only way to ensure the ongoing crisis is resolved is for the government to hold elections. The ousted prime minister said he had two …

  ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf to hold discussion on the sanctity of last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SAWW) in the National Assembly on Monday. In a statement today [Saturday], the Prime Minister strongly condemned BJP leaders’ blasphemous remarks. He said the remarks have hurt the sentiments of 1.25 billion Muslims across the …

LAHORE, June 11(ABC): A special court hearing the Rs16 billion money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, on Saturday granted the two an extension in bail. PM Shehbaz and Hamza have been asked to pay Rs1 million in surety bonds each within seven days. …

RAWALPINDI, June 11(ABC): Awami Muslim League Pakistan (AMLP) leader Sheikh Rashid on Saturday said that the nation was with lightening through deficit in buget. The former Interior Minister Rashid while terming the hike in prices of daily routine items, said in a tweet that the increase of the prices of petrol, gas, electricity and ghee was part of the budget …

WEB DESK, June 11(ABC): As part of its digital wellbeing mission to make it easier for its growing community of users to manage the time they spend on the entertainment platform, the video-sharing platform TikTok will roll out two new practical tools. The new tools will enable users to have regular screen-time breaks, allowing them to remain in full control …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said preparing for the Budget 2022-23 was the most difficult thing to do as the country was going through a very critical phase and the government is targeting “fiscal consolidation” and “provision of relief” to the masses. Addressing the post-budget press conference in Islamabad today along with Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, State Minister …

LAHORE, June 11(ABC): A special court hearing the Rs16 billion money laundering case against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, was told by the former on Saturday that it is a “pack of lies” and “will be buried”. PM Shehbaz and Hamza were summoned in Special Court (Central) today for questioning, with the prosecutors …

  ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): Hours after presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail once again indicated a hike in petroleum prices and said the government would end subsidies on fuel soon, reported. Last month the government increased petroleum prices by Rs60 and a day earlier presented the “toughest” federal budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 with an outlay …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): Responding to former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s claim that Pakistan has assured its support to India’s bid for UNSC membership, the Foreign Office on Friday reaffirmed its opposition to adding new permanent members to the UN Security Council (UNSC). A day earlier, PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed to have heard that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): Defending the budget presented by his government Friday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured the nation that the finance bill will steer the country out of the “difficult” time that has been brought on by “recent years of economic mismanagement”. “These are difficult times brought upon us by recent years of economic mismanagement. Through this budget, my government will …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has changed the criteria for non-resident Pakistani businessmen to become tax resident individuals which was introduced by the PTI government in 2019,  reported Saturday. According to Finance Bill 2023, non-resident Pakistani businessmen must now file their income tax returns regardless of the length of their stay in Pakistan and pay the requisite …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): The coalition government unveiled the “toughest” federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23 with an outlay of Rs9.5 trillion as it seeks to fulfil the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions, but PTI, the main Opposition party, has rejected the finance bill and called it an “unimaginative, Purana Pakistan budget”. The federal government unveiled the budget amid …

ISLAMABAD, June 11(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail Friday presented a “progressive and relief-oriented” budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, with a total outlay of Rs9.502 trillion to “stabilise” the economy. The proposed budget focused on fiscal consolidation to curtail overall deficit, prioritising practical austerity measures along with strategies to enhance tax-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio, reduce gross public debt, slice …

ISLAMABAD, June 10(ABC): The Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government is unveiling the “toughest” federal budget for the next fiscal year 2022-23 in the National Assembly with an outlay of Rs9.5 trillion amid strict conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of the $6 billion loan programme stalled since months over policy breaches. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue …

ISLAMABAD, June 10(ABC): The federal cabinet on Friday approved a 15% increase in the salaries of the federal government employees and a 5% increase in pensions, sources said. The decision comes less than an hour before the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government is set to present its first budget. Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb took to Twitter and said: “The …

LAHORE, June 10(ABC): An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Friday accepted the interim bail pleas of 12 PTI leaders, including former federal ministers Hammad Azhar, Shafqat Mahmood and Yasmin Rashid in a case pertaining to alleged vandalism and damage of property during the party’s long march. Earlier, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore issued on Friday the non-bailable arrest …

WEB DESK, June 10(ABC): WhatsApp is working on a host of new features. The messaging app was spotted testing three very important features of late, including the Undo button, the edit text messages option and the double verification feature. The features are currently being tested and none of them have made it to the final release yet. Interestingly, Apple one-upped …

