Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed as “absurd” claims his country wants to acquire atomic weapons, in remarks on Thursday amid signs of a breakthrough in nuclear talks. The Islamic republic is locked in negotiations with world powers to revive a 2015 deal that offered it sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. The deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was designed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear arsenal — a goal it has always denied pursuing. Tehran’s chief negotiator Ali Bagheri tweeted that “we are closer than ever…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday granted post-arrest bail to a co-accused in the money-laundering reference against the family of Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif. Through a short order, Presiding Judge Naseem Ahmad Virk allowed the bail petition of co-accused Ali Ahmad Khan subject to furnishing two surety bonds worth Rs10 million each. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Khan in November 2021 from Islamabad for his alleged role in sending telegraphic transfers (TTs) to the accounts of Shehbaz’s family members. He remained posted at the Chief Minister House during the tenure of Shehbaz. In…
LAHORE: Police claimed on Wednesday to have arrested all the nominated suspects [33] involved in lynching a ‘mentally-deranged’ man over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran in Khanewal district. Police also held five other suspects after identifying them through videos of the incident and the total number of the arrested reached 119. On Saturday, a ‘mentally-ill’ man was stoned to death by a mob over alleged desecration of the Holy Quran at Jungle Dera village. Tulamba police registered a case under sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly of people), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions),…
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has directed the provincial government to implement “The Punjab Empowerment of Persons with Different Abilities Act 2021”, once enacted and notified by the assembly, in letter and spirit in order to protect the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Justice Jawad Hassan issued the direction in a judgement issued on two public interest petitions filed by Sana Khurshid, a lawyer and motivational speaker with disability, and Judicial Activism Panel chairman Advocate Azhar Siddique. At the last hearing, the government had told the court that a vetted draft of “the Punjab Empowerment of Persons with…
LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has given a ‘strategic direction’ to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to expand the provincial cabinet to “improve the government’s performance to provide relief to the masses”, that is also being seen as a reaction to the opposition’s recent bid to woo the ruling PTI allies – Chaudhrys of Gujrat. The Punjab government is already having a 47-member strong cabinet that includes 37 ministers, five advisers and as many special assistants to the chief minister (SACM). Sources claimed that the Constitution allowed the Punjab government to have ministers up to 11 per cent of the…
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has set May 29 as the date for holding the first phase of local government polls in Punjab. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the ECP held here on Wednesday with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in the chair. In the first phase, LG polls will be held in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Muzzafargarh, Layyah, Khanewal, Vehari, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Toba Tek Singh, Khushab, Sialkot, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhelum and Attock. The PTI-led provincial government had dissolved local bodies constituted under the Punjab Local Government Act…
Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday during his first-ever visit to Pakistan. Sharing pictures of the meeting on Twitter, Senator Faisal Javed Khan said Gates “greatly appreciated steps [regarding polio eradication] in Pakistan, the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) performance in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic and initiatives such as the Ehsaas programme”. Later in the day, PM Imran hosted a luncheon in Gates’ honour. The Prime Minister’s Office, which shared pictures from the luncheon, added that the Microsoft co-founder was visiting the country on the premier’s “special invitation”. NCOC…
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered maintaining status quo on an appeal moved by the Monal Group of Companies against Jan 11 Islamabad High Court judgment of sealing and taking over possession of the Monal Restaurant, situated at the picturesque Margalla Hills. A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan which had taken up the appeal however ignored the request to grant stay against the high court order with an observation that the court cannot undo the IHC order at this stage. While postponing further proceedings for the next week, the court also issued notices to the federal government…
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday criticised former chief justices of Pakistan, saying it was not the superior judiciary’s job to construct dams or busy itself with demolishing buildings. Addressing an event organised by the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Bilawal said the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) should be deciding constitutional issues instead of “samosa or sugar prices”. He said that instead of deciding issues about the fundamentals of legal framework or “confronting a full-blown assault on democracy that has resulted in this selected regime, some judges took it upon themselves to busy themselves, the courts and the legal…
An Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday sent two household staff of media personality Mohsin Jamil Baig on a one-day physical remand in police custody in a case registered against their employer for allegedly attacking Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officers and injuring one of them. The case was registered yesterday at Margalla police station following a raid by an FIA team at Baig’s residence in Islamabad, during which Baig had allegedly shot at and roughed up members of the agency’s team. According to the FIA, the raid was conducted on the complaint of Communications Minister Murad Saeed, who had registered a first…
