ISLAMABAD, August 8(ABC): The federal government has formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that will probe the social media campaign launched immediately after a military hilicopter crashed in Balochistan. An officer each from the Inter-Services Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau has been included on the team. The chopper carrying Quetter Corp Commander Lt General Muhammad Sarfraz and others went down in …

ISLAMABAD, August 8(ABC): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhary on Monday said that the accountability of those involved in harassment of PTI people during party’s Islamabad March on May 25 will begin after Muharram. In a statement on twitter, the former federal minister pointed out that Hamza Shehbaz, who has been accused of 24 billion rupees money laundering, escaped to …

RAWALPINDI: TLP Monday has called on its workers to gather at Faizabad on August 13 — as the party plans to organise the Nazriya Pakistan March and Conference. TLP’s Information Secretary Muhammad Amjad Rizvi, in a statement, said that the party sought permission to organise a public gathering at Parade Ground in Islamabad, but did not receive approval. Rizvi complained …

ISLAMABAD, August 8(ABC): PTI Secretary-General Asad Umar claimed Monday that he was approached for a minus-Imran Khan formula ahead of the no-confidence vote against the then-prime minister. PTI Chairman Khan was removed from office in April through a no-confidence motion and he, to date, claims that it was a US-backed move. However, the then-opposition and the American government both deny …

ISLAMABAD, Aug 8(ABC): National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his companions (RA) were the noblest models in preaching and practicing the Qur’anic philosophy of patience, sacrifice and martyrdom. In a message to the nation on Yaum-e-Ashura, he said their unflinching faith in Almighty Allah and the Day of Judgment, their exemplary devotion, dauntless …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday expressed concern and said the “question” was not if the country’s soil was used in the drone attack on al Qaeda leader Ayman Al Zawahiri, but whether its airspace was used in the counter-terror operation. “In the recent Afghanistan drone attack, the question is not if Pakistan’s soil was used but …

KARACHI, August 6(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Saturday said the government had to take tough decisions of withdrawing subsidies on petroleum products and power to bring the national economy on the right track. Addressing a ceremony in Karachi on Saturday, Finance Minister said that the ban on import of luxury items will continue till next month, as it is …

ISLAMABAD, August 6(ABC): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday set up ‘Prime Minister’s Relief Fund’ for the flood-affected people and passionately appealed to the philanthropists and well-off segments of society to support the flood hit people with their generous donations. The donations for the flood affectees can be deposited in Account No: G-12164 of the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund …

PHNOM PENH, August 6(ABC): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday expressed support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) led processes in the Asia Pacific and extended Pakistan’s support for the Cambodian Presidency of ASEAN. The foreign minister held a meeting with the Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonnon on the sidelines of the 29th ARF Ministerial Meeting, Foreign …

ISLAMABAD, August 6(ABC): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is all geared up to hold the next general elections at any time as the electoral body has completed the delimitation of constituencies. The delimitation of constituencies for all national and provincial seats has been accomplished. The ECP has also removed all objections regarding the delimitation of constituencies. It had assured …

ISLAMABAD, August 6(ABC): Pakistan on Saturday condemned Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza as fresh violence continued a second day, ending more than a year of relative calm along the border. Israel on Friday said it had launched a special operation against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, killing one of its senior commanders in a surprise daytime air strike on …

ISLAMABAD, August 5(ABC): National Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Friday sent reference to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to disqualify Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in light of the Toshakhana case. In the reference, it has been said that Imran Khan did not declare the gifts taken from Toshakhana in his assets. …

RAWALPINDI, August 5(ABC): A week after the army chief was reported to have reached out to senior administration officials in the US over resuming the program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he has now reached out to the rulers of friendly gulf countries. Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa spoke with the rulers of both Saudi Arabia …

LAHORE, August 5(ABC): Pakistan has reported two deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus on Friday. According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 750 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 across the country in the past 24 hours. Pakistan has conducted 20,854 tests in the past 24 hours out of which …

DERA GHAZI KHAN, August 5(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday urged upon the departments concerned to take measures in advance to cater to new rain spells in the flood-affected areas. During his visit to the flood-hit areas of south Punjab including Dera Ghazi Khan, Rojhan and Rajanpur, he urged upon the need for a joint survey by federal and …

KARACHI, August 5(ABC): The Pakistani rupee continued to strengthen against the US dollar for the sixth consecutive session during intraday trade in the interbank market on Friday. The rupee appreciated 2.15 against the dollar during the day’s trade and reached 224, down from Thursday’s close of 226.15. The rupee gained handsomely — Rs2.65 or 1.17% — at yesterday’s close. The …

RISALPUR, August 5(ABC): Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Risalpur and Nowshehra, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Thursday. The army chief visited the School of Armour and Mechanised Warfare (SA&MW) Nowshehra, where he was briefed about training aspects of the school with a focus on mechanised warfare training regime as per future battlefield requirements. A brief …

LONDON, August 5(ABC): Federal Minister Mian Javed Latif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) gave its ruling per the law and the Constitution of Pakistan against the party of Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan who he called the ‘Corrupt Khan’. The PML-N MNA said while talking to the media after he …

KARACHI, August 5(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said Friday that Pakistan was heading in the right direction, but he did not rule out the possibility of the country facing bad days ahead. In his address to an event at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in the metropolis, the finance minister said: “We are on the right track, but obviously we …

ISLAMABAD, August 5(ABC): Pakistan has categorically rejected reports that its airspace had been used for a United States drone strike in Kabul that killed al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. The United States killed Zawahiri with a missile fired from a drone while he stood on a balcony at his Kabul hideout on Sunday, US officials said, in the biggest blow to …

