ISLAMABAD: Fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Mir Hamza picked up three wickets each as Pakistan Shaheens dismissed visiting Bangladesh ‘A’ for 122 runs in their first innings on the opening day of their four-day match here at Islamabad Club Cricket Ground on Tuesday. For Bangladesh, Mahmudul Hasan Joy provided the sole resistance with a gritty 65 runs from 116 balls, hitting nine fours. Mahmudul had flayed Shaheens last month in Darwin, scoring half-centuries in both innings to help his team win by five runs. But with Naseem (3-24) and Hamza (3-33) on song, he was unable to find support from…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
ISLAMABAD: Amid lenders’ pressure to wind up over $8 billion worth of Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund (PSWF), the government on Tuesday conceded the lack of clarity about its role, objectives and functions caused confusion over the chain of command of the country’s eight leading blue-chip public sector profitable entities. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, presided over by PPP’s Syed Naveed Qamar, expressed serious concerns over the vagueness, lack of clarity and non-operationalization of the fund created about a year ago while copying the Saudi, Qatari and Emirati model. Members of the committee pointed out that ministries had…
ISLAMABAD: The new task force met on Tuesday to discuss progress on the digitalisation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and its impact on tax base expansion. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of digitisation for economic growth. Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervez Malik and DG C41 Major General Syed Ali Raza co-chaired the maiden meeting at FBR headquarters. FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial, members, and other senior officers were present. At the outset, Mr Malik from management consultation firm Mckinsey explained that their focus is on two major areas: the overall digitisation of FBR and the identification and implementation of quick…
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed concern over Rs500 billion lost each year to electricity theft and stressed the need to reduce power prices to provide relief to both domestic consumers and industries. He said the government and all its departments are working to provide low-cost electricity to citizens and bring in reforms to achieve economic stability. Besides, the government is holding discussions with China about using locally sourced coal in the power plants that Beijing-backed companies operate in Pakistan, which are mainly run on more expensive imported coal, the premier said. Meanwhile, in what appears to be…
GENEVA: Crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Myanmar military have “escalated at an alarming rate”, UN investigators warned on Tuesday, citing systematic torture, gang rape and abuses against children. The United Nations’ Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) said that in the last six months, more than three million people are estimated to have been forced to flee their homes, as conflict spirals within the country. “We have collected substantial evidence showing horrific levels of brutality and inhumanity across Myanmar,” said IIMM chief Nicholas Koumjian. “Many crimes have been committed with an intent to punish and induce…
JERUSALEM: A far-right Israeli minister prayed with thousands of Jews at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem on Tuesday, defying a ban on Jewish prayer at the flashpoint site and drawing global condemnation. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has often ignored the Israeli government’s longstanding ban, vowed to “defeat Hamas” in Gaza in a video he filmed during his visit. The visit comes at a tense time during the 10-month Israeli aggression in Gaza, with faltering efforts for a ceasefire and Israel braced for retaliation from Iran. Ben Gvir’s latest visit drew sharp condemnation from both Muslim…
DHAKA: While a court in Bangladesh opened a murder investigation into ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and six top figures in her administration on Tuesday, the ex-premier in her first public statement since her abrupt resignation demanded an investigation into the protests that led to her ouster. On the other hand, the White House announced that the United States “had no involvement” in ousting Sheikh Hasina, describing her previous claim as “simply false”. Hasina, 76, quit as prime minister on August 5 after a student-led uprising against her government and fled by helicopter to longtime ally India a week ago, where she remains, as…
TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday rejected Western calls to stand down its threat to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and said only a ceasefire in Gaza could stop the country from direct retaliation. In a statement on Monday, the US and its European allies urged Iran to de-escalate. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanani, criticised the Western call for restraint. “The declaration by France, Germany and Britain, which raised no objection to the international crimes of the Zionist regime, brazenly asks Iran to take no deterrent action against a regime which has violated its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”…
A US Army intelligence analyst pleaded guilty on Tuesday to providing sensitive defence information to China, including documents about US weapons systems and military tactics and strategy. Sergeant Korbein Schultz, who held a top-secret security clearance, was arrested in March at Fort Campbell, a military base on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Schultz pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defence information, exporting technical data related to defence articles without a license, conspiracy to export defence articles without a license, and bribery of a public official, the Justice Department said in a statement. According to the charging documents, Schultz provided dozens…
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday he will step aside next month, ending a three-year term plagued by low popularity ratings and a spluttering economy. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed almost uninterrupted for decades, is due to hold a leadership contest next month, with the winner to become prime minister. Kishida said on Wednesday he will not seek re-election as party chief. “In this (party) presidential election, it is necessary to show the people that the LDP is changing and the party is a new LDP,” Kishida told reporters in Tokyo. “For this, transparent and open elections…
