Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced sending as many as 1,000 students of the country to China for advanced training in the agriculture sector as it strives to increase output, according to a media report on Sunday. The premier, who concluded his five-day official visit to China, made the announcement during a visit to Yangling Agricultural Demonstration Base in Xi'an city on Saturday, Radio Pakistan reported. The 72-year-old also invited China's North West Agriculture and Forestry University to open a campus in Pakistan. He directed the Pakistan ambassador to China and relevant authorities to finalise the matters with the Chinese authorities in this regard, Geo News reported. The prime minister toured various parts of the facility and was shown Pakistani products at the Pakistan Pavilion, the report said. Sharif also visited the modern plant production factory where he oversaw a demonstration of the vertical method of agriculture, it said. Pakistan is striving to
Justices Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhel, Athar Minallah, and Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi also sat on the bench
The Pak govt's submission also listed family members, friends, lawyers, and party members who have visited Khan since his imprisonment in August last year
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party founder Imran Khan was on Monday acquitted in three high-profile cases, including the cipher case, in a major relief to the beleaguered former prime minister who was sentenced to 10 years in jail for making public a secret diplomatic communication. The 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician has been in jail since August last year after being convicted in some of the nearly 200 cases slapped on him since his ouster in April 2022. On Monday, a two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb acquitted Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. However, the duo are not expected to be released from prison due to Khan's sentence in the Iddat case (illegal marriage) while Qureshi was arrested in a case linked to the May 9 violence. Qureshi is on physical remand till June 5. Khan and Qureshi were sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in the cip
In a relief to beleaguered Imran Khan, a district and sessions court in Pakistan on Monday acquitted the jailed former prime minister and other leaders of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in two vandalism cases. The court's verdict in the two cases related to the vandalism during the March 2022 long march came during the hearing of acquittal pleas filed by the 71-year-old PTI founder and other politicians, Geo News reported. Other leaders of the party who were acquitted included Zartaj Gul, Ali Nawaz Awan, Faisal Javed, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Qasim Suri, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Shireen Mazari, Saifullah Niazi, Asad Umar and Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmad. The cases against Khan and other politicians were registered in the Kohsar and Karachi Company police stations for violation of Section 144 imposed by authorities following the arrest of the former prime minister in an alleged corruption case. Speaking with journalists here, Khan's lawyer Naeem Panjotha said the cases
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has refused to apologise for the events of May 9
Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has refused to apologise for the unprecedented May 9 riots, a day after the military ruled out dialogue with his party unless they tendered a public apology over the unprecedented violence. Khan, who spoke to the media after the court proceedings in the 190 million pounds Al Qadir corruption case at Adiala jail on Wednesday, also said that he was ready to face an inquiry into the sit-in that his Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf party staged in 2014, Dawn newspaper reported. When asked whether he would apologise for the May 9 violent protest, 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician replied no, saying he was under detention at the time and was unaware of those protests, the report added. I condemned the May 9 incidents in front of (former) chief justice Umar Ata Bandial, he added. The ex-premier mentioned that he became aware of the protests when he appeared before the then-chief justice of Pakistan, Umar Ata Bandial. Khan has been incarcerat
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has lamented the sorry state of affairs in the country where political leaders like him languish in jail and said all that is left for the powerful military leadership was to "murder" him. In a column for the UK's Daily Telegraph' newspaper, penned from the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi where he is being held for disputed corruption charges, the 71-year-old cricketer-turned-politician reiterated his previous assertion that if anything happens to him or his wife, General Asim Munir the Chief of Army Staff, will be responsible.
