Page 73 - Pakistan

Pakistan to issue new currency notes to combat counterfeit currencies

Pakistan's central bank has announced that it will introduce new currency notes with enhanced security features to deal with the menace of counterfeit currencies in the cash-strapped country. The Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed told the media here that the currency notes will be incorporated with advanced international security features, including distinct security numbers and design to modernise the Pakistani currency. Ahmed also said the transition would be gradual so that Pakistan does not face disruption and public panic problems as has been witnessed in some other countries in the past. However, some financial experts wonder whether the introduction of new currency notes could also include demonetisation of the Rs 5,000 or higher denomination notes to combat the counterfeit and black money market. According to experts, cash-strapped Pakistan's economy is influenced a lot by the illegal use of black money which is easier due to the circulation of higher ...

Climate change figures prominently in Pakistan parties' manifestos

Extreme events, such as the floods of 2022, exposed Pakistan's vulnerabilities to the effects of climate change and weakness in the state's disaster planning

Pneumonia outbreak kills over 240 children in Pakistan's Punjab in January

According to the Punjab Health Department, 942 new pneumonia cases have been recorded across the province in the previous 24 hours, with 212 new cases confirmed in Lahore

Cash-strapped Pakistan seeks $2 billion loan from close ally China

Cash-strapped Pakistan has sought financial assistance of USD 2 billion from its close ally China for a year, according to a media report on Saturday. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, in a letter, has requested his Chinese Premier Li Qiang to roll over the debt as soon as the deposit time for the loan from China is completed on March 23. In his letter, Kakar expressed gratitude to China for its financial assistance to Pakistan during its economic crisis as the cash-strapped country has secured a safe deposit of a total of USD 4 billion in loans from China, reducing the country's mounting pressure on external debt payments and stabilising its foreign exchange reserves, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. Earlier this month, the UAE rolled over Pakistan's maturing loan of USD 2 billion. Apart from the UAE, Saudi Arabia has deposited USD 5 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan. Following the loan rollover by the UAE, the interim government requested the Internationa

Pakistan's EC to set up 90,675 polling stations for 128 million voters

Pakistan's election commission has unveiled the final polling scheme for the February 8 polls under which it will set up 90,675 polling stations for the 128 million voters, according to a media report on Saturday. The final polling scheme was announced by the election body, weeks after twice failing to comply with the legal deadline to announce the plan at least 30 days ahead of the election, the Dawn newspaper reported. Section 59 (6) of the Elections Act 2017 requires the publication of the final list of polling stations of each constituency, at least 30 days before polling day, in the official gazette as well as the website of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The plan unveiled by the ECP on Friday outlines the distribution of polling stations across all four provinces and the federal capital, categorising them as normal, sensitive, or highly sensitive based on the security situation and electoral violence history. "A total of 90,675 polling stations with 276,402 pollin

Pak SC gives relief to some leaders of Imran's party ahead of Feb 8 polls

In a relief to the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, the Supreme Court on Friday allowed its president Parvez Elahi, and some other senior leaders to contest the February 8 general elections. A three-member bench heard Elahi's appeal against the rejection of his candidature by the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the election tribunal. The apex court also allowed other PTI leaders, Umar Aslam, Tahir Sadiq, Sanam Javed, and Shaukat Basra to contest the upcoming general elections. The beleaguered Khan and his PTI have suffered blow after blow ahead of the polls with the election commission snatching away its iconic cricket bat symbol and rejecting nomination papers of 71-year-old Khan and several top leaders on multiple grounds. The panel, after hearing the arguments, declared the decision to reject Elahi's nomination papers null and void and allowed him to contest the elections from a constituency of the Punjab assembly in his home province ...

Pakistan long been epicentre of terrorism: MEA junks assassination claims

Jaiswal stressed that India and many other nations have publicly warned Pakistan that it would be consumed by its own culture of terror and violence

Pakistan alleges 'Indian agents' killed 2 citizens, claims to have evidence

Pakistan on Thursday claimed that it had credible evidence of links between what it called as "Indian agents" and the assassination of two Pakistani terrorists associated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Sialkot and Rawalkot last year. India was carrying out extra-territorial and extra-judicial killings inside Pakistan, Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi alleged at a press conference here. Shahid Latif, a key aide of terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Masood Azhar and the mastermind of the 2016 attack on the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, was gunned down in a mosque in Sialkot in Punjab province on October 11, 2023. On September 8, 2023, Riyaz Ahmad alias Abu Qasim, affiliated with the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit, who was one of the main conspirators behind the Dhangri terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on January 1, 2023 was shot dead by unidentified gunmen inside the Al-Qudus mosque during pre-dawn prayers in the Rawalakot

Pakistani Taliban pledge not to attack election rallies ahead of Feb 8 vote

The Pakistani Taliban pledged Thursday not to attack election rallies, saying their targets are limited to the military and security forces, as political parties and independent candidates ramp up their campaigns ahead of the Feb 8 vote. We have nothing to do with these elections and the parties participating in them, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, said in a statement. Other militant groups have not made similar pledges, and some previous Pakistani elections have been marred by violence. Two-time former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in a bomb attack in 2007 minutes after she addressed an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Her son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is leading the campaign for her Pakistan People's Party. Thursday's rare pledge by the TTP came after the government approved the deployment of troops in sensitive constituencies after intelligence agencies warned that militants could target rallies, which are usually held outdoors in public ...

