LAHORE, June03(ABC): Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Thursday while lashing out at the incumbent government over hike in fuel prices has given a call for peaceful protest on Friday. In a series of tweets on social networking website Twitter, the former prime minister wrote, “Imported govt has increased petroleum prices by 40 percent or …

QUETTA, June 03(ABC): Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa Thursday visited Command and Staff College where he met the faculty and addressed participants of the college, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. According to the statement, COAS Bajwa was received by Corps Commander Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali. During his visit, the army chief appreciated …

RAWALPINDI: Addressing a seminar on the anniversary of Imam Khomeini (RA), the founder of the Iranian Revolution, held at Khanah Farhang, Islamic Republic of Iran, Rawalpindi, the Acting Iranian Ambassador and Special Guest of the event, Mohammad Surkhabi, said that the Iranian Islamic revolution continues in full power despite the evils of the United States and the Zionist regime, and …

ISLAMABAD, June 02(ABC): PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Thursday lambasted PTI Chairman Imran Khan for talking about dividing the country into “three parts” and asked him who influenced him to talk about that. “Whose ideology is it? Did Zac Goldsmith influence you to this ideology or Israel?” the politician asked while speaking to the media in Islamabad. Zac Goldsmith is …

RAWALPINDI, June 02: Faculty of Engineering & Faculty of Management Sciences of the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Rawalpindi Branch organized an open house & Job Fair in the University on Thursday. Pro Rector Rawalpindi Branch Brig (Retd) Muhammad Ibrahim inaugurated the events while Heads of Departments, faculty members and large number of students attended the event. Pro Rector …

ISLAMABAD, Jun 02 (ABC): Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail on Wednesday said that onus of purchasing the LNG (liquefied natural gas) at high rates was on Imran Khan as his government delayed in buying the commodity from international market. Talking to private news channel, he said that the inflation has affected entire world, but in that situation the Pakistan …

ANKARA, Jun 02 (ABC): Pakistan and Turkey on Wednesday signed various bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for enhanced cooperation in diverse areas of mutual interest, including trade, economy, communication, environment and housing. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan witnessed the signing of bilateral agreements and MOUs. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Minister for …

LAHORE, Jun 02 (ABC): Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz on Wednesday said the present government would work day and night to provide genuine relief to the masses as bringing ease in life of the common man was a priority. Talking to the media here, he said the government was deliberating on various measures to sustain prices of commodities as the …

  ANKARA, June 02(ABC): Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Wednesday that they do not want to legislate at gunpoint or under any pressure. In his interview to Turkish media outlet on Wednesday, he said, “We have started the first phase of electoral reforms which has been passed by the parliament.” In an interview with Turkish media, the FM …

PESHAWAR, June 02(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan warned on Wednesday that if the establishment does not “take the right decision” then Pakistan would break into “three parts”. In an interview with a private television channel, the ousted prime minister said the country is on the brink of “suicide” if “right decisions” are not taken, as it might move towards default. …

ANKARA, June 02(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday renewed the pledge to boost the bilateral ties between the two countries to new heights. The prime minister is on a three-day visit to Turkey — his first since assuming office in April — where he will meet several Turkish officials and members of the business …

KARACHI, June 01(ABC): A superstore caught fire early morning hours of Wednesday, leaving one person dead, while the blaze is yet to be extinguished despite the passage of hours. The fire broke out at 11am in the warehouse of the superstore situated on Jail Chowrangi — a very busy street — officials said. The superstore is situated in a multi-storey …

ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir Wednesday denied allegations levelled against her of encouraging soldiers of the Pakistani Army to launch a mutiny against the force’s senior leadership. Mazari — the daughter of former human rights minister Shireen Mazari — made the statement in a written response to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which has granted the advocate a pre-arrest …

PESHAWAR, June 01(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday said the party would announce its next march after the Supreme Court’s ruling on the plea seeking clarity on whether the party can hold public gatherings. Addressing social media workers in Peshawar, the former prime minister said that the party wants protection from the court and its case is pending. “I ask …

Centre for Law and Security held a conference on ‘Lawfare and Pakistan’s Response’ at the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad. The conference was attended by eminent lawyers and jurists that included Justice (retired) Ali Nawaz Chowhan, Barrister Ali Zafar, Mr. Ahmer Bilal Soofi, Maj General Irfan Arshad, Mr. Mohsin Kamall, Dr. Salma Shaheen, Barrister Muhammad Ahmad Pansota, Mr. Taimur Malik and Mr. …

ANKARA, June 01(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday invited Turkish investors to explore Pakistan’s diverse sectors, particularly the energy sector, which offers immense opportunities and scope for development. The prime minister addressed the Pakistan-Turkey Business Council under the DEIK – Foreign Economic Relations Board, where he said Pakistan’s energy sector, with its vast potential in hydel, thermal, coal, wind, …

ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking permission for a second long march to Islamabad. The petition, filed by PTI Secretary-General Asad Umar, named the interior ministry, Islamabad inspector-general and others as respondents. PTI Chairman Imran Khan had abruptly announced the end of his ‘Azadi March’ on March 26 and had given …

ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed on Wednesday that no amendment in the Election Act, 2017 restricts overseas Pakistanis from using their right to vote. “Expats have not been deprived of their right to vote either in the former or existing laws,” Justice Minallah remarked during the hearing of a plea against the National …

  ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor on Tuesday said the government had approved a Rs150,000 subsidy for Hajj pilgrims traveling to Saudi Arabia under the government scheme. Pakistan has been allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, where over 32,000 would go under the government scheme and above …

ANKARA, June 01(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to take Pakistan and Turkey’s bilateral trade to $5 billion in the next three years, and urged Turk investors to come to Pakistan while assuring his full support to them. PM Shehbaz Sharif is currently in Turkey on a maiden three-day official visit. During his visit, PM will have a tete-a-tete with President …