ISLAMABAD, August 5(ABC): At least six Pakistani nationals have been convicted of violating the sanctity of the Masjid-e-Nabawi (PBUH) in Madinah during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia, diplomatic sources told on Thursday. Officials, privy to the development, told that a court in Madinah gave three Pakistani nationals — Anas, Irshad, Muhammad Saleem — 10 years of jail …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb Thursday said that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will carry out a complete investigation into PTI’s foreign funding case. Speaking during a press conference following the government’s cabinet meeting in the federal cabinet, Aurangzeb said that starting today, an inquiry has been started against “all those involved in this crime.” “The government will …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan Thursday explained the meaning of foreign funding, stating that according to the verdict of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), donations collected from overseas Pakistanis are considered foreign funding. Addressing his party workers present at Islamabad’s F9 park through a live video link, Khan said that no law prohibits …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): The PTI on Thursday withdrew the reference against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, soon after filing it with the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to add more evidence to it against the commissioner. PTI leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, while talking to journalists in the federal capital, said that the party has decided …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): PTI leader Senator Faisal Javed Thursday claimed that the coalition government has added PTI Chairperson Imran Khan’s name to the Exit Control List (ECL). His comments came when he was speaking during PTI’s jalsa at Islamabad’s F-9 park. However, sources claimed that the government — during a cabinet meeting today — did not agree to add the …

KARACHI, August 4(ABC): The country’s foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continued to decline on a weekly basis. On July 29, the foreign currency reserves held by the SBP were recorded at $8,385.4 million, down $190 million compared with $8,575.16 on July 22, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Thursday showed. According …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced on Thursday that the government has agreed to the demands of the traders’ bodies and withdrawn the fixed tax regime for this fiscal year 2022-23. “As per all trader bodies demands and instructions from leadership, [Power Minister] Khurrum Dastagir Khan and I sat today and we have deiced that fixed tax regime …

KARACHI, August 4(ABC): The Pakistani rupee continued to gain territory against the US dollar for the fifth straight session in the interbank market on Thursday. The rupee appreciated 2.65 or 1.17% against the dollar to reach 226.15, down from Wednesday’s close of Rs228.80. The rupee gained sharply a day earlier, as the dollar fell by 9.8 or 4.19%. Exchange Companies …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): The federal government is considering changing the review process of the price of petroleum products from bi-monthly to weekly, Finance Ministry sources told. As cash-strapped Pakistan desperately seeks loans to boost depleting forex reserves, the sources said that the change to the review process is a pre-condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the seventh and …

LAHORE, August 4(ABC): Pakistan has reported 4 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases has surged to 1,557,234. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 30,503 on Thursday. According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 789 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 across …

KARACHI, August 4(ABC): The Pakistani Rupee (PKR) on Thursday continued its winning streak in interbank and open market against the dollar. Bolstered by the statement of IMF’s Resident regarding the completion of all prior actions for loan review and improved macros, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) continues to gain ground in the interbank market and the US dollar lost Rs3.79 in …

TANK, August 4(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the collective efforts by federal and provincial governments and departments was inevitable to ensure early rehabilitation of the people affected by flash floods caused by torrential rains. The prime minister, during his visit to the flood-affected areas of Tank district of opposition-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, lauded the efforts of the …

WEB DESK, August 4(ABC): The first known video game that was released in 1962 and played at multiple computer installations, Spacewar!, can now be played on Analogue Pocket, reported. The handheld console used a public domain open source code for openFPGA by a third party developer. Originally, the game was written at MIT by Steve Russell in collaboration with Martin Graetz, …

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI, August 4(ABC): China has rolled over a $2 billion loan in State Administration Foreign Exchange (SAFE) deposit for a year for cash-strapped Pakistan’s economy amid dwindling forex reserves, The News learnt Wednesday. “China has rolled over three SAFE deposits. The first deposit of $500 million was due on June 27, 2022, the second $500 million matured on June 29, …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): After the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced to stage a protest against the Election Commission of Pakistan today, Islamabad’s district administration sealed the red zone and placed containers at the entry points of the federal capital. On Monday, Chairperson PTI Imran Khan had announced a protest and called on his supporters to gather outside of the ECP headquarters in …

RAWALPINDI, August 4(ABC): Former director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Asif Ghafoor has been appointed Corps Commander Quetta, reported Wednesday citing the military’s media wing. According to the ISPR, Lt Gen Ghafoor has been appointed to replace his predecessor, Lt Gen Sarfraz Alim who — along with five other Pakistan Army personnel — embraced martyrdom on Tuesday after an …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday said he would thank the coalition government if they add his name to the exit control list (ECL) as Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah earlier today said that the cabinet will take some important decisions regarding Khan tomorrow. Khan, in an interview with a private news channel, said the …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday stood adamant in the face of the government’s announcement it may file a declaration against the party in the Supreme Court, saying that “it is not up to you” to ban Imran Khan or the party. His remarks, during a press conference, followed Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah saying that the …

KARACHI, August 4(ABC): The Pakistani rupee recorded its highest single-day gain against the US dollar as it continued the uptrend for the fourth successive session in the interbank market as import pressure witnessed a decline in July. During Wednesday’s trade, the dollar lost Rs9.58 and closed at Rs228.80 against the rupee, down from 238.38 from Tuesday’s close in the interbank. …

ISLAMABAD, August 4(ABC): PML-N supremo has advised the coalition government to file a reference against the PTI in the Supreme Court within 48 hours, sources told on Wednesday. Nawaz had called for filing the reference while speaking during a meeting of the coalition government’s partners held at the Prime Minister’s House with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair. Party officials privy …