Nawaz Sharif supporters bring lion & tiger at Lahore rally, click selfies

Scores of PML-N supporters took selfies with the lion and tiger locked in iron cages. The wild animals have been brought to multiple PML-N public gatherings in the past

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China assures Pak of support to defend sovereignty after Iran's airstrikes

China has assured Islamabad of its support in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity even while welcoming on Tuesday the restoration of diplomatic ties between Tehran and Islamabad after their recent air strikes against each other. As China's Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visited Pakistan on a mediation mission, a statement from Foreign Ministry on Monday said it is maintaining close contacts with Pakistan and Iran to bridge their differences. China on January 18 offered to play a constructive role to ease tension between Pakistan and Iran following their missile strikes against each other and asked the two countries to "exercise restraint and calmness and avoid escalation. Earlier on January 18, Pakistan conducted "precision military strikes" against what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran's Siestan-Balochistan province that killed 9 people. The attack was seen as retaliation to Iranian missile and drone attacks on January 16 which targeted two bases of the Sunni ..

Trade resumes as Pak and Afghanistan reopen Torkham border after 10 days

Trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan resumed on Tuesday after the two sides reopened a key northwestern border crossing shut for more than 10 days. Truckers for years have been able to cross the border without documents, so they generally do not have them. But Pakistan began mandating truck drivers get visas last week. The two sides after a series of meetings agreed to reopen the Torkham border crossing but Pakistan set a new deadline of March 31 for the truck drivers to get visas, said Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Abdul Basir Zabali, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the police chief in Nangarhar province, said the Torkham crossing was reopened after the two sides talked, but he didn't give details. The Torkham border crossing has been closed a number of times in recent months, mainly following clashes between the security forces for varied reasons including repairs of the border fence by Pakistan.

Ram temple inauguration indicative of growing majoritarianism in India: Pak

Pakistan on Monday said the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is indicative of growing majoritarianism in India. The remarks by Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) came after the new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday in an event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Developments of the last 31 years, leading to today's consecration ceremony, are indicative of growing majoritarianism in India. These constitute an important facet of the ongoing efforts for social, economic and political marginalisation of the Indian Muslims, the FO said in a statement. In 2019, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark verdict paving the way for the construction of Ram Mandir. The five-judge Constitution bench also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya to build a mosque. The rising tide of Hindutva' ideology in India poses a serious threat to religious harmony and regional peace, according to the FO. Pakistan also asked the ...

Pakistan, Iran restore bilateral ties by agreeing to reinstate ambassadors

Pakistan and Iran have "mutually agreed" to reinstate their ambassadors in each other's country, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday, restoring bilateral ties downgraded following last week's tit-for-tat attacks on each other's territory. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will also visit the country on January 29 at the invitation of cash-strapped Pakistan's Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, the FO said in a statement. Tensions escalated between Islamabad and Tehran after Pakistan conducted "precision military strikes" against what it called "terrorist hideouts" in Iran's Siestan-Balochistan province that killed 9 people in the wee hours on Thursday. The attack was seen as retaliation to Iranian missile and drone attacks last Tuesday on two bases of the Sunni Baloch militant group Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan's unruly Balochistan province. Following the telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, it has been .

Gaza's expanding footprint

The conflict is getting unpredictable

Pakistan's top poll body to challenge HC's remarks on poll symbol case

Pakistan's top election body has decided to file an application in the Lahore High Court seeking to expunge the court's remarks against it in the verdict in connection with the election symbol case, a media report said on Saturday. Pakistan is to hold general elections on February 8. A five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued the order after conducting a hearing (on the matter) and reviewing the Lahore High Court (LHC) order of January 17, The News International newspaper reported. Calling it as an unusual move, the newspaper said, The ECP has decided to file a civil miscellaneous application in the LHC to expunge the court's remarks against the commission in the verdict on the election symbol case. Earlier, the Bahawalpur bench of the LHC, in response to writ petitions seeking a change of poll symbols, had criticised the election commission and a returning officer for violating the law and not performing their duties accordingly. The court had issued

'Minor irritants' with Iran will be resolved through dialogue, says Pak

Pakistan's top civil-military leadership at a high-level huddle on Friday concluded that the minor irritants with Iran would be overcome by the two countries mutually through dialogue and diplomacy, indicating that the unprecedented tension between the neighbours has already tapered off. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar chaired the meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) while services chiefs, cabinet ministers and other officials were in attendance. The forum reviewed the security situation and lauded the professional, calibrated and proportionate response by the armed forces against unprovoked and unlawful violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, as the participants were briefed about political and diplomatic developments bearing upon the prevailing situation between Pakistan and Iran and its impact on the overall security milieu in the region, an official statement said. The meeting also took stock of the Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar', which was successfully execute

Pakistan's civil-military leadership holds meeting amid tension with Iran

Pakistan's civil-military leadership held a high-level consultative meeting on Friday to discuss the ongoing tiff with Iran as the two neighbours made amends to repair the frayed ties following their military strikes in each other's territory. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar presided over the meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) while services chiefs, cabinet ministers, and other officials were in attendance, sources said. The NSC meeting has started and is currently underway, a source said. The officials from the defence and foreign ministries will brief the meeting about the attack by Iran and counter charge by Pakistan armed forces, sources said. It is said the NSC is likely to give guidelines for future ties with Iran. Kakar had rushed back home on Thursday night from Davos, where he had gone to attend the World Economic Forum event after Pakistan and Iran carried out military strikes against each other. Pakistan conducted "precision military strikes" ag

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