PESHAWAR, June 01(ABC): In view of the increased number of child abuse cases reported across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial assembly passed a “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare (Amendment) Act, 2022”. The bill — introduced by provincial Law Minister Fazle Shakoor in the House — says that the child abusers will now get life imprisonment or death sentence. On the …

PESHAWAR, June 01(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the Sharif family’s money laundering case and appoint a “monitoring judge to oversee all mega cases of politicians”. Taking to Twitter, the former premier alleged that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was “trying to interfere in his and his family’s money laundering …

ISLAMABAD, June 01(ABC): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday issued the preliminary delimitation of constituencies in which it revised the National Assembly seats from 342 to 336. According to the ECP’s preliminary report, the number of general seats in the NA will decrease from 272 to 266. Balochistan will have 16 general seats in the NA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will have …

QUETTA, May 29(ABC): One person was killed and 16 were injured in firing and fighting in different parts of the province during Balochistan local body polls, while three rockets were fired in Dera Bugti and two officials were also injured in a grenade attack on a polling station in Kalat, reported on Sunday. According to Levies sources, unidentified persons hurled …

ISLAMABAD, May 29(ABC): Vice Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday rejected leaked audiotape between property tycoon Malik Riaz and former president Asif Ali Zardari. Talking to media persons, former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that it is out of question that former prime minister Imran Khan would ask someone to patch things up for him. …

CHARSADDA, May 29(ABC): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insasf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said that the real war of independence is jihad, as long as he is alive the struggle against thieves will continue ongoing and now no one will be able to stop this time. Addressing the workers convention in Charsadda, Imran Khan said, “we will never …

MANSEHRA, May 29(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Saturday the burden of foreign debts on Pakistan is such that it could not be paid off by generations to come. “[Ex-premier] Imran Khan’s government took such hefty amount of loans that our generations might not be able to pay them,” the prime minister told a public gathering in Manshera. The prime …

DAVOS, May 29(ABC): Israel President Isaac Herzog has said that he had had an “amazing experience” while meeting a delegation of Pakistani expatriates living in the United States. The Israeli president was speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) — held in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday — about the Abraham Accords, a US-backed deal that led to the normalisation of Israel’s …

ISLAMABAD, May 29 (ABC): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Sunday said that the recently surfaced purported audio tape exposed Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan’s hypocrisy and double standards. The prime minister, on his twitter handle, said that in the surfaced audio tape, the PTI chief allegedly sought NRO for himself and his previous government. Imran Khan manufactured fake foreign conspiracy …

LAHORE, May 29(ABC): Amid sizzling hot weather, Power outages have severely hit Pakistan as Pakistanis have been suffering up to 12 hours of power load-shedding. All urban centers, such as Karachi, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Sialkot have been severely hit with load-shedding and situation in rural areas of the country is even worse. Sources have said that power shortfall …

ISLAMABAD, May 28 (ABC): Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor has urged the Iranian government to finalize the draft of ‘Ziarat Policy’ to promote the religious tourism. There were a number of people who pay homage at the mausoleums of sacred religious figures located in Iran every year. In this regard, the government of Pakistan had …

ISLAMABAD, May 29(ABC): Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan on Sunday condemned the police action against his party protestors. Former prime minister, in a tweet, said that ‘imported govt’ while flouting constitution and Supreme Court of Pakistan, unleashed police brutality on our peaceful Azadi March protestors. Imran Khan further claimed that night before PTI long march, Punjab and Sindh police …

QUETTA, May 29(ABC): Polling is underway for local body elections in 32 districts of Balochistan. The polling started at 8am and will continue until 5pm without any break. As per the ECP, candidates in 1,584 wards have been elected unopposed while 14,611 candidates are contesting elections in 4,456 wards today. A total of 5,226 polling stations have been set up …

PESHAWAR, May 28(ABC): PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced Saturday his party would move the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday seeking clarity on holding public rallies after the government crackdown and clashes across the country. “I just want the clarity from the Supreme Court […] I just want its protection, then you will see that we will take out a …

ISLAMABAD, May 28(ABC): Finance Minister Miftah Ismail assured Saturday the government would reach the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by next month — June. Hopes of the IMF programme’s revival rose Thursday after the federal government decided to raise the price of petroleum products by Rs30 as the Fund did not resume the programme due to the …

ISLAMABAD, May 28 (ABC): Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced Saturday the process for the deserving families to avail the subsidies on petrol and diesel under the relief program announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his address to the nation Friday. Addressing a press conference here, the finance minister said families who are part of the Benazir Income Support …

ISLAMABAD, May 28(ABC): Government and its coalition partners have agreed on name of Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar as new Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB). According to sources privy with the development, the name of former Supreme Court judge came under discussion during meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan and former president Asif Ali Zardari. Sources further said that Government …

LAHORE, May 28(ABC): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s counsel Saturday argued that the Rs16 billion money laundering case was “politically motivated” and “based on mala fide intentions” because the PTI government wanted to imprison his client. The arguments came during the hearing of the money laundering case at the special court (Central-I) where the prime minister and his son Punjab Chief …

LAHORE, May 28(ABC): Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Friday has said that for the success of the conciliation system the relevant laws need to be improved and the federal government needs to be made aware of the flaws in the laws. Addressing the conciliation conference, the CJP said that there was a need to conduct an awareness …

ISLAMABAD, May 28(ABC): Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday approved pre-arrest bail of Imaan Mazari, daughter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former Federal Minister Shireen Mazari in a case pertaining to diatribe against state institutions. Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the plea of lawyer and human rights activist Iman Mazari for pre-arrest bail regarding “derogatory” …