Page 17 - Pakistan Government

Party backed by LeT chief Hafiz Saeed fields candidates in Pak elections

A new political front organisation of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed has fielded candidates for most of the national and provincial assembly constituencies across Pakistan for the February 8 general elections, saying it wants to make the country an Islamic welfare state. Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been in jail since 2019 after being convicted for several years in multiple terror finance cases along with some other leaders of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) party - set up by Saeed - says it is a political party. The electoral symbol for the PMML is 'chair'. In a video message, PMML President Khalid Masood Sindhu said that his party is contesting on most of the national and provincial assembly seats. "We want to come to power not for corruption but to serve the people and make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state," he said. Sindhu is a candidate for NA-130 Lahore, from which Pakistan Muslim ...

Pak government stops PCB from selling PSL and international media rights

Pakistan's caretaker government has stopped the PCB from selling media rights of international matches and the Pakistan Super League, forcing the Cricket Management Committee (CMC) head Zaka Ashraf to postpone his planned visit to Australia and seek a meeting with Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakaar, who is also the chief patron of the board. The government's directive came just as the CMC, managing the affairs of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), had started the process of inviting bids for the sale of PSL and international cricket media rights. "The government's Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (sports) has issued a notification to the board making it clear that from now on, the CMC/PCB has to seek permission from the government before signing any major deal," a reliable source said on Sunday. He added the notification had even led Ashraf to postpone his planned visit to Australia and seek a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister, Anwar ul Haq Kakaar. The government's ...

Pakistan interim interior minister Bugti resigns, likely to join PML-N

The report stated that Bugti tendered his resignation as interim interior minister on December 13 and PM Kakar accepted it on Friday

Police headquarter comes under attack in Pakistan; 2 policemen killed

At least two policemen were killed and as many as injured after militants attacked a regional police headquarters in a former Taliban stronghold in northwest Pakistan on Friday, three days after terrorists killed 23 soldiers in the same region. The attack occurred at the Police Lines in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tank district, the Dawn newspaper reported. A terrorist blew himself up in a suicide bomb and that the huge attack was thwarted, the newspaper quoted Tank District Police Officer Iftikhar Shah as saying. He said that all contingents present in the Police Lines were evacuated safely and that a search operation was underway after alerts of the presence of more militants in the area. The attack was claimed by a new militant group, Ansarul Jihad. The attack comes days after at least 23 soldiers were killed and more than 30 others injured after militants belonging to the Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a newly formed militant group that is an affiliate of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliba

Pakistan extends Haj application submission deadline till December 22

The move comes when the country's foreign reserves are depleting and to attract more foreign exchange

Schedule for Pakistan's election to be announced 56 days before poll date

"You can calculate the date yourself. It would be somewhere around December 14," a senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) told Dawn

Pakistan's election commission receives petitions seeking delay of polls

Two separate petitions seeking the postponement of general elections in Pakistan on February 8 landed before the election commission, citing growing terror threats and inclement weather. The petitions, filed by individuals hailing from the restive Balochistan province, cited security issues and snowfall in several districts as reasons to seek the postponement of elections, the Dawn newspaper reported. One of the petitions filed by Meena Majeed, a general councillor from Mand tehsil of Kech district through Advocate Fatima Nazar, stated Balochistan was grappling with heightened security concerns. Specifically, the Mekran division has witnessed a surge in terrorist activities, ranging from target killings of innocent daily wage earners to alarming incidents such as IED blasts and women suicide bombing, it stated. The impact was most pronounced in districts such as Kech and Gwadar, where 61 acts of terrorism during the last three months alone claimed 32 lives, it read. According to t

Pak's KPK govt to launch eviction operation against illegal Afghans: Report

Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a major operation to evict thousands of illegal Afghans from the provincial capital Peshawar, a senior official said on Saturday. The move by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government came amid the ongoing deportation of illegal Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan. The crackdown has so far forced about 340,000 Afghans in recent weeks to leave Pakistan after spending years in the neighbouring country. "The KPK Provincial Government has decided to launch a grand operation for the eviction of illegal Afghans from this northwestern city of Peshawar," said the official. Pakistan's caretaker government has previously said security concerns were behind the deportation order. Islamabad has claimed that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 of the 24 major terrorist attacks that have taken place in the country this year. However, the Taliban-led government in Kabul has rejected Pakistan's claim. On Friday, a joint meeting of Deput

