Page 9 - Pakistan Government

Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan should be released immediately: UN human rights group

A United Nations human rights working group on Monday called for the immediate release of Pakistan's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying he had been detained arbitrarily in violation of international laws. The Geneva-based United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made this demand after examining Khan's case in which he was sentenced last year on charges of corruption. Khan has been facing multiple prison sentences since 2022 when he was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in the parliament. There was no immediate comment from the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster. Khan has been held in prison since August 2023 when a court awarded him a three-year prison sentence after finding him guilty of hiding assets after selling state gifts. It led to a ban on Khan from taking part in politics and contesting the Feb 8 elections, which his party says were rigged. The Election Commission of Pakistan, which oversaw the .

Pakistan seeks small, modern arms from US for 'Operation Azm-i-Istehkam'

Pakistan's ambassador to the US has urged the US to provide small arms and modern equipment to his country to ensure the success of Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, Islamabad's newly approved counter-terrorism initiative. The decision to launch the 'Azm-e-Istehkam' operation was taken on June 22 at the apex committee meeting of the National Action Plan, a strategy approved in 2014 to eliminate militancy from the country. The federal government recently approved the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive. Pakistan has launched Azm-i-Istehkam () to oppose and dismantle terrorist networks. For that, we need sophisticated small arms and communication equipment, Ambassador Masood Khan was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper. He made these remarks while addressing US policymakers, scholars, intelligentsia, and corporate leaders at a Washington think tank, the Wilson Centre, earlier this week. Khan elaborated that 'Azm-i-Istehkam' comprises three components: doctrinal, societal, and

Pak Parliament passes tax-laden budget ahead of talks on fresh IMF loan

Pakistan is in talks with the IMF for a loan of $6 billion to $8 billion

Pakistan doesn't believe in perpetual hostility to India: Dy PM Dar

Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar sending a positive message to India on Tuesday said his country does not believe in perpetual hostility and urged the new government in New Delhi to do a sober reflection on its future ties with Islamabad. Addressing a seminar at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), the 74-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said Pakistan always sought good neighbourly relations. To our east, the relationship with India has historically remained troubled. Pakistan does not believe in perpetual hostility. We seek good neighbourly relations with India on the basis of mutual respect, sovereign equality, and a just and peaceful resolution of the long-standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Dar said. The foreign minister said while Pakistan had always been receptive to constructive engagement through dialogue that includes all outstanding issues, Pakistan would never agree to unilateral approaches or attempts to

40 terrorists in Poonch-Rajouri sectors: Intel, security grids tightened

The most recent attacks have been in Reasi and Kathua, where they attacked Hindu pilgrims and security forces

Pak govt announces Rs 10.20 reduction in petrol price ahead of Eid ul Adha

In a major relief for inflation-hit masses in cash-strapped Pakistan, the government has slashed the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs 10.20 and Rs 2.33 per litre respectively ahead of the Eid ul Adha festival. The price cut, effective from Saturday, will bring the price of petrol to Rs 258.16 per litre while the price of HSD will be Rs 267.89 per litre, The Express Tribune newspaper quoted a statement from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday. The Finance Division, which usually reviews the fuel prices every 15 days, issued an official notification for the latest price cuts and said the new prices would be applicable for the next fortnight. The notification said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had worked out the consumer prices, based on the price variations in the international market. The move to slash the prices of petroleum would benefit the Pakistani people who have been hit by double-digit inflation. Pakistan has been hit by inflation of ab

Pakistan budget sets big tax target of $46.66 bn ahead of IMF talks

Pakistan has projected a sharp drop in its fiscal deficit for the new financial year to 5.9% of GDP, from an upwardly revised estimate of 7.4% for the current year

News updates: US Fed leaves interest rates unchanged at 5.25%-5.5% again

From the oath-taking ceremonies scheduled in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to Pakistan's annual budget, catch all the latest updates from around the world here

Pakistan likely to hike taxes in budget to bolster chances of IMF loan

"Everyone will have to contribute in this economy because schools or universities or hospitals can run with philanthropy but countries can only run through taxes," Pak Finance Minister Aurangzeb said

Pakistan's Budget aims to set stage for new bailout deal with IMF

Pakistan is in talks with the IMF for a loan estimated to be anything between $6 billion to $8 billion to avert a default for an economy