Pakistan's three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is all set to retake the helm of the ruling PML-N next month to guide the party amid internal strife, seven years after he relinquished the post after being disqualified by the apex court. Nawaz, 74, will be elected president of the ruling party on May 11 in a meeting of the party leadership, a senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader told PTI. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Nawaz as premier and party president for his alleged corruption in cases related to the Panama Papers revelations about his illegal wealth stashed abroad. He relinquished his position within the party following his disqualification, which also led to his departure from the prime minister's office. PML-N Punjab president Rana Sanaullah told a press conference that a decision to make Nawaz the president of the party again was taken at a party meeting on Friday. A resolution was passed at the party meeting today to make the el
Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said on Tuesday that the party has no interest in engaging in discussions with anyone, firmly denying any rumours of secret negotiations with the powerful establishment. Today, I asked the party's founding chairman Imran Khan if some institutions had contacted him for the talks. Imran Khan clearly said that no one had contacted him, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan told reporters outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. He said no one had even contacted him for dialogue, nor had he received any message for talks from anyone, Gohar Khan was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. Gohar Khan's clarification came days after it was reported in a section of the media that Imran Khan had revealed that some PTI leaders were still in contact with the establishment (the military). The same is the case with the other party leadership. Even if we receive any message from anyone for dialogues, we will inform the media, he said. G
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan on Saturday said that he did not de-notify former Army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa despite his actions during the removal of PTI government in 2022 felt like a betrayal', according to a media report. Khan, 71, who was ousted from power in April 2022 via the opposition's no-confidence motion, had blamed Gen Bajwa for playing a vital role against his government. Speaking to journalists in an informal conversation during the hearing of the Toshakhana reference in Adiala Jail, Khan said: "Although General Bajwa's actions felt like a betrayal, we [the then PTI government] refrained from convening a committee to confront him. During the conversation, Khan once again called for negotiations for the betterment of the country. It's for the betterment of Pakistan, so convince me for negotiations. If I could meet Gen Qamar Bajwa twice following the removal of our government, then I could meet anyone. Right now, it is not about me, but is abou
Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi has not been given any poisonous substance, her personal physician has said following a medical checkup after allegations by the ex-prime minister that the former first lady was poisoned while incarcerated at his private residence which was turned into a sub-jail. On April 2, Khan during the hearing of the 190 million pound Toshakhana corruption case in Adiala jail informed Judge Nasir Javed Rana that there had been an attempt to poison the former first lady and added that she had marks on her skin and tongue as a side effect of the "poisoning". "I know who is behind it," the 71-year-old former prime minister said, without naming anyone. He said that if any harm came to 49-year-old Bushra, the Pakistan Army chief (Gen Asim Munir) should be held responsible as members of an intelligence agency were controlling everything at his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad and Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. At this time, there is no evidence of Bushra Bibi being poisone
The Toshakhana corruption case pertains to the accusations against Khan for illegally selling state gifts, which he received during his tenure as the PM of Pakistan between 2018-2022
Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan once again on Wednesday demanded a judicial probe into the May 9 violence and the February 8 elections, urging Supreme Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to hear the petitions filed by his party on the two issues. Khan, 71, while speaking to journalists after attending a court hearing in the 190 million pound corruption case, said the establishment was using the May 9 violence following his arrest in a corruption case as a pretext to dismantle his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Khan claimed that the plot to dismantle his party was hatched in London by the now-ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and urged Chief Justice Isa to set up a judicial commission to probe the matter, Dawn News reported. Khan's supporters resorted to violence, burning civil and military installations following his arrest by the National Corruption Bureau (NCB) outside the Islamabad High Court premised in a corruption case. The May 9 violence, also
Imran Khan has been booked in two cases at Loohi Bheer and Sahala police stations during the party's long march in Islamabad. Judicial Magistrate Ayesha Kundi acquitted him in both cases
This was evident as they first lost reserved seats and subsequently conceded several other seats to opponents during the recounting process
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the review for issuance of the last tranche of USD 1.1 billion which hopefully be received by next month
The newly-elected government of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to work on a comprehensive five-year roadmap for the cash-strapped country's economic resurgence, according to a media report on Friday. This strategic blueprint will focus on curbing inflation, alleviating poverty and creating jobs, the Dawn newspaper reported. In the first meeting, the prime minister sought estimates from different ministries and divisions and formed a committee to go back to the ministries to set five-year targets in different sectors, such as IT, agriculture, industries, energy, food and livestock, reforms in FBR (Federal Board of Revenue), ease of doing business, etc, Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja said after the meeting. Khawaja said the committee, after getting the required information from the ministries and divisions, would prepare a consolidated document carrying five-year targets for all sectors. She said several meetings would be held soon on the five-year .
Imran Khan's party has announced that it would approach the Supreme Court after a top court rejected the Sunni Ittehad Council's petition challenging the election commission's decision to allocate reserved seats in the national and provincial legislatures meant for it to other parties. The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday dismissed petitions of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), in a huge blow to jailed former prime minister Khan's beleaguered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party. The bench, which heard arguments for two consecutive days, pronounced a short order on Thursday and rejected the two petitions filed by the SIC which was joined by the PTI lawmakers to claim their share of reserved seats for women and minorities in the national and provincial legislatures after the February 8 elections. After the decision, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan told reporters outside the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi on Thursday where the 71-year-old PTI founder is jailed. He said that the former ruling .
In this electoral process, the Balochistan Assembly will have the authority to elect 11 Senators, comprising seven for general seats, two for women, and two for technocrats