WEB DESK, June 10(ABC): After a decade of trading as Facebook, the social media giant is shedding the last vestige of its old corporate avatar as it begins trading under the ticker symbol ‘META’ on Thursday. Meta Platforms Inc rebranded from its eponymous social networking platform in October 2021, betting that the metaverse, a shared virtual realm, will succeed mobile …

ISLAMABAD, June 10(ABC): All eyes are on the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government as it sets out to present its first budget while the country races against the clock to resume disbursements under a U$6 billion IMF loan programme. The government will present the budget for next fiscal year 2022-23 in Parliament today, with special focus on fiscal consolidation to …

KARACHI, June 10(ABC): Famous TV personality and PTI MNA Aamir Liaquat Hussain will be laid to rest at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi graveyard after his funeral prayers today (Friday), Hussain’s ex-wife Syeda Bushra Iqbal confirmed. The 50-year-old televangelist passed away on Thursday. The news of his untimely death sent shock waves across the country. Taking to Instagram, Bushra announced that …

ISLAMABAD, June 09(ABC): A day before announcing the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, the coalition government reflected upon the performance of the economy for the outgoing fiscal year with a growth of 6% against the envisaged target of 4.8%. Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, who succeeded Shaukat Tarin as the country’s finance czar in mid-April (which interestingly is when the …

ISLAMABAD, June 09 (ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for collective efforts to end power outages and problems faced by the masses. He made the remarks in Islamabad while getting a briefing on the power situation in the country on Thursday. Officials of the Ministry of Energy apprised the PM of the latest situation of load-shedding in the country. …

KARACHI, June 09(ABC): MNA Dr Amir Liaquat Hussain passed away on Thursday. The Rescue 1122 officials shifted him to hospital as he was unwell. His servant told that Amir Liaquat had wept the last night, saying his wife has deceived him. “His condition started deteriorating at 10:30pm. He was shifted to hospital,” he added. DIG East Muqadas Haider said that …

ISLAMABAD, June 09(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that time has come for political forces and all stakeholders to rise above their narrow interests and agree on Charter of Economy. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, the prime minster said that Pakistan s economic security is deeply linked to its political stability and time has come for political …

RAWALPINDI, June 09(ABC): Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over progress of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad and lauded the achievements made thus far. According to a statement issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Army Chief presided over the 80th Formation Commanders’ Conference held here at (GHQ). Gen Bajwa laid special emphasis on maintaining …

RAWALPINDI, June 09(ABC): The Pakistan Army on Wednesday issued a warning and said that it reserves the right to take legal action against people involved in “peddling malicious allegations and blatant lies” against its leadership. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “insinuations made by people on social media quoting the former finance minister Shaukat Tarin …

WEB DESK, June 08(ABC): TikTok announced  that it is launching a new Avatars feature that is designed to help users showcase their individuality on the app. The launch makes TikTok the latest social media app to add an avatar feature, as it now joins the likes of Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and more. You can access the new avatar feature by …

ISLAMABAD, June 08(ABC): In an attempt to save energy, the National Economic Council (NEC) has decided to order the closure of markets across the country at 8:30pm. The NEC took the decision Wednesday during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The meeting was attended by chief ministers of all provinces. The NEC met a day after President Ari …

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) Wednesday allowed teenager Dua Zahra — who had mysteriously gone missing from Karachi in April but later declared that she had run away from her home to marry 21-year-old Zaheer Ahmed — to decide where she wants to go, with her parents or husband. In a three-page written order, Justice Junaid Ghaffar said the …

ISLAMABAD, June 08(ABC): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to abolish all taxes on the raw materials of the export industry, as part of his government’s vision to develop an export-oriented economy. The prime minister, in a meeting with a delegation of the American Business Council, also directed the formation of task forces to attract investment …

QUETTA, June 08(ABC): At least 22 people were killed and several others were injured as a passenger van fell into a ditch on the National Highway in the Qila Saifullah area of Quetta on Wednesday. Qila Saifullah Deputy Commissioner Hafiz Qasim Kakar confirmed the number of casualties and said that the injured are being shifted to the hospital. He said …

KARACHI, June 08(ABC): The Pakistani rupee snapped its three-day losing streak and slightly rebounded on Wednesday against the US dollar in the interbank market during intraday trade. However, it was trading above 202 threshold. The rupee was trading at 202.5 against the US dollar in the interbank market as of 1:21pm. AA Commodities Director Adnan Agar said that the market sentiment …

ISLAMABAD, June 08(ABC): : The World Bank (WB) has estimated a moderate Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for Pakistan standing at 4% for the incoming fiscal year, 2022-23, as compared to the official government-approved projections of 5% for the next budget, reported, citing the latest WB report Wednesday. “In Pakistan, growth is expected to be moderate from 5.7% in …