Will send 1K students to China for agriculture training: Pakistan PM Sharif

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

Pak confirms 5th polio case of year, 17 days after victim's death

Pakistan has confirmed the fifth polio case of the year, more than a fortnight after the victim's death, jolting the country's efforts to eradicate the crippling disease. The victim, a two-year-old child from Balochistan's Quetta, died on May 22 before the confirmation of the poliovirus, the Dawn newspaper reported. With the onset of paralysis on April 29, the case was confirmed after six weeks on Saturday, instead of the usual three weeks taken for diagnosis, the report said, quoting an official at the Regional Reference Laboratory of the National Institute of Health (NIH). According to the NIH, the child's legs were affected by the crippling disease initially. He was later shifted to Karachi, but his condition worsened as the disease spread to his arms. He passed away a few weeks later, the report said. The official said the child had not received a single dose of polio vaccine during routine immunisation. However, records show that he received five vaccine doses during ...

Pak PM, Chinese prez agree to upgrade CPEC, boost development in 2nd phase

The two leaders also affirmed their consensus on CPEC's upgradation and advancing the mega project's development in its second phase, according to Dawn

In photos, Pakistan govt rejects Imran Khan's 'poor jail conditions' claim

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

Pak PM in Beijing for talks with Xi to seek more investments, boost ties

Visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reached Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders to elevate all-weather bilateral ties and prospects of more aid and investments to bail out his cash-strapped country from the current economic crisis. Sharif, on a five-day official visit to China since June 4, toured the southern high-tech city of Shenzhen on Wednesday and addressed the investors meeting. During his stay here, Sharif will meet Xi, Premier Li Qiang and other leaders, Pakistan's state-run APP news agency reported. He will also attend a Pakistan-China Friendship and Business event and have meetings with the CEOs of leading Chinese companies working on the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. Several MoUs between the two countries on cooperation in various fields are likely to be signed, the report said. Cash-strapped Pakistan's economy is facing severe headwinds, and it has formally requested the International Monetary Fund (

Long march in Pak for reopening Iran border crossing amid severe shortages

The marchers plan to escalate their demonstration upon reaching Quetta

Pak PM Sharif to visit China next month for launch of 2nd phase of CPEC

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China in the first week of next month to join the formal launching of the second phase of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to a media report on Saturday. A source in the Prime Minister's Office told the Dawn newspaper that Prime Minister Sharif was scheduled to leave for China on June 4, but the date of the visit could slightly be changed. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is opposed by India as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Infrastructure and energy projects were part of the CPEC's first phase. In CPEC-II, both countries will focus on agriculture, Main Line-I of Pakistan Railways, businessmen-to-businessmen deals and realignment of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) etc. While presiding over a meeting of representatives of Chinese companies on Friday, the prime minister said that Pakistan wanted to benefit from Chinese ..

Pak to pay $2.58 mn to families of 5 Chinese killed in suicide bombing

Pakistan has decided to pay USD 2.58 million to the families of five Chinese nationals killed in March when a suicide bomber targeted their vehicle in the troubled northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to a media report on Friday. The five Chinese and their Pakistani driver were killed when a suicide attacker rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle in the Bisham area of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on March 26 when they were being driven to a construction site of Dasu Hydroelectric power station in Kohistan district of the same province. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Pakistan's Cabinet on Thursday decided to pay USD 2.58 million to the families of Chinese workers slain in the attack, the Dawn newspaper said. The approval of compensation for five Chinese workers of China Gezhouba Group (contractor) was approved at the rate of USD 5,16,000 per head, as a goodwill gesture, the report said. The amount would be transferred immediately to

IMF, Pakistan make considerable progress on extended loan facility

The IMF has opened discussions with Pakistan on a new loan programme after Islamabad last month completed a short-term $3 bn programme

Trade with Pak key poll issue; will benefit farmers: Amritsar traders

For the traders and industry in Amritsar, resumption of trade with Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah land route is a key poll issue. They say reviving cross-border trade will also benefit farmers, transporters and labourers. The volume of trade between India and Pakistan through the land route used to be around Rs 5,000 crore per annum before the bilateral trade ties were suspended in 2019. Resuming trade with Pakistan will not only boost the economy of Amritsar but it will also create more employment opportunities, the traders said. The local industry has made it clear to the candidates of all major political parties that the revival of trade was necessary for the betterment and development of Amritsar. Amritsar along with 12 other parliamentary constituencies of Punjab will go to polls in the final round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on June 1. "The government must resume trade with Pakistan because in Amritsar there is no manufacturing industry," said Amritsar-based ..