Pakistan informs IMF its debt serving costs may go up to PKR 8.5 trn

A substantial portion of this debt cost is attributed to domestic debt servicing, while external debt servicing exceeds PKR 900 billion

Pakistan stocks rise to highest in 6 yrs on election optimism, IMF visit

The benchmark stock index struck a record intra-day high of 53,263.07 on Friday, rising 1.15% from Thursday close, before settling back slightly. It was the highest since May 25, 2017

Pakistan, IMF commence negotiations for second tranche of $3 bn loan

Cash-strapped Pakistan and the IMF have kicked off the much-awaited loan review talks for the release of the USD 710 million second tranche of a USD 3 billion bailout package on a generally positive note. Caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar and the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) mission chief for Pakistan, Nathan Porter, led their sides to the opening round of two-week-long negotiations to discuss the next tranche based on Pakistan's performance in the first quarter that started in July. Porter "appreciated the government's commitment" to meeting the first-quarter targets, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement after the meeting, which has set the stage for a deep dive into forward-looking reforms under a nine-month bailout package, slated to be completed in March next year. He also "commended the government's efforts and measures taken in some critical areas" and underscored the importance of continuing these efforts to stay on track for ensuring the country's .

Pak central bank keeps key rate unchanged at 22% ahead of IMF's visit

Inflation rose sharply to 31.4% in September on the back of a record fuel price hike, but the government has since slashed prices at the pump

Pakistan interim govt suspends Nawaz Sharif's sentence in Al-Azizia case

The development comes on the day when Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Sharif is scheduled to attend multiple hearings at an accountability court

Pakistan general elections date likely to be announced soon: Caretaker PM

Asserting that there will be a level playing field for all political parties in the next general election, Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has expressed hope that the election commission will shortly announce the date of the polls. Without mentioning the exact date, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last month announced that general elections would take place in the last week of January 2024. It seems that the date of the elections will be announced quite soon," Kakar told reporters at a news conference, three days after returning from China, where he had attended Belt and Road Forum (BRF) conference on the 10th anniversary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Commenting on the issue of equal political space for parties in the country, Kakar said, No political party has been left out of the political process and that the caretaker government is doing its best to assist the electoral process.

Pakistan: PIA cancels flights over non-payment of dues to fuel supplier

The Pakistan International Airlines cancelled 14 domestic flights while four others were delayed by several hours

Pakistan's tax collection insufficient to meet financial needs: World Bank

It also suggested that the country should increase tax collection from major sectors and eliminate income tax, sale tax, and customs duties exemptions

Pakistan elections to be held in the last week of January 2024: Poll body

The development comes a day after the ECP said it had scheduled a meeting with political parties next month to discuss the code of conduct for general elections

IMF asks details of Pakistan's plans to reduce electricity tariffs

People across Pakistan have been protesting against the rise in electricity prices for the past few days

Pakistan's Punjab govt seals 10 Lahore theatres over 'vulgar' performances

Pakistan's Punjab provincial government has sealed at least 10 mega commercial theatres here on the charges of 'promoting obscenity through women dancers', a top official said on Saturday. The action by the caretaker government in the province came days after it slapped a ban on 25 female stage dancers/actresses and lodged an FIR against two of them for 'vulgar dances'. These dancers are facing bans of up to 10 years. "More than 10 mega commercial theatres of Lahore have been sealed for promoting obscenity through women dancers," Punjab government Spokesperson and Information Minister Amir Mir said on Saturday. He said that drama producers had given written assurances that they would not promote obscenity through women dancers. However, indecency continued, forcing the government to seal the theatres. Mir said that monitoring of theatres in other parts of Punjab is underway, and similar action will be initiated on 'vulgar dance performances.' Mir, who is the brother of known ancho

Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Muslim League urge Prez Alvi to step down

Ministry of Law and Justice said a bill is sent to the president under the Constitution's Article 75 and he has two options - either approve it or